AN OPEN LETTER TO THE SOUND GUY
08/02/10
Dear Sound Guy at the Club,
Do your job!
And don’t lie to me and tell me you are... because the last two shows I went to were both affected by you NOT DOING YOUR JOB.
The first show was at El Cid, where apparently you operate by a simple “set it and forget it” rule. You do know that not every song is the same right? Sure the set started out sounding good, but soon the backing vocals and violin were drowning out the rest of the band and people started heading for the exit. The second show was a few short days later at The Hotel Cafe, where you were again nowhere to be found when the band needed your help getting sound to an acoustic guitar. Luckily the band quickly changed up their set and soldiered on, winning over the crowd, despite your mysterious absence.
Now I realize you may have a different definition of what “doing your job” means than the rest of the world does, so let me break it down for you so there is no misunderstanding...
You work in a space that makes its money by selling alcoholic beverages... and probably some nachos and other food stuffs. The space you work in is big and has a stage in the corner, so the people who own it bring in bands they think will draw a crowd of people who will drink the alcohol and eat the nachos and crap they are selling. Those people have hired you to come in and make those bands sound good so the people who are buying the drinks and nachos and crap will stick around and buy more drinks and nachos and crap. If you walk away halfway through a set to go have a drink or a smoke or to trying to convince some girl how much better your shitty band is than the one on the stage, guess what... YOU ARE NOT DOING YOUR JOB!!!
And you not doing your job is not just bad for the band on the stage or the people you work for... it’s bad for the local music scene as a whole. It’s bad for every band that isn’t playing that night as well as for your shitty little band. And it’s bad because if just one of those people in the crowd is out for the first time checking out the local music scene, you will have confirmed everything they’ve assumed about it. That it’s not worth their time. And so, they won’t be coming back anytime soon... and neither will their friends.
So, please, Sound Guy at the Club, do you job. Because if people are enjoying the music that night, rest assured, they will be back again for more. And one of those nights just might be the night you’re shitty little band is playing. And I’m sure, when that night comes, you’ll want the sound guy at that club doing his job too.
Love,
Gorillacoustic
Do your job!
And don’t lie to me and tell me you are... because the last two shows I went to were both affected by you NOT DOING YOUR JOB.
The first show was at El Cid, where apparently you operate by a simple “set it and forget it” rule. You do know that not every song is the same right? Sure the set started out sounding good, but soon the backing vocals and violin were drowning out the rest of the band and people started heading for the exit. The second show was a few short days later at The Hotel Cafe, where you were again nowhere to be found when the band needed your help getting sound to an acoustic guitar. Luckily the band quickly changed up their set and soldiered on, winning over the crowd, despite your mysterious absence.
Now I realize you may have a different definition of what “doing your job” means than the rest of the world does, so let me break it down for you so there is no misunderstanding...
You work in a space that makes its money by selling alcoholic beverages... and probably some nachos and other food stuffs. The space you work in is big and has a stage in the corner, so the people who own it bring in bands they think will draw a crowd of people who will drink the alcohol and eat the nachos and crap they are selling. Those people have hired you to come in and make those bands sound good so the people who are buying the drinks and nachos and crap will stick around and buy more drinks and nachos and crap. If you walk away halfway through a set to go have a drink or a smoke or to trying to convince some girl how much better your shitty band is than the one on the stage, guess what... YOU ARE NOT DOING YOUR JOB!!!
And you not doing your job is not just bad for the band on the stage or the people you work for... it’s bad for the local music scene as a whole. It’s bad for every band that isn’t playing that night as well as for your shitty little band. And it’s bad because if just one of those people in the crowd is out for the first time checking out the local music scene, you will have confirmed everything they’ve assumed about it. That it’s not worth their time. And so, they won’t be coming back anytime soon... and neither will their friends.
So, please, Sound Guy at the Club, do you job. Because if people are enjoying the music that night, rest assured, they will be back again for more. And one of those nights just might be the night you’re shitty little band is playing. And I’m sure, when that night comes, you’ll want the sound guy at that club doing his job too.
Love,
Gorillacoustic
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