Band or Banned? The Fran Ashcroft column
Yes, I admit it – I’ve been banned from studios.
This one, for example – in the USA. Newly opened and lavishly equipped. But the owner/engineer’s pocketbook was a lot bigger than his experience, and it was apparent very quickly that he didn’t have a clue -
(a) only one of the monitors was working
(b) when he tried to fix it, both were massively out of phase
(c) the tape op couldn’t figure out how to connect an amp and speaker cab, and I found him half an hour later nodding out in the mic closet
We hadn’t even started recording yet.
Eventually we got underway, but the engineer simply couldn’t hack it… to the point where I felt he’d erase stuff by mistake if he continued any longer. So we took a break and I explained – in perhaps not my most charming fashion – that I was bringing in a replacement, pronto. This was not something he was happy to hear. As as owner of the studio, he felt somehow entitled to run the show. Not so, says I… my client is paying for the studio, not you, and I’ve been hired to make sure this session is a success. You’re a liability; so as producer I’m bringing in another engineer and asking you to leave the control room. Now.
I knew this studio needed the money and couldn’t afford to can the session, so off he went, tail between his legs, then lurked about outside for a couple of days until we finished - when I was told in no uncertain terms never to darken their doors again, ever!
So what’s the point of telling this story? That as producer, it’s your responsibility to bring in the record on time, on budget, and up to snuff – and sometimes you have to upset people to do it; musicians, studio, the artist, label or anyone else that gets in the way – including yourself. More than once I’ve delegated projects to other producers when my own -ahem- no nonsense approach would not be appropriate!
Everything is subservient to the record, innit?
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