D.V. “Dave” Hakes II, that’s me, started in the A/V Business (show business) at the age of 16 (1985) as a reel-to-reel “pancake platter” projectionist for United Artist Theatres, in Southern California. At the time there were only four of us in the entire area, which encompassed L.A., Long Beach, Orange, and San Diego Counties. Basically the other projectionists and myself had to do the upkeep and repair on all of the theatre projectors for this vast area - it was a busy job, and a great experience (it got me hooked on the business) - my main area was North San Diego and Western Orange County (if there was a “special event” we all had to be there no matter where it was). It was a nice area simply because we got to do a lot of screenings for cast & crew of different movies, pilots for T.V. shows, and, of course, the “ever important” movie premiere. I did this until 1987 - at that time, I went into the military…

I got out of “active” duty in 1993, began freelancing almost immediately in Maui (thanks to my cousin Mark Lowell), then moved to the mainland in September of that year to go to school…

I started DeltaV Technology in Monterey, California, in September 1995. DVT started out as an “umbrella” for both A/V Freelancing and my Network Security business which slowly started to encompass the entire spectrum of Computer & Network planning, creation, installation, configuration, and repair…

In 1997, I took another of my businesses (Primalnet) and “brought it over” to DVT - this business was the planning, creation, hosting & online advertising of websites…

In May of 1999, I came back to Maui for good - bringing DVT with me. It didn’t take long to discover that the A/V side of DVT would be the better side of things. Almost immediately, my cousin (Mark) hooked me up with Greg Hoover and Doug Paulson (they were both with AVHQ at the time). Up to this point (from 1985-1987 & 1993-1999), I had a lot of Graphics Operator & (film, slide, digital) Projectionist under my belt with a little Rigging, Lighting, and Audio to top it off. Greg and Doug were the perfect hook up for me - they both believed that the more I knew, the less they would have to do. The coolest thing about working with these two guys was that I got to learn the business side of things on Maui: the venues here on the island, the equipment here on the island, and the freelancers here on the island. All I had to do was come to work and be a sponge - all the information was there. They shoved so much information down my throat, and kept me so busy that by the end of the year (1999) I decided not to take on any new clients for Web Work or Computer & Networking. I was slammed with A/V work - and totally loving it…

As I said above, I had been freelancing A/V since getting out of the Navy in 1993, and simply could not stop. No matter how busy I got with school, or my “other” business, I would drop everything (except school) and take time off for the “A/V Busy Season”. The A/V world is either something you love or hate. I love it. I love being the “Go-To-Guy” for stuff. I love getting to work at 07:00 not having a clue of what the day entails, setting up the show, working the show, striking the show, going home just long enough to take a shower, getting to the next show site in just enough time to sleep an hour or two under the bleachers, and starting it all again. Sad but true. I love it…

Luckily, I met someone else who loves it as much as I do, and married her. I met my wife on a show at the Grand Wailea, on St. Patrick’s day, in 2001. I was in the back switching video, and she was running spot light. We worked together for a few months, went out for a few months, and got married. She is now a Work-At-Home-Mom (WAHM), and the busiest person I know (you can check out her website at yinia.com). We have a full house with three kids, two cats, and a very cool, loveable, Pit Bull. For those of you in the business, and familiar with the local A/V talent, her uncle is Harry Sawyer - the rigger in Oahu - so, as you can see, it is in her blood…

On September 11th, 2001, as I watched the Twin Towers come down on CNN, both my (soon-to-be) wife and I were booked solid for about 6 months. 24 hours later, every show on the island had been canceled. We were married November 1st, 2001. By that date, there was absolutely no work here on the island, so I started looking into going back into the military…

Anyway, right around the day of our marriage, I worked a gig at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center and Rusty found out I knew computers (B.S. in Computer Science & Technology from CSUMB). A few days later he called me in to fix a few, and offered me a job the next day. My wife and I really wanted to stay on the island, so we took the job (if not for that job offer, by mid-December we were on our way to South Carolina for my processing back into the military)…

I started at the MACC as both the “System Administrator” & the “A/V Utility Guy” - I was suppose to split my time between both jobs equally. Within a few months, the requirements for System Administrator absorbed my A/V time. I tried to get on the shows anyway, but that just killed me. After a 40-60 hour week as the SysAdmin, I would do another 20-40 as Ute (Ute is short for A/V Utility Guy, a.k.a. “A-Boy”) - I was working 60-100 hours a week…

By summer 2003, something had to change (keep in mind that I was a salaried employee - not hourly), we determined that I was needed more as the SysAdmin, so I did no shows for a while and just concentrated on the SysAdmin side. I couldn’t do it - I love A/V work too much…

Anyway, to make a long story short, business started coming back to the island in September of 2003. At that time, I bought a few laptops, and monitors, for rentals - and started freelancing on the side. October 1st, I turned in my resignation at the MACC, my last day was to be December 31st, 2003. I stayed until replaced, which made my last official day at the MACC March 15th, 2004…

Since I started freelancing again, most of my time has been spent working with PSAV, Rhema Services, Staging Solutions, and the MACC:

• For PSAV, I spend most of my time working on the South Side of the island (mostly The Grand Wailea, and The Four Seasons), but I do spend a fair amount of time on the west side (mostly The Ritz, The Westin, and The Hyatt). I do everything with PSAV (Rigging, Lighting, Audio, Video, Graphics, Computer Rentals, etc…), but I’m usually called in as a Video Engineer or Graphics Op. More often than not, I am PSAV’s “Single-Op-Man” - meaning, when they need just one guy to Op the show (Audio, Lighting, Graphics, and Video) they call me…
• For Rhema Services, I’ve done a lot of Stage Hand work, as well as being a General Audio Guy for the mid-to-large concerts - now that I’m doing so much video, I’m really just doing a lot of Sets & Strikes with them…
• For Staging Solutions, I’m usually the “Video Utility Guy” which means I really just jump in and go for it. My show position with them is usually Handheld Camera Operator…
• At the MACC, I kinda do the same thing I do for PSAV - whatever position is needed, I fill. Aside from what I do in the Castle Theatre and A&B Amphitheater, I am usually the guy the MACC calls in to be the “Single-Op-Man” for the McCoy Studio Theater gigs…

I do work with many other people and at many more venues, but the guys above are about 80% of my income and keep me extremely busy… Most of my time, as far as show positions go, is taken up as Handheld Cameraman, Graphics Operator, Video Engineer, Stationary Cameraman, General Audio Guy, Projectionist, Tape Operator, and Spolight Operator (in that order)…

For load-in and load-out, I just let everyone argue over where they want me. Just kidding. If I have a choice, I like to unload the truck (I’m built for it), fork whatever needs to be forked, rig whatever needs to be rigged, and jump on a show position. When the show is ready for strike, just reverse the order of that last sentence… I really “fell” into Technical Directing & Project Management (although it seems to be the next step in the evolution of DVT). After working with the same clients every year, Greg moving to the big Island, and Doug started travelling so much, the clients simply started calling me to TD their shows. I have a pretty broad background in all the technical aspects of the business; I know all the venues on Maui like the back of my hand; I know who has what equipment; I know the best person\s for specific jobs; I know where to find just about anything…

Whatever you need - call me. If I can’t do it, I know who can. If I don’t have it, I know who does. You know where I’m going with this…

Talk to you soon!