my response is going to take some effort, so stick with me while i copy and paste and try to make sense of who typed what and what i'd like to add to it.
pergatory wrote:Quote: |
Would you stay in town and fight it out in a pretty negative atmosphere - subjecting yourself to a ridiculous amount of schmoozing just to pay rent, or relocate and ditch 90% of the small client list you've fought for over the years?
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you are asking this of a free-lancer that lives in KANSAS CITY.
hahahahaha
some body told me one time, "i never give opinions, because opinions are advice, and advice.......is personal"
i'll give you some of my personal truths, and soe opinions, but i will avoid straight out advice because i've never walked a step in your reality.
electrical wrote:Quote: |
I believe that having an engineer whose name is known in your midst makes all the other engineers in the area better (traditional competition) and accentuates those areas where the "other" engineers have legitimate advantages (practical or aesthetic) over the "big name."
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(i'll name names because there is simply nothing wrong with doing that)
my reality.....Ed Rose built this area up in the recording side of things. he does MANY local artists and has since moved on to doing many regional and national acts. you can like his work or not.....that simply doesn't matter. what does matter is that he raised the bar. if you can't produce "x" product, then you can't justifiably call yourself "pro" in this town.
i was pissed that so many people went to him blindly when i first started free-lancing here, but steve is right. it's really a good thing. and Ed has done nothing to me, he hasn't taken food off my table, nor has he done anything malicious against other engineers here.
pergatory wrote:Quote: |
My question is meant to try to clear the haze of 10 years of swimming upstream trying to get established.
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only you can clear the haze.
i have a friend that spent 25 years scrapping and fighting for every gig he got. this guy is very talented, very well versed in recording, can schmooze with the best of em.......only recently has he started booking gigs that he probably should have years ago. 10 years is nothing man, it's a number, it's just time.
i've been clawing and scrapping for 7 years. where has it gotten me? you don't see me on the cover of tape op......i'm not even in the pages. do you own a single record i have made? most likely, you don't. i'll keep clawing and scrapping for another 7 if that's what it takes.....man i'll go another 30.
i tried to quit once. i couldn't, it's in my blood, it's part of me, i can't walk away. i've tried to move.......i just got pulled right back here.
pergatory wrote:Quote: |
subjecting yourself to a ridiculous amount of schmoozing just to pay rent.....
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YES....because that is our job.....the phone doesn't just ring unless you are andy wallace.....and he spent years making his phone ring.
i spend more time talking about recording then i spend recording.......i've bought more people beers and never seen business from them then i care to remember. this is what i do, it is simply part of running a business. i don't expect anyone to care about my business as much as i do. every one around here knows me, do they hire me......no.....but let's move one step at a time.
electrical wrote:Quote: |
I know that there are studios in Chicago that emulate Electrical Audio, but there are also those that distinguish themselves by being proudly different, and they are succeeding precisely because they can point in our direction and say, "we do this particular thing better than they do."
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yet another personal story.
i spent the better part of two years beating my head against the wall......"why can't i get that big "mojaor label" sound"
i got so frustrated.......it was endless......
i woke up one morning and realized, i simply don't hear music like that. i can't force myself to mix a record in a manner that i can't even hear. i have to embrace my unique-ness, and just work with the i've got.......MY ears, MY brain......
after i did that, i started getting asked to mix other projects.....i was astonished, "what, just mix it...but my mixes are weird"
look at tchad blake.....that guy makes the most UN-major label sounding records, and he's done nothing but get busier and busier. people are drawn to his unique approach to audio.
pergatory wrote:Quote: |
Your point - it depends on how you look at it - is taken and appreciated, but there has to be a time that it just gets stupid to stay in town, also.
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i'm in kansas................i have projects from chicago, san fransico, fayetteville AR.....you can always network outside of your area.
i've spent WAY more time and resources getting my name out of this town then i have keeping it in.
it's like fletcher always told me when i worked at mercenary....."it's not hard to be the big fish in a mud hole, but where does that get you?"
i hope my personal realities help you shed some light on your own realities
keep your chin up......no one said this was easy