How to start producing (get your FIRST gig) ?

[goatie]

How did you show the artist you had something to offer?
As this was your FIRST producing gig, you had no proven trackrecord, so why would the artist let you, the newcomer, mess with their music?

(I'm not talking about getting paid, not about getting points, just about getting the opportunity to produce a band.)

[taturana]

Originally Posted by goatie

Hi,

There appear to be several routes to producing:
- Engineer -> Producer
- Musician -> Producer
- ...

... but you have to start somewhere.
Some project has to be your FIRST project to produce.
Why would a band let you produce them if you have nothing to show them?
"This is what I produced in the past ..."

Engineer -> Producer:
Pros: He's been recording, so he must have the technical knowledge to get things recorded. The engineer probably has a studio (or rents one), so the reasoning might be "I will record you for a special budget if I can produce"?
Cons: He only has recorded music in the past, does he know what is better musically?

Musician -> Producer:
Pros: Can relate/communicate with the musicians.
Cons: How can a musician with a pop history produce a hardcore metal band (the musicians would probably go "WHOAAT?!" )

So my question really is, how do you get your first producing gig?
How can you show the band you have something to offer?

This is not about money, not about getting points, just about getting the opportunity to produce a band.

For the record, I'm not saying one way is better, coming from the engineer or the musician side, just trying to figure out the first baby steps

Thanks for your opinions.

i had a four track cassete recorder when i was 14... played in many bands both here and in the US, in all bands i was sort of he producer figure, in the sense that i knew the recording equipment better and really like to archive lyrics, tapes, posters and other band stuff ( i still have most of it...)... at 19 i interned in large ssl equipped studio and got a first taste of what a real studio was.. after learning a lot about adjusting mic stands and serving coffee ( no, i am not kidding) which really wasn´t that useful i got myself a better four-trk which i synced to a 386 computer, that got switched for an adat recorder, which is when stuff started really moving...

in that adat studio, i started making recordings with or for friends.. mostly for free ( yeah, i know!) then we had one of our demos selected and released by a record company just as it was mixed, had very good reviews. then i did a bunch of different stuff from the most menial studio tasks to producing movie /theater soundtracks and the gigs started getting better and better paid... so i guess it was not a first project but many "first" projects.. and it took years ( i really don´t mean to be dishartening , but that´s the plain truth)

now i work with some very good "name" musicians and from the connections i make thru them i started making even better connections in the business...

i gues you just have to dive in the pool face first... and sometimes the pool may be dry... it´s a game of persistance and resistance.... and socializing, of course...

[Curve Dominant]

Originally Posted by goatie

How did you show the artist you had something to offer?
As this was your FIRST producing gig, you had no proven trackrecord, so why would the artist let you, the newcomer, mess with their music?

(I'm not talking about getting paid, not about getting points, just about getting the opportunity to produce a band.)

You hire yourself first.

If you're a "nobody," you just go find a good artist who's also a "nobody," and together you get to work on a recording that's gonna "wow" everyone else in your local scene (and since you're a Gearslut you can do that right?).

Be sure and maintain good personal relations with the artist, so she goes around town saying great things about you. Go shmooze with local music critics and try to get one of them to write about what you're doing with your artist. Get the "single" played on the local college radio.

You want to imagine yourself as a one-man record label, and this artist is your "star." If you get a good local buzz going for this artist, you can call yourself "a producer" and point to this success as proof.

Blammo, you're in the game baby. Glad I could help, and don't forget me when you're famous, OK?

-Eric Vincent @ Studio Curve Dominant

[Auslander]

My experience was a very lucky one. I'd been engineering in town for a few years at places like Trident, and at one point I went into a small demo studio in London with some friends to do a demo for them. Fortunately, the band and their management were really happy with it, and I got a call from the manager saying that he'd managed to get the band a nice deal with Ariola Records in London from the demo we'd done together. He also told me to expect a call from the label with regard to engineering the album.

Later that day I got a call from the managing director of Ariola London, who introduced himself and said that he really liked the demo a lot, and how did I feel about producing the album for the band?

I was completely dumbfounded, mainly because I had only been expecting another engineering job, so I spluttered a bit and said something trite like "Well, er.. I think it would be excellent!"

I ended up getting the gig as producer/engineer which in turn led to loads more opportunies, and the rest, as they say, is history.