April 23, 2016 - 1:23am ... we left the studio at 8:40pm and I jokingly told Kyle I'd be in bed around 4am... time flew by this evening. Nothing too exciting today really... got to the studio around 11:45am. Weather was beautiful... I got a bit of sun while we waiting for Alex to arrive... I didn't mind the sun... although I feel like I could the top of my head beginning to burn... yes... already! We tracked guitars the first half of the day and bass the last half. Because of our scheduling, I ended up playing bass on 3 of the tunes today. I actually really enjoy playing bass... especially in studio. I feel it adds a lot (duh), but when you've been listening to music sans bass for a week, it's a much welcome addition. I'm sure Alex was a huge fan of my having to learn the songs on the fly and get use to playing on his gear... but I think i'm pretty quick even under those circumstances... plus it's fun for me to go into situations like that... and a different experience since I'm not hitting record myself! ... it's such a minor detail but different people can have very different ways of working... and one of the things in life is to always remain teachable... and going into this project working with Alex, I wanted to keep that in mind. So this week was the easy week. We got a lot done but Kevin (singer) gets in tomorrow... we have 2-3 more songs to do preproduction on, then start tracking on Monday. ... we have a shit ton of stuff left to do. I'm not worried about not getting it done... it's just going to be a lot of work... and we're going to need to be super prepared to maximize our days. I think I'm going to keep this short... it's Friday night... and if you aren't out partying, you're already in bed.... it's almost 2am... and I'm super tired.... and I get to sleep in tomorrow... and hopefully go to IHOP... craving. Oh... I barely took any pics today... my iPhone is a POS.... always out of storage. - Mike :-) P.S. 60 Days In was a huge let down this week. If you don't know what that is... look it up... friggin' Robert. P.P.S. Too much fast food this week. I do not feel any faster.
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April 22, 2016 - 12:35am I got back to the house around 10pm... I don't know why I couldn't get to bed before midnight... I was up way too late last night... almost 4am the last time I checked the clock... the time vampire that is the internet, facebook, chat, and youtube. Ah well... my own fault. Today was a good day... easy morning, made breakfast then Kyle and I headed to the studio for noon. We were going to be late... I knew we should've left earlier... and running a studio for several years, I know how annoying it is for bands to show up late all the time. Ah well... my own fault. The weather was really nice out for a change. It's been raining most of the time but today was a few clouds and blue sky. Sun was warm and hoped it wasn't too hot out for jeans and a button up shirt... I don't want be that sweaty guy in the studio all day... control rooms with consoles (SSL) can get pretty warm. Ah well... I was fine... but it would've been my own fault since I know better. We saw the aftermath of a nasty accident on the highway. Kyle was quick enough to make a decision and get off the highway tro go around... I could see it from the off ramp though... the one car's front end was totalled and the front end and side of the other was crumpled. The paramedics were working on one of the occupants as we went by. ... I had this urge to get my phone out to take a pic before we could see it. ... I felt really guilty after that was a thought that went through my head. ... the paramedics were working on someone as we passed... judging by the damage to the cars, my guess was they were in bad shape. There's nothing you can really do at that point though... it's completely out of your hands as a passerby. We saw a woman yesterday who'd most likely run out of gas had abandoned her car and was walking along the highway. I kept looking at how far she needed to go for help... then thought about how her footwear was designed to sit at a desk... not walk along the highway ... then thought about how maybe it's karma she's in that position... or maybe there's a reason she needs to be late to her destination... maybe she'll meet someone. Again... not much you can really do to help when you're going 70mph... and the way my brain works... I'm more curious what lead to her (possibly) running out of gas. I don't even know if she actually ran out of gas... I got a text from a friend asking if I regret not seeing Prince last month once we arrived at the studio. (... frig.) "Did he die? "He did" ... of all the losses this year so far... Bowie topped my list but Prince moved him down to 3rd... I felt the need to leave a space. ... it felt very much out of nowhere. ... we didn't talk about it much at the studio, but it was on my mind all day. ... at least it wasn't an accident... or drugs... or suicide... or murder. ... maybe he had a heart attack or something... or that flu turned worse... even though he wasn't that old, he still wasn't that young either... and the body does what the body does as it ages. (... I know now the word is it may have stemmed from a drug overdose... but I'm choosing to believe there's a logical explanation what happened.) We're losing artists. ... like... really losing them lately. I look at someone like Prince or Bowie... and in today's market, I don't think they're supposed to make it... it doesn't matter how good their music would've/could've been or how talented they are... or would've been. It doesn't matter... they probably wouldn't have gotten a chance in this market. I feel like large amount of exceptional musicians today get caught in a trap of playing for other musicians... when 20 years ago, they could've been nurtured and brought to the public. Prince was Prince. He didn't apologize, he didn't ask permission... unless it would've been the Prince thing to do so. Part of me hopes this is fake... or part of a bigger campaign where he pops up at the Super Bowl or something... probably not but I'm saying it here first! ... sounds like that's not the case though. ... frig. My Facebook feed has been Prince all day... people sharing stories mostly... or quotes/clips. ... I think the scarier part as my age group grows older... is there's going to be a patch where our idols and icons stop dying... and 20 years later it's going to start being our turn. Real talk for a minute... I've accepted that half my life very well could be over. This is a thing... and I can only imagine how my parents (Happy Birthday Mom! :-)) feel when the thought crosses their mind. It's one thing to discuss a will... it's another to see the age group... and the trend. Prince will leave us with songs and stories... of all the things you can't take with you, it's ironically the best thing about. I don't regret not seeing him live last much as much as I'm saddened we'll never cross paths in real life. In a weird way I thought I would... there were a few signs over the years were I thought it could be a thing... and I could tell my parents I saw him... or better yet, met him. It's days like today though I'm glad I made the decision to go deeper into music... I've been both feet in for... let's say, 15 years now. ... like that car crash this morning reminded me... work towards meaningful work... everyday. (Deja vu looking at my computer on the bed...) "Leave it better than you found it" is another saying I repeat whenever I'm grumbling internally about something. We tracked guitars all day... creating songs that really have no real purpose until it finds a home and meaning with the listeners... and with this album, Parabelle has raised quite a bit of funds from their fanbase before a single note was (really) recorded... they're anticipating it meaning something to them. ... that's pressure... but it doesn't feel like work. ... passing a guitar around showing everyone in the room what they heard in their head isn't work... somebody went to work today and pulled someone out of a wrecked car and tried to keep them alive. ... I've thought about that for years, having family and friends in medicine... the thing about my job is I don't go to work about worry about people dying. Nobody dies at my work if I don't do my job. ... days like today though I'm reminded that's not exactly the case. ... artists help people enjoy the good times and get through the bad... and I think helping people through the bad is the #1 job of any artist. ... so in theory, someone could die if I don't do my job... and what's worse is I'd never even know. (Deja vu again... this time from a dream I'm pretty sure... such a weird day...) Kyle and I played a serious game of NBA Jam while Alex was taking a break to help another band that dropped by. We beat Dallas 62-60. I was John Stockton, he was Karl Malone. The day in the studio ended with Alex, Kyle, and myself passing a guitar around trying leads on a few songs... today was a good day. - Mike "I used to have seizures when I was young. My mother and father didn't know what to do or how to handle it but they did the best they could with what they had." - Prince April 21, 2016 - 2:41am ... I just can't get to bed at a decent hour! lol. Granted... I was editing drums tonight... but I was done at least a couple hours ago... then internet took over and now it's going to be 3:30am by the time I finish this... we're back in a bit earlier tomorrow so it should be fine... I can still sleep in! My day started out pretty good... did some emails, made breakfast... then Kyle popped out of his room and asked me if I wanted to go for breakfast with him and his lady... ... 2nd breakfast! Ended up at IHOP... sorta hope we can go again tomorrow because pancakes are awesome.. but that might just be getting greedy. Ran some errands on the way to the studio... hit up a Walmart for some household supplies, some crazy electronics supplier called Mouser (...?)... Kyle needed some parts to fix his studio monitor... yeah, we've been doing all our demos using one speaker.... double tracking guitar and mixing with just one speaker... and my ear buds.... and my laptop. Good times. It was a bit of a car ride for a while this afternoon... I wish I could've gotten pictures of so many things. The highlight was a store called "Dino Fireworks".... they had a picture of a dinosaur riding a firework on the side of the building... at least that's what I think I remember... I'm pretty tired so it might not have been.. but it probably was. So studio... tracked rhythm guitars in the afternoon. Alex had Kyle going through a VHT Deliverance and EVH 5150 though some kinda 4X12... not sure who makes it. The 5150 sounded good but that VHT sounded awesome! Alex also has one of those "robot mics" so you can remotely adjust where it's place on the speaker via your phone. It's pretty awesome... I want one. ... I gotta be honest too... gear wise... this place (Empire Sound) is fantastic! ... and I'm not even really a gear guy! It's fun to see all the amps, guitars, basses, pedals, etc ready to be used. Even the drum room/storage lots of toys. Do you need all this stuff to make a great sounding record? Not really... but will you get a better performance if you feel inspired and have so many possible tones at your fingertips? No excuses, but it absolutely helps. Highlights today... pinball. I've only played once since arriving, I could see it becoming addictive though... I shall play more again tomorrow... later today... whatever. Second highlight... DINNER! I think it was called Babe's Chicken or something... I took a pic but it doestn't do it justice... sooooooo much gravy... soooo good. I could've eaten twice as much for taste... but I didn't want to be "that guy". (... it's raining again... another thunderstorm!) I should get to bed... I'll add some more details to the comments in the pics... sometimes that helps me remember... Tracks are sounding great! It's still very early on in the process for most of the tunes, but we're definitely off to a good start. :-) Alright... sleepy time. Mike :-) P.S. Never assume your corn is ok. April 20, 2016 - 2:09am ... I'm sorry everybody... I'm sorry... but recording just isn't that exciting. It's starting to become apparent that all the stuff that goes on in my day that I find somewhat interesting, happens outside the studio... and anything interesting that happens in the studio, should sorta stay in the studio... see previous blog post for reasons why... combined with it being just another day at the office for me. ... I'm super tired right now too... just finished uploading some drums for Alex (Gerst) in case he wants to bring them into the session early tomorrow. Figured it might save some time... it's a 45 min drive. (... another huge thunderstorm just rolled in... the thunder just shook the house!) ... I have no idea where the time went this morning. I woke up, did some emails, skype meeting, checked facebook... ate breakfast, shaved/showered (day 1 at Empire Sound today!), then started transferring the sessions for the studio (guide tracks for drums). ... totally forgot Kev made some edits on his end that I hadn't yet done on mine... so something that should've taken 15 minutes ended up taking 45... to get one done... I'm glad the plan was to just do the one song today... since that's all that was ready! lol... *tear* So... Wing Stop... me likey! Kyle took me there for lunch... I'd mentioned wings (aka when's wing night?) and he immediately said/suggested Wing Stop. .... Wing Stop is good... and considering the price... it's going to be tough to not go there... everyday. It's dangerously close to the studio. (... this thunder is MASSIVE!!!) They have all these flavours... you get to pick two... I went with traditional hot and mango habanero... it was so good! ... I want more right now. Only complaint... and I saw it happening in real time... the guy prepping my fries... his saltin' was a little too free spirited... a little too lax. The amount of salt that I saw go into that big ol' metal bowl... it was "end of shift" salty... it was "salt water" salty... he really should've just shook some fries into a bowl of salt... not the other way around.... so salty. ... I powered through most of it... they were so salty that I was using blue cheese dipping sauce to tone down the salt! ... think about that! (... sweet fudge bars this storm isn't messing around... I'd heard about Houston but hopefully that doesn't happen here... I am curious to see how the flooding on the roads works around here though... there are signs all over the place.) After lunch we headed to the studio... Empire Sound. ... it has vibe, cool staff, and tons of instruments. ... I love it! I'll take more pics but today/this morning I thought I'd update my apps... but my POS 16GB iPhone 5s decided to max out the storage, somewhat bricking my phone for most of the day. I know deleting a couple videos would solve the problem... but I'm just not ready to (although they are backed up) remove Loaner Cat and tour videos... I like having them on hand in case of emergency. (... if this storm finds my remaining fries... and washes them into any waterways... they will become undrinkable water supplies.) The ESP (guitars) dealer dropped by soon after... they wanted to show Kyle a few guitars... he's PRS endorsed I think, and also reps or distributes a few companies... or something along those lines... I was too salted to hear details today. ... there's no TV in the control room... I found this interesting. Howard got in around 5pm and we got to tracking the first (only... lol... *cough*) tune. Despite not having much time at all, he threw down pretty well! Side note... it's a pet peeve when people announce they haven't had much time to sit with a song or even practice. In the studio, you get several swings, and then you can comp or further examine what you're playing. Of course it's nice to have learned/practiced tunes... but the time necessary to track either preparedness level... it's not far apart.... seriously... if you have moderate ability. Write the arrangement, add a few notes (make it a cheat sheet), run through the tune a few times, listen back, run through it a few more... should be good to go! ... even easier with guitars and bass since you can scrub through them. Somehow it was like 9:30pm by the time we left... I wanted to stop by Walmart but Kyle was pretty set on grabbing dinner... dinner was Whataburger. ... I kept thinking everyone was saying "Water Burger"... was pretty curious what the water was all about. ... Americian accents, eh? *pfft* Burger was good... reminded me of a Whopper but better. Side note... the drink sizes here... I'm at a loss for words... our medium cups could easy fit inside their medium... I'm convinced "Large" is just a hose. Started editing around 11:30pm... surprised it took so long for me to get working... it's not like I've been doddling. ... alright... I should put MST3K on and get to sleep... I'm starting to do that thing where I rest my eyes while I'm tying to type and then I doze off... then read what I type and ot ;;pls like tjis. Full day tomorrow... good times. Mike :-) P.S. I need sleep. P.P.S. I just woke up... I dreamt I'd already moved this from my gmail into my blog... not cool! ... and a bad use of dream! April 19, 2016 - 12:39am ... I don't know why I can't get to bed before midnight. It's even later here because I'm an hour behind Toronto time... so it's really almost 2am... and I'm doing emails, chatting, and watching horribly awful movies on Crackle... Crackle is like Netflix... but mostly with crap... but I sorta like crappy awful movies. Spent this afternoon doing some vocal editing and prepping for tomorrow... and this evening Kyle, Aaron, and I demoed up another tune. Odds are I'll use the demo sessions as our guide tracks... I think the tempos are fine and they sound good enough to start tracking drums to. ... so last night I meant to talk about something... but when I went to type it out... I couldn't remember for the life of me what it was... then I remembered this morning. Long story short, I helped Kyle move a treadmill Sunday, and I had this uber weirdo moment where I wasn't sure what I should do... I was stuck at the threshold of the door way... the edge of the carpet. I finally sucked it up and just walked in to help... but I hated every step... it felt so weird! ... overall things seem pretty normal here... but one thing I'm having trouble getting use to is people wearing their shoes in doors. I've heard this is an American thing... but it really seems to be a normal thing... which shouldn't be a big deal, but mentally it is... not that I think it's gross that people are wearing their outdoor shoes inside... but because I feel SUPER weird wearing my shoes in someone else's house. ... it'd be like me putting my feet up on someone else's dining room table. ... that's all. I just wanted to get that off my chest. ... I regret not bringing my indoor shoes. Starting our studio days tomorrow. Good times. Mike :-) P.S. I'm excited to see the studio... studio Christmas. April 17, 2016 - 11:23pm ... nothing too crazy today... we demoed up another tune this afternoon and wrote/demoed one this evening. Sometimes "riff happens" and it's good to just get something down. I made a template for Pro Tools so we can quickly demo things up... 4 guitar tracks, bass, MIDI drums. This comes in really handy getting ideas down... it drives me crazy when I hear bands are taking weeks to demo up tunes... should only take you 3-4 hrs to demo up a song! ... seriously. Also, if we have something decent, we already have a session set up and the guides done... granted the tempo is staying the same... even then it's not a ton of work to adjust the tempo... or the key. ... I was only out of the house for about an hour today. Going a little stir crazy right now, but mainly because I'd like to go walk around some stores or something... we're sorta out in the suburbs, which is nice and quiet, but it's tough when you need to drive everywhere to get anywhere. ... a lot of sweet trucks in the area though. Aside from that... "that" being demos... Kyle and I were hooked on the show "60 Days In"... it's a show where they took 7 normal people, and put them in jail to a) see how they'd adapt and b) do research on how the jail is actually functioning... aka corruption. Give it a couple episodes... so good! I'm off to bed before midnight. Currently watching Dead Rising on Crackle... zombies. Good times. - Mike :-) P.S. No pictures today... so here's right now! P.P.S. I thought I was off to bed before midnight... I tried!
... the last thing I did before I officially gave into sleep was pull the post down from Facebook and remove the slide show. I was in no condition to judge what I was actually posting... April 17, 2016 - 8:44am So I just re-read my post from late last night... it's not horrible... better than I thought I did actually. I wanted to write about this trip but didn't think I'd run into that wall on day 1! Ah well... I could walk everyone throughout the day again in detail but I think the moment has passed... I find it really difficult to write about the previous day the next day... or after I wake up. Only thing I feel I missed... things feel surprisingly normal here. I've been in the studio non-stop since March 1st, and then traveling with Age Of Days prior to that... so it's been "go, go, go" for a couple months now. Maybe I just haven't changed gears yet but it sorta feels like just another day at the office... not sure how else to explain it... sitting in my pj's, holding off skimming Facebook while friends and family text and message. ... that's probably a big part of it. ... there's quite the thunderstorm going on right now. Kyle joked last night about maybe seeing a tornado... at least I think he was joking... maybe he wasn't joking... ... I've seen all 3 Sharknados... there are no sharks that I know of in Texas. ... saw what I'm pretty sure was a roadkill armadillo yesterday... that was different. So today we have a couple songs we'd like to focus on in preproduction... sight-seeing might force us to work a bit more than we'd like (I'm saying this on behalf of Kyle) because of the weather. Just a quick note about the blog for this trip... it'll be a bit different than my usual tour blog. There's a lot that goes on in the recording process that I believe needs to stay within the studio walls... good and bad, it needs to be a safe zone for ideas, politics, egos, emotions, conflict, etc. There's a reason I don't normally blog about studio days (and sort of why DearBands was born), and it's along those lines. I don't want people I work with to feel like they're under the microscope or worse, everything they do will later be documented and on display. I'll still share some thoughts, but it won't read out like a reality show... wait... those are scripted... you know what I mean. ... time for breakfast! - Mike P.S. Apparently people don't have basements around here... yeah... I know!!! P.P.S. Here are the pics from yesterday. ... I realized about a week ago it's been a while since I've even looked at my site... which is and isn't a good thing... I always remind myself (and peers), typically that's the case when things are going good! Since getting home from tour, I had a couple days "off" then went into the studio March 1st (Phase One) with The Sole Pursuit to start (producing) their new album (12 songs). We booked 4 days for drums with 2 different session drummers (Riley O'Connor and Tony Nesbitt-Larking). ... both were great... really great actually. The realist part of me was all "yeah, it'll sound like drums!", but I/we can really hear the different styles and approaches they brought to the 6 tunes (each) they played on... and their experience and ability to take direction helped keep the sessions running smoothly. This is always a major variable when working with new musicians... generally pro's are easy to work with, but again, it's a variable that can really bung up your schedule if your run into any roadblocks... insufficient ability, politics, personal taste... or worst of all... ego. ... the days went super smooth though and it was a pleasant rolling stop to our 4 days up at Phase One. Shout out to Dajaun Martineau and Darren McGill for keeping things rolling along... it's always nice to work with people who make you feel like you don't know what you're doing! lol. *tear* We've been knee deep in (electric and acoustic) guitars since March 6th I think... typically getting through 2 songs a day for either Kyle or AJ... made a list of songs we'd like acoustics on and chipped away at those since last Monday. We ended up renting a 12-String and Mandolin from Long & McQuade... nobody here really "plays the mandolin" but we got the sound we were after on the songs we were thinking of trying it on... all said and done between the 2 instruments... well worth the $70 rental... for the month... not that I'll keep them that long. ... seriously, a decent sounding 12-String was $22/month! Just throwing it out there... if you need gear (or have admittedly crappy gear), look into rentals. Bad sources won't (or very very rarely) make for a good recording. It's worth the couple dollars. ... speaking of... rental drum kit for a 3-song EP I've also been working on with a younger band called Scarlett's Hand. I think the drummer practices on an electric kit, but we needed a live kit... so it was off to L&M, and then over to Phase One (March 17-18)... kit needed a bit of love, but even swapping out for old skins and some moongels... sounded great! ... player was pretty good too! It was a tight schedule tracking 3 songs in 2 days but we got through the instrumentation then finished off the vocals the following Saturday... ... another case of why I feel working with a producer has major advantages over simply booking a room. If the guys had of just booked a room, they probably would've either had to cram their vocals in at the end... which is a bad idea... or book more time... which is understandable but let's be honest... studios totally encourage clients to book more time. They sell the experience, but on paper, they sell time. Producers sell the experience, but also a final product. ... and it's never easy to tell a band we need more time... unless of course it doesn't affect the budget... in which case people are generally cool with it. We were scheduled to finish up at 7pm and I had the singer ask me at 6pm if we're going to finish everything... we had 2 lead vocals, backup vocals, and I think a guitar solo left to do... (... nope!) I left the control room for a minute to think about where I wanted to track vocals... and to triple check we were cool to stay an hour or 2 longer at Phase One to finish up guitars. ... I hate rushing vocals and there really wasn't any need to. ... I almost want to tell bands off the top, consider instrumentation and vocals 2 separate things. Focus on getting the music down (or at least what you need to sing on top) then think about vocal sessions as a different beast. It really is switching gears... plus in situations like this... it's tough to track vocals with so many people around... I'm a big fan of vocalist + producer / engineer + control room. Much more efficient... resulting in better takes and a better result. Good times... So this week it's been finishing up acoustics with The Sole Pursuit and into lead vocals... and mixing the tracks for Scarlett's Hand. I'm in talks with a couple more projects May/June I'm pretty stoked about... I'll be blogging about it if it goes through... I'm always down for adventures... especially blog-able ones. - Mike :-) Today I remind myself why I choose to do what I do for a living.
Back in 2001, I was sitting in a York University classroom with a couple dozen other wide-eyed kids buzzing with their newfound post-secondary freedom. My course was based around computer science with dashes of graphic design. My goal was to complete the 2-year program, find a job somewhere on the US west coast in the game industry, and work my way into doing music and sound design. I figured the gaming industry was booming, eventually overtaking Hollywood blockbuster budgets, so it’d be a safe choice. It seemed pretty obvious computers in general weren’t going away, so it was as safe as death and taxes as far as industries go. The chair of our program knocked on the door before entering to tell us the news. We were free to leave the class to go find a TV… nobody made the first move, so nobody did. We were on the second day of the program and still very much trying to make a good impression on our instructors. Besides, I was pretty sure CNN would have it on loop the next week. Later that afternoon I was back at my dorm. CNN to the left of me, my Adobe Illustrator assignment (due the next day) in front of me. I started thinking about my motivations. I wanted to finish this/these assignments so I could go audition with a band on bass guitar downtown. Work now, so I can play later. I thought if I had a decent paying job, I’d eventually have enough time and money to spend more time and money on music. I liked computers but I loved music. I started thinking about how many people in those buildings were there simply for money… how many actually loved whatever game they were playing as their career. How many were hoping to make enough money to retire comfortably or at least afford the lifestyle they wanted to live around work and sleep. Was it the gaming industry I wanted to get into or was it actually music? Something around music/audio was the end goal after all. I returned from the audition later that evening and messaged a couple classmates still awake on ICQ. I made an appointment with the chair of my program the next day, and shared my thoughts with him. What he said always stuck with me. “Education isn’t going anywhere, it’ll always be around when you want to learn.” … it was the way he said it though… it was so casual… the way you give an old friend advice from the heart. It was so f’ing cool. He told me he’d dropped out early on and eventually went back in his early 30’s. He said he remembered me from the entrance test (I stood out a little at the time appearance wise) and he was planning on picking on me to scare the other students since he knew I could take it. He said whatever decision I make, I’ll do well… and that I still had a couple days to decide… before the school wouldn’t refund my tuition. There was no pressure to stay or go. It was just a much needed 15-minute chat about life. Leaving his office, I’d decided to weather the potential storm. I wanted to do music… I’d rather fail in music than be just another with their prized pristine condition, American made Strat or Les Paul sitting on a stand in the corner of a room… who's perfected their delivery of the line "Oh, I used to", whenever someone asks them if they play. I could do music. It was a lot to take in at 17. September 11 became my "New Year’s" in a way… or I guess my anniversary to remind myself what I’m doing with my life, and what “meaningful work” means to me. Recently (well, reposted several times now) there was a post in the Toronto Craigslist Musicians section (which I frequent) about "How To Find A Good Producer". While it touched on a number of good points, I'm fairly sure it was written by a Producer or studio posing as an artist's perspective. It got my rant brain going so I thought I'd expand on a few of the points for fun.
Original post is here by the way. *Update: already flagged apparently. 1. Check & Verify their Credentials. For example, if they say they've been Juno/Grammy Nominated, confirm & verify the claim by going to the Juno or Grammy Web Site. If they claim to have hits on the US National Charts, don't take what's on their web site as fact, check the US National Charts to verify that this is true. True... always check the facts... but that's part of doing your homework. There's an ongoing joke I'm a Juno nominated/award winning producer but I can only correct that so much. Yes, I've worked on a few Juno nominated/award winning projects but nothing with my actual name on the award. In my opinion, if someone needs to boast in order to get your attention... chances are they probably haven't done anything relevant recently in your genre and/or you have no clue where their career trajectory is headed... for better or worse. 2. Check References. Talk to multiple people who have hired the Producer & listen to what they have to say about their experiences, good, bad & indifferent. True. I always encourage bands and artists to contact anybody on my discography about what it's like working together. Most of the time they already have and that's why they contacted me in the first place. I'd say 80% of my projects are referrals. Reputation goes a long way in any industry. Sidenote: If none of the bands and artist in your circle have worked with (established/semi-established) producers... you probably need to focus on raising your game and making friends with some more career minded people. Circles are small, but always open to good people and new talent. This is how networking works in the real world. 3. Listen to previous work. Listen to multiple recordings done by the Producer to decide if the sound they provide will be compatible with your style & genre of music. True. Obviously sonics/end product need to factor into the equation. From there, get their contact and set up a meeting. If the vibe is good, and you feel their quality of work is "commercially viable" and their mindset is professional, odds are you're going to get a solid product at the end of the day. Oh wait, this might be assuming the Producer also recorded and mixed the project. Make sure you know who else may have been involved on the project(s)... and do your homework on them as well! I chose that pic above for a reason. Sidenote: Understand regardless of what's on the Producer's reel, you're going to sound like you. As much as you might like to (or think you) sound like someone else they've worked with, there are too many variables to guarantee you're going to sound just like them or even close to them... and odds are you won't... and that's a good thing. Every Producer wants the last project they worked on to be the best thing they've done. They're hoping what they do with you sounds better than anything else on their reel. They need it to be... that's how they stay current! 4. Be wary of anyone who over-advertises. Competent, Professional Producers are busy & in demand. They don't have time to post countless ads for their Services on a daily basis, they're already booked & working with their Clients. Sorta false... because they can just assign the task to someone else. Yes, they may be busy and in demand, and no they may not be posting ads on Craigslist/Kijiji, but they're still doing as much as they can to keep things rolling... and that means keeping their options open and their name in the fold. You'd be surprised how many producers and studios have their interns/assistants post online, scout bands, listen through demos, go through email responses, etc. The playing field has changed so much the past decade and with decreasing budgets, even established producers still have their ear (and the ears working in their camp) to the ground for new bands and artists... usually to fill in schedule gaps but still... they want to be in the know! Just because you don't think someone has the time (and it really doesn't take that much time) it doesn't mean they won't bother... besides, just think about how many household name brands still spend serious time and money to advertise. 5. Be wary of unsubstantiated claims. If what a Producer tells you sounds too good to be true, (promises of airplay, grants, getting your songs in movies, commercials or TV, etc) it probably is. True... and this is a major red flag... sorta leading back to #1. If it sounds like someone is pumping their own tires to get your attention... they probably don't have anything relevant to support their career right now. That being said, be open to their ideas regarding what they think you should do with the final product. They want people to hear it and they want your value to increase along with theirs. Honestly, present day Producers aren't in it for the money... if they were, they'd simply open a studio and hustle to fill the time with corporate clients. Producers want to have their name attached to great projects, that'll get their name out (as much as yours) in order to help attract (and keep attracting) better artists to work with. Truth is... better artists are generally easier to work with, have better songs, take less time, and have smarter budgets to work with. 6. Money. Get it up front & in writing just how much things will cost & the time-line for getting them done. If they Guarantee to get you Grants or to make you money from your songs, probably best to keep looking, as there's no guarantees in any business, especially Music. True... and sorta false... since there are two points made here... with another huge waving red flag. You obviously want to know what the budget is for the project... just understand that the budget agreed upon is for a certain set of conditions. Change the conditions (time, songs, details, etc), the budget might need to change as well. Also, making your decision should rarely be about the amount of money (investment) involved... because if you manage to get ahold of your top pick and there's chemistry, you're going to find a way to make it work... both parties will. Money is the easiest problem to solve when opportunity presents itself. Speaking of time and money, it's common for younger/inexperienced bands to not realize how long recording can take... so use those first few recording projects as a learning experience. Keep in mind how long people took to track their parts, how you solved creative differences, how well you handle making changes on the fly, etc. See if your band survives the process. All that being said, I've had 2 projects (in 10 years) run so far over (our projected) budget that I felt we needed to readdress the budget. The bands understood and all was cool. If they didn't want to reopen the budget, we would've pushed on to finish somewhat on time... but I'm certain the end result would've suffered. I've heard a dozen horror stories over the same 10 years where Producers have readdressed the budget just before completing the project where they basically hold the project to ransom. I've never sided with the Producer in this situation. Sometimes you have to take a hit... often Producers take a hit. If you're a Producer, you have to weigh the pros and cons such a move could do to your reputation... probably bad... it does work both ways though since people on this side of the glass all talk to each other. Regarding grants... if someone claims they can guarantee getting you a grant... it's more about what happens if they don't. If they say they can, and they don't, and then suddenly lose interest in the project... or better yet, lean on you to come up with the missing funds yourself... grab your pillow, roll over onto your side, and go to bed knowing you were only a money gig. It happens often enough in Canada because of the amount of grants we have... and like anything political (government = political), if you're working with people who have friends in the circle, you probably have a better chance of getting those grants. So again, maybe ask what the plan is if that grant doesn't come through. Treat those grants like a bonus... not a welfare cheque you rely on to survive. This will make your business plan much stronger in the long run. If your plan is based around waiting on "maybe money", you've already put up a roadblock you could've dealt with long ago... not to mention a false reality of demand (income) you're working with. 7. One person cannot do it all. For example, if a Producer claims they can Mix & Master your songs, probably best to keep looking. Mastering is an art that most competent professional Producers will admit is not their specialty & refer you to someone who is highly qualified. False... with a dash of true. The up and coming Producers can and will be able to do it all. That's the way the grew up, all they know, and how they'll continue to operate given the budgets they're working with. I've met a handful of Producers in their early 20's (working in basements/bedrooms on laptops, for next to no money or free) making a serious run at established guys in their 40's. It's just how it is, and how it's going to be in the future. Many current (surviving) Producers are musicians, writers, editors, mixers, and engineers... they aren't amazing in all areas, but more than competent to get the job done. Regarding mastering, lots of producers/mixers could master their own projects(and I believe mastering engineers are the next to get hit hard just like engineers and studios already have the last 10 years) but they'd rather not because they're too close to the project. It's about getting an extra set of ears (hopefully ones you know and trust) on the project. Also, simply put, mastering is about sonically balancing the songs on a playlist. There are far too many people out there who think Mastering is this "black arts" voodoo thing nobody understands... well it's balancing songs on a playlist... and in modern day, mixers do way more in balancing the songs on an album/EP than someone could 20 years ago (on tape machines and consoles) because we can jump around from song to song, easily adjusting elements within a mix... not just general EQ curves and perceived volume levels of the final mixes. That being said, at the end of the day it's about standing behind the product you're presenting. Doing the best you can given the time, budget, and talent you're working with. ... holy crap this is long. - Mike |
Mike Langford - Official BlogBeing on both sides of the glass, I get the chance to wear many hats in the music industry. This is a place to share my thoughts, views, predictions, rants, stories and news! Categories
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