BUTLER TWP — When it comes to audio, Steve Graham has done it all so people can hear it all.

“I played the trombone and trumpet in college,” Graham, 54, said. “That was the prehistoric days, when we had to make our own speaker boxes.”

A 1976 Butler High School and 1978 Butler County Community College graduate who still lives in Butler, Graham has turned working with sound into a productive career for himself through many avenues.

He has run his own business, Graham Audio Services in Pittsburgh, since 1986.

He has been a musician and performer — at times with famous recording artists — for years.

He has served as headset supervisor for the Pittsburgh Steelers' home games since 2008.

He has been a freelance audio engineer since 2008, providing audio mixing and recordings for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Children's Hospital Telethon and Stanley Cup playoff games, among other events.

“Most of it has been through word of mouth,” Graham said of his growth in the industry. “I meet one guy at a gig, there's 100 people that he knows, and the networking begins.

“I've simply been able to build relationships.”

Graham was 19 when he played in his first band. He set up a recording studio in his house in 1984 and his audio work expanded from there.

A trombonist/keyboardist and arranger, Graham has performed with Wild Cherry, Donnie Iris, The Temptations, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, Connie Francis, Little Anthony and Peter Noone, among numerous others.

“A lot of the bigger groups will hire local talent to round out their band when they come to town,” Graham said. “Again, it comes down to word of mouth and networking.

“When you show you can learn the music and have the ability to work in harmony with others, the word gets out and people call you.”

Graham has done a number of shows with groups while getting no rehearsal time.

“You have to have a good ear and know how to be a team player,” he admitted. “It can be challenging being one of three or four people who have to sound like one.

“I had two weeks of heads-up before playing with Billy Price one time, we did 30 songs, no rehearsal, and we had to play all night. I had listened to all of the songs beforehand to get a feel for everything.

“Billy sent me a nice note afterward, applauding me for doing my homework ... That meant a lot,” Graham added.

Graham plays trombone and is the leader of The Jazz Conspiracy Big Band, a group that's been together since last year.

“It's big band music geared toward dancing,” he said. “I try to practice twice a day, if I can. We usually play somewhere locally on Sunday nights.”

Graham once had a tumor removed from his jaw and wondered for a while if he would ever be capable of playing the trombone again.

He has played plenty of gigs since then.

“The way that worked out, I felt like I got a second chance,” he said. “I keep trying to play. I still want to play.”

Graham's duties at Steelers home games include programming the home and visiting team's coach-to-coach and coach-to-quarterback wireless intercom communications.

He supervises four game-day employees and maintains the equipment.

“I'm mainly there for technical support in case something goes wrong,” he said. “The connections from the booth and on the field, I'm involved in.

“The defensive captain gets a wireless helmet as does the quarterback. There are different ways to set up the communications and teams want it done differently.”

He pointed out that Steelers defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau does not do wireless communication with his defensive captain. Linebacker coach Keith Butler does.

“All of that stuff varies by team,” Graham said.

Graham also has a wire back-up system in place in case the wireless set-ups experience glitches.

“Snafus happen and you have to be ready to adjust,” he said.

Among bands Graham has served as sound engineer for are Dave Mason, Jefferson Starship and Pure Prairie League. He was master control engineer for the G8 Summit in 2012 at Camp David, Md.

He has been the audio assistance person during Stanley Cup playoff games in Pittsburgh.

“That can get a little crazy because of all the split feeds,” Graham said. “There's five or six TV trucks outside, eight to 10 mikes taped to the glass ... It gets complicated.”

Graham recalled one of the first hockey games he did. He was setting up the audio inside the Pittsburgh Penguins locker room and was confronted by veteran Pens winger Bill Guerin.

“He told me to get off the Penguin,” Graham said, smiling. “I was standing on the Penguin logo. I guess that's something that's not done.”

Not all of Graham's work is done locally. He's traveled as far away as Hawaii for “sound gigs,” he said.

Graham says he makes a living trying to do a good job at things he is good at — which is sound and making it work.

“Things I can't do well, I don't do,” he said, laughing. “That's why I try not to play golf.

“I never would have guessed that dabbling in the audio world would have done for me what it has. I feel like I'm lucky, but I've worked at it, too.”