Being in this biz for only 10 years, I guess it's safe to say that I am a baby. All of the biggest houses in the biz have been around for an average of 30-plus years, and a recent FOH poll revealed that a very small percentage of sound hire companies' owners are under the age of 40. I just celebrated my 38th birthday.
Three times in the 10 years HAS Productions has been around, it's lack of longevity in this biz has been questioned by a visiting FOH guy, all really big shows. In this biz, stakes are high and there are no second chances, so as crushing to my ego as it is, I understand their perspectives. With it only coming up three times, I guess I should feel fortunate. The Short Versions
A very good friend of mine who was (and continues to be) a well-respected promoter gave me plenty of gigs for the "anklebiter" level I worked in at the time. In fact, as I have grown, he has continued to give me bigger and better gigs.
About nine years ago, a new large venue opened up where my friend was put in charge of all production and booking of the acts. I, of course, called on him with the expectation of handling all of the shows. He informed me that I was not able to handle acts of the size he was booking. I argued that gear was easy to sub rent, and then, he said it: "You are not experienced enough to deal with these acts." I was crushed! I went to the venue for one of the first big shows, and Toby Keith was the act. Not as big as he is now, but big enough. After seeing the big production rental for the show, I thanked my friend for saving both of us a lot of grief. He was right; I was not ready.
However, after 10 years (91/2 years after the Toby thing), HAS Productions has come a long way. We have hired some very seasoned staff members and have a few younger guys who still actually love every part of a gig, even the crappy ones. Today, I am confident that we could handle the gig.
The second incident came six years ago. We had taken over a venue from a larger competitor. During NFR (National Finals Rodeo, a huge week-long event in Las Vegas), they would book a lot of country.
I received a rider for a pretty big rodeo act. Looked the rider over and realized we had almost all of the gear required. I eagerly called the production manager to advance the show. The first words out of his mouth were, "You're who? With who? I assumed the 'big' guy was doing the gig."
My heart sank. I started telling him that we did these kinds of shows all the time and I had the gear he was asking for. "On your rider, you want KF 850s. Cool–that's what we have."
His response was, "Uh, don't you have this other box, or what"? I said the 850 was the only box on his rider.
Next, I said, "Well, you want SM 222 wedges, I have those too."
"I want something smaller," he shot back.
This went back and forth for a while and I ended up asking him, "Well, do you want anything that is actually on your rider?"
Fast-forward a bit. The venue, of course, booked the act for the entire week. From loadin to load-out, he treated us like crap. We did everything right. Well, maybe if I had brought him a bottle of aspirin every day to deal with his hangover we would have gotten along better. Oh, did I mention he was a smoker who dumped ashes in our console every night? It almost seemed like he wanted us to know he didn't give two craps about us or our gear.
The worst part? The venue booked them during NFR for the next three years. Every year, it was the same. The entertainer was truly one of the nicest people we had ever worked with, and I believe if he knew what this guy was about, he would have fired him. Unfortunately, the performer's health took a turn for the worse and he passed away. But this guy actually had the balls to call me for work! "Uh, hey man. So I live a couple hours away and can commute if you need anything. I think we work well together." UNFREAKIN'- BELIEVABLE!!
The final story happened just a few weeks ago. I have been "romancing" a new client, lots of work coming from this guy. His first event was a corporate event for about 300 real rich people in a tent. They had hired a founding member of one of the biggest acts of the last 30 years. We got the rider and it was surprisingly easy to put together a bid and submit it to the buyer. A few weeks passed and the buyer called to tell me we were the middle bid and we had the job.
My crew chief/shop manager called the "heavyweight" FOH guy to advance the show. The guy freaked out, telling my guy that none of the gear we were offering would do, and what were we thinking? It was exactly what was on the rider, we told him. "Oh, that is the wrong rider," he replied (we have all seen this one before). Even this big, heavyweight FOH guy couldn't get the right rider out. I thought he would be more together.
We had a portion of what he wanted and told him we would need to get back to him on the rest of the list. After a few calls, we had secured all of the equipment he wanted. This also meant we needed to rent gear we hadn't budgeted for, but I needed to make an impression with the FOH guy and the client. My intent was to eat the rentals even if it meant losing money on the gig.
My crew chief started calling Mr. Heavyweight and left several messages. No response. We sent e-mails with lists of exactly what he wanted. No response. About two weeks before load-in, I called my client, who made a call to the FOH guy and was told, "Those guys don't know what they are doing."
"The guy at HAS I advanced with was unprofessional and gave me the run-around."
"Won't return calls." (Heavyweight FOH guy NEVER called.)
"Besides, I have never heard of them." That's the gist of it right there.
Well, we got the boot from the gig. Which was the first time that had happened in 10 years.
Now, the client is having second thoughts about using us at all. This would be a high-six- figure-a-year client, and now because some %@*! says he doesn't know who we are, we may lose the whole gig for the long term.
Look, Mr. Heavyweight, if you're not comfortable, just say so up front. You don't need to slander me or my company–especially to the client. (Big attorney word, slander. Ten out of 10 people I talked to about the incident said to sue him.)
He could have said, "Hey Larry, maybe we can do something down the road with a bit less stress and see how it goes." That would have gone a long way.
I would have gracefully bowed out if he would have just said, "I am just not comfortable without a name-brand company. This event is just too important." I wouldn't have liked it, but I would have backed out just the same. That would give me the opportunity to keep peace with the client and maybe work something out with this guy for the future.
So, here we are. I am perplexed about this last story and am sure I can't possibly be the only guy this has happened to. So please feel free to send me your feedback, tell me to stop crying about it or share you stories with me. You can contact me at larryhall@fohonline.com.
