Lessons & Stories from Bottom of the Hill (part 1)

[@420wizdumb6]

I'm 36 trying to get into live sound. I've been in bands and do recording/mixing in a bedroom studio. your videos are very inspirational!! thank you sir!!

[@oneminuteguitarlessons6060]

I just stumbled on your channel and know most of what you posted is a couple of years old. I must say, it’s great. Curious what you did before your career as an audio engineer? Your philosophy obviously applies across a wide range (all?) of professions. I like the audio stuff also but your focus on quality, effort, etc is what intrigues me. If people applied your “psychological” approach regardless of the profession, they would quickly rise to the top.

[@djabthrash]

"I became a live sound engineer at the age of 35". Wow ! Awesome ! Hits home since i'm reaching 35, and even if i've been a musician (amateur level) and doing bedroom studio production for years, i've been shifting my career (which was formerly in IT services) towards live sound only in the past few years.

[@CryptoTonight9393]

The biggest problem I have in terms of people skills is my complete inability to remember peoples names. I have to hear other people call them by their name a couple of times for some reason before I can remember. It also helps if the band is named after them but that only helps with that lead person.

[@CryptoTonight9393]

Well I feel like a failure lol, Ive been a live sound engineer for nearly 15 years now 10 of them as my main gig and with the exception of a few municipal events with maybe 5k audience I did with a wedding cover band I haven't been able to get above the 500 cap club venue level of my career. Ive tried to ask others if Im doing something wrong, every engineer I ask about my mix says Im doing a really good job, many bands praise me and some even say it was the best sound theyve had, and countless audience members have come up to me to say how well im doing (but I feel that even the worst engineer will get random praise so I cant really use that as a judge of my abilities), I feel like Im good with people, I have a cheerful disposition at work and go out of my way to make sure the artist is comfortable and happy so what am I missing?

[@janbrzezinski6558]

keep these going man...you're a legend

[@sethreid9017]

I just had a really great experience using a psychological approach with bands at a golf tournament. Stage volume had to be kept at a minimum. I just made them feel at home, and the results were amazing!

[@freemandiaz5123]

How am I the 25th view? Brother Paul sounding like Henry Rollins of sound @1:24. Haha. Miscreants. Mr Garfield was also a very hard worker. Looking forward to more, sir. ⚡

[@rookievideos8865]

This is very important advice. Put the locus of control internally in order to get to a successful place. There's a caveat to this however. It sort of assumes that if someone failed, it can never be because of external causes. It has to be because they have the wrong mindset. This isn't true. This trap is called the apex fallacy. You look at successful people, and you figure if they could do it, so can I. Oh yes? Can someone with an IQ under 80 make it your field? We do have to deal with cards that are given. There's only so much positions and there's more talented engineers. I'm not saying that your advice should be discarded, I'm saying that if someone fails, it's not always their fault. People who fail aren't all "decrepid losers." They can however figure out what they could do better next time, despite it not being their fault. Adapt to the situation. Someone with an IQ under 80 might never make it as a sound engineer, but they can still carve a path for themselves.

[@AllenPendleton]

Who you know is relevant in any business.