Musician/Engineers...Has playing in bands helped you get engineering/producing gigs?

ryst · 25th July 2008

I am hoping that once my record is done and I start playing out consistently and possibly do small tours, I can start meeting bands and maybe start producing and engineering more records (as long as they like or appreciate my record enough to want to work with me). Right now I am mainly concentrating on my own record but once it's done I want to produce other bands a lot more.

I was on the phone with a fellow slut today and he said yes, it definitely helps. Of course you have to be good at what you do so I guess what I am asking is does it help you get exposure as an engineer/producer?

For you producers/engineers out there who play in a band, do you find that it has helped you get more work? If you can share your experiences on this I'd appreciate it!

DNR · 25th July 2008

yeah for sure. my studio partner plays in a popular local and gets gigs out of it.

i actually play live far less these days, stuck in the studio more, although having played loads of gigs over the last decade allowed me to make some good connections.

goldenlotus · 25th July 2008

Yes, but I don't think it is necessarily because you are in a band. It is because you are on the scene, and people know who you are. You would also get more gigs if you just went out to see more shows and introduced yourself.

The more visible you are, the easier it is for people to find you.

joeq · 25th July 2008

being respected as a player definitely rubs off on your image as an engineer and producer.

being respected as an engineer, conversely, is not as much help getting you live gigs.

BLUElightCory · 25th July 2008

DEFINITELY.

Not only is it beneficial to be an active musician for many of the reasons listed above, but it will help you gain and maintain an understanding of inter-band dynamics, which will help you as a communicator and a mediator. That's priceless knowledge if you want to be a producer, in my opinion.

LeMauce · 25th July 2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by BLUElightCory

DEFINITELY.

Not only is it beneficial to be an active musician for many of the reasons listed above, but it will help you gain and maintain an understanding of inter-band dynamics, which will help you as a communicator and a mediator. That's priceless knowledge if you want to be a producer, in my opinion.

Second that. I have be playing all my life git, drums and piano and played from my 16 till 21 in a quiet good band in Europa. Now im off being a musician in a band and fulltime sound engineer producer. I understand good what musicians sometimes search or try to tell me things. I can read (there and my) mind like a musician but can translate it to in words for a sound engineer to get things done and make things better/bigger.

skybluerental · 25th July 2008

YES!

BudgetMC · 25th July 2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by BLUElightCory

DEFINITELY.

Not only is it beneficial to be an active musician for many of the reasons listed above, but it will help you gain and maintain an understanding of inter-band dynamics, which will help you as a communicator and a mediator. That's priceless knowledge if you want to be a producer, in my opinion.

+2 on this.

I used to host a regionally known Blues Jam, and that was a big source of hook-ups. I also played a lot of other jams and Open Mics, gigged regularly with a couple of bands, and ran sound for others to boot. All together, that led to more more demo and CD gigs than we had time for.

And... man, were'nt those the days! Beer and Blues almost every night... ahhhhhh.

Flying_Dutchman · 25th July 2008

100 %

strewnshank · 25th July 2008

Hell yes. My #2 networking device for records I produce, behind word of mouth.

dbbubba · 25th July 2008

Ab-SO-lutely!!!!

The more musical knowledge you have the better.
The more width you have to your musical knowledge the better.

In a musical situation, knowing the language and the mechanics of how music works and WHY it works when it does as well as WHY IT ISN"T WORKING is one of the best assets you can bring to a music studio.

You need to be able to be a participant in the artistic part of the project and not just a guy off in a room documenting the performance.

MarkRB · 25th July 2008

Ahhha ha hmmmm.

When I started a studio in a smallish town, playing in a band did not help because all other bands saw me as the competition. That probably says more about my old town than anything else though.
But as soon as I gave up the band things got allot easier because local bands that came to record knew I at least had a clue about playing and being in a band.

From a recording point of view I think anything and everything you do in a musical capacity will help you become a better engineer.

ryst · 26th July 2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by MarkRB

Ahhha ha hmmmm.

When I started a studio in a smallish town, playing in a band did not help because all other bands saw me as the competition. That probably says more about my old town than anything else though.
But as soon as I gave up the band things got allot easier because local bands that came to record knew I at least had a clue about playing and being in a band.

From a recording point of view I think anything and everything you do in a musical capacity will help you become a better engineer.

Yea that sounds like a small town where I am from. Everyone else I talk to seems to think it helps more than hurts.

peeder · 27th July 2008

Yes. My most successful production to date started with an invite to sit in.

CaptainHook · 27th July 2008

Yes. BUT some small-minded people believe i can only work with music like that in ONE band i've played in. Only a couple of times has that come up, but it has.

25th July 2008	#1
ryst Lives for gear Joined: Dec 2004 Location: Hollywood, California Posts: 2,679 Thread Starter	Musician/Engineers...Has playing in bands helped you get engineering/producing gigs? I am hoping that once my record is done and I start playing out consistently and possibly do small tours, I can start meeting bands and maybe start producing and engineering more records (as long as they like or appreciate my record enough to want to work with me). Right now I am mainly concentrating on my own record but once it's done I want to produce other bands a lot more. I was on the phone with a fellow slut today and he said yes, it definitely helps. Of course you have to be good at what you do so I guess what I am asking is does it help you get exposure as an engineer/producer? For you producers/engineers out there who play in a band, do you find that it has helped you get more work? If you can share your experiences on this I'd appreciate it! __________________ Nathan Schreier - Producer, Engineer, Sound Designer, Artist Website - Genetically Modified Music My Band - Ryst

25th July 2008	#4
joeq Lives for gear Joined: Jun 2002 Location: New York Posts: 9,925	being respected as a player definitely rubs off on your image as an engineer and producer. being respected as an engineer, conversely, is not as much help getting you live gigs. __________________ . “What you ask about is music. What you like is sound. Now music and sound are akin, but they are not the same.” — Confucius

25th July 2008	#5
BLUElightCory Lives for gear Joined: Sep 2005 Location: Phoenix, AZ Posts: 1,824	DEFINITELY. Not only is it beneficial to be an active musician for many of the reasons listed above, but it will help you gain and maintain an understanding of inter-band dynamics, which will help you as a communicator and a mediator. That's priceless knowledge if you want to be a producer, in my opinion. __________________ Cory Spotts / BLUElight Audio\|Media bluelightaudio@cox.net http://coryspotts.com

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25th July 2008	#2
DNR Gear nut Joined: Jul 2007 Posts: 78	yeah for sure. my studio partner plays in a popular local and gets gigs out of it. i actually play live far less these days, stuck in the studio more, although having played loads of gigs over the last decade allowed me to make some good connections.

25th July 2008	#3
goldenlotus Lives for gear Joined: May 2007 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 1,132	Yes, but I don't think it is necessarily because you are in a band. It is because you are on the scene, and people know who you are. You would also get more gigs if you just went out to see more shows and introduced yourself. The more visible you are, the easier it is for people to find you.

25th July 2008	#7
skybluerental Lives for gear Joined: Oct 2006 Location: Chicago, IL USA Posts: 1,259	YES!

25th July 2008	#9
Flying_Dutchman Lives for gear Joined: Oct 2005 Posts: 3,146	100 %

25th July 2008	#10
strewnshank Lives for gear Joined: Dec 2007 Location: Boston Posts: 1,604	Hell yes. My #2 networking device for records I produce, behind word of mouth.

25th July 2008	#11
dbbubba Banned Joined: Sep 2005 Posts: 7,099	Ab-SO-lutely!!!! The more musical knowledge you have the better. The more width you have to your musical knowledge the better. In a musical situation, knowing the language and the mechanics of how music works and WHY it works when it does as well as WHY IT ISN"T WORKING is one of the best assets you can bring to a music studio. You need to be able to be a participant in the artistic part of the project and not just a guy off in a room documenting the performance.

25th July 2008	#12
MarkRB Banned Joined: Aug 2005 Location: London, UK Posts: 2,551	Ahhha ha hmmmm. When I started a studio in a smallish town, playing in a band did not help because all other bands saw me as the competition. That probably says more about my old town than anything else though. But as soon as I gave up the band things got allot easier because local bands that came to record knew I at least had a clue about playing and being in a band. From a recording point of view I think anything and everything you do in a musical capacity will help you become a better engineer.

27th July 2008	#14
peeder Lives for gear Joined: Aug 2006 Location: No longer participating here. Posts: 6,705	Yes. My most successful production to date started with an invite to sit in.

27th July 2008	#15
CaptainHook Frequency Wrangler Joined: Mar 2003 Posts: 471	Yes. BUT some small-minded people believe i can only work with music like that in ONE band i've played in. Only a couple of times has that come up, but it has.