CAREY LIMBERG • Temporary Kicks Entertainment Voted Best Sound Company

Given that the caliber and purity of any species is defined by its pedigree along with the environment within which it is cultivated, Carey Limberg of Temporary Kicks Entertainment is without doubt a blue-ribbon operation.

As the son of late legendary soundman and musical proprietor Al Limberg, Carey grew up around one of the huge champions of the Mid-Michigan musical community, whose musical instrument and repair shop Watermelon Sugar was a definitive landmark in the Golden Age of Old Town Saginaw in the 1980s & ‘90s.  

With a father who won numerous accolades in the early days of the Review Music Awards for his sound mixing capabilities ever since they started back in 1987, it’s not surprising that Carey has not only followed in his father’s footsteps when it comes to making bands and musicians sound their best; but has also secured five trophies for Best Soundman ever since he started his own company back in January, 2010.

“It goes without saying that my father was a huge influence upon our regional musical community, and being exposed to the art and craft of sound mixing at such a young age helped inspire my interest,” states Carey. 

“I  liked working with my Dad at the time and started helping him out and following him around back when I was 10-years old. Honestly, I’ve always liked music and enjoyed the live aspect of things,so becoming a part of it has been a natural progression for me.”

Specializing in live sound, lighting, staging, backline, limited DJ services, small conferences, and receptions, Temporary Kicks Entertainment does whatever it takes to make events go smoothly. 

When asked what qualities he feels make up a good soundman, Carey immediately references consistency.  “I always try to sell consistency and impress upon clients that sound is a product that needs to remain consistent from one show to the next and one band to the next,” reflects Carey. “If you can have good even sound continuously throughout an event, versus a mixed bag of quality where some things are loud and others inaudible, it creates a better product.”

With the entire field of sound mixing evolving as technology has improved, does Carey have any favorites in terms of equipment and technology?  Does he still work with older products or prefer new equipment and platforms?

“It’s important to stay up to date, for certain,” he responds. “Success in this industry is always a matter of staying ahead of the curve and being up to date on the newest and best things is the way to go in terms of gear. As the industry changes and morphs you’ve got to be willing to embrace different brands and technologies.”

In terms of challenges, Carey says the biggest one is tuning into people and their ability to listen, as opposed to simply hearing what’s coming off the stage. “Many people kind of see this as a physical job because of all the set-up involved. They think once you get the stage and sound equipment set up, all you need to do is get a basic volume set and sit back.”

“But my mind is always running and when I am engineering I am continuously listening and asking what can come up and down in the mix and what needs to change. Attention to detail is very important in this line of work.”

As for his clientele, Carey’s reputation has earned him a solid base of festivals and artists who depend upon him to dial in their sweet spot and assure they sound their best to audiences.   “I’ve staged and mixed the Cheeseburger Festival forever now along with the Nor-East’r festival in Mio annually,” he comments. “Locally, I really like the independent music scene around here.  I’ve enjoyed mixing the Counter Culture shows along with anything that Curtis Dalton has gotten me involved with. Those Indie music shows make you feel like you’re part of an original musical community.” Additionally, Carey has mixed the Review Music Awards on numerous occasions, along with Saginaw OnStage and the Mitten State Music Festival, which is scheduled for November 21stthis year.

With the COVID-19 lockdowns pulling the plug along with the lifeline to numerous venues, festivals, artists, and support personnel such as services that Carey provides, he’s had to navigate a different course over the past 5 months.

“Initially I took time to organize, fix, repair, and maintain all my gear so I’m ready to go when we come around to the other side and things reopen,” he reflects. “Plus I’ve been adding equipment so now I can improve the quality and sound of live-streaming shows that artists have been utilizing to reach their audiences. Additionally, I’m capable of handling Drive-In events where people use their radios instead of a P.A. system as the source of their audio.”

“The hard part with live streaming is figuring out what people value in terms of the quality of the live stream they watch,” he continues. “A lot of large well known artists are doing live-stream concerts for $10, so how a bar band can justify charging a similar price becomes problematic. Live-streaming is a double-edged sword in that sense as the value of everything is depreciated.  It’s cool people and artists can connect in this way, but monetarily its unsustainable.”

“I would definitely like to see more ways to make these alternative methods of getting music out to people somehow formatted in a way where everybody prospers from it, rather than presenting these shows free simply because artists have the time and capabilities of doing it that way. If this is the way the industry is going to be for the next year, it comes to a point one needs to question where it becomes worth doing.”

“I’ve been fortunate to work most recently with Billy Gunther quite a bit and Laurie Middlebrook once in a while; and the Robertson crew has always been good to me, as have the Excellency Music Group with their Indie shows, so as with everybody, I am really looking forward to getting back before live audiences soon.”

To contact Temporary Kicks Entertainment you can call Carey at 989-941-2390 or email him at temporarykicks@gmail.com