Engineer, Producer... and NOW...

**richiebee** · 10-28-2005, 02:28 PM

music coach!

I had the worst singer in this afternoon. She wanted to do an audition CD for a national choir. She had to sing some stuff from Handel's Messiah. After several takes, and me asking to see her music, It became obvious to me that she had no idea on how it was supposed to go. I had to read her music and teach her the line... oh man, you know its a desparate Friday afternoon when that happens.

She won't get in (it was desparately bad), but at least by the end of it, her rhythm was spot on!

Man, why don't people prepare for these things?

Rich

**brandondrury** · 10-29-2005, 06:15 AM

Preperation? Are you crazy? You kill the moment when you actually have a clue what is going on! (Right) ((sarcasm))

I think it's a combination of laziness, poor work ethic, and the fact that they see rock stars making lyrics in the studio on MTV. They figure that if a guy with a $2,000,000 recording budget can goof around, so can I with my $300 recording budget. Very strange.

I know back in my band days we were excessively anal about being mega overprepared. I remember playing the same 3 songs for an entire month just getting ready for a recording. It was a big deal to us.

Everytime I see a band jacking around. I know I'm not charging enough. That seams to always motivate people to work harder and to come in ready.

Brandon

**guitar junkie** · 11-10-2005, 07:41 PM

this is why i decided i wanted my own studio with some basic gear in it. i can work at my own pace be critical and still make a nice recording with what i have. its not easy mind you but its a lot less stress on my end this way.

**brandondrury** · 11-11-2005, 05:07 PM

There is always a balance that must be struck between charging enough to minimize clowning around and charging so much that you reduce the quality of work coming out of your studio.

I always try to give the serious musicians the time they need at a reasonable price, but the damn jokers seam to mess it up for everyone.

Brandon

**steve.h** · 03-19-2008, 09:21 PM

Originally Posted by brandondrury

There is always a balance that must be struck between charging enough to minimize clowning around and charging so much that you reduce the quality of work coming out of your studio.

I always try to give the serious musicians the time they need at a reasonable price, but the damn jokers seam to mess it up for everyone.

Brandon

I think that by charging more, you're much more likely to reduce the quantity of work coming out of your studio before you reduce the quality!

**.tom** · 03-20-2008, 02:21 AM

welcome to the music biz

**String7th** · 03-20-2008, 08:34 AM

Originally Posted by brandondrury

Everytime I see a band jacking around. I know I'm not charging enough. That seams to always motivate people to work harder and to come in ready.

Brandon

I had a band in my studio that decided it would be funny to get drunk at 10am on a Saturday while recording drums and grab the overheads and yell in them.

I decided then and there, no more friend-discounts.

**khaliqovision** · 03-20-2008, 07:15 PM

Hi Richie,

Let's flip this another way. Most singers (and
guitar players, which is how I started) have no
clue about reading music, even when its something
such as classical music, which REQUIRES it.

You IMMEDIATELY increased your stock when you
were able to break it down for her and feed her
the lines to get through it. She was probably
embarrassed on the inside and you rescued her.

I can't tell you how many sessions I've done
where I ended up being the producer and never got
credit or compensation. But, the good part is,
that when you are the one to make it happen, you
become the "go to" guy.

Keep up the good work and don't even worry about
it. Those are the HIDDEN opportunities.

Take Care,

Khaliq

**.tom** · 03-20-2008, 07:26 PM

Yes, great advice and welcome to the boards Khaliq

Richie, you jus doin' wut you do and peeps will grow to expect this professionalism and quality talent when they come to you

**richiebee** · 03-20-2008, 07:41 PM

That post was from 2005... she hasn't been back since, and I haven't had another like it either. I still remember it pretty well though.

I could tell some other horror stories though. Unfortunately, doctor-patient, uh, I mean customer-engineer confidentiality prevents it.

**.tom** · 03-20-2008, 08:11 PM

Isn't music-making fun?

**steve.h** · 03-21-2008, 08:01 AM

Originally Posted by richiebee

That post was from 2005... she hasn't been back since, and I haven't had another like it either. I still remember it pretty well though.

I could tell some other horror stories though. Unfortunately, doctor-patient, uh, I mean customer-engineer confidentiality prevents it.

Aw dammit, I didn't mean to resurrect a super-old thread :/

**brandondrury** · 03-25-2008, 05:56 PM

I love Khaliq's spin on this thread. There is something about Murphy's Law (for every action, there is an opposite and equal reaction). When something really "bad" happens, there is always an opportunity to be the hero that fixes it. That may be a bit of a glorification, but you get the idea. At worst, you got paid without losing any limbs.

Brandon

**dangercityskyline** · 03-26-2009, 12:04 PM

I decided then and there, no more friend-discounts.

aha. ahahaha. yeah. friendships get destroyed in the studio. i can't stand it when people are goofing off till i remember it's their time they're paying for.