Prathik has been the FOH for Peter Cat Recording Co, The F16’s and many more premier acts. From revealing what it is actually is that a sound engineer does to talking about working with one of his heroes – Tom Morello, he reveals it all as honestly as possible.
What does a Sound Engineer actually do? Where does your work begin and end during a show?
For people outside the industry, I usually describe a sound engineer as the person responsible for how an event feels sonically, not just how it sounds. My job is to make sure every word, note, and cue reaches the audience clearly, consistently, and with the right emotional impact.
My work actually begins long before the show starts. It starts with understanding the venue, the equipment, and the needs of the performers or speakers. I help plan microphone choices, speaker placement, signal flow, and monitor mixes so that what the audience hears is balanced and what the performers hear on stage helps them give their best performance.
During the show, I’m actively mixing in real time — adjusting levels, EQ, and dynamics, responding to changes on stage, solving problems before the audience notices them, and maintaining clarity from the first soundcheck to the final applause. A big part of the role is anticipation: watching performers, reading the room, and staying a step ahead technically.
My work doesn’t really end until everything is safely powered down, packed, and reviewed. After the show, I often evaluate what worked, what could be improved, and how to make the next performance even smoother.
So, in short, a sound engineer sits at the intersection of technology, acoustics, and performance — making sure the audience doesn’t have to think about the sound at all, because it simply works.
You’re considered one of the country’s most trusted Sound Engineers. Did you grow up wanting to be in music or did this role emerge unexpectedly?
I had no idea I would ever be doing anything in the music. I have my parents to thank for my taste in music cause ever since I was a kid I would be listening to Pink Floyd, Deep Purple, Rainbow, Elton John, Zeppelin, Police, Rush, etc. My musical taste is definitely old school rock n roll meets heavier stuff meets ballads. I started playing a little bit of drums when I was in the 9th grade. I would hang out in the school jam room and mess around while trying to figure paradiddles.
My folks agreed to send me for drum classes and that’s when I slowly started building my love for music. I realized in 2010 there was no real scope to be a full-time musician. It was impossible, you needed a second job.
So that’s when I decided to go and attain enlightenment in the field of sound engineering. Best decision of my life!
What’s the most misunderstood part of being a sound engineer?
The most misunderstood part is that you’re going to be recognized, you’re going to get fame, all of that. But the reality is that you’re pretty much the first person to get in and you’re the last person to leave.
If the band plays well, it’s basically the band that gets the credit. If the band messes up, everybody looks at the sound engineer. It’s the most thankless profession out there.
If people don’t recognize what you’re doing, that means you’re doing a good job at it.
Who are your inspirations?
It’s a mix of both studio engineers and live engineers. I am a studio engineer by degree. I didn’t specialize in studying live sound, but when it does come to live sound, it’s so much more adrenaline pumping.
Anything can go wrong, it’s a different venue every day, your challenges are new. That makes it so much cooler to do and also so much harder to do.
In terms of inspirations, I would say Joe Barresi, engineer for Queens of the Stone Age, Tool.
He’s one of my most favourite engineers out there because his approach is super raw, not over processing, not over producing. It’s so raw that what’s captured at the source of the microphone is basically what you hear most of the time.
What have been your favourite concert moments?
Peter Cat Recording Co. at Red Rocks.
That was surreal because I’ve seen videos of some of my favourite bands in the world play that venue.
An advice you would give to someone who wants to be a sound engineer.
When it comes to relationships with artists, managers… make sure that you don’t make any enemies because it’s a small field. Don’t make enemies because those people are going to get you more work in the future.
Sleep is for the weak in this industry. You get minimum sleep, maximum amount of work. It’s late nights and very early mornings. You’re not going to be around for most of the important events in your life because you’re going to be at a show.
You have to be very confident. The artist is paying you money so that you can give them the best product for their fans. Don’t ever break that trust. Don’t ever undervalue yourself and never agree to do work for free because that indirectly kills this industry that we’re.
Is there a particular artist that stands out and why?
The F-16s!
The F-16s are brothers to me. The first gig I ever did, I got a message from Josh, the frontman, on Facebook saying that, hey, we’re looking for a sound engineer.
I thought it was a prank because I was a fan of the band. Then I realized that, oh, no, it’s not a prank.
I got in touch with them and that’s how I basically started working with The F-16s.
What have been some of the highlights of your career?
Last December, I did the Tom Morello India run, I was his monitor engineer. That was a trip for me because I’ve grown up listening to Rage Against the Machine. I’ve grown up listening to his signature guitar tone, and I got to be part of the crew.
Being able to work with Tom Morello for three shows back-to-back, I got to hang out with Tom Morello, got to hang out with his band. I learnt so much in terms of how the old school guys do it.
