The man in charge of the sound at this year’s July Jamz series was none other than Opp’s own Tim Ellison.

Ellison has been working with Life Wave Productions for three years and has helped with July Jamz in the past, but this year he was in charge of everything.

Life Wave Productions is a provider of professional sound reinforcement, event lighting, video display and staging, specializing in festivals, concerts, competitions and special events in the immediate area and across the country.

Ellison said that being able to come home and work is one of the better perks of his job.

“I really enjoy traveling, but it is really refreshing to come back home,” Ellison said. “One thing about July Jamz that I really enjoy is being able to work with all of these local musicians. I am from the same town as Martin McDaniel and his band so being able to work with them and come back to the same place is surreal.”

Ellison said that while he travels, he likes to find out what makes each town he goes to special.

“Andalusia is special in its own way, just like many other towns that I go to,” Ellison said. “So when I go to a different town I always love to meet new people and find out the cultural differences and find out what is important to them.”

Ellison knew that his life was heading toward the music industry after a concert that he went to in high school.

“Towards the end of high school I went to a concert in Birmingham,” Ellison said. “I knew that I wanted to be in the music industry after I caught myself not even watching the concert, but watching the sound guys in the back working on the sound board. In school, nobody ever said I could get paid to go to concerts so once I was there watching I thought to myself, ‘Hey, I bet they’re getting paid.’”

After graduating from Opp High School, Ellison went on to play trumpet in the LBW Community College Ensemble. Ellison said that the ensemble paved his way in having an ear for live performance.

“The ensemble let me have more experience with live performing,” Ellison said. “It also helped me with having the opportunity to go to a show, unpack, set everything up and then pack everything back up after the show.”

Working with Life Wave Productions has given Ellison the opportunity to work with many bands in many cities, but if he had to choose his favorite to work with he said it would be Shenandoah, an American country music group founded in Muscle Shoals, Ala.

“I worked with them at Riverfest in Geneva a while ago,” Ellison said. “I just remember how the band made sure to stay after the concert and talk to fans and sign autographs. They even talked to all of the stage hands after the concert.”

While working at Life Wave Productions, Ellison is also a full time student at Troy University, majoring in music industry.

Ellison’s long term goal is to get on the road with a big tour and work in the front of the house as an audio engineer.

“I want to work with all of the big names in the music industry,” Ellison said. “One of my fantasies is to be the guy that walks in and the band is excited because they know they will sound good that night. I want artists to know my name.”