I really need to vent this to you guys right now...bands are such ASSholes

[darthjujuu]

i'll try to nutshell this, cause if i don't, i'll just spout for hours.

two bands, from burlington VT, called (now bear with me here..)

Caulfield, and Constructs.

Both recorded records with me in 2010. Both were pleased. Both came back for another in 2011, and both, given the amount of time/work spent with them, i would've considered personal friends.

caulfields most recent record, I had CJ master, for maximum brutality. it can be heard here:

http://www.atomicballroomcalamity.com/caulfield992/caulf/caul7.mp3

quite some time after I had received the masters and sent them along to the band, CJ had informed me he still hadn't received the cash they owed him, so I gave it to him, fully expecting to band to get me back.

this was over the summer...they have since all completely ignored any/all attempts at communication (except for the drummers girlfriend whom is a personal friend and is furious with him over this) and they have effectively robbed me of an amount of money that will be undisclosed in case CJ doesn't want people knowing what he charged...but the amount to master an 8 song record. before discontinuing all communication, they'd give me attitude, like i was being an asshole for wanting them to pay me back within the time frame of a few months, and after extreme delinquency i posted a thread on here about this before and had all of your sympathy. the guitarists reaction to that was telling me via facebook "calm your tits."

i've been extremely patient this entire time.

now, Constructs, being neighbors/showmates/frenemies of Caulfield (they both talk shit about each other relentlessly behind each others backs like bickering little school girls) ... i've been attempting to rant to, figuring maybe they'd sympathize the robbery i've endured from what i thought was friends, and, eventually they too all stopped acknowledging me. today, this nauseating dialogue takes place:

here's the entire constructs record, you guys can be the judge if i half-assed it.

http://www.atomicballroomcalamity.com/constructs672/masterRender.wav


and i am completely dumbfounded and will never work with either of these packs of shitheads ever again, and i hope neither will any of you. thank you to whoever has read this far.

 

[RedDog]

Clock out and kick some civilian ass. Little shits like that need their unedited work released.

 

[birdwazo]

haha i just read that with two of the skip da foreplay dudes! ps mix must be done next week pretty pleaseeeee!!

 

[Jarkko Mattheiszen]

That's a horrible dick move and you have every right to be enraged. However, I understand that this Teigen dude's band paid up and the other did not? In that case, there are two points I feel are a bit off:

1) The guy is unfortunately right, it isn't his problem if the other band are being dicks.
2) Even though you are enraged, you have to consider this as a professional-client relationship, so stuff like "all of you are completely fucking insane", "none of you will ever go anywhere" and "don't be egomaniacal shitheads" should be absolutely out of the question no matter what.

Don't get me wrong, I'm on your side and definitely feel your pain, that's just something to consider in the future. And from now on, payment up front. You never know who has the potential to fuck you over.

 

[Pedro Teixeira]

Well... why did you pay for it in the first place? Also, why did CJ mastered the record without getting at least 50% of the full payment? I think you should've covered your ass a bit more, but those kids needs a fucking roundhouse kick on their teeth

 

[darthjujuu]

That's a horrible dick move and you have every right to be enraged. However, I understand that this Teigen dude's band paid up and the other did not? In that case, there are two points I feel are a bit off:

1) The guy is unfortunately right, it isn't his problem if the other band are being dicks.
2) Even though you are enraged, you have to consider this as a professional-client relationship, so stuff like "all of you are completely fucking insane", "none of you will ever go anywhere" and "don't be egomaniacal shitheads" should be absolutely out of the question no matter what.

Don't get me wrong, I'm on your side and definitely feel your pain, that's just something to consider in the future. And from now on, payment up front. You never know who has the potential to fuck you over.

yeah, you're totally right... but that's almost the worst part, these dudes stayed at my house, brought them to parties, bought them beer... i try to transcend strict professionalism and be legit friends with the guys, that makes for a better end result in the record, doesn't it? i might've been a bit rough on him, i didn't mean to tell him they weren't going anywhere, just that they WOULDN'T if they kept up this condescending attitude. but yeah...you're still right.

 

[darthjujuu]

Well... why did you pay for it in the first place? Also, why did CJ mastered the record without getting at least 50% of the full payment? I think you should've covered your ass a bit more, but those kids needs a fucking roundhouse kick on their teeth

i was more concerned for CJ at the time, i hadn't thought these dudes i had known for so long would pull this on me. painful lesson learned.

 

[Terminus]

How old are these guys? Is it a situation where they have to ask parental figures for money or do they have jobs?

And as always, money up front before you give them any final product, friends or not.

 

[PhilTheBeard]

Wow......... that's all i have to say. Getting ripped off is tuff. It happened to us before and that's why you always take payment's up front for everything. Sometime's it's hard to but that's how you seperate the pro's from the garage kid's who don't have their shit together yet. Sorry you got ripped off juju!

 

[Jarkko Mattheiszen]

yeah, you're totally right... but that's almost the worst part, these dudes stayed at my house, brought them to parties, bought them beer... i try to transcend strict professionalism and be legit friends with the guys, that makes for a better end result in the record, doesn't it? i might've been a bit rough on him, i didn't mean to tell him they weren't going anywhere, just that they WOULDN'T if they kept up this condescending attitude. but yeah...you're still right.

I know, that's one of the hardest parts in the business. You have to consider the clients friends (and usually the clients genuinely become good, long-time friends), but when cash is concerned, they're the client who are obliged to pay you, the service provider for your services.

It's brutal, yeah, but in the end it's just business and unfortunately some people fail to comprehend that :/

 

[mva801]

We all have to deal with fucktards at some point. I've been outright stiffed once, by some british asshole, who is getting a punch in the mouth if see him again. And one other guy bounced a check to me. He was supposedly this bands manager, and I finally had to tell the band, who immediately paid me. I won't work with him again. There's not much you can do except pursue what avenues of communication you have and present your case to the band. If they ignore you or refuse to pay, that's on them. I'm the kind of guy who would start shit if I saw them around, but the best thing for you to do would probably just be to let it go.

Then if you find out someone else is recording them, just make a professional courtesy call to them and let them know they need to get the dough up front.

 

[Loren Littlejohn]

CJ had informed me he still hadn't received the cash they owed him, so I gave it to him, fully expecting to band to get me back.

If people can be shitty about money they will be. The sooner you get that the better. Chalk this up to a learning experience and move on. Black list both bands (easy enough to do just spread word of mouth to other studios not to work with them because they don't pay) and be done with it.

 

[ForHerDeadEyes]

I feel your pain..
The thing, with mixing etc, is.. If you've done something right.. people will think that you've done nothing at all..
Sucks to learn shit the hard way.. :/

 

[Lowberg]

Why the hell is he complaining about the mix? Andy Sneap couldn't even make that band sound good. His band fucking blows.

Shit like this makes me want to punch every fucking core band in the dick. They are 90% scumbags IMO

 

[Ermz]

That's the risk you run when working with children. Being part of any youth scene uprising works both ways. You stand to gain a lot of exposure, but you stand to work with a lot of morons as well. Many don't understand how a professional client/provider relationship goes. In all fairness though, you have to maintain that impression even while you're trying to befriend these people. As necessary as it is to meet eye-to-eye, you always need to give the impression that you're the one driving the bus.

The FB conversation - not sure what that is about - could be something to go without in the future. Don't take your attitude down a few pegs simply because you're pissed off to have been hard done. It happens to all of us - just chalk it up as a learning experience, move on and don't repeat the same mistakes again.

 

[Loren Littlejohn]

Got to love when idiots think "changes" can be done really quick like. What a fucking tool bag.

Just boost that tom a little, that only takes 5 mins right?

 

[Notuern]

Tbh, if you talked like that to me i would in a best case scenario just tell you to fuck off.
The other band might have been dicks and didn't pay, but you're essentially accusing an innocent person for something he didn't do.. and thats one of the worst things i know.
I understand the frustration in not getting payed or hearing from them, but again, i would NEVER accuse someone who didn't do anything.

 

[SocialNumb]

If I was in your place everyone involved would mysteriously go to jail for drug possession.

 

[Skinny Viking]

Pillsbury is right and it's an unfortunate name

Sorry you got boned by the other band

 

[TravisW]

The Pillsbury kid, who I will henceforth refer to as "Doughboy" is actually right, at least as far as how the other band's non-payment isn't any of his business.

Here's the thing that everybody needs to learn at one point or another; most musicians are flakes. If you're going to be working with musicians who are supposed to be paying you money, you have to ensure that you get the money up front, or you constantly run the risk of never getting paid. Take it from a guy who stopped doing instrument repair with $300 in accounts receivable, just on labor.