Re: Getting the gig. Where did it all start?
Well, Leaders always need followers....
Exactly, the live concert sound industry is a rather tilted place from a business standpoint. I'm not sure the industry would exist (certainly not like it is) if there weren't people willing to do all kinds of crazy work for very little monetary reward. Some people are willing to work for less than an honest wage because of the fun and exciting nature of the job. For some this only lasts till the first load out but among those that last long enough to understand what the job entails we end up with some people who are willing to not only work but sacrifice incredibly to live the sound dude life because they've fallen in love with it.
Thought #17: A lot of the successful firms started out with a partnership of at least 2 sound dudes. Clair and Rat are both examples of this.
Thought #9: It's been my assumption that the sound companies as well as the sound dudes that work with the biggest names generally started out at the ground level with a musical act that in turn worked it's way up the ladder. Somebody mentioned what Evan is doing and I think his is a very good example. If not for the success of the band he's touring with, he likely wouldn't be touring at the level he is. I think that success in the touring concert industry is often about being good at picking acts that will go somewhere commercially. That or being lucky enough that one of the no-name bands that you work with takes off.
Thought #4: By now we've all read Outliers and other books of its ilk (right?) so we're already aware that outstanding success is a combination of hard work and chance. I still hold onto the values that were instilled in me as a pup to work hard, be honest and strive for excellence but, I think I do sometimes get a dose of the same "poison" that Mr. Duffin is being associated with. I think the math shows that the ones who really end up standing out in a particular field had opportunities that the others didn't. Would the Clair brothers have been so successful if their father was a grocery store clerk instead of a grocery store owner? I wouldn't want to discount the value of the business education that they were exposed to from a very young age as well as a number of other unknown "advantages". Seeing others around you succeed where you seem to be failing can be a tough reminder that success could very well be out of your hands. But that is a good moment to reread the JBL story for if you give up, you more than likely forfeit any payoff of your hard work.
