Black Box Podcast

Hosted by Lee Fields, Stephen “Shep” Shepherd, Tyler Kerpsack, and Brad Bramer, the BlackBox Podcast is unfiltered conversation for church production teams, worship leaders, AVL directors, and creative pastors who actually carry the weight of Sunday.

This isn’t theory. It’s field-tested leadership, live audio philosophy, system design, and the stuff nobody talks about but everyone feels.

In this episode we dig into:

• DAW vs. Console Mixing — What actually matters? Where plugins help, where they hurt, and why great gain structure still beats everything.
• Leaders Who Do vs. Leaders Who Don’t — When to get your hands dirty, when to step back, and how ego quietly wrecks teams.
• Weight Loss, Health & Production Life — What long Sundays, stress, and tech ministry do to your body — and how to lead sustainably.
• Nervousness in Production — Why anxiety shows up in high-stakes services and how to handle pressure without spiraling.
• Target Curves & Why You Shouldn’t Worship Them — The truth about measurement mics, system tuning, and why your room isn’t a spreadsheet.
• New BlackBox Offerings for Churches — On-sites, audits, coaching, long-term partnerships, and how we help churches solve production problems before they cost them money.

If you’re a church audio engineer, production director, worship leader, or executive pastor trying to build healthy systems, stronger teams, and better Sundays — this podcast is built for you.

BlackBox exists to help churches design better systems, build stronger teams, and solve problems before they ruin momentum.

Subscribe, share with your team, and let’s build something that actually lasts.

In this episode, Lee Fields, Tyler Kerpsack, Shep, and Brad Bramer are back together talking through the realities of church production during the Christmas season.

The conversation covers what it really looks like to lead production teams at scale during the busiest time of the year — from church staffing models and production budgets, to caring for volunteers, working with contractors, and making smart decisions around gear and resources. The group also reflects on Christmas gifts for church production teams, how to show appreciation without blowing budgets, and where leaders often feel the most pressure during holiday weekends.

If you serve in church production, audio, lighting, video, broadcast, or technical leadership, this episode offers honest perspective, practical insight, and shared experience from leaders navigating Christmas in real time.

Follow along, share with your team, and subscribe for more conversations around church production leadership, staffing, budgets, volunteers, and worship technology.

In this episode, Lee Fields, Tyler Kerpsack, Shep, and Brad Bramer are back together talking all things church production, worship technology, and creative leadership.

The conversation dives into creating production content that actually serves the local church, the platforms and channels currently inspiring us, and what it looks like to build meaningful voice and credibility in the church production space. Lee shares more about the launch of his new audio-focused podcast, and the group unpacks practical thoughts around designing and building worship centers, production systems, and the realities of leading technical teams in churches of all sizes.

Whether you serve in audio, lighting, video, broadcast, systems design, or production leadership, this episode offers honest conversation, real experience, and perspective from leaders actively shaping the future of church tech and worship production.

Follow along, share with your team, and subscribe for more conversations around church production, AVL systems, worship environments, and leadership behind the scenes.

In this episode, Lee Fields, Shep, Brad Bramer, and Tyler Kerpsack break down the real-world challenges production leaders face today.

We hit highlights from the ChurchFront Conference — smarter front light, LED strategy that actually serves the room, and the camera white-balance decisions that separate amateur from pro.

Shep unpacks his experience running the Charlie Kirk memorial, offering a masterclass in pressure, pacing, and leading teams through high-stakes moments.

We also dig into team dynamics, navigating ideological differences, and how strong production teams stay aligned when the room gets complicated.

And we close with a tactical deep dive on running a flawless line check — stage flow, communication order, FOH/MON/Broadcast confirmation, and the systems that remove 90% of rehearsal-day chaos.

Short, sharp, and built for people leading production at a high level.

Season 2 of the BlackBox Podcast kicks off with Brad Bramer, Tyler Kerpsack, Shep, and Lee Fields back at the table — equal parts hilarious, honest, and technically nerdy. From Lee’s wedding weekend to Shep’s restaurant reviews, this one covers everything from life updates to leadership lessons learned the hard way.

They dive into summer projects, monitor mixes, Lauten’s new kick mic, time management in the chaos of production season, and how to balance creative drive with actual rest. If you live anywhere between the world of church production and live events, you’ll feel right at home here.

Topics include:

The truth about Lee’s wedding (and who cried first)

Why the Lauten kick mic might be a game-changer

How to keep your head above water during project season

Tyler’s new dad stories and Shep’s brutally honest food reviews

Practical talk on managing time, teams, and creative energy