Posted by Chris Kathman on August 30, 2002 at 16:48:09:

In the past, I have been known for spouting off pretty freely to just about anyone at a show, when it seems to me that they are the ones that are out of line. I have also roasted people by fax, e-mail and voice mail, and from time to time, it has really come back and bit me in the butt.

Reading posts here for the past couple of years has shown me that part of the pain of properly dealing with people, verbally, in the heat of a "show moment," is in the experiencer's mind, and that it is possible, sayeth the wise ones among us here, to smile in the face of idiocy. And that doing so is easier on one's gut than freaking out on people, and also may help you retain a gig. The most important thing, that I never understood before, is that in not going to war with these individuals, I am doing something that is my own free will choice, I am not buckling under or acting servile to them. Far from it.

During the past couple weekends I fielded some pretty surreal statements, and literally smiled at the people. This involved doing monitors for corporate party band members.

A trumpeter stepped forward and tested a hardwire solo mic, stage right. When he got done, he leaned into a nearby vocal mic, and added, "The solo mic only goes in the stage right mix." Well, the lead singer happened to be near me, where I was set up down on the floor stage left. He approached me and announced, in what I would call almost a scandalized fashion, that the solo trumpet was also present in the stage left mix!

C.K. of the past: "I'm just nutty like that! I kind of like to just wildly throw things in whatever mix that I feel like they might be nice in! Here, watch this, I'll flip a coin! Heads it goes in the drumfill, tails it goes in the keyboard mix!"

New improved C.K.: (Big smile) "That's because the bass player (stage left) asked for it there!" And I kept on smiling, cheerfully, as this person had the nerve to keep staring at me dubiously for another three-count.

The week before, I was spreading the keyboards around to players who wanted some. The drummer (total psycho, don't even get me started) asked if I could take some of the top end off the keyboards, in his mix. I tried to explain graciously that doing so would also change the tone of them in the keyboard player's own mix, which he might or might not like.

The keyboardist asked me anxiously, "Don't we each have our own mixes?" I held my tongue and gave him the big smile. "Yes, you do, but if I change the tone of your keyboards on the CHANNEL, so that Psycho Drummington over there likes it, that will also change it in yours." Maintained big smile as he tried to process this concept.

What I didn't do was yell: "We've just been working for the last half an hour, and everybody, including you and the drummer, has asked for different stuff in their mixes, of course you have your own mix, you idiot!" Not that I have ever really said anything quite that awful to anyone, but I sure used to put the vibe on them. Now I understand that everybody's brain has x amount of processing power, and they may have nine hundred other things to think about, taxes, their kids, their car, whatever, same as me.

I would like to thank every person who has discussed their agonies in public, here on the LAB.

Sometimes it's easier for us to think things over and see some alternatives, when it is someone else's story, instead of our own, when we are still drenched in fight-or-flight chemicals from having lived through it, and may still be extremely uncertain as to whether or not we did the right thing.

Pretending that one is too cool for school may work when you are an actor or a politician - in live audio, it doesn't fly. It is really great when y'all get down and talk about stuff that is not necesarily flattering to yourselves - I hope I have done so a time or two, too.

Cheers -

C.K.



Posted by Gabe Nahshon on September 03, 2002 at 18:37:33:

Why didn't you just split the keyboard to two different channels (one for the drummer and one for everyone else)? Just a thought...

Gabe Nahshon



Posted by Chris Kathman on September 04, 2002 at 00:21:32:

The sarcastic answer would be "Same reason I didn't offer him a nice shoulder rub, fetch a cocktail for him, or go out and get him some dinner!"

A more rational answer would be, "Well, what would I do when the bass player wanted a different tone on them, too? Split it yet again for him? Would Psycho Drummington then start asking me to split even more channels? Where would it end?"

The most real-world explanation would be, if I was touring with these guys, and the desk would be the same night after night, I would. But in the world of run-and-gun, each side has to give a little, or one of us will snap.

This guy was one of the most spectacularly inconsistent hitters I have ever seen in a high-dollar environment. He appeared to be very possibly be under some very poorly scheduled dosages of a simulant substance. He wanted all the toms in the wedge, and pretty much every damn thing on stage, and lots of it and, when he saw me give the (very polite and friendly) bass player a set of orange foam earplugs, he reacted like a person dying of thirst in a desert, and begged for a set.

I'm sorry, I have worked too many shows and also spent too much time behind a drumset, playing with people. If he didn't want his ears to hurt, the solution was simple. Don't out of the blue SMASH a cymbal or the snare, completely inappropriately to the music, so hard that it drills me with an 800 Hz spike twenty feet away. Don't ask me to run the wedge so hot. Mellow out, maaaaan.

:-)

Yes, I know it is a free country. He can act as weird as he likes. And, I can respond however I wish.

I often recount the tale of a time I was running monitors for a reggae band. The keyboardist perceived that I was attentive, and attuned to fairly small level changes. He did not offer me a twenty, but he started asking me for adjustments on every single song, while the rest of the band was cruising along and asking me only for what they really needed. At a certain point, I had had enough. I walked on stage while the lights were down, got very close to him, and said "Hey, when's the last time you wrote me a paycheck?"

He was very startled and mystified, so I continued. "Look - you do not pay my salary. I don't work for you!!! Now I am going to go back to the console and give you a little more, and from now on, you use your volume control." And he did.

That is not shafting him. That is just saying get a grip, and remember who you are in the food chain.

I am there to serve. I am not there to shine their shoes. I hope that makes sense.

C.K.



Posted by Teri Hogan on September 02, 2002 at 19:21:37:

CK,

You are oh-so-right! It is never productive (I don't use absolutes like never and always very often) to go ballistic on a musician, or anyone else, for that matter. Using your head and manipulating the situation to achieve your end is much more effective.

Just last night, the last band of a 4-day festival arrives....it's my favorite Texas traditional swing band, absolute paragons of virtue in the Bob Wills tradition. And then I see the drummer...omg, he's back in the band. This guy is a royal PITA. One of those who knows just enough to be totally dangerous and make a complete fool of himself, and is convinced he knows more than you so explaining anything is pointless. I'm discouraged.

We get a sound check and start the show. At the first break, he comes off the stage and says "Can we work on my drum mix? I think the drum fill is out of phase." Well, in the first place, with a band like this, he has no business with anything but his vocal in the mix, whereas he has had me put the entire kit in there...what the hell for?

He's not happy with one of the rack toms (which shouldn't even be ON the kit for this kind of music). I sit down and play a little bit and the mix is simply too loud. But the drummer is adamant that there's something wrong with the mid-high box, it's just got to be out of phase. So I tell him, okay I'll fix it for you. He's happy and goes off to find the little boys' room.

Band goes up for the second set and when they come off on break, he's all smiles and thanks me and says that's a whole lot better! What did I do? I muted the offending tom mic and turned down the mix, smiling all the while.

And again, CK, you're right. A few years ago I would not have kept my cool at all. I'd have told him what a complete idiot he is and made a fool of myself, as well. So between the influence of my cool-headed husband and all the experience gleaned from the LAB, I too have benefited and thank you all.

Teri Hogan
Sound Services



Posted by jack arnott on September 01, 2002 at 17:20:56:

Hello Chris,

I think that not only is the LAB a great learning tool, it is also a great venting tool. It seems to help a lot to have an understanding audiance to unload on, instead of giving it to the person who has created the tension. I notice that a lot of questions about gear can go unanswered, or largely ignored, but a good vent never goes unnoticed. Many posters will pile on. And not with sympathy but with other experiences of their own.

I also have a theory that more of the venting type posts come from BE's and people who are sole proprioter/employee. When you work with other people you can vent to them, but if you are a BE and hang with the band you can't vent to them. If you are part of a sound team you will be replaying your experiences after the show, on the drive home, or the next day when you see each other. And venting to your spouse is not nearly as practical as coming here.

I sometimes find myself in a prickley situation and thinking to myself in the form of a post. Even that helps relieve the tension. Strange but true.

I also agree with Jim. But not just with sound people and musicians. I think that anyone in a service industry needs to be a bit of a social worker. Sometimes it only means that we have to listen. And after all, isn't that what we are supposed to do best ;-).

Regards, Jack



Posted by Eliacim Cortes on August 31, 2002 at 17:07:06:

Its hard to stand the abuse from everybody and remain calm, but it's the best thing to do. I used to have a lot of attitude, but have learned that defusing explosive situations works better.



Posted by Geoffthis on September 01, 2002 at 02:40:00:

I used to be disgusted (pissed) but now I'm just amused... ;o

It's amazing how a good belly laugh at the right moment will snap a tense situation....usually works for me.

Geoff Thistlethwaite



Posted by Jim Gould on August 31, 2002 at 12:04:44:

I agree with you 100% on this. I think the ability to smile in the face of stupid stuff that people do and requests that make no technical sense at all are a result of seasoning. I also think that possibly they come from fighting a few battles and winning them but loosing the war at times.

In my younger days I packed a lot of attitude and had little tolerance for the kind of requessts or remarks that I can smile and dial about today. There is an inner me that can say what an asshole thing to want or that does not make sense while at the same time conveying understanding and empathy to the person making the request.

Yes, I know, some may say it is phony and it is, but the stress level at the end of the day can be way below where it could have been. Audio folks are there or should be there because they can handle the job. That often can take many forms from the technical to the physcological.

As an aside to this and an illustration, in the past year (mainly for family reasons and geography) my audio work is now an important sideline to me after more than 30 years. I am a counselor at several group homes for the mentally disturbed trying to help them get thier lives back together.

In some ways I feel like years of dealing with musicians was the best training for this I could ever have as my results with my clients have been very good and I am assigned the most difficult violent cases because of it.



Posted by Stewart on August 31, 2002 at 06:41:31:

CK

You da man, I am now gonna try real hard to be a nice polite person from now on. Maybe it's the advancing years but I have a tendancy to get real pissed at some of the morons I find myself working with.

I take a lot of pride in my work and just hate being blamed for others errors. But I find it hard to kiss the asses of the agents/promotors who are ALWAYS on the side of the artist.

So it's count to ten, with a mental picture of the rent man in my mind.



Posted by D. Parker on August 31, 2002 at 02:51:38:

It makes it a lot easier to take some of the shots we take in our business when we hear others tell their tales of the same. Makes it easier to shrug it off when we get our fill.

David


Posted by Dan Timon on August 30, 2002 at 20:45:11:

C.K.,
I don't want this to sound like a Coors-powered "love you, man" fest, but thanks to you and everybody else in the community for BEING a community, which I as a lurker, a loner, and die-hard sound guy can feel a part of.

The vast quantity of fresh ideas constantly remind me that I am not the wizened sound geezer I think I am, and have much to learn.

I have learned from you, and many others -especialy Teri Hogan and other MEs- that whether you mix drinks or monitors, the best mixers are part psychologist and part technican: you have to get into the head of your client to rise to the top.

Thanks, C.K., Teri, Triple-J, Bink, Geri-O, OSM, everybody!

Dan Timon



Posted by Marty Bilecki on August 31, 2002 at 03:25:23:

Ditto!

The day that I think I know it all and have all the answers is the day they will be throwing flowers (or rocks) at my casket!!!!

Thanks to all labster's for helping me to dig in deeper and keep learning....

Marty Bilecki