Red Light Mentality – Being On Your Game
I recently did a session where we were doing minimal mic-ing, single take performances (no overdubs) AND shooting video. The results came out quite nice and that had no small part to do with the preparation that most all of the folks involved put in ahead of time. This experience, and many others besides over the last few years have coalesced into a philosophy I try to be mindful of all the time: “The Red Light is Always On”. It’s not just an axiom that holds true in the recording studio. Be it a rehearsal, a gig, etc… you are always being recorded. Maybe it’s a small recording device. Maybe it’s an iphone. Maybe it’s a full blown recording rig. It could just be the people in the room you’re working with paying especially close attention to what’s going on in a particular moment. The point is, it’s always happening. I’m not being paranoid or alarmist. It is a simple fact of the world we live in now. It’s posted on Facebook or YouTube. It’s shared amongst friends and fans of the people you are working with. It’s heard by colleagues and co-conspirators. This stuff gets out there in the world. It sticks around. This reality has one very important ramification: being on your game is imperative. All the time. You. Your gear. Everything.
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