Where the Platinum name began
But the Platinum name didn’t start with a sound company.
It started more than 25 years ago with Mike’s father, Dr. Michael Panethiere, founder and longtime leader of Kansas City’s Platinum Express.
Music has been part of the Panethiere family for generations. Mike’s father began playing music as a child and went on to study at Kansas City’s Charlie Parker Academy under Blues and R&B guitarists Sonny Kenner and Ed Toler, and later at Berklee College of Music. He toured the Midwest with the nine-piece R&B band Robinson Pike, whose lineup included Grammy Award-winning jazz vocalist Kevin Mahogany, and was later offered an opportunity to perform on the road with legendary blues singer Bobby “Blue” Bland.
He ultimately chose to pursue his other passion—electrical engineering—while never putting down the guitar.
Even the guitar he plays carries some history: a 1979 Gibson Les Paul Custom previously owned and played by Bruce Conte of Tower of Power, a close friend and musical mentor.
That combination of music and technical expertise has carried into the next generation.
From Platinum Express to Platinum Live Sound
Mike grew up around musicians, rehearsals, stages and live performances. He’s also a drummer himself, giving him an understanding of live music from both sides of the mixing console.
Today, Mike serves as the live-sound engineer for the same band his father started more than 25 years ago—Platinum Express.
And Platinum Express isn’t exactly an easy band to mix.
It’s a 15-piece live band with multiple frontline vocalists, a six-piece horn section, percussion, keyboards, guitar, bass and drums. Producing a Platinum Express show means managing a large number of inputs, monitor mixes, microphones, wireless systems, stage volume, PA deployment and the dynamics of putting that many musicians together on one stage.
Just as importantly, the musicians behind those inputs bring decades of experience.
Members of Platinum Express have studied at institutions including Berklee College of Music and the UMKC Conservatory and have backgrounds spanning Kansas City Blues, Jazz, R&B, Soul, Motown and classic horn bands. Collectively, members have performed, toured or shared stages with an extensive list of nationally recognized artists and entertainers.
That makes Platinum Express more than the band Mike happens to mix. It has become his real-world proving ground for large-format live production—working with experienced musicians who know what a live band is supposed to sound and feel like.
That experience became the foundation for Platinum Live Sound & Production.
Mike combines his live-production experience with his professional background as a journeyman electrician and fire/life-safety professional. Years spent troubleshooting complex electrical and electronic systems have created an approach to live sound that’s equal parts technical and musical:
Build the system correctly. Understand why it works. Be prepared when something doesn’t. And never lose sight of the music.
Three generations of music
Today, Platinum has become a family operation again.
Mike’s sons, Anthony and Dominick Panethiere, are both part of the Platinum crew, each with his own role—and both continuing the family’s connection to music.
Anthony Panethiere is a multi-instrumentalist who plays saxophone, drums and keyboards. At shows, he’s learning the production side of live music and has taken on a hands-on role running stage lighting during performances. He helps during setup, learns the equipment and production workflow, and then takes responsibility for helping bring the visual side of the show to life once the band hits the stage.
Dominick Panethiere, like his dad, is also a drummer. His role with Platinum is primarily on the production side, helping with the physical work every show depends on. He assists with equipment load-in, setup, teardown and load-out—helping move a sizable sound and production system from the trailer to the stage and back again.
Their roles are different, but both matter.
Together, they continue a family connection to live music that now spans three generations:
A grandfather who built the band.
A son who grew up in the music, became a drummer, mixed the band and built the production company.
One grandson who is a musician himself and is learning to run the show.
And another drummer who helps make sure the show can happen.
More than 25 years after Mike’s father started Platinum Express, the next generation is becoming part of the story.
The Platinum approach
Platinum Live Sound & Production provides professional live sound and production support for bands, venues, festivals, private events and live performances throughout the Kansas City region.
We’re not interested in simply delivering speakers and turning up the volume.
Our job is to make the performers sound their best, make the event run smoothly and make the production side something the client doesn’t have to worry about.
That means arriving prepared, building a clean and reliable system, communicating with musicians and event staff, solving problems quickly and staying until the last case is loaded.
We understand that great live production isn’t about showing off the equipment. It’s about what happens when the lights come up, the band starts playing and everything simply works.
For our family, the Platinum name already has more than 25 years of history behind it.
Three generations. One connection to live music.
The Platinum name has a history. We’re building what’s next.