Dan Healy (soundman)
Encyclopedia
Dan Healy is an audio engineer
most famous for his work with the American rock band the Grateful Dead
. He succeeded Owsley "Bear" Stanley
as the group's chief sound man. A favorite amongst Deadhead
s for many years, he was the first to introduce legal bootlegging of live concert recordings via a tapers section at Grateful Dead concerts, where Healy would sometimes provide direct output from the soundboard for the tapers to directly patch into their recorders.
He was a pioneer in rock sound system
innovation, and helped Bear design the Dead's "Wall of Sound
" concert sound system. He also perfected the ultra-matrix soundboard setup which was used by the Dead from 1986 through 1990. Some fans and collector's of the band's live recordings deem this setup to be the band's best-sounding, and most practical.
Healy has also undertaken record production
duties on occasion, perhaps most notably for the 1960s
San Francisco bay area
psychedelic
band The Charlatans
, on their eponymously titled debut album.
Audio engineering
An audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
most famous for his work with the American rock band the Grateful Dead
Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band was known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, country, improvisational jazz, psychedelia, and space rock, and for live performances of long...
. He succeeded Owsley "Bear" Stanley
Owsley Stanley
Owsley Stanley also known as Bear, was an essential and transitional personality in the development of the San Francisco Bay counter-culture. Spanning the Beat-era years of Ken Kesey's Merry Pranksters scenes, he was equally pivotal to the explosion of 1960's Psychedelia culture...
as the group's chief sound man. A favorite amongst Deadhead
Deadhead
Deadhead or Dead Head is a name given to fans of the American jam band, the Grateful Dead. In the 1970s, a number of fans began travelling to see the band in as many shows or festival venues as they could. With large numbers of people thus attending strings of shows, a community developed...
s for many years, he was the first to introduce legal bootlegging of live concert recordings via a tapers section at Grateful Dead concerts, where Healy would sometimes provide direct output from the soundboard for the tapers to directly patch into their recorders.
He was a pioneer in rock sound system
Sound reinforcement system
A sound reinforcement system is the combination of microphones, signal processors, amplifiers, and loudspeakers that makes live or pre-recorded sounds louder and may also distribute those sounds to a larger or more distant audience...
innovation, and helped Bear design the Dead's "Wall of Sound
Wall of Sound (Grateful Dead)
The Wall of Sound was an enormous public address system designed specifically for the Grateful Dead's live performances by audio engineer Owsley "Bear" Stanley. Used in 1974, the Wall of Sound fulfilled the band's desire for a distortion-free sound system that could also serve as its own monitoring...
" concert sound system. He also perfected the ultra-matrix soundboard setup which was used by the Dead from 1986 through 1990. Some fans and collector's of the band's live recordings deem this setup to be the band's best-sounding, and most practical.
Healy has also undertaken record production
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
duties on occasion, perhaps most notably for the 1960s
1960s
The 1960s was the decade that started on January 1, 1960, and ended on December 31, 1969. It was the seventh decade of the 20th century.The 1960s term also refers to an era more often called The Sixties, denoting the complex of inter-related cultural and political trends across the globe...
San Francisco bay area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
psychedelic
Psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock is a style of rock music that is inspired or influenced by psychedelic culture and attempts to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues rock bands in United States and the United Kingdom...
band The Charlatans
The Charlatans (U.S. band)
The Charlatans were an influential psychedelic rock band that played a role in the development of the San Francisco music scene during the 1960s and are often cited by critics as being the first group to play in the style that became known as the San Francisco Sound...
, on their eponymously titled debut album.
External links
- Dan Healy, "Speaker of the House" - Interview, October 1992. From Dozin.com.