 |
Getting Walked On
“GETTING AHEAD WITHOUT BEING A JERK” IS ACTUALLY
WHAT OUR YOUNG FRIEND SAID HE WANTED TO DISCUSS. I WILL USE
THE PSEUDONYM “OZ-MAN” FOR HIM, DUE TO THE VOLATILE
NATURE OF HIS DILEMNA!
NOTICE THAT HE IS SO DISTRAUGHT THAT HE OFFERS NO
SALUTATION!
At the age of 17, I entered my journey of wanting
to be a sound
professional. At age 27 …
THAT MAKES IT A DECADE LATER, RIGHT?
I have gone to “Rock and Roll U”
and have been spat back into the land of Oz.
WHO SPAT YOU BACK THERE, OZ-MAN? WAS IT THE WIZARD?
HOW MANY TIMES DID I TELL YOU – PAY NO ATTENTION TO
THE MAN BEHIND THE CURTAIN! BUT YOU ARE LIKE THE YOUNG SOUNDMAN
– YOU JUST WON’T LISTEN!
I have worked in three other states as a sound guy/recording
engineer.
SOUNDS LIKE YOU ARE A PRETTY ROCKIN’ GUY!
SO, WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?
DO YOU WANT TO BE BAD, DO YOU WANT TO BE NATIONWIDE? I SHOULD
HAVE GUESSED.
While fairly confident of my skills, so far I have
come to ruin by
letting myself get walked on by the other guy so as not be
branded an a**hole.
DON’T BE SO HARD ON YOURSELF, OZ-MAN! THERE IS NO XLR
CABLE SO TANGLED THAT IT CANNOT UNTANGLED AGAIN! PREFERABLY
BY THE YOUNG SOUNDMAN, RATHER THAN BY MYSELF! BUT I DIGRESS!
LOOK FOR THE PATH THAT DOES NOT YEARN TO TREAD UPON YOUR SOUNDMAN
NEIGHBOR’S FACE, IN SWEET RETALIATION FOR HIM TRAMPLING
YOU.
TO BE SAFE ON A KARMIC
LEVEL, YOU CAN ONLY WISH THAT HE STOP STEPPIN’ ON YOU!
ONCE YOU ARE PICKING UP THE FAT PAYCHECKS, THIS GUY WILL BE
A TINY HALF-FORGOTTEN BLIP ON YOUR INTERNAL RADAR
SCREEN.
SOME GUY WROTE IN AND WAS BUGGING ME A COUPLE YEARS AGO ABOUT
BRANDING,
I CAN’T QUITE REMEMBER WHAT HE WAS SO BUGGED ABOUT.
BUT LISTEN – WE ARE NOT COWS!
WHEN THEY TRY TO HOLD YOU DOWN AND PUT THAT HOT
IRON ON YOU, SNATCH IT OUT OF THEIR HANDS, AND BRANDISH
IT UP IN THEIR FACES!
BUDDHA
NEVER SAID THAT IT WASN’T OKAY TO THREATEN THEM UNTIL
THEY WET THEIR TROUSERS,
HE JUST SAID YOU WILL ONLY COMPLICATE MATTERS IF YOU DO IN
FACT BRAND
THE ASSAILANTS!
Now, back in my home town once again, I am finding
myself in the same spot.
DO YOU MEAN “THE
MYSTERY SPOT?” BECAUSE THAT IS A FAMOUS PLACE. IF
YOU LIVED THERE, YOU WOULD NOT NEED TO BE A SOUNDMAN, YOU
COULD PROBABLY SURVIVE OFF ALL THOSE FIVES THAT TOURISTS PAY
TO SEE IT.
Instead of advancing my career, I am bowing down to
the local hero,
who is so revered by all, that I don't seem to have a chance,
i.e., "When we need a sound guy, we use 'Joe'."
AH, THE LOCAL
HERO.
HE IS A PROBLEM, INDEED, AND YOU PROBABLY WOULD RATHER I DIDN’T
TELL YOU THAT IT IS HOPELESS, HE HAS GOT A LOCK ON IT.
HE WANTS YOU TO BELIEVE THAT THIS “SPOT” IS HIS
WORLD, AND YOU ARE JUST A SQUIRREL TRYING TO GET A NUT, DOESN’T
HE?
Do you have any suggestions on how to get ahead, without
being the guy who is trying to horn
in on so and so's territory?
Oz Man
IT WILL SEEM SHALLOW, WHAT I AM GOING TO TELL YOU, OZ MAN.
IT WILL SEEM “EASY FOR ME TO SAY,” BUT IN MY YOUTH,
I ACTUALLY WENT THROUGH SOME SIMILAR SITUATIONS. AND, BELIEVE
IT OR NOT, A DECADE FROM NOW YOU WILL LOOK BACK ON THIS AND
NOT EVEN BELIEVE YOU COULD HAVE BEEN AS BUGGED AS YOU ARE
RIGHT NOW.
BECAUSE OLD MISTER DARWIN HAD A HANDLE ON IT. THINGS SHAKE
OUT OVER TIME. SO, GUESS WHAT? THE PEOPLE WHO I WAS ENGAGED
IN SO MANY STRUGGLES WITH TEN YEARS AGO ARE NOT A PART OF
MY WORLD ANYMORE.
THEY WORK WITH PEOPLE THEY GET ALONG WITH. I WORK WITH PEOPLE
THAT I GET ALONG WITH!
THE WORLD OF AUDIO (LIKE THE WORLD OF THE DIFFERENT MUSICS
WE AMPLIFY) IS SO HUGE, OZ-MAN! RIGHT NOW IT DOES NOT SEEM
THAT YOU AND THE LOCAL HERO CAN EXIST IN THE SAME SPOT.
AND MAYBE YOU CAN’T. WHICH MEANS THAT ONE OF YOU WILL
RELOCATE AND THRIVE ELSEWHERE.
OR GET HIT BY A TRUCK. JUST KIDDING, OZ MAN!
I AM SERIOUS – IN THE YEAR 2013, THINK BACK TO NOW,
AND YOU WILL SEE THAT I WAS RIGHT. ONE OR BOTH OF YOU MAY
HAVE LEFT THE PROFESSION, EVEN.
FOR NOW – EAT HEALTHY, GET PLENTY OF REST, WORK OUT,
TAKE MARTIAL ARTS, THAT IS GOOD FOR REDUCING STRESS. MAKE
YOURSELF INTO A MIGHTY SOUND STUD, AND YOU WILL DO WELL IN
THIS WORLD, IRRESPECTIVE OF WHAT THE LOCAL HERO DOES.
IT’S NOT ABOUT HIM.
IT’S ABOUT YOU, AND THE HORIZON, AND YOUR PERSONAL SEARCH
FOR EXCELLENCE.
TAKE THE LONG VIEW, YOU’LL BE GLAD YOU DID!
LUV
- THE OLD SOUNDMAN
