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Down On Toys
Greetings oh sage one!
HELLO, JEFF. WHAT'S THAT ABOUT THE POD BAY DOORS?
My question for you is one that I believe you can really blow off
some steam with.
I DOUBT IT.
Imagine my nirvana-
ON SECOND THOUGHT …
I work with a few bands, with whom I have spent a lot of time
- who have lowered the stage volume, learned mic technique, and
always ask what they can do to help the mix! They have one desire-
to sound really good- and to do whatever it takes to help me help
them. You know the guys I mean- rare as hen's teeth, better than
gold!
DUDE, I CAN GET YOU AS MANY HEN'S TEETH AS YOU NEED!
Then along come the sound companies.
(CUE THE BORING AND BOMBASTIC HANS ZIMMER SOUNDTRACK MUSIC)
I believe that good sound can be achieved with very basic gear,
and the knowledge of how to run it. Better sound comes from better
gear, a cooperative atmosphere, and the knowledge of how to run
it. WHY then, must every mid-to-large sized sound company insist
on taking my rider, dissecting it for faults, and giving me brand
new, unproven, unfamiliar substitutions for my tried and true, always
faithful, and FAMILIAR requested items?
EXCUSE ME SOUNDMAN, IF THERE IS ANY CAPITALIZING TO BE DONE IN
THIS SECTOR, I WILL BE THE ONE DOING IT, NOT YOU!
IF YOU WERE A PROFESSIONAL WITH SOME REAL CLOUT, AFFILIATED WITH
A MAJOR ACT, EVERYTHING THAT WAS GOING TO BE THERE AT FOH FOR YOUR
SHOW DAY WOULD BE FAXED AS A LIST TO YOUR ORGANIZATION, REVIEWED
BY YOU, THEN CONFIRMED AGAIN AND FAXED BACK TO YOUR PRODUCTION MANAGER
WITH SOMEONE'S INITIALS GUARANTEEING YOUR PREFERRED OLD MAN GEAR.
THE REALITIES OF THE FOODCHAIN ARE BITTER AND BRUTAL, ARE THEY
NOT, MY YOUNG FRIEND?
Don't they understand that I don't have time to read 17 manuals
for outboard gear that still freekin' SMELLS new, that they themselves
don't know how to work, and that in the end doesn't even freekin'
work????
YOU SHOULD READ THOSE MANUALS, JEFF.
IF YOU DO NOT, YOU ARE A BAD PERSON.
I don't care if the local "Sound Fabio" thinks that
I am a dinosaur -
HEY, THIS GUY IS PRETTY FUNNY!
- when the audience, the band, the promoter, and even I think it
sounds good- does it matter that I dragged my old dbx limiter out
and used it instead of the shiny-new-multi-colored-display-thing-I-have-never-heard-of?
EXCUSE ME, I HAPPEN TO ENJOY MULTI-COLORED DISPLAYS. DON'T YOU
CARE ABOUT SOUND FABIO'S FEELINGS? HE'S A PERSON TOO!
I ask for what I do because I KNOW that I can use it to mix
well. Can't we give new items a little time to be tested by sound
ops who have the TIME to play with new (and admittedly, sometimes
very cool) gear? When the Old Sound Guy tells me something has come
down the pipe that I can't live without, then and only then will
I feel a NEED to try the damn thing out. Come on OSG- back me up
here.
YOU DON'T NEED ANY BACKUP, BRO. YOU SAID IT ALL.
Waiting for the scathing rude remarks -
Jeff
YOU DO NEED TO REDUCE THE DOSAGE, JUST A HAIR.
AND ALL THAT TALK ABOUT SOMETHING COMING DOWN THE PIPE - THERE'S
NO NEED TO TALK DIRTY, JEFF.
TO QUOTE A SOUNDMAN OLDER THAN ME, WHO LIVES ON THE MOORS -
"I KEEP TRYING TO TELL YOU KIDS, YOU DON'T HAVE TO WORK BLUE!"
LUV
- THE OLD SOUNDMAN
