LDI 2018 Speaker Spotlight: Bob Vanden Burgt

As we gear up for the LDI Show, we’re profiling speakers in our Sound Tracks series of panels aimed at live sound engineers. This week we’re pleased to introduce you to Bob Vanden Burgt, who will host “Myths, Challenges and Advances in Power and Signal Distribution for Live Event Production.

Bob Vanden Burgt has spent the past four decades in the live event industry; during that time, he’s held roles as production manager, sound designer, lighting designer, project manager, and vice president of information services. Over the past ten years, Bob Vanden Burgt dedicated his career to working with clients and colleagues at Link USA designing power and data distribution systems for entertainment and broadcast.

Sarah Jones: What was your first live sound gig?

Bob Vanden Burgt: Ronnie Milsap, Marriott’s Great America Show Arena, 1980.

SJ: Who has most influenced the way you think about sound?

BVB: Dudley Birder, my college musical theatre musical director. Learning early how to wrangle a live orchestra, sound effects, and a few dozen wires attached to live performers has proved invaluable in all later life experiences.

SJ: What kind of technology is having the biggest impact on the way live sound engineers work right now?

BVB: Distributed and Networked Digital Signal Processing (DSP).

SJ: What can attendees expect to learn about in your panel? 

BVB: How is the immersive experience of integrated audio/video/lighting/automation impacting power and data infrastructure in today’s live events.

SJ: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given? 

BVB: “Don’t turn the knob just because it's there.”

SJ: What’s the worst?

BVB: “If it sounded bad, blame it on the gear.”

SJ: What are you most excited to check out at LDI?

BVB: LDI Live Outside is always my favorite event. It presents a very unique opportunity to see and hear different rigs side by side while networking with top industry professionals.  

Sarah Jones is a writer, editor, and content producer with more than 20 years' experience in pro audio, including as editor-in-chief of three leading audio magazines: MixEQ, and Electronic Musician. She is a lifelong musician and committed to arts advocacy and learning, including acting as education chair of the San Francisco chapter of the Recording Academy, where she helps develop event programming that cultivates the careers of Bay Area music makers.