she’s with the band

Not all rock ’n’ roll tales are about screaming fans, gold records and smashed-up guitars. Some of them are about the people who make sure the guitars remain un-smashed, the lighting rigs don’t fall apart, the amps stay standing, no one gets electrocuted too badly, and beautiful noise gets made and heard and experienced and enjoyed. We call them roadies, and even today, around 90 per cent of them are dudes. Female roadies never used to exist at all, until one day in 1973 when they did.

Tana Douglas was a 16-year-old at a popular Sydney gig spot called Whisky a Go Go when she first contemplated a sound desk: what made it work, how it interacted with the guys on stage, what could stuff it up. “It’s my curiosity. I always want to learn more