Thursday, Apr. 23, 2009
The Science of Sound
Carleton Whilden, 42, moved to the Grand Strand from Charlotte in 1995, and like so many people who now live here, spent many a summer in Myrtle Beach while he was growing up. “The Grand Strand calls to you,” he says. “It almost feels like home. It’s close to family, and I enjoy living here and really like the area.” He says he is comfortable with all of the growth here as well.
Whilden graduated with a degree in music from Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C., with emphasis on tuba and voice, but he has been a drummer for many years, including his gig as skinsman at Live Oak Church in Myrtle Beach. Early on he took a keen interest in sound.
Whilden says he is the chief cook and bottle washer as co-owner of MC Sound, Light & Video, Inc. in Myrtle Beach. “We sell and install sound, lighting and video equipment to clubs, theaters, churches and restaurants,” he says. “We also rent equipment, whether it’s for a small conference room sound system or projector – to running sound for a wedding or corporate function – all the way up to a big concert PA for several thousand people, like for festivals and those sorts of things.” MC Sound, Light & Video also boasts ample backline gear (instruments, drums, amps, etc) for visiting bands.
Like most local musicians, Whilden also picks up various jobs locally, including running sound jobs at many restaurants and nightclubs in the area. We caught him deftly handling sonic qualities for a local classic rock band at Wild Wing Café at Barefoot Landing.
In business for five years with longtime Gatlin Brothers sound man Mike Cook, Whilden explains his motivation: “All men are little boys at heart. I like playing with the toys – the big sound systems and mixing boards and things like that. They say to find something that you really enjoy doing, and I really love to mix sound. I like helping the artist or band sound like what they are supposed to sound like – making sure they sound the best that they can.”
MC Sound, Light & Video has worked the Conway Rivertown Jazz and Arts Festival, Myrtle Beach Beachfest 2008, the Beach Wagon, 2001 Nightclub and many events in Charleston: Lowcountry Oyster Festival, beach runs and reggae festivals there. Wheldon has worked with the likes of master bass guitarist Steve Bailey of Myrtle Beach and country up-and-comers Zach Brown and James Otto.
Oh yes, and Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor and early Republican contender for the 2008 presidential race. “Huckabee was going to speak in the Wachovia parking lot in Myrtle Beach for a Fair Tax rally [during last year’s Republican debate at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center]. We got a call. They didn’t have much sound equipment to work with. I went over there, and they didn’t even have speaker stands. I said, ‘OK, he’s going to be here in five minutes. You! I need you to hold this speaker and point it this way, and you! I need you to hold up this speaker and point it that way!’” Huckabee was going to speak from the back of a truck, and Whilden was going to make sure he didn’t feed back. “They were able to hear him. It was really cool to be able to do that for a presidential candidate.” Whilden met Huckabee at another Fair Tax event in Columbia recently while he was running sound for a band there and was able to recount that story.
Whilden is gratified to see audiences and artists alike getting into a properly mixed sound, and the occasional happy coincidences along the way. “There was a group playing at the Beach Wagon,” he says. “We knew that some guy in the audience was going to propose to his girlfriend. The band made up a special song. The guy proposed and she accepted. I knew that was going to happen, so I was able to record that moment for them.”
Looking at his schedule and the myriad of tasks inherent in keeping any business afloat, he chuckled when we asked him what he did for fun: “What I don’t do is, ‘hey, let’s go listen to some music.’ It’s like an accountant coming home and doing taxes or a baker wanting to cook supper.” He enjoys spending time with his family [wife, Janet Whilden, and daughters Kathryn, 11, and Caroline, 8]. Every now and then a trip to the beach or time on the Intracoastal Waterway is just what the doctor ordered.
Whilden plans to remain on the Grand Strand and continue to grow the business. “We’ve been very fortunate this year. While some of our sales [and everybody else’s sales] are down, our production side has really picked up.”
While Whilden cites perhaps five percent of his work as glamorous (for want of a better word), reality sneaks up quickly. “You’re loading heavy speakers in the middle of the night and running thousands of feet of cable. It’s a regular job.” He keeps his wits about him. “We’re all straight and sober. I want all of my senses ready to go so that I can jump at a moment’s notice because anything can happen.”
During our conversation, we detected a certain degree of humility: “I’m a sound guy. I like to be in the way back,” he laughs.
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