Dealing with band conflicts

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Leopold
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Dealing with band conflicts

Post by Leopold » Thu Nov 03, 2005 12:00 pm

For the past two years I've been recording bands in our rehearsal space, pretty laid back, decent gear and I think I'm an easy guy to get along with, willing to try whatever bands want and give my two cents when asked. I try to keep things flowing especially because we usually have to get into our space early before other bands show up in the neighboring rooms.

Out of about 12 bands that i've recorded 4 of them have either broken up, are on the verge of breaking up or simply lose enthusiasm when they realize this is going to take some work and commitment.
i've noticed that these bands sometimes have troubles that I'm unaware of and eventually they surface when they have to deal with eachother for extended periods of time, are trying to get good takes, trying to each have some input in the project etc...
One band came in did all the basic tracks and later when the guitar player had to return to do his overdubs he quit the band..I asked why and they said, he was hurt that they asked me to record them instead of him...apparently he has some sort of small digital multitrack and a few mics, I even offered to let him assist and be more involved but the damage was done.

So my question is how do you deal with this stuff, for those of you that are more expereienced in this how do you help bands resolve their conflicts, is it possible? Is it our place to do so?

When my band recorded our album a few years ago I told the producer, part of what I'm paying you for is to filter ideas to the rest of the guys so I'm not seen as the "dick" trying to tell everyone what to do..it worked and we're still a band..
Now I'm hardly a "producer" but it's a drag for everyone involved when this happens and it's pretty sad that something that should be fun, creative and positive turns ugly.


Eddie
"I raged against the machine and all this money came out!" Bart Simpson

penrithmatt
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Post by penrithmatt » Thu Nov 03, 2005 12:51 pm

i generally try and stay out of that shit.if they have issues amongst themselves when they come in to record with you...wel,that has nothing to do with you,so.......i mean,if they start duking it out in your control room you might wanna step in,but otherwise i'd be inclined to leave them alone to deal with their own problems and not go interfering.....
If it's not distorted,what's the point??

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I'm Painting Again
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Post by I'm Painting Again » Thu Nov 03, 2005 1:24 pm

How you treat people depends,

on how much you care about them,

or have energy to devote to them,

or how much you feel

the work is worth it to perform..

mixalot
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Post by mixalot » Thu Nov 03, 2005 5:53 pm

i usually pull the " this is no place for personal problems with me on the clock" thing. or something like that . they usually shut up and get through the session and argue some other time.
if that doesnt work i will just end the session and tell them to come back when there ready. it sucks to lose the cash but if you do that then they usually luv you for it later. they get to come back with a clear head or a plan etc.

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joelpatterson
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Post by joelpatterson » Thu Nov 03, 2005 6:22 pm

You've got to do what you can to smooth the waters and make your studio happy all the time, but any real decision is up to the producer figure, isn't it? Someone is always the one in charge of the project. They get to be God and decide what happens.

Sometimes people just want to bitch or haphazardly throw out ideas, and some people are just plain misguided, sincere as they are.
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dracofhc
audio school
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be attentive

Post by dracofhc » Sat Nov 12, 2005 11:26 pm

If you notice that a band your working with is having issues in the studio, first make sure you're not doing anything to advance their problems without knowing it. Definitely to not outright try and solve their problems unless they're close personal friends. It is possible to be a little more subtle, though. If you have a talkback mic setup, make sure it's not favoring any one person, even though one person may be making all the decisions. Actively ask everyone questions. Ask the guy in the corner who hasn't given any input what he thinks of his bass sound. Unless there is a definite band leader who everyone respects and gets along with, don't make band wide decisions without asking the whole band. A simple "what do you guys think" won't offend the guy asking you for something and will make everyone else feel more involved. AS far as your guitar player goes, he's probably feeling that the band thinks he's worthless as an engineer, which he may in fact be. You might consider talking to him like an engineer. Ask what kind of gear he has. If there's anything at all that could be useful, ask him to bring it over and then use it for something. Don't come off as asking him to assist as a favor to him even if that's the case. Make him feel needed and useful. Sorry I went on for a while. I'll leave you with this: Go over everything you're doing with a fine tooth comb to make sure you're not picking one person over the others or leaving one out. After that there's not a whole lot more you can do. Good luck.

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