Command & compassion: Is it a fool’s mix or the right blend for a production Venture?

[bishopthomas]

Yes. No. Maybe. Both. There comes a time when you may just have to be an asshole to get your point across. I'm always willing to go out of my way to make sure bands are comfortable, I talk to them with respect, and I stand back and take their primadonna attitudes when they want to give it. But there have been a few times when I just had to tell them what was up. Not long ago I had to turn on the asshole when bands where trying to setup during other's time at soundcheck. They had been told not to bring anything on stage, but as the headliner soundchecked they kept piling amps and keyboards on the stage.

Another instance a volunteer group was playing a radio show and one of the members was trying to play stage manager, even though my coworker and I were running the show. We had at most 6 minutes to change out groups and this guy kept talking to the previous artist on stage. I finally had to tell him to take it to the green room.

Those are the only two instances in the last year or so that I have had to be an asshole to get my point across. Some people just don't respond to rational though; they have to be scolded.

[bjornson]

I always lead as I would want others to lead me. No exceptions.
You always better results treating people with respectful firm discipline.
Asshole results are short lived. Compassionate leadership builds long term relationships. This is a small world we live in. Word gets around.
An old production manager once told me, You'll pass the same people going down that you met on your way up. Seen it happen.
Then again I've always been a bit of a "glass half full" idealist...
YMMV

[bishopthomas]

I agree. I may have been hard on myself saying I was an asshole. "Respectful firm discipline" is a great term. In both of my examples the culprits told me at the end of the night that they really enjoyed working with me and looked forward to next time. I made sure that the feeling was mutual and there were absolutely no hard feelings. This is a business for thick skinned people and I don't think anyone takes things personally when tasks must be completed. I know I don't. If I screw up then I expect to be told, and I usually appreciate it and learn from the experience.

[Legacy]

Hi All,

Great thread - thanks Steve. I've found that a lot of the more experienced musicians i've worked with know how they want to sound and pretty much how they actually DO sound. If I go in and get the sound as close to what I have in my head / hear in the room and then open it up to input from them I often learn a lot - and often make a better recording. I think I've learned more about recording acoustic instruments from the musician's in the last few years than anywhere else.

This by no means suggests that you shouldn't go in confident and authoritative. Often with classical musicians they rightfully expect / demand that you really know your stuff. And also there have to be limits to what I'm willing to try since experience has taught me a thing or two.

I've had times where the musician actually suggested a mic placement or mic choice (and they were right) and many where they suggested changes that were a bad idea but they were still hearing something they wanted different and through adjectives I was able to translate it into a technical change.

When there's time I like the collaborative relationship in all areas I've found so far (don't tell my wife ). I also try to carefully choose who is on my team whenever possible....

Maybe its that when in a potentially adversarial situation whether with artists or other production folks a little offering of respect can diffuse things most of the time. If it doesn't then its time to get the chain of command hammered out quick.

-Silas

[Remoteness]

What do you folks think about this mindset, especially when it comes to your production venture?

[king2070lplaya]

I think there's always room for compassion, which IMO is one of the defining traits of humanity. There's the philosophical and religious considerations, but then also the practical ones: you need people who will work hard for you, and if you treat people poorly word will get around.

That said, and objective perfection being the key goal in any technical capture, you should do everything in your power to ensure this end is met as closely as possible. If an employee doesn't make the cut, there are nice ways of dismissing them, and you can always write to their positive traits in a recommendation letter if you feel so inspired.

As far as clients who give you trouble, that's a whole can of worms isn't it? They are paying you, but it's your job and reputation on the line, so..... I at least try to make clear from the beginning my expectations, and also solidify who in the chain of command has the job of "producer". Then everyone answers to this gent (or lass).

Too often i've gone into recording situations with underexperienced, self-producing artists who have high demands and expectations but literally no idea of the road to that point. And then when they bring in their pseudo-recording-engineering expectations, that just seals the deal for failure. Like: "sorry man, but YOU were the one who let your drummer DEMAND that I use those cool looking but very dark ribbons for overheads, and leave that hole-less kick head on, and now you're mad at me because the drums don't sound right", or "I know the mix is bass heavy, because you kept referencing my mixes on your laptop!", or "of course this hip-hop record i've mixed for you doesn't sound right, you recorded the entire drum sound with only 2 room mics!" these are the situations I do my very best to step around these days. Also, working with jazz and classical folks limits my exposure to this demographic of up-and-coming garage musicians with money.

[edva]

Two of the greatest human attributes are compassion and enthusiasm. These used to be reinforced in the course of normal child rearing, parenting, and schooling. Not sure how that works these days. However, people still respond to these traits when demonstrated by others. Humans are a social, "follow the leader" species.
Generally, I have found the old statement "The better they are, the easier they are" to be true. This applies on both sides of the glass.
Finally, there are a few lost souls out there who just cannot get along. Best to try and avoid working with those types, because in the end it is rarely worth the grief. IMHO, and YMMV.

[joelpatterson]

I have seen, unlikely and unexpected though it was, people bring up things afterwards in language that went something like, "you know... you were right about that, I remember I kept saying...."

So no, never defer or compromise on your impressions or instincts, in the long run that just leads to failure and regret-- but no need to be a little King Tut about it, neither.

[huub]

I think it always pays to be a nice guy. I firmly believe in being nice.
There's situations where one has to be unfriendly, but you can still be a nice guy. Always.

[hbphotoav]

I generally go with a "You've got your "A" choice and your "B" choice..." with a quick explanation of where each will, in my opinion, take them, followed by "I'd love to see me proven wrong..." If there's time to do each and evaluate the result, fine. No recrimination, just acknowledgement I was wrong (if that was the case) and a "Was that not better? Then let's rock that way..." if I wasn't.

When there's no time, I try to get the decision maker (meeting planner, usually... live PA and video support) in the loop with the info and the expected result. Should he/she align with the client, a firm acknowledgment that responsibility for the outcome has left my hands, and then proceeding to endeavor to make lemonade from the supplied lemon is the tack. Generally, in my world, these things have to do with positioning (screens and loudspeakers vs the stage) and lighting (image degradation onscreen)... and it's usually "so-so-OK" to "hey... that's better"... usually no Titanic moments.

So... honest evaluation, enumerated reasons for and against a course of action, assignment of responsibility, and a guarantee that I'm there to make the show "work" regardless of the obstacles usually covers the bases. But I am, admittedly, small potatoes in this discussion... small association events, webcasting, nothing network or in front of 15,000 screaming fans. My choice.

HB