Like most live sound providers back then, Event Tech was a young upstart company run by feisty guys with strong backs and good ears. Even early on, Maynard understood the importance of having the best sound system available.
“Our relationship to Community goes back to the late 1980’s,” Maynard recounts. “We wanted to put together a system that could handle a full-spectrum concert – not an easy thing in those days. I knew Bruce Howze, and had heard he was developing a trapezoidal box, which sounded like exactly what we were looking for. We got on the phone, and Bruce was just finishing the first prototypes for what would become the RS880 three-way system. He loaded them into a van and drove down from Philly with four of them, which we tried out with a regional band we were working with. It was really exactly what we were looking for. We ended up buying some of the first production models.”
Maynard provided Howze with valuable input during the development of the RS880, as well as the VBS415 subwoofer, two of Community’s most enduring and legendary lines. “Bruce was always great about accepting feedback from us on his designs,” Maynard explains. “Back then, the big manufacturers were focused on the cinema sound market, and it was tough to get them to pay much attention to a bunch of live sound people. But with Bruce and the guys at Community, we always felt like they were on the same page with us, and really understood our needs.”
Hanover, MD-based Event Tech has spent the past quarter-century building an enviable reputation as a leading concert and live event provider in the Baltimore and Washington, D.C. area, covering everything from concerts and conventions to commencements and special events. “The past few years in particular have been very busy,” remarks Mike Aug, Event Tech’s VP of Sales and Marketing. “We’ve been doing more shows and adding more gear.”
One of the acquisitions they’re most happy with is their arsenal of Community TLF218, a dual 18-inch subwoofer that delivers solid bass down to 40 Hz. “We were in the market for a flyable subwoofer, and really hadn’t found the right box that had the power and output we wanted to hear,” says Aug. “When we heard the TLF, that was all we needed. We were totally impressed with the output and the sonic quality. It’s by far one of the best subwoofers out there.”
Maynard recounts an event shortly after they purchased the TLF subs that convinced them they’d made the right decision. “We were doing a concert at the University of Maryland by The Roots, a well-known hip hop/funk band from Philly,” he recalls. “The flown array included 16 TLF218 double 18-inch subs. A few minutes after they started their set, the lights in the scoreboard shattered, raining glass on four or five rows of the audience. It turned out the scoreboard just wasn’t built to withstand the heavy beats coming from the subs, and it had loosened the fixtures. No one was hurt, but it certainly made a statement about the TLF’s.”
The company celebrated their 25th anniversary this year, busier than ever, and with a full roster of events already planned for the coming year they have no plans to slow down. “We’re fortunate to have customers who appreciate our high level of quality,” says Aug. “As long as the phone keeps ringing, we’ll keep doing what we do best.”
