Jason Sikora, sound engineer for the Discover Lafayette podcast, spoke with Jan Swift about his career in the music industry. Jason Sikora calls his time on the road as his “lost years from 2004 to 2006.” Sikora, a Michigan native who serves as sound engineer for the Discover Lafayette podcast, recalled his time working as a touring guitar tech for concerts and productions in those years, working with greats such as Lisa Marie Presley, Britney Spears, The Goo Goo Dolls and others.
Sikora, now a technology specialist with RADER Solutions, talked about his time on the road and how he landed in Lafayette with Jan Swift. You can listen to . “The work ethic is very different when you’re on the road,” Sikora said.
“You’re not allowed to be sick. The show must go on. If there is a half-million-dollar guarantee and there are 10,000 people out there, your rig has to work.
There was always a doctor out there with water, vitamins and oxygen. You have to do the show.” Sikora, who began playing the guitar in the sixth grade, landed in Hollywood to attend the Musicians Institute, which taught students skills to make a sustainable career in the music industry.
It was there he connected with Michael Lockwood, who hired him to be a touring guitar tech for Aimee Mann. He performed sound checks and restrung guitars. Among his late projects was working on the album that accompanied the 2003 mockumentary A Mighty Wind.
Sikora landed in Lafayette in 2010 after meeting Lafayette nat.