This is brilliant.
As a fellow engineer, I am encouraged by the thoughts and convictions I hear in your lecture. I know I remember reading excerpts from that lecture, but to watch the whole thing was very enjoyable. While one could easily see the differences in our individual career paths, it is uncanny the similarities in the fundamental core of engineering, as a profession, that we do share. It is refreshing to hear genuineness (genuineity?).
I have some questions and some comments if you don't mind.
Questions
1.) How old were you when you did (what you consider) your first session as an engineer?
2.) What was the first console that you had in your home studio?
3.) How do you split the time between playing in a band and recording bands?
Do you schedule absolute time for your band?
Do you have a social life or family life that is part of the equation?
4.) Do clients look to you to solve problems or are you more inclined to lead them to their own path in problem solving? I guess I mean; when you work with insecure Artists, how do you overcome the inevitable situations involving their insecurities?
5.) Is it true what you say about Robert Plant and Jimmy Page? Kings and commoners?
6.) I'm not sure about the shitstorm that followed In Utero, but from what I understand it was a difficult time. If everyone in the Industry had high-fived you and patted your back, do you think you'd have taken the same path that you're on now? In other words, how much of a psychological effect (negative or positive_) did the post-record experience have in your life and what did you tell yourself to help move beyond?
Comments;
I was one of those engineers you describe that came into play during the 80's indulgence period. Linn, DX7, Emulators etc.. ; I thought I knew what was best for the band/Artist until one day (I remember it well) when I was bitching and moaning about all the things I didn't have available to make a "proper" record when my boss, David Foster, leaned over to me and basically said "shut the f**k up kid, you can easily be replaced. You should be more concerned about making the best record with what you have and with what you know. Leave the complaining at the door". An eyeopener to me and a blessing to all my future clients, I'm sure. Having an arsenal of great tools certainly allows for more options in problem solving, but getting closer to the basics has always proven to be the best resource.
It is so true how important client support really is. Making the client's vision the #1 priority has always been of utmost importance to me. My projects take a lot longer than yours do because of two mantras I've developed over the years; "If you can imagine it, I will do it" and "No is not an option". Oh well.
Your comments on negotiating are spot on. Not fun. Never had a manager and always did my own negotiating, but being on the top tier of paid engineers for so long, it is a constant effort to re-define my accessability and affordability in this "new" industry. Looks like you've prepared well for longevity. Square and fair.
It can be easy to become agitated by deadlines, demands or indecision. I think your advice about not becoming uppity is most valuable. Leaving the anxiety to others is my preferred way of working.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think your strength lies in building bridges for the bands to gain confidence in sounding like themselves and steering them away from the trap of sounding "like" somebody else. As an added benefit, they get to employ the tried and trusted methods that you've developed over the many years devoted to your craft.
On the point about digital being inappropriate to record making or archiving, I disagree. I'm a singles guy. I rarely listen to whole records anymore and I have found my music discoveries online to be "awesome" in a good way, as in there is an incredible amount of music available made in dorms and the bedroom that is just as enjoyable and meaningful to me as analog, studio recordings.
My take on archiving has more to do with the final 2 track than the multi-track. As far as I'm concerned, the CD/DVD/Mp3/name your format here- is the gift to the future generations. Even though format conversion is necessary to keep current data capable of playing on future systems, if one maintains the current playback system as you do with your analog machines, there is no reason why you couldn't replay your current format on your maintained machine without the need to upgrade. This is not something I care to debate because I'll probably lose but I do have some contrary opinions. Then again, I believe the lecture you gave that I'm referring to is a few years old and you probably have more to offer on the subject anyway.
I'm going to post this tonight even though I may wake up in the morning and wonder why I wrote this, so, In closing, the reason I took the time to write this is because I admire your contributions to this industry as a person more so than I admire your engineering. Not to imply that I don't admire your engineering it's just that I don't actually know that much about your work except what I've read and maybe a few of the more mainstream works I've heard.
In a nutshell, thank you for your openess and honesty and thank you for your willingness to treat people fairly. It is contagious.
Sincerely,
Dave Reitzas
www.reitzas.com