I Still Got It....

craigb


Bapu's is just a cheap foreign knockoff.  Here's the genuine real McCoy!

musicman100


Hippo, Parrot, ewe
Hippo, Pattor, ewe
Hippo, parrot, bambi(or dear) Old Pal
Hippo, parrot, ewe

I just dont get the secret message...

call me Dumb Kid from Arpadhon....

yorolpal


I had a very interesting session yesterday.  A father brought his 10 year old daughter in to sing against a backing track.  Usually these types of sessions are fairly cut and dried...folks come in, child sings (from extremely poorly to extremely good) we doll it up, mix it off and everybodies happy.  Of course due to the nature of these sessions we get our fair share of "pagent moms and dads" who are way more concerned than their kids with both the session and their child's chances at being "the next big thing".  But, for the most part, the kids are really into it as well and try their damndest to have a good performance.  We've found some of our best youthful singers this way and have provided paid work for them when the situation arrives.
 
In any case, I should have realized this session would be different when, on the initial phone call from "dad" he asked if we had the ability to edit time and/or pitch and during my affirmative answer said the dreaded words "I'm well aware of autotune" even tho I was speaking of Melodyne.  He also alluded to previous sessions in "Nashville" and how various "record labels" were in a hurry to get new demos from him.  Never a good sign.
 
Anywhoo, from the moment he walked in his lovely daughter could not have been more charming and, as it turned out, a fabulous singer.  Unfortunately, the same could not be said for ol dad.  He started complaining as soon as he hit the door.  First he despaired that our heater was on...it was 40 degrees outside...lawd knows why it kept coming on.  Then, as I was setting the room up for her he noticed we weren't using an "87" as he put it and could he have one please.  Then he asked what preamp we were running.  I told him that this suite was equipped with Eurekas.  "Oh, the little Presonus" he said with obvious disdain.  Then, back in the control room the obvious final shoe dropped.  "Sonar, eh?, we're used to ProTools".  I suggested then that he might be happier at any of the other studios around town that more met his (misguided) requirements.  "That won't help us today" was his reply and so off we went.  The file he'd brought of the backing track was, natch, an apple movie file that I had to convert using Sound Forge before importing into Sonar.  This caused more eye rolling.  But then his daughter started to sing and, as I said, she was very good.  Only she was singing a very age inappropriate song.  Very. 
 
After the first take dad called her back into the control room to both listen and critique her performance which with two small exceptions was, to my ol ears, exemplary.  To ol dad tho she might as well have vomited on the mike.  No energy!  Poor pitch!  You can, and will do better! 
 
Now, I hear this stuff quite often, and I usually try to let it just pass, finish the session and keep on rockin.  But there was just something about this guy (did I mention he had a ponytail?...and a man purse?) and all his "audio knowledge" and his "stage mothering".
 
So, after assuring his daughter of how nice she was, how well she sang, and how she'd be welcome any ol time at our studio...
 
I threw him out.
 
Boom.
 
I think it confused him.
 
Did I mention today's my birthday?
 
It was like a little present to myself:-)