The Burlington music scene lost a true legend last week when Sergei Ushakov died on Wednesday, January 8. The head sound engineer at Nectar's and Club Metronome for more than 30 years, Ushakov leaves behind a legacy of making countless bands sound like they were playing a packed arena when they set up at either of the Burlington clubs. As a musician for most of my life, I can attest to the fact that the man had some kind of secret superpower to make a 20-watt amplifier roar and the softest, jammiest drummer sound like they were in Led Zeppelin. The man just understood what it took to rock and made a science of it. The outpouring of grief and love on social media that followed Ushakov's death underscored how vital he was to the local scene. From Swale's Amanda Gustafson and Eric Olsen to Rough Francis drummer Urian Hackney to DJ and rapper Fattie B, Queen City musicians took to social media to memorialize Ushakov and share stories of one of Burlington's most distinctive characters. One thing many of those tales had in common was being initially terrified of Ushakov, to which I can relate. I recall Sergei — he was always just "Sergei;" I don't think I knew his last name until last week — glaring at me from behind his thick-rimmed glasses and barking "Turn the fucking guitar down!" more times than I'd like to admit. Once you understood that it was all coming from a place of passion — Sergei really, really cared about sound in a way I've never seen from any producer, engineer or musician — you would see the sweeter side of the gruff Russian. Following his death, Nectar's released a statement on social media: "Words cannot begin to describe the impact Sergei had on everyone within his orbit. He was a true master of his craft with a heart as big as his passion for analog gear. Our hearts and condolences are with the Ushakov family as well as the thousands of us who were lucky enough to know him." Stay tuned in the next few weeks for a big Sergei story. The man certainly deserves it, and as Seven Days culture coeditor Dan Bolles discovered when he profiled him in a 2013 feature, Ushakov lived a fascinating, inspiring life. For now, though, it's just about saying goodbye. Nectar's is holding…