My weekend with Garth

College of Engineering Author

08/18/2021 Added

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Carson Emeigh, a senior in mechanical and materials engineering, worked up the courage to ask one of the world’s most popular musicians for advice about a possible career path. He ended up with an invitation to work at Garth Brooks’ sold-out concert at Memorial Stadium on Aug. 14, 2021, and also with both professional experience and personal experience of a lifetime.

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[0:07] Welcome to the complete engineering podcast.
[0:09] This is Carl Vogel, coming to you from Othmer Hall
[0:11] on the city campus here in Lincoln.
[0:13] And today we're going to take a look back at one of the
[0:16] biggest events in Nebraska history that at least
[0:19] the University of Nebraska's history this past weekend,
[0:22] Garth Brooks played at Memorial stadium
[0:25] in front of 90,000 fans.
[0:27] First live music performance at the stadium since 1987,
[0:32] when Live Aid came here.
[0:34] And today we're going to talk with the Nebraska
[0:36] engineering student who had a very up close
[0:37] and personal experience this weekend,
[0:39] Carson Amy, senior in mechanical engineering.
[0:44] You got not only to meet Garth Brooks,
[0:48] but you get to live out kind of a dream, correct?
[0:51] Oh yes. I'm a big fan of live music and,
[0:54] it was really something special
[0:55] to be able to see Garth up close.
[0:57] But that wasn't just getting to see him up close.
[1:01] You actually got to get up on stage and
[1:04] you got to do some work this weekend.
[1:07] Yeah, I did. I spent a lot of time this weekend
[1:09] with Garth's production crew.
[1:12] So that ranges from the audio side, the video side,
[1:15] the lighting side, and then just the general organization
[1:18] type of side.
[1:19] And I got to see a lot of really cool things this weekend
[1:21] that I wouldn't have ever imagined.
[1:23] And how did that come about? How,
[1:24] how did you actually get this job of working with
[1:28] Garth Brooks, the biggest star in American music right now?
[1:33] So on Friday he had a soundcheck that UNL students
[1:37] and faculty could go to.
[1:38] And loving live music, I decided I would go,
[1:42] with me and my dad we went, and during it,
[1:45] he played some songs, checked to make sure you know,
[1:47] that the speakers were working properly.
[1:49] And then he did a little Q and A section.
[1:51] And towards the end I had gained enough confidence
[1:54] to raise my hand and ask him, you know,
[1:57] I'm interested to see what a sound engineer does.
[1:59] How do I get started?
[2:01] Sure enough. He said, come on over the next day.
[2:03] So noon and Memorial Stadium, I was with his crew,
[2:06] getting the shirt ready for the night.
[2:08] What feelings were going through your mind
[2:11] when he told you to come back on Saturday?
[2:13] That that had to be gobsmacking?
[2:16] It was a lot of disbelief, I was kind of in a daze
[2:19] from happiness. Just with the,
[2:21] with that encounter, I guess,
[2:24] that that's not something that many people get to do.
[2:26] Yeah. I was just really happy. I guess.
[2:28] So kind of walk me through a little bit of what your
[2:30] Saturday was like, most people are
[2:32] getting to the show at between five and seven.
[2:35] When did you have to be there?
[2:38] And what kind of things did you get to do?
[2:41] Yeah,
[2:42] so I showed up to Memorial Stadium Saturday at noon
[2:45] starting then, I worked with one of his technicians and we
[2:50] just set up the equipment that was going to be used
[2:55] that night to control the different, you know,
[2:57] sounds and signals that were being processed.
[2:59] And then I spent some time with her just getting
[3:02] the instruments ready.
[3:05] Then I went over to a different audio engineering side,
[3:08] we worked with specifically like vocals as well as how the
[3:12] sounds would reflect off the stadium.
[3:15] I also got to spend some time at the mixing board.
[3:18] So, just making sure that everything is in the proper tone
[3:21] and pitch and frequency that we would need.
[3:23] And then I also spend a little bit of time with production.
[3:27] So like they're the people who would organize everything
[3:29] as well as video and lighting.
[3:30] So the people who do the lighting and then the big TVs
[3:33] throughout the stadium, and then around five,
[3:37] we had everything finished off and it was time to let people
[3:39] funnel in and get ready for the show.
[3:41] Were you like super nervous getting,
[3:43] getting this opportunity? I mean, what was,
[3:46] what were you feeling on Saturday?
[3:47] So I was nervous on Friday just because so much had just
[3:51] happened.
[3:52] But by Saturday I was able to collect my composure
[3:55] and I was on my, I was on a job,
[3:58] so I didn't have time to be starstruck.
[4:00] Have you done much work with sound
[4:02] and live music in the past?
[4:05] I haven't done anything with music,
[4:07] but at one point I worked for NET
[4:09] or public broadcasting service here.
[4:12] I worked with the video and sound equipment over at the
[4:15] State Capitol for their courtrooms,
[4:17] as well as I did a little bit of work with their
[4:19] conference room, getting microphone setups in that room.
[4:22] So, I haven't done music before,
[4:25] but I have done a little bit of
[4:26] sound engineering in the past.
[4:27] So how would you categorize your experience this weekend
[4:31] from an engineering standpoint? Was it,
[4:32] was it like being in one of the classes that you were here
[4:36] and kind of having everything concentrated in one day?
[4:39] Yeah. It was,
[4:40] it was really crazy from the engineering side,
[4:43] I'm a super big nerd and I was able to see all the equipment
[4:48] I used at NET come together to form something completely
[4:50] different, which was really cool.
[4:53] And surprisingly, I got a lot of lessons on kinematics,
[4:56] believe it or not just with all of the rigging and set up
[4:59] and how they, you know,
[5:00] get all that heavy stuff into the positions that they need
[5:03] and hold it in the positions that they need as well as move
[5:06] the systems during the show for the performance.
[5:10] So what kind of engineering lessons did you learn
[5:14] this weekend? What kinds of things did you get
[5:16] from the Garth Brooks crew that you can take an apply?
[5:21] Now here's a senior in the Canticle engineering.
[5:24] I think after my time with Garth Brooks,
[5:26] I definitely understand how signals work a lot more.
[5:30] And I,
[5:30] and I understand how we can link those signals together
[5:33] to get one clean output, as well as again,
[5:37] with the whole kinematic side,
[5:38] I didn't realize how much mechanics it takes to build
[5:42] systems like that in order to create the
[5:46] effects that you see when he's on the stage.
[5:48] So it was a lot of learning on both the signal side of
[5:53] things, as well as the mechanical side of things.
[5:56] You're not new to getting hands-on experience
[5:59] in engineering. You're doing something else I think is cool.
[6:03] You're an undergrad, who's doing research
[6:05] and it's not unique, but I think it's always really cool
[6:10] when our undergrad students get opportunities
[6:13] to do research. What, what kind of work are you doing
[6:15] in mechanical engineering right now?
[6:17] And who are you working with?
[6:18] So, right now I work in a laboratory with Dr. Rio
[6:21] and we are a fluids laboratory.
[6:23] More specifically, I work on,
[6:26] I work with microfluidic devices.
[6:28] So over the past year,
[6:30] I have been able to learn how to create devices that other
[6:33] scientists can use to study cells.
[6:34] And it's been really, really great.
[6:37] I, I found a very large passion in research.
[6:41] I enjoy spending my time in the lab.
[6:43] I enjoy the people I work with overall. They're very,
[6:46] very supportive and they've showed me a lot of really cool
[6:49] things that, you know, I would have never even imagined.
[6:52] I also really love presenting and that's something that I've
[6:54] gotten to experience with my research position,
[6:57] whether it be for like you care or just research fairs or a
[7:02] SME, for example, and those kinds of things.
[7:04] So some of the experiences that you've had
[7:06] with presenting and getting to stand up in front of people,
[7:09] did that help you Friday when you were trying to work up
[7:12] the courage to ask Garth Brooks of what it takes
[7:15] to be a sound engineer?
[7:17] Oh, most definitely. Yeah.
[7:19] Building my communication skills has been really good for me
[7:21] to be able to go out and do the things I want and even,
[7:23] you know,
[7:24] getting on a stage in front of 90,000 people that that can
[7:28] be a little nerve wracking, but again,
[7:30] I'm used to being behind the camera.
[7:33] So I think it worked out.
[7:34] You said you're up there in front of 90,000 people
[7:36] Saturday night, he calls you out.
[7:38] What was it like being on stage?
[7:41] And most of us are never going to experience that.
[7:43] So tell us what it's like to be up there
[7:45] in the bright lights.
[7:46] It feels really good.
[7:47] I got to go twice once to shoot the confetti cannon
[7:51] and I was able to high-five Garth.
[7:52] And then once again, when he introduced me,
[7:55] it's really loud there, everyone was just
[7:58] flying off the handle and it was really cool.
[8:02] Thankfully, the lights that are pointing on the stage
[8:04] are really bright. So it made it hard to see out
[8:06] to all the people.
[8:08] So that kind of helped to ease my nerves a little bit,
[8:11] but it was a really different experience that I'm really
[8:13] grateful I was able to have.
[8:15] Now, you probably wouldn't have had this experience,
[8:18] had you not been an engineering student, correct?
[8:20] Correct.
[8:21] Did you ever think being an engineering student you'd have
[8:25] 90,000 people cheering when they heard your name?
[8:27] Well, I always knew with engineering,
[8:29] I'd be able to do something cool that interests me.
[8:31] I just didn't know it would be that cool.
[8:33] Yeah, cool, so I'll tell you it's one of those things that
[8:37] I think a lot of us would dream that we had
[8:39] the opportunity to do, and you're going to be working on
[8:43] big things in the future. So what,
[8:45] what is it you think you might be interested in doing down
[8:49] the line once you're in the past year,
[8:51] your undergraduate experience here?
[8:53] Yeah. So for my future, I think my,
[8:57] my heart lies in academia.
[8:59] I've always loved learning. I've always loved teaching.
[9:02] I think in the long run I will end up in academia.
[9:06] I think that's my plan.
[9:07] All right. So you're familiar with the complete engineers.
[9:11] The technical backgrounds, communication inclusiveness.
[9:13] From that perspective,
[9:15] what sorts of things helped you this weekend that
[9:19] they stressed in those fields?
[9:21] Well, I think the things through the complete engineer
[9:24] that really helped me this weekend was
[9:26] most definitely my communication skills.
[9:28] Being able to talk to the people that I was around
[9:32] and try to understand the ideas they were explaining to me,
[9:34] as well as just having the confidence to be able to,
[9:37] you know, ask how can I get here?
[9:39] I think that teamwork was really, really important
[9:41] because there were so many people this weekend
[9:44] that if they don't all work together, well,
[9:45] the show won't go on.
[9:47] What sorts of advice would you have for other engineering
[9:53] students or prospective engineering students about
[9:57] stepping out of their comfort zone
[10:00] and doing something that maybe they wouldn't normally do?
[10:03] What I would say is just,
[10:04] don't be afraid to ask questions.
[10:07] If you ask questions, people will know
[10:08] what you're interested in and people are
[10:11] willing to help you out with that.
[10:13] The biggest things that have helped me get out of my
[10:14] comfort zone are my communication skills.
[10:17] So not being afraid to go to people when I want to
[10:20] say something as well as I just like to try new things.
[10:24] And so I'm not going to let something as silly as
[10:27] my embarrassment get in the way of that.
[10:29] And so I guess my advice would be to,
[10:32] don't be afraid to put yourself out there
[10:33] and I know that's super generic and basic,
[10:35] but that's really what it comes down to, I guess.
[10:38] And because you did that,
[10:39] you got to experience one of the biggest things you've
[10:44] experienced in your lifetime. So from that perspective,
[10:47] tell me, what does this weekend mean to you?
[10:50] Oh, it will always be something I remember,
[10:53] you know, again, like I said, I've always loved live music.
[10:56] And so being able to see how that all comes together
[10:59] and how much work and how many people it takes
[11:01] to create a show as spectacular as that, has been really,
[11:04] really interesting and awesome for me to
[11:07] finally experience firsthand.
[11:09] So how difficult was it to be part of this crew
[11:13] and not be singing along to the song?
[11:15] (chuckles) Oh, don't get me wrong.
[11:17] I was singing, but it, it was a lot of fun.
[11:21] It was definitely a different role than just
[11:22] going to a concert and, you know,
[11:24] watching it, throughout the entire day,
[11:26] I had tasks that needed to be completed.
[11:28] And if they weren't completed on time,
[11:30] we wouldn't have been able to do it,
[11:31] you know, what had happened.
[11:32] And did you get to take anything home?
[11:34] Oh yeah. Garth was really nice.
[11:36] He, he sent me up with a slag bag, so I got a few shirts.
[11:39] I got like an, an event pass. That was pretty cool.
[11:42] And I actually do a lot of scrapbooking with my concerts.
[11:46] So a lot of that stuff will definitely
[11:47] be making it into there.
[11:48] Did you get to selfie anything?
[11:50] No.
[11:51] I went in with the mindset that I'm on a job right now.
[11:55] And so I didn't even ask him for an autograph. I was just,
[11:58] you know, thank you for this position.
[12:00] I'm like really grateful and I'm excited to see you perform.
[12:03] Well, I think there's time to wrap up
[12:06] a big weekend and Carson, I know it's been a,
[12:11] a whirlwind for you. Any last thoughts that you have
[12:15] about this weekend and, school starts in a week.
[12:18] How are you going to be able to come down from that?
[12:21] I'm looking forward to school because
[12:23] I'm looking forward to continue education.
[12:24] And I just want to say thank you to Garth and his team.
[12:28] They put in a lot of time and effort to make sure
[12:29] that I had a really great experience.
[12:31] And I wasn't just someone who stood on the sidelines.
[12:33] They actually took the time to show me what they do and
[12:36] how they do it and why it's important.
[12:38] So I would just like to thank Garth and his team
[12:40] for all of their work, as well as I'd like to thank you
[12:43] for having me on today. It's been really great.
[12:44] It's been great having you, and it's been
[12:46] a fun conversation and congratulations on the big weekend.
[12:49] That's going to be it for this episode
[12:52] of the complete engineering podcast. Check back in.
[12:55] We'll have more episodes coming later in the fall semester.

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My weekend with Garth

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