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Author Topic: love hate  (Read 6811 times)

duane massey

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Re: love hate
« Reply #10 on: October 22, 2012, 12:50:16 AM »

When most of us got started (if you're at or near 60+), either we were the bottom-feeders doing gigs for little or no $$ OR we were the first (and only) guys in the area naive enough to piece together a sound system. I don't regret doing it, but I would not do it again tomorrow.
You should quit when you either can't do it anymore or just don't enjoy it enough to continue. It's almost never just the $$ (cause there's never enough of that, ever, to justify what most of us do).
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Duane Massey
Technician, musician, stubborn old guy
Houston, Texas

David Parker

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Re: love hate
« Reply #11 on: October 22, 2012, 06:34:27 AM »

When most of us got started (if you're at or near 60+), either we were the bottom-feeders doing gigs for little or no $$ OR we were the first (and only) guys in the area naive enough to piece together a sound system. I don't regret doing it, but I would not do it again tomorrow.
You should quit when you either can't do it anymore or just don't enjoy it enough to continue. It's almost never just the $$ (cause there's never enough of that, ever, to justify what most of us do).

sometimes I have a hard time deciding if the pleasure is worth the pain. The pleasure being the combination of the money and the self-satisfaction of pleasing the clients and doing a good job. The pain being the time away from home in addition to the physical pain. The band got a $100 tip from the club manager Saturday night and it completely changed my attitude. At least for the night!
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Mike Christy

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Re: love hate
« Reply #12 on: October 22, 2012, 10:47:10 AM »

I find it bittersweet many times too. When mixing, there is nothing more I’d rather be doing at that moment. Time seems to fly by. It’s the creative process and having a sense of pride for the final product that is satisfying. And when I hear a bad mix, it drives me absolutely nuts.

Then when I have a real good mix going, and a manager tells me to turn it down, and it completely blows the mix to smithereens, it is frustrating. This is especially true when I go into the same venue the next week, and the sound is horrendously loud, raw, unbalanced, basically- unlistenable. (I don’t mix overly loud either) I’ve since refused to mix at those establishments, and you know what? The patrons, managers and bands don’t seem to care – apparently all my past efforts were a waste. They don’t need my expertise there, so screw them.

I’m now trying to redirected my efforts to more specialized gigs, gigs where a professional result is expected, in setup, interfacing with the talent, presentation, the whole deal. I guess I’ve gotten to the point where I can tell what I can provide is needed or not. Will I be adding value that people will appreciate or is it wasted effort and time? Those gigs seems to be a bit higher paying too.

I guess it boils down to mutual respect for all parties involved, no matter what the pay. I think it will make gigs much more enjoyable.. we will see.

Mike
« Last Edit: October 22, 2012, 10:57:03 AM by Mike Christy »
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John Penkala

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Re: love hate
« Reply #13 on: October 22, 2012, 11:04:44 AM »

My typical worst scenario is last minute cancellations. I just spent the last month planning a large outdoor festival (stage, lighting, electrical, stage layout, channel assignments and patching for 8 bands, volunteers staff,...) and the event was cancelled.  Someone screwed up and the venue was double booked...

Mark,
       I hope you had received a non-refundable deposit from them to cover the cost of your time for planning. If you really like the client you could apply that deposit towards the next show they do with you.

JP
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Stuart Pendleton

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Re: love hate
« Reply #14 on: October 22, 2012, 11:50:44 AM »

Every night at load out I swear I am done with audio, and the next morning I always wake up excited thats its a show day. Go figure...
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Greg_Cameron

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Re: love hate
« Reply #15 on: October 22, 2012, 12:25:51 PM »

Every night at load out I swear I am done with audio, and the next morning I always wake up excited thats its a show day. Go figure...

Ha! I go through the same thing too. When there's a lull in shows, I start to miss it a lot. When I bust my ass for a long day or a difficult artist, I question why I do it - especially when i don't have to with a regular day job. It's an addiction of sorts I suppose.
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Matt Tudor

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Re: love hate
« Reply #16 on: October 22, 2012, 01:45:30 PM »

never a day goes by that I don't consider getting out of this business. Am I in good company here with these notions? We all know there are easier ways to make money. Sometimes the non-monetary rewards hide well.

Year or so back I read a magazine article, an interview with someone I can't remember now. One quote stuck with me.

"There's 24 hours in a day and sometime 22 of them suck real good. But when the lights go down and the crowd stands up I get 2 hours that make it all worth while."

I figure there's always going to be ups and downs, but as long long as I get those 2 hours here and there, I'm good to go. At 36, I'm just a young punk though, ask me again in 15 years how I feel....
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Mark McFarlane

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Re: love hate
« Reply #17 on: October 22, 2012, 02:32:14 PM »

Mark,
       I hope you had received a non-refundable deposit from them to cover the cost of your time for planning. If you really like the client you could apply that deposit towards the next show they do with you.

JP

This particular event was to be put on by my company and there is a potential conflict of interest (maybe 1/2 of my planning time and meetings were conducted during my normal salaried work day, so in that context I got a few thousand bucks for the effort)  I typically get 4-6 events a year from the company and normally only charge a rental fee just to avoid the conflict of interest even though I typically will spend a lot of hours outside of business hours.

They did offer to pay me for the opera last week (after the fact, since they made a profit) but I didn't bring much gear at all, just a wireless MC mic, some EQs and delays to tune the house system and a few borrowed Crown PCCs.  I turned down the payment.  I've done some other shows like that were I get paid out of the profit (shared risk) and have pulled over a grand for a night's work a few times so in the end it works out well enough for a hobby. 

Many times when we get an international act traveling through the region (like the opera) we only get a few days notice and will throw the show together with no budget and hope to sell enough tickets to cover the talent.  For the opera the French consulate called on a Wednesday afternoon and said 'do you want a performance next Monday, we have an open night in the schedule'. As of late I get more gigs like this, not just providing sound but producing the event and I just consider the effort as volunteer work for the community.  We don't have many opportunities for pro-level live music.  My efforts are always well appreciated, and even brings in the occasional DJ gig from attendees (sh*t, did I just say DJ, I meant ...).

Im retiring in 4 more years (forced retirement at 60) and am a little apprehensive about moving to the real world and loosing my 'status' as 'the concert guy', i.e. big fish in a small bowl.
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Mark McFarlane

ProSoundWeb Community

Re: love hate
« Reply #17 on: October 22, 2012, 02:32:14 PM »


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