A Sound Life

By Kelly Holland Vrtis ’97

Chris Fulton leipzigMillions of miles traveled. Years away from home. Countless stories from the road. This is the life of Chris Fulton ’79 over the past 30 years. A sound engineer, Chris has traveled the world with the likes of such musical legends as U2, Michael Jackson, Bette Midler, Fleetwood Mac, Barbara Streisand, .38 Special, and Gloria Estefan.

As a teenager growing up in Connecticut, Chris dreamed of a career in showbiz. He supported his high school’s A/V department and Drama Club, building sets and working lights. At Oglethorpe, he was encouraged by Dr. Vicki Weiss, former English professor and head of the OU Drama department, to become involved with on-campus productions and expand his knowledge of stage and sound. His writing job with The Stormy Petrel gave him a chance to cover concerts and become familiar with Atlanta venues.

Chris accepted odd jobs around the Atlanta clubs, thankful to at least have a foot in the door of the business. His fortunes turned in 1979 when he was hired by a sound rental company in Cherokee Plaza (located behind the now-defunct Great Southeast Music Hall where he worked for a short period of time). It was there that he snagged his first gig touring with an up-and-coming bar band from Athens—known as R.E.M.

“I stayed with R.E.M. for over two years, and went to a lot of places around the world for the first time,” Chris notes. “I would end up going back to a lot of those same cities over the years with different tours.”

In 1987, Chris was hired by his current employer, Clair Global, supplier of the sound systems and crews for most major concert tours and numerous other events that require huge sound systems. These may include anything from the Pope’s recent mass at Yankee Stadium, inaugural events in Washington, D.C., awards shows, and a few Olympic games, to name a few.

“A lot of the time we only see the insides of arenas and football stadiums and work 22 hours a day,” Chris says about being a sound engineer. “Occasionally we get to see and do some pretty interesting things. This last U2 tour went all the way around the world. It was an incredible amount of gear—a logistical challenge to say the least, but the passport is now pretty full, and we got some pretty cool pictures.”

While he is extremely grateful for the opportunity to see so many places and be part of the team that delivers music to fans around the world, Chris quickly points out that his favorite place to travel is home, a log cabin on 25 acres in the woods near Franklin, N.C., where he enjoys spending time doing as little as possible.

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