My name Michael, but people also call me Mike, and the nickname that stuck is Mike-n-Ike. I Graduated 07′ and am working on my AA at MiraCosta College. I currently reside in Oceanside CA, and by trade I’m a LD and SM for a local church.

My passion to capture and help create the wonders in life is what inspires me to learn as many things as I can and too push myself to perform my best. Being able to work with all of the equipment is just a bonus. Early on I learned the impact that our surroundings have on us. Being able to manipulate my surroundings has always been of interest to me. Being able to control what and how people hear music is a wonderful thing to me. The crowd’s response and the energy they create is always inspirational to me. I constantly challenge myself to find and cherish the little things in life.

My story is somewhat short; when I was young the church became my second home. The church is where I started my technical career and where I grew up. There I was trained and mentored and eventually learned most of what I know in the technical field.

I arrived at Vista Assembly at the age of 9. I immediately found myself volunteering in the kids church tech department and slowly worked my way up from there. I was extremely shy as a kid and behind the booth I blended in. But more than that, I found something that was eye-opening to me. I was given a little four channel mixer, a CD player, and a computer connected to a projector. “Epic I know,” but stay with me. It was overly simple but it taught me the fundamentals tech. I did my best to use these tools to make each Sunday go off without a hitch. Eventually I was given to chance to work as the sound tech for the youth program and was given an upgrade to 24 channel Allen and Heath. Then I was given the chance to work on the main Sunday service as a sound tech. In a no time I was running FOH Sunday after Sunday. I would always push myself to understand what tools I had available and how to maximize their potential.

I started as a sound engineer but later I was offered a chance to help with the recently installed lighting. I’m now the churches LD and the experience and knowledge that it gave me led me technical jobs outside the church. I have now worked for other churches, theaters, public education districts, production services and rental, and for various fashion and corporate events. I am truly blessed with the opportunities that I have been an part of and I know that its only the beginning.

Just one of my passions is photography and it is an ever increasing skill that I am trying to master. I have always loved photography and video. It’s not until just recently that I have actually started to acquire equipment and really push myself into the photo/video field. Currently, I am attending MiraCosta College for my AA in Recording Arts. But I am taking a couple of photography classes just to gain some valuable background into photography.

Thanks for visiting my sight,

Michael Gonzales

• Sound reinforcement
• Lighting
• Photography
• Videography
• Stage Practices
• Sound Installs
• Lighting Installs