Soud Tech
Sound Tech
By Chris Murray
A music scene can be the barometer as to how we measure the cultural climate of a given area. Burlington, like other cities in America, has seen its share of change. Don Queeneville has seen it all. Queenie (Pronounced Kwinny,) as he’s known to musicians and club employees throughout the Burlington area, has been an active participant in the music scene for over 20 years.
“I started out in high school,” the 39-year-old said. “I played bass mostly while at Burlington High. Back then,” he said, “it was mostly guitar rock, bands like Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin, and the Allman Brothers. We basically tried to do long jams.”
After graduation, Queenie began working in a print shop. “I played in four or five bands while working there,” he said. “It was cool because I could work during the day and play all night.”
As with most bands, creative differences surfaced and the musicians parted ways. “Bands always drive me nuts,” the married father of two said. “All the politics of what gets played and the different opinions of what’s good and bad. We were all just learning, just trying to have a good time.”
The experience of playing in bands left a bad taste in Queenie’s mouth.He returned to the print shop. “I got sick of breaking up all the time,” he said. “I sold all my stuff and bought an acoustic guitar. I used to jam in City Hall Park all the time,” he continues, “and one day I met a guy from Maine, Curtis Bates.”
That friendship evolved into an acoustic band performing “anything folkie,” Queenie said. “We played mostly Dylan, America, Neil Young…things in that genre.”
The performance bug once again caught hold of Queenie. “There were clubs up and down Church Street,” he said. “All of them had live rock and roll seven nights a week. Back then,” he continued, “the music was all really trendy. It was all big glam-rock bands going covers.”
Queenie began doing the sound for the bands we was involved with. “I wanted to help out,” he said. Since, as Queenie admitted, he wasn’t “the most technical musician” and he didn't drive, he wanted to be an asset to the bands.
“At this time there were two levels of music: an above ground scene and an underground scene.” The two-tiers let Queenie sample different styles of music. Styles that would change his life.
“I was playing both scenes,” he said. “Above ground I was playing all the covers and underground I was playing punk and reggae while doing the sound.”
“I hooked up with a band called the Runners,” he said. The music was fashioned after the Clash and Bob Marley. “We (The Runners,) along with Pinhead, the Decentz and the Wards really changed the scene,” he said. “We showed everyone that it’s possible to play original music at clubs. Not just covers.”
Unfortunately, history repeats itself, and Queenie again found himself without a band. “This one really hurt,” he said. Suffering from low self-esteem, Queenie sought therapy. “Someone to tell me that things were okay.” During his therapy, Queenie wrote a reggae song he titled “Rasta.” “It really helped release my emotions,” he said.
With the song in hand, Queenie bought an eight-track recording deck. Then he formed a band. “I started a reggae band,” he said, “so I could learn how to use the deck.” The results came two-fold. With the eight-track deck and assistance from his brother-in-law, Queenie opened the Channel Two Recording Studio in South Burlington. Once the studio opened, his band, the Channel Two Dub Band, made a tape which circulated throughout WRUV. “I was in the RUV studio while Dr. Tuna played it (the tape,)” Queenie said. “And Bobby Hackney (of Lambsbread) called. He was wondering who the band was,” he continued, “he couldn’t believe this music was being made in Vermont.”
Queenue and Hackney got to talking. He soon became the sound man for hackney’s Lambsbread. “Everything changed from there,” Queenie said. “I realized I wasn’t making any money playing in bands, and I like all kinds of music, so I decided to do sound for other bands.”
“None of the bands that I was in had their own PA systems,” Queenie said. “They all have their own equipment, but as bands would break up, everyone would take their own stuff. I got the in-house job with (the now defunct) Border,” he continued. “I took a loan out for $15,00 and bought my first system.”
Queenie has become a New England legend through his work with the sound system for Vermont’s annual Reggae Festival. In addition, Queenie’s career has rooted itself right in the dirt of the Burlington music scene through his work at local clubs, as his work with national acts traveling through Burlinton over the years has earned him a reputation far and wide.
“After Border closed,” he said, “I worked in-house for Club Metronome and K.D Churchills. Now I’m with Club Toast. My schedule,” he continued, “has gone from one night to six nights a week.”
Queenie brushed some of his graying dreadlocks aside, lit up a smoke and began to reflect. “I guess my sound has only grown because I know what’s needed,” he said. “I rely on my situation experience. I’ve dealt with all the problems.”
And Queenie has kept all of his equipment. “From the first system that I bought,” he said, “I’ve never gotten rid of anything. It’s all modular,” he continued, “it all fits together. I have back-ups for almost anything.” Queenie estimates with all the equipment he’s amassed, he can cover three different shows in one day.
With the equipment paid off, Quennie has time to pursue his first love, the bass guitar. “Quitting the print shop was a tough decision,” he said. “But when I turned 30 I decided to dedicate my life to music.” And now Queenie has reformed the Channel Two Dub Band, jamming to a packed Club Toast every Wednesday night as the house band.
“When we got the band back together we realized a whole generation had passed through Burlington,” he said. “Everyone’s known me as being quiet and subdued, but now because of the band, I’m smiling and my heart’s ready to explode out of my chest. I just want to develop with the band,” he continued. “Every Wednesday our house gig (at Club Toast) is basically a rehearsal time. But what better way (to rehearse) than when you have a stage, a crowd, and your own sound system.”
For a man who’s seen the best and worst music over the past 20 years, Queenie believes the time is now for Burlington. “I’ve never seen so many good bands,” he said. “You can’t even classify the scene because it’s so diverse.”
“One thing they all have in common,” he said “is that the music is always really loud.”
Chris Murray is a college-educated American Patriot willing to write for food and love, while trying to avoid the American Government