Was I wrong ?

[jangoux]

Today i was gonna track some songs from a whatever-metal band. I already had tracked 4, and i hoped it would finish today, but i was 100% sure because their drummer sucks (more on that later). They were scheduled to 8am and we needed to finish everything until 12am - everything was set, mics positioned, drums sounding GREAT (best tone I ever got from my Pearl Ian Paice snare + SM57 + API 3124 + Fatso + Neve EQ)...and the guy just got there at 10am. I was already somewhat upset with how things were going - I mean, I had to punch in almost every four bars or so to edit the drums to lock it to the grid just because he wanted that. When editing the songs later (with some tempo changes), i took MORE THAN FOUR HOURS on one of them. Anyway...I decided i wouldnt record them anymore with click tracks and the remaining songs would be done without it. You ask me why? Because my boss made them a per-song deal and not charge by the hour. I am just not insane...

Half a hour later we started recording, with less punch ins, and thing were looking better until we got to the third song. The guy was drunk like 4 hours before, slept only 2 hours and was CLEARLY unable to concentrate. We started the song and after spending 40 minutes on the first 10 seconds of the song, I got clearly upset, and so did him, as he started to make excuses and blame everything : the guitarist doing the guide tracks, the click, the daw, myself, the arrangement....My patience was over and after ONE HOUR AND FORTY MINUTES (for a 3 min song) of pain, they finished the song. I went down to talk to my boss and say i would end it for the day because that wasnt' working and told all the details (the hang over, the bad drumming, the bad atitude...) he was like 'OK, but say it calmly'.

OK, I went to the studio again and told them i was going to end it for the day due to all the things that happened and told them they need to take it more seriously and I didnt care if they were on a hang over, drunk, blah blah blah, as long as they were there to do their jobs. I woke up at 6am to be there to give my best to them, and I am not being paid by the hour to just keep waiting for their will. I am bringing their stuff home to do my best editing it and making them sound good (they're terrible) and I get this. Fuck that. At this time I was clearly showing how upset I was and my voice expressed that perfectly. They were also a bit upset for that, but i didnt give a damn.

The thing is..I know my boss dislikes when i do that. For him, the client is always right and we just need patience to build our client base. I just dont agree with clients being assholes (and that happens too often) and me having nobody to cover my back. Sometimes i feel the clients can golden shower me and I just have to stay shut Fuck that (again).

Am I wrong?

 

[Nebulous]

I think these situations are all about tone and timing.

It may have turned out differently if you'd spoken up at the start of the session, letting them know that you'd gotten up early for them, etc, etc, and that you could see they weren't in their best frame of mind to record and hence were letting them know in advance that if the session wasn't a smooth one you would end it early.

You'd still have said all the same things, you'd have just done it before your emotion got involved.

 

[James Murphy]

if for no other reason that it's not your business and your boss asked you to behave differently, yes... you are wrong.

there are plenty of other reasons, but that one alone is enough in this case.

if you think under two hours is a lot of time to do one song on drums, and it gets you visibly and audibly upset, and you can't control it even when you're told to not show your anger by the person paying you.... then this type of business is not for you.

think about that seriously, and be honest with yourself.


FTR, i've gotten angry with clients as well, and have had words... but not after only two days... not even close.

EDIT: and yeah, as Nebulous said. clarity saves tons of problems from ever developing.

 

[Jackal_Strain]

Mr Murphy said what i was going to say perfectly, but I'd just like to emphasize that no matter what line of work you're in, be it audio engineering, porn or whatever, the person signing your paychecks word is law.

 

[Nebulous]

At the end of the day it is a service industry, along with that must come the customer service side of the business.

If your pay structure is poor and results in such wasted time then it should be reviewed, or you may need to put up with it untill it is reviewed.

 

[jangoux]

Well, they knew that and that wasnt the first time they were SO late (actually, the drummer. He goes out, gets drunk and that is his excuse for not arriving at the scheduled time). It was the third time they got late (like 2 hours late and with a bad atitude) and i've asked them to make it early. I mean, it is THEIR recording. I talked to the guitarist and the singer before the recording that we needed to finish the drum tracking today, mostly because we were lacking time and my boss is pushing me to finish it (not to deliver it to the band, but to get the money). We just couldnt afford more lateness or lazyness. I have no problem with guys taking long to record drums. But i have a problem with guys clearly unable to record due to booze and i think you'll agree. I maybe mishandled it, but it still wrong IMO.

James, I somewhat agree with you, to some degree. If I was being paid by the hour, I'd be doing that with a big smile on the face. But i am NOT. To be honest, I dont agree on how my boss runs his business because i always get shoved up on my ass. I mean...you've got your business and so you do have your set of rules, dont you ? We dont have that there. The clients pays when he wants, the client arrives when he wants, the clients tells me I should make his songs sound like CLA in 6 hours tracking+mixing+mastering and I often have to deliver crap. Our hourly rates are VERY close to a project studio and when he does those kinds of packages with clients that arent serious about their stuff, I dont feel that is fair. It is around $3k for 8 songs (It is not a lot of money but the exchange rate makes it look worse). I get around $1200 to work up to 200 hours or whenever it finishes. Wouldnt you get upset?

If I had the oportunity I'd just quit it (and I almost did it a few weeks ago due to some money he owes me), but I have two daughers and a lot of bills to pay (mostly due to my home getting robbed at the beggining of the year), but that's another story that I dont want to get deep into. I've also asked not to be the only AE in there, but my boss doesnt want it due to some conflicts that happened in the past. Most of the time I am just frustated I can't do my job the way I want it to be done and often dont get paid. Whatever..

Anyway..while i still think I was not 100% wrong, you guys made me think it in another way. I think I'll send the guitarist an email apologizing but explaining more clearly my behavior.

 

[Chris_P_Critter]

Totally agree about setting the tone from the start.

I worked and managed national clients and accounts in my prior job for over a decade - setting the tone from the beginning not only makes sense, it should be a given in any type of business discussion - after all, you are helping to run a business. Let me quantify that statement by saying that I was NOT an audio professional of any sort, but business sense and customer service are universal no matter what industry you work in.

If you're the type of person that has trouble with that, then you need to work better at it. Don't take that as a negative comment, but think about it- some people can't assert themselves right away, but in your line of work (especially with some of the clients that you're basically forced to deal with), you need to be able to be firm, but also persuasive - a salesman, so to speak.

Start the session with your ground rules, but be polite about it - say something like "I've recorded many artists over the years, and honestly; unless you're able to give this your all, we will end the session early - there is no sense in hammering away at this project if the will is not there" - something to that effect to get your point across, but ALSO to get the guys in the band to think to themselves that you're really a professional, and they should listen to your advice. YOU have the opportunity to set the tone (no pun intended ) for the entire session right from the beginning.