The head controls the body, and this holds true for tours, audio companies and venues alike. Whether the marching orders are handed down by the tour manager or the production assistant, the disposition and temperament of one’s environment is dictated by the leader of said business — be it the artist, production manager or crew chief. No two tours are alike in spirit, and that holds true for audio companies and venues as well. The heads set the tone of engagement by their own demeanor and needs, and the resulting attitude trickles down and is passed along to the rest of the band, management and crew.
Attitude and approach do make a difference. Especially when one is living and working with the same people on a daily basis, where the prevailing positive or negative energy is passed along to all involved, thereby giving the tour, venue or company a life and personality of its own.
Some time ago, I did audio on a few tours with an artist who basically did not want to hear from the band or audio crew unless they were spoken to first. Being that this was a jazz band and I was the only crewmember, the five of us spent quite a bit of time together. The artist paid well and took care of her employees in regard to travel and accommodations, but since she would be assuming the negative or positive credit for the outcome of the tour, she made sure that she had first and final say musically and procedurally. This is not to say that these tours were a bad experience, for if they were, I wouldn’t have signed on for more than one tour. But the definite mindset for these excursions was a direct trickle-down from the top.
One thing I did appreciate was that she did not allow the band to treat or speak to me as an underling. During one of our first sound checks, the drummer started barking out his needs to me with the expectation that as soon as he made his demand, his monitor mix should change. Of course, these commands were somewhat non-specific, and vagaries such as “more kick, less piano, more vocal” were shouted at me in rapid fire. But as we all know, “more and less” are subjective terms, and not particularly qualitative or quantitative. Achieving a more-or-less scenario is not always a one-knob-or-fader-fits-all move, and while I was progressing quickly in my desire to make a good listening environment for the backbeat of the band, I did need to pause and ask, “How’s that?” His response was less than appreciative, and without any helpful guideline, he said, dismissively, “Just do it, I don’t want to talk about it!”
As it is, I am usually an easygoing, accommodating type of guy, but there’s a fine line between being accommodating and being the whipping boy. As I was getting ready to make the drummer aware of the difference, the leader jumped in and reprimanded the drummer by telling him that I was not his employee and he had no right to speak to me with the manner or attitude he was using. Continuing, she told the drummer that because I was her employee only, she had the right to speak to me in that manner, but since she wouldn’t treat me that way, then none of the band was allowed the privilege of speaking to me like that either. The tone was set, and while my relationship with the drummer was never warm and fuzzy, my working conditions were cordial and never abusive.
The Hostility Cycle
Another artist with whom I toured enjoyed talking down to band members as well as the crew. We managed to get the band on stage each night, but the situation was acrimonious, to say the least. Giving in to his insecurities and pathos, the artist lashed out at the people around him and created a hostile environment that affected everyone on the tour. This, in turn, gave license to tour members to relate in the same manner to each other as well as the people we met at each stop on the way. The tour manager became belligerent to venue managers, and the sound crew was short with local crews. The local crews didn’t take kindly to being treated poorly in their own venue, and it always seemed that our workday was longer and more draining than it needed to be due to the hostility being returned in kind. The problem was compounded by the fact that we weren’t even aware of the attached negativity traveling with us, as we had been living with it internally for many weeks. Therefore, we were unable to recognize that our individual and collective antagonistic behavior was far from the median, as it all seemed very normal to us.
Both Sides Now
When I ran a venue and was on the other side of it, I did my best to make sure the visiting crew and band was made to feel welcome and had the hospitality and the labor they required while not receiving an attitude from the crew. When we encountered a belligerent visiting crew, I did my best to make sure my crew didn’t counter in kind. It’s a difficult position to be in, and I’m sure that — despite my high-minded approach dealing with these situations — we did slow down and cooperate just a little less than usual, even if it was on a subconscious level.
The head controls the body, and whatever attitude or stance the head takes will trickle down and infect those in close proximity. They, in turn, will spread the positive or negative vibrations to all with whom they come in contact. These positive and negative feelings reside in all of us, laying dormant and awaiting release. The tour, sound company or venue chief has the capability to liberate any these inherent positive or negative feelings. These thoughts then spread from person to person as a malignant virus or a ray of sunshine, and it’s easy enough to see whether you are exuding the darkness or light by noticing which one is coming back to you.
Illustration by Andy Au
