I quit a gig.

[spankenstein]

I had been working with this band since September and we only had aruond 20 hours in. The scheduling was a nightmare. Each member was coming independantly to do their parts. They were commenting to me on each others parts: "I thought the bass player came and fixed her parts." "Is that how she really going to play that." They cancelled quite a few dates and one time showed up when I didn't even know they were coming.

The other night I was playing and the bass player from this band happened to be there. They have only had roughs so far to check on each others parts after they tracked them. I thought they were pretty good sounding roughs! So the first thing this person says to me is, "So when we're mixing is this going to have any balls, I can't even hear my bass parts."

I just didn't see anyone being happy with the outcome here. They were all upset and each others playing. Some really liked the mixes some didn't. They were still not done tracking. This is my hobby! If it was my job (yes I'm charging, but it's not my main source of income) I'd trudge through it but I'm not going to spend my precious evenings and weekends, maybe... if the show, working on something that I have no interest in and that I know no one is going to be happy with.

When I called them I already had the zero aligned wavs on DVDs ready to go and I told them that I didn't think I was the right person to finish this project but I have everything ready to take over the completion of it.

Maybe that wasn't the way to go but I feel a whole lot better now.

[Professor]

Nothing wrong with that man. It certainly sounds like they weren't terribly serious about getting it done, and that the band isn't working well together as a band. And there's nothing worse than making roughs and getting different responses from a whole bunch of folks who weren't interested enough to actually be there together for even the tracking.
I suppose you could have backed out of it with something like "I thought we'd be done by now and my life suddenly got really busy." Which still keeps open the possibility of them begging to 'finish it out this week' so at least you can make the full cash amount and have the project done. But like you said, this is a hobby more than something that's needed to cover the bills.
If you instead said to them that they aren't working well together, the album isn't coming together, and you think they need someone 'better' than you to keep them focused and on track, they might get mad at you for a while, but they might also try to fix some of what they are doing. That does, of course, depend heavily on their strength of character and it already sounds like there ain't much promise there.

Give 'em the discs, collect the check and move on.

-Jeremy

[cgarges]

Man, I feel your pain.

It sounds to me like there was next to zero communication in this band. I can't believe a band would even exist under these circumstances, but I'm getting to be an old fart more and more each day. It also sounds to me like you tried to go about doing your job in a perfectly admirable way.

We, for the most part, work in a service-oriented industry. I learned a long time ago that there will be MANY instances in my career where I will want the end project to be cooler than the band and sometimes, the circumstances of the band's existance outweigh that. Of course, everybody's definition of "cool" is different, but not finishing vs. finishing is something entirely different. If the band can't even be there at the same time to offer support to the other members or make decisions, there's not much you can do. If they've paid you for the time so far, at least you're that much ahead of the game.

I think if it's not worth your time and you're not going to screw anybody over in the process, pass on it. It would be one thing if certain people were relying on you in terms of a limited schedule or something, but it doesn't sound like this is the case.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

[spankenstein]

They were all paid up. In their defense my contact with them had said "we'll be a major pain in the ass." So I did have warning, I just didn't think it would be that bad.

[drumsound]

It sounds like you handled the situation like a pro. There's no reason to feel bad. Now you have time for players who actually want to make a record

[tommy]

They were all paid up. In their defense my contact with them had said "we'll be a major pain in the ass." So I did have warning, I just didn't think it would be that bad.

I did a full length CD with a band kind of recently and the scenerio was just like what you described with the band warning me very similarly as well. It was, without question, the A-1 most difficult session I've ever done period. I did manage sludging my way through it to the end and playing shrink along the way too. Didn't quite see it coming. The irony of this particular session was the fact that all the extra musicians that got asked to play parts on the recording wound up being the easiest parts to record as well as the parts that everyone in the actual band could universally agree on and fell in love with. For the most part, everyone else in the bands recorded parts was like pulling teeth. Take after take after take... The session wound up going way over budget and past the alloted deadline. Uggg. Why am I drudging up this memory???
Anyway, I think you did the right thing. The only reason I couldn't do the same was that I'm really good friends with the band.
That being said, I dont think I will ever work with them again.
You live and learn.

[AnalogElectric]

I've had a few similar situations... very few but it does happen. Bad communication is hard to deal with. I usually throw up my hands and say, "What do you want me to do about it?"

I think with a band like that they still need to figure stuff out... probably means more practicing and demo'ing before they go in for a "final product".

You handled yourself just fine. There were only two times I told a client that I probably am not the person they should be working with and I told them why.

Those couple times, respectively, were due asking to "fix in the mix" during the mixing (even tho they should've brought up any concerns during playback--I always make a point of bringing that up during a main tracking listenback) and a session where the lead singer drank a whole bottle of vodka, ate my left-over pizza (without asking) and puked all over my control room floor.

-- Adam Lazlo

[stinkpot]

Nicely done.

[knobtwirler]

If a lot of people suddenly had a similar story to tell, I still wouldn't get enough of them. The last thing I'd want is to have to make a record that was more about not making the record. I probably would have refused the gig at "pain in the ass", but I could see how sometimes that could be interpreted as a challenge. Let your refusal send the message to crappy bands everywhere to stop bothering people like us by pretending to be professional.

[Roboburger]

I finished a project this year that I was under the impression when it started it was gonna be a demo sketchpad, as band members told me that they didn't really have all their parts written yet, and everybody had jobs/commitments and couldn't be there at the same time. Everyone had different ideas on how songs should go, and one member insisted on doing the mixes using only his nice headphones while the rest of us sat in silence... The mixes were good and all- it was just weird, and he was very defensive if you would want to change anything. So I just gave up and only spoke up when there was a significant other option, which I still let him decide if he liked the other way. The album is good, it just took MONTHS and screwed up my scheduling. and the front man is still paying me off months later, and I just stopped logging hours and would just book time with the mixer and leave him to it (they are old friends and sweet fellas to hang with). Nothing too traumatic, and I'd work with them again, but we'd do things a bit differently!

[knobtwirler]

Friends make you do weird things, huh? Glad you could be put through strange moves and still be friends. A lot of people in this business tend to lose their head and a friendship or what seemed like one turns sour.

[Roboburger]

well, on the level of recording that I do, you can't really take anything too seriously/personally. I mean, the difference in the mixes is slight, and if the customer prefers it that way, then who the hell am I to say it's not right? If they wanted my mix, they woulda got it, they didn't, so I stopped worrying about it.

Now, the issue of a band not knowing what they want is the original topic, and a different kettle of fish. Whenever I feel someone strying from the herd and going negative, I make an effort to reach out and bring them back in before they get to far out of the vibe. I have the gift of being on the "verbally inclusive" tip of garrulous. But what do you do when no one has clear idea where they want to take things? Especially if you haven't been hired as a producer?

Thankfully, I haven't had that session yet, but I can visualize it.