Mike Hall
Head of Musical Instrument Tech Department
Blue Man Group
Las Vegas, NV USA
“Nothing ventured, nothing gained. You have to be willing to put yourself out there because if you never ask, you’ll never know.”
Videos
By Roadtrip NationMike Hall
Milestones
My road in life took a while to figure out.
Born and raised in Las Vegas, NV.
His father was a musician, so he grew up surrounded by musical instruments and bands practicing.
As a teenager, he became more serious about pursuing a career in music—even though his father supported him, he encouraged him to gain other skills so he would have a back-up plan.
While trying to get his band started, he struggled financially and admits that he worked a lot of odd jobs trying to make enough money to afford guitar strings and gas to get himself to gigs.
Since he didn’t have any money, whenever he needed an instrument fixed, he would offer to clean the repair shops as payment.
Over time, he was offered an opportunity to apprentice and learn how to repair instruments—became a professional luthier for almost a decade.
When the Blue Man Group first came to Las Vegas, their guitar tech started bringing instruments to him to fix—this led to his current position as the Head of the Musical Instrument Tech Department.
Says that even though his dream of becoming a rock star didn’t work out, where he ended up is better than he could have ever imagined.
Keep following my journey
Education
High School
Career
Head of Musical Instrument Tech Department
I maintain, tune, and build all instruments in the Las Vegas production of Blue Man Group.
Career Roadmap
My work combines:
My work combines:
Music
Entrepreneurship
Accomplishing Goals
Day to Day
My typical day involves music, instruments, vintage amplifiers, drums, drums, and more drums. I spend some time scheduling crew, purchasing consumables, maintaining vendor relations, coordinating with other departments, and generally supporting the instrument side of the production. I don't get as hands-on as I once did but am still actively involved with the instrument tech side of things. I mainly oversee my very talented crew of techs and make sure that shows happen every night.
Advice for Getting Started
Here's the first step for everyone
Be conscious of how you represent yourself and always live up to what you say you are going to do. Your reputation definitely proceeds you. If you build good relationships, that opens doors and they continue to open as you move along your path.
Hurdles
The Noise I Shed
From Parents:
"Are you really sure you want to pursue music?"
Challenges I Overcame
Financial
Interviewed By
Skill Powered
Finding rewarding work without a four-year degree
