NUEVO, CA — Well-known sound reinforcement and touring professional Gary Vincent Sanguinet passed away on July 1, 2020, of an apparent heart attack while at his ranch. He was 64.
A longtime Southern California resident, Sanguinet’s career in the entertainment industry goes back more than three decades. Over that time, he worked every job in the live audio biz, ranging from local gigs to major tours, including stints as a stagehand, monitor engineer, production manager, front of house mixer, systems engineer, tour manager, crew chief, installer, troubleshooter, software designer and seemingly anything else involving passing audio electrons over a wire.
Sanguinet had a talent for making things not only work — sometimes under difficult conditions — but also sound great. One of his early touring experiences was mixing monitors for new wave rockers The Call in 1989. His many other assignments over the years included mixing monitors for Toto’s 1991 European tour and his talents cut across all musical genres, ranging from working with Oingo Boingo to to Kenny Loggins to The Pacific Jazz Festival. In 2007, he was systems engineer for the Crossroads Guitar Festival and Gwen Stefani’s “The Sweet Escape Tour.” In 2009 he was crew chief for John Legend’s “Evolver World Tour” and was a system engineer with Crosby, Stills & Nash’s tours in 2012 and 2015.
Sanguinet had a long and close association with Sound Image and in 2005, he began focusing on software development for SI’s touring division (among other things), designing custom GUIs for Harman HiQnet systems. Most recently — essentially since 2015 — he put road life aside, instead becoming the house audio tech at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts, a state of the art, 3,000-seat performing arts complex in Costa Mesa, CA.
The reaction to Sanguinet’s passing came quickly from throughout the industry. “We at Sound Image and Dave Shadoan would like to extend our heartfelt condolences to Gary’s wife and family. He was a friend, an exemplary employee, a very brilliant mind and we will miss him for the rest of our days,” said Sound Image owner Dave Shadoan.
JD Brill, now with of Clair Global, added this early remembrance: “It was 1989 and my first experience mixing FOH with Gary mixing monitors. The band was The Call. Our assignment was as a new sound company, and our names were at the end of a long list of engineers they had on what seemed to be a never-ending tour to the backline guys. We should have failed. What happened was one of the most memorable, fun, and successful touring experiences of my lifetime with a tired and cranky band; but with a new friend that started many good times to come. In short, we had a blast and both still remembered it fondly and spoke of it often. It was always Gary’s smile and enthusiasm along with his love of having fun that I will miss, but his spirit will always be something I carry with me and cherish forever.”
Gary Sanguinet is survived by his wife Kathy and was well-liked by his many friends and colleagues in the industry and will be missed by all. No word on a memorial service was available at press time.
Monitor engineer Jon Ostrin shared these words in tribute to Gary Sanquinet:
“The path I’ve walked these past 34 years in live audio has been paved by innovators, mentors, cohorts, and friends. Gary was a teacher and a friend to me. We handled opposite ends of the snake with Toto in 1990, Oingo Boingo a few years later, and countless one offs in between. In 2008, Gary took me out to hang P.A. for a short run, I took over on Mons, I’m still in that seat today, and this gig that came about because of Gary has afforded me the life I never thought possible.
“I have crossed paths with so many of you over the years, Gary not only helped carve that path, but he helped lead me to where I sit today. I am eternally grateful for his generosity and knowledge. Thank you for playing a role in my life.” —Jon Ostrin
Henry Austin, the president of PPA Inc., was impressed with Gary, even from the beginning of his career.
“In the very early 1980’s, Gary approached us about being trained and working in the audio industry. He was very quick at learning basic engineering skills and excelled in areas of complex grounding solutions, system designs and mixing (predominately FOH). He went on to mix many prominent shows including the main stage of the LA Street Scene Festival (covering upwards of 40,000 people), the Queen Mary Jazz Festival and the LA Beach Scene — to name just a few of his noteworthy shows. One of his proudest moments was tuning a system by ear, utilizing a parametric EQ. I recalled marveling at the complex sonic solution as it transferred perfectly with all source inputs, and utilized all five bands.”
Austin added that “Gary was always drawn to technology and showed active interest in understanding audio via our Amber Spectrum analyzer and its associated XY recorder. He brought with him extensive computer technology and set up our original email system when the baud rate was something like 150! Gary was well liked by clients and his fellow crewmembers, and often dealt first-hand with many of our largest corporate accounts, ranging from dozens of high-profile shows and the Orange County Fair. He was also involved with the first prototypes of the Soundtracs consoles and provided valuable input on the design.” — Henry Austin
