Stereo Bob

Bob Logan has always been a builder—of sound, bands, and people

You know how some people say they can tell everything they need to know about a person almost immediately? The look in their eyes, their handshake, tone of their voice. Well, I’m usually not one of those people, but in this case I can tell you everything you need to know about Bob Logan by one thing…he and his wife Karlene own pitty-mix rescues.

Case closed. Bob is a good dude. They are good people.

Robert Logan, Bob, aka “Stereo Bob,” is a sound guy…you know, that guy that makes the band sound better than they actually are (side eye emoji, winking emoji). Anyway, yes, Bob is a sound guy and a good guy, a patient guy—which you kind of have to be to work as the sound guy.

This is beginning to sound like I’m dissing bands, I’m not—it’s just that it takes a very unique person to handle three, four, five musicians…an entire horn section (true story) all wanting to hear themselves at a particular level at the same time.

Bob is that guy. He is built that way, or should I say…he built it that way. Wait a minute…a new nickname—Bob the Builder.

Can we fix it? Yes we can. Well, Bob can.

From the time he was 8-years-old…if it has something to do with playing, recording, or mixing music, Bob has built it from scratch—from left-over parts, parts recovered from trash cans, parts scavenged from a transistor radio, parts harvested from an old clock radio. I think you get the idea. If the project was unusually high end, maybe, maybe he’d darken the door of Radio Shack.

Built from scratch…

Entire stereo, check.
Amp, check.
Mixer, check.
Sound board, check.

It was this spirit of ingenuity, creativity, and entrepreneurship that landed Bob his first gig as a sound guy. It literally all started from one piece of stationery that Bob had made as a class project.

“When I was a junior in high school, I had a printing class. We had to make stationery. So, I had a picture of myself in front of a reel to reel and a record player, looking kind of like a DJ or something, you know? It said BOB LOGAN, R and B Specialist (Recording & Bootlegging)—Peach Records, inc. I had a whole pad of those, and I would use them to take notes, and on the first day of my senior year…this kid noticed and said, ‘Hey, I’ve got a band, would you like to record us?’ Sure… so I put together a mixer and started doing sound for his band, and I’ve been recording ever since.”

Whatever it is...

There are some things you just can’t coach or teach—either you have it or you don’t. Bob has it. When it comes to what makes Bob special, it’s exactly the things you can teach that make him a great sound guy (and a good dude).

It helps that Bob has pretty much been around music his entire life at every level of sound, and the key secret ingredient is that he HAS built it and experienced it. Every piece of equipment that Bob uses—every piece of equipment bands rely on to make a good show a great one—Bob understands it inside and out. He’s not just moving sliders on a soundboard…he understands their function, where they came from, and what they do.

As his wife Karlene added, “I think Bob does well 'cause he understands how the equipment works, because he's built it and...he just understands it inside and out.”

Without exaggeration, Bob has just about had his hands on every piece of hardware known to the music industry. His first job out of high school was RCA Records (which in the moment I heard as Columbia House Records—and was like OMG, I think I might owe you money).

Nope. Not Columbia House…

It was RCA Records for 12 years where he had a hand in manufacturing and distributing 8-Track tapes, then LP distribution. So, music laid the foundation for him as a life pursuit, and for his first house, as Bob said, “it (RCA) made okay money, it wasn't real good money, but it was okay money. When I was 21, I bought my house…”

If you see Stereo Bob at a show today, you’ll notice he’s usually working with a hand-held digital pad to run sound. You might though…wait for it…stereotype Bob. Bob is hard to miss at a show, what with his white hair pulled back in a ponytail. If you place him in a generational box—you’d be way wrong. True to his roots, Bob is an innovator, a life-long learner, and knows his craft.

To be honest, I came from the angle thinking he might prefer analog equipment.

Wrong.

From his perspective, “They're about the same, and you just gotta get used to doing it that way. I still have a big analog board…a couple of them in the garage (Karlene says 3 or 4). I just haven't used them in 10 or 12 years. I bought the digital board and I really like it.”

In explaining how it all worked, Bob gently turned the tables on who might be digitally challenged…

“There's a rack unit that goes with it. Okay. That is the actual mixing board. It's got all the input and output jacks on the back of it, but it connects to a router, and it connects to the tablet. Yeah, it’s got a wireless connection from the router to the tablet.”

Router? The only thing I know about routers is mine is usually flashing red at home.

Currently Bob works with five or so bands in the area—"Yeah, we go all over central Indiana. We've been to Terre Haute, Fort Wayne…Bloomington. We're going to Bloomington in two weeks with the Chumps.” He’s always worked all over central Indiana from bands few know to household Indiana names, and everyone in between.

He ran monitors for Bad Company. He’s run sound for Dane Clark (drummer for John Mellencamp’s band)…heck, he’s run sound for John Mellencamp. And I’m not sure on this one which came first the chicken or the egg, but Bob shared a story about a New Year’s Eve gig encounter…

Karlene chimed in… “They told us we had to dress formal.”

Bob: “So I was wearing my flannel shirt” …

“Anyway,” Bob continued, “I was wheeling my dolly, you know, stacks of equipment, just bringing stuff in, and I look over. I've seen this guy walk in. I looked at him like, I should know who that guy is. I couldn't think of it, and he walked straight right up to me and shook my hand and goes, ‘Hi, I'm John Mellencamp.’ My mouth opened, and I'm thinking, damn it is.”

One thing I quickly learned is that Bob really isn’t a name dropper…that was simply a true story that happened because he’s good at what he does and loves what he does. In a sports world the analogy they say it’s not the name on the back of the jersey that’s important, it’s the name on the front. In Bob’s case, the name on the front is “sound.” That’s the important part.

He has always been, and still is, busy running sound for regional and local bands who he loves to work with.

He ran sound for the Don Stuck Band. He often runs sound for the Straight Up Chumps (which is how I met him), Mississippi Raglips and the River Dogs, and The Chaser Band. I asked Bob why these bands continue to invite him back and want to work with him. He mused, “I guess they like good sound.” Fair enough, but anyone who knows Bob knows there is far more to it than that.

There is more to sound than music…bands want to work with him…

James Jay, the drummer for Straight Up Chumps put it this way: “Even when Bob didn't bring his own equipment he would stay and help with loading out. Example: Last fall we played a company holiday party and the lodge would have charged them more if we didn't get all the band equipment out before closing time. Bob was just there to turn knobs or operate the iPad. He made sure we got everything out in time so there was no upcharge. His wife is also a great teammate. She brings baked goods and enjoys the music.”

Don Stuck put it this way: “Stereo Bob is one of the coolest cats you’ll ever meet! Bob ran sound for me and The Don Stuck Band off and on for many years and there’s not a better, more chill sound man to work with. Bob and his wife, Karleen, are salt of the earth people who you could always count on.”

Jay and Stuck allude to the secret sauce…it’s more than turning knobs and pushing sliders, it’s relationships…partnerships.

Where there is Bob, there is Karlene. I insinuated to him that this work seems more like a partnership.

“Oh, yeah, yeah, she’s my crew.”

“I'm the roadie.”

But before you have that dreamy…oh isn’t that romantic reaction…it’s a little more pragmatic than tender moment…

“Yeah. We go home a lot earlier if she helps tear down” ...

“I used to just sit and watch, but then I learned how to do it so that we can go home sooner” ...

Truly though, it has been a partnership of mutual help, respect, and life’s work together. I wanted to know from Karlene’s perspective what has it been like to be married to a guy who is in demand, and always on the go?

“It's taken me a lot of places that I wouldn't have got to go, and I met a lot of people I wouldn't get to meet.”

Why do you all do it…what keeps you doing it?

“We like it. We love it.”

“Yeah I just love it, it's what I do. I enjoy doing it…It’s all good, pretty cool.”

I think it’s safe to say Stereo Bob and Karlene have left an indelible imprint on the bands, people, and venues they have worked with. Investing in people always yields the highest returns.

Is Bob good at being a sound guy? Yes.

But, to his roots, Bob is a builder…Bob has the innate capacity to see the potential of the whole from the parts, whether it is mixers, bands, or people.

Rock on Stereo Bob!