posse in the studio?

[tiger vomitt]

to those running studios where you dont always know the clients really well-

what's your policy when it comes to people hanging out who arent recording?


something's got me feeling paranoid about a session coming up next week.

[soundguy]

no drugs. no handguns. no posse. no exceptions, unless I personally allow for an exception. Not only is this the policy in the studio, but I also present this to most of the location work I do involving music videos, etc. I know a camera assistant who carries a fire arm after having real loaded guns pulled on him during shoots. Life is too short for that crap. If you are worried about the posse, tell them to stay home or find somewhere else to record. More work will come, it always does...

dave

[joel hamilton]

Ther are a few studios I have worked at that charged 25 dollars a person for "entourage." I havent seen them actually do it, but it is a pretty good deterrent.

Have a pal be your "intern" for the day. Give him 50 bucks to hang around and make sure mic's dont grow legs.

I just tell the artist it is going to cost way more if they insist on having a crew with them. That sucks. sorry you have to deal with it. I simply dont take those jobs anymore.

I had a pal that literally was pushing guns out of the way so he could set up a comp that was rented for the vocal session. Fuck that. I wont do it anymore.

[KingOlaf]

When I get a call from someone new I'm upfront with them. I tell them that if their music is all bitch this and N word that, I'm not the person to do it. Haven't had a posse problem since I started doing that.

Non essential people are a pain in the rear in general.

[tiger vomitt]

so far we all share the same opinion, good.

i dont even know why im questioning what my intuition was telling me. i think that since it is only one extra person, i feel some kind of social pressure to be okay with it (and in another situation i might be fine with it). ultimately it is my joint and if i dont want extra fools hanging around that's how it is.

anyway, thanks for the opinions!

if anyone else wants to chime in feel free, i'd love to hear a counter-argument



peace

TV

[Shawn Simmons]

Firstly, I have "studio guidelines" posted in every room. This states that, among other things, the client is responsible for all of their guests. If something is broken or stolen then it's the client's responsibility to pay for it. My regular clients know the drill and keep guests to a minimum. Any new clients have to give me their driver's license number, credit card info, and address. AND I withhold masters until everything is paid for, including broken/stolen stuff. My guidelines also state that the more unnecessary people that hang around the studio, the longer (and ultimately more expensive) the actual recording will take. More people = more hassles.

I try to be understanding about this stuff. I'm selling time in a studio. How the client wants to use that time is up to them. If they think it's worth their money to have friends come by so that they (the client) can feel cool and show off, I don't give a shit. I'm getting paid either way. Some people need that ego boost. Whatever. But it is my studio and what I say goes. If I don't like it, they're gone.

I've been in this business long enough to know when someone is a waste of time or a potential theif. I don't work with those people. I don't do rap sessions anymore because of my past experiences.

Another thing to think about is that about ten years ago, a local studio owner in Seattle was tied up, robbed at gunpoint, and then murdered. I think the police eventually found the suspects and I think they were clients of the studio. That is something to think about if you're involved in studios. That's some real shit. One thing I've done is meet new clients (cold callers mostly) at a bar or at their rehearsal space to get a feel for them as people. If I don't like them, then they've never seen the studio and won't ever know where it is.

Shawn

[KingOlaf]

Shawn1272, to be specific, they booked time with him, used a stun gun on him while his back was turned. They then duct taped his hands and mouth and he died of suffocation.

RIP.

[tiger vomitt]

THAT F***ING SUCKS!!!!!

[tiger vomitt]

well, ive already told the guy he cant bring anyone in who isnt recording. he was fine with it.

luckily or unluckily, i dont often do cold calls. it's word of mouth 100% of the time.

i realized there is soemthing of a downside to my approach. if im all word of mouth, each person that comes in here and watched me do my thing is a strong potential client. i just kissed one goodbye.




ying and yang yo,

tiger vomitt

[@?,*???&?]

We could never control it at Master Control in Burbank. We tried to leave it up to the Producer. We only ever had problems on hip/hop sessions because on those- who's the producer? The guy writing the beat? Nonsensical chaos ensues. One session we had in was the Outlawz. Basic hip/hop thugs. At one point we had 32 people in the control room with most of them passing around barbecue chicken- not a stereotype- it actually happened! The engineer was trying to mix. The noise level in the control room was tremendous.

The posse kept the runner in constant motion running for blunts there was never a time when people would consolidate runs. Why does the posse demand the services of a runner anyhow?

After a few days I had a talk with the guy who was financing and managing the project and presented him a scenario where things could run much more efficiently.

I can't imagine a studio that would tolerate a group of people that large peripherally (at best) involved a project. After 1 day, the studio looks like a bomb exploded in it at the end of the night, at the end of 30+ days, you're replacing the carpet, the upholstery and everything else. I say this, "say no to guns and thugs" and teach them how to make records- not just hang out and get high.

[soundguy]

another thing to consider- not only is the posse potentially bad for the studio, potentially bad for your health, but its also potentially bad for your reputation. I was mixing with a band this week who INSISTED on being in on the mix, which is a scenario I usually prefer, but after the third hour I looked at the band and was like, look, if you guys could shut the fuck up I'd be able to concentrate and actually jump through the hoops you want me to jump through. why not go out for some food or something and come back in an hour and you'll have something to listen to. And that was ONLY the band fucking around getting in the way of their own mix. Try that logic on the posse which has no real personal stake in the product they are fucking up by being there. Not a good situation. the last thing you need is to have your reputation compromised because the posse couldnt keep things at a level that allowed you to work critically and you wound up presenting a mix that was crap because of it.

When MC Hammer buys ME a helicopter, then I'll let him bring his posse.

stop! hammer time.

dave

[tiger vomitt]

dave are you saying you just did a session with mc hammer?



word

[thunderboy]

A pal of mine used to work at a particular studio here in NYC (hint: same name as a Wong Kar Wai flick) where he did almost nothing BUT these kinds of gigs.
While he certainly didn't care for the guns and constant implied threats of extreme bodily harm, he really hated having to order their Chicken Parmigiana sandwiches WITHOUT CHEESE OR SAUCE.

jt

[tiger vomitt]

WITHOUT CHEESE OR SAUCE

i dont get it. why didnt they want cheese or sauce?

[thunderboy]

The question should be: why order a Chicken Parm, hold the parm? That's called a chicken sandwich.

Kinda like ordering your Steak Tartare well-done or a BLT with turkey and no bacon.

They were probably smoking some of that m-------a. Addles the brainbone, it does!

jt