Jackson County Fair sound man Garon Wells has traveled the world designing sound for big-name performers. (Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli)

On a floating office dubbed the "Aquatic Command Center," Garon Wells can rock with some satisfaction to the wall of sound pounding out of the Lithia Amphitheater.

"Welcome aboard," says the 38-year-old Applegate resident, as visitors venturing to his houseboat negotiate a narrow, wobbly gangplank that threatens to give way into a pond behind the stage. "This is my home."

As the sound man at the Jackson County Fairgrounds and Expo Park during fair week, Wells sleeps in his small houseboat at night after 17-hour days trying to keep 124 speakers throbbing with 70,000 watts of power.

This is the first time Wells has made use of the houseboat in a business that takes him to such far-flung locations as Europe and India.

The owner of Garon Lee Sound, Wells and his eight-man crew meticulously pore over every aspect of sound, connecting up to 25 miles of wire to their $500,000 worth of equipment, while shaking their heads over an annoying echo off the back wall of the amphitheater.

He contracts with Oregon Stage Lighting for the 150,000 watts of illumination that will provide the flash for bands such as Smash Mouth, which performs tonight.

After fiddling with dials, finding wires that have been installed incorrectly, fine-tuning all the controls, then readjusting everything again once the performers arrive, Wells says he and his technicians have a saying that deflates their obsessive behavior:

"Is the drunk guy in the front row really going to notice?" he says with a wry smile.

Expo Director Chris Borovansky says that before he selected Wells for the $33,000 contract, Wells was pitted against another sound company in a so-called "blind tasting" among Expo officials.

"There wasn't any question who had the better sound," Borovansky says.

As to that annoying echo from the back wall, Borovansky remembers performer Steve Miller last year saying he was "wanting to beat the architect over the head with a guitar."

As it turns out, the echo goes away when the audience fills up the amphitheater.

Wells isn't the only one using a houseboat, or making use of the pond for an afternoon swim or a little fishing. Some of the artists relax in other houseboats floating on the pond before their concerts.

"We've got water out there," says Borovansky. "We've got to take advantage of that."

Borovansky says he had worked with Wells on other community projects in the past and has watched him build up his business over the years. "He stepped up and donated things," he remembers. "He's just a great community member."

A little surprised when Wells asked to bid on the fair job last year, Borovansky says the sound company has more than lived up to expectations.

"He knows enough that when a major producer comes in they have confidence in the guy," he says.

Wells says that with a facility like the new amphitheater, mediocre sound just won't cut it.

"You can't just get the local radiator guy to put in a sound system for a few bucks and some beer," he says.

A sound man since he was 15, Wells has bumped into all the big names in the music business.

As the owner of his own business, he says, "I used to be the floor sweeper, driver and sound guy — a jack of all trades."

Now married with three children, Wells is less enthralled with the traveling and is more than happy to be a leader, delegating to other members of his team.

Even though he puts in long days, Wells says, "A lot of it is hurry up and wait." Waiting for performers, waiting for producers. "It's organized chaos."

Dealing with the egos of big-name performers used to intimidate Wells, but not anymore, he says.

"If someone's nice to me, I'll be your best friend all day long," he says. "If someone's not nice, I'll be their enemy all day long."

He's also got a few tricks up his sleeve to deal with prima donna performers.

A lead singer might want the volume pumped up, but Wells says he often can't because the sound is already approaching levels risking feedback.

He and his crew instead turn the volume down on the instruments so that it appears the sound levels are higher for the singer.

Wells is often baffled by performers who don't like performing. "Some of these guys are so miserable — just quit," he says.

Huge egos abound in the music business, Wells says, making life difficult for the support crews, but he says he just pushes back. "It's, like, what's your problem?" he says.

And while he appreciates the musical abilities of performers, he says, "Yes there's talent, but it's overrated." Musicians get up and perform the same tunes night after night, backed up by huge sound systems, he says.

But what about the glamour? "Try living in a tour bus for two months," Wells says.

Reach reporter Damian Mann at 776-4476 or dmann@mailtribune.com.