Category Archives: Helpful Hints

August 6, 2013 · 8:41 am

Soundboards

This TunesDay, let’s talk about recordings. Specifically, concert recordings.

English: A shot of the control surfaces of the...

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Now, we’ve all heard live albums – your favorite band recorded in concert. What you might not realize is that many “live”albums are as carefully mixed and “sweetened” as a studio album.  They can often capture the energy of a band live but they can also hide some fundamental flaws – a flat vocal tuned up, a missed solo punched in and the bad one removed.  It’s sort of audio Photoshop.

I prefer soundboard recordings, the black coffee of music.  These are recordings right off the mixer used at the show.  Many have circulated as bootleg tapes or discs for years.  They are generally of high quality and they can be thrilling.  Yes, there are some “audience tapes (recordings made with good equipment by a member of the audience) that can capture the raw performance but I think soundboards have a leg up since every mike is accounted for in the mixer.  I have an Eagles soundboard of a live show that shows how brilliant they were as a vocal band (oh, and Joe Walsh can flat-out play…).   I have many others – some of which unmasked  the bands as studio creatures; others of which (pick any good Dead show!) put anything the band ever did in a studio to shame.  Soundboards are the ultimate test of a band to me.

I was listening to a soundboard yesterday (a Talking Heads show from the mid-1980’s – boy they were good live!) and a business thought hit me.  While marketing used to be studio music – sweetened, totally controlled – it’s become soundboards.  Customer comments, social media, review sites – they’re raw messaging about your company or brand.  That’s why we need to get it right as we play it live – there won’t be any chance to fix it later.  A Tweet to a customer that sets the wrong tone, a questionable Instagram photo, or just heavy-handed censorship of comment boards will all be heard as those actions get played back over and over through the digital echo chamber.

If you can’t play live, don’t try to fake it.  Inevitably someone will make the soundboard public and you’ll look foolish.  It’s why The Beatles felt they should stop touring (even thought the soundboards of the rooftop concerts filmed for Let It Be are spectacular) – their sound had become so complex that they didn’t think they could do it justice live.  Be at least that smart and err on the side of caution.   The soundboards won’t go away if you’re wrong.

What’s your thinking?

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August 2, 2013 · 8:45 am

Management And Mussels

Foodie Friday!  We were out to dinner last weekend and two of us split a plate of mussels as an appetizer.

Mussels at Trouville fish market

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

They were delicious but they also got me thinking.  As you’re probably aware, mussels are part of the clam family.  There are lots of different varieties and you can prepare them in any of several ways.  You can grill them, fry them, smoke them or boil them.  Most of the time, they’re steamed in wine and/or water with different herbs and garlic.

Unlike other types of shellfish, I’m not aware of many places serving mussels on the half shell uncooked.  I’m not sure why that is although I’d speculate that it’s because their shell seems more fragile to me – sort of like steamer clams which aren’t really suitable to be served on the half shell.  It would be hard to get them open without breaking the shells and disturbing the meat inside.  You can tell if they’re alive before you cook them (and the MUST be) because they’ll shut down a bit when you disturb them.

Isn’t it interesting how working productively to supervise other folks can be just like cooking mussels?  The method of doing so usually involves the application of slow, gentle heat to coax the best out of them.  You can’t just apply that heat, to people, however intensely, and expect them to turn out great results.  Screaming at staff doesn’t work, nor do threats.  Explanations of goals and desired outcomes as a conversation (not a lecture) work wonders.  You’re in charge – you need to add the things that will enhance what your folks are bringing to the table – herbs and spices to the mussels; clear direction, and timing for your staff.

The expressions “clam up” applies both to shellfish and people.  Make them feel unsafe and they shut down, drawing shells tight around them.  It’s critical to notice if people DON’T react to events going on around them.  Those may be the ones that have lost their spark completely and, like dead shellfish, need to be dealt with before they spoil the dish (they can make you sick too!).

Managing as if you’re cooking mussels isn’t a bad thought in my book.  Yours?

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August 1, 2013 · 8:26 am

Horns

Business took me away for a hotel stay last evening. As you might know, Rancho Deluxe, better known as the home office, is located in a pretty quiet suburban town. Some random deer sneezing is about as loud as it gets in terms of external noise.  Living in a city is different and last night’s stay reminded me of when we lived in Manhattan. It’s rarely quiet.

Car horn symbol

(Photo credit: net_efekt)

The sound that seems to dominate is that of horns. Car horns, truck horns, construction horns. All day and most of the night, their incessant sound can drive you nuts until you learn to ignore it. Which is, of course, the business point.

Too many brands use their marketing messages much as a driver uses a horn. Think about how you use your car’s horn.  There are the friendly little taps to let someone know you’re there and to come out to the car.  There are the intense, lean-on-that-sucker blasts to tell the moron texting that the light has changed and to get moving.   Despite its simplicity, the horn can send a lot of different messages, all of which are intrusive and attention-getting.

Marketing is like that too.  Some brands are still treating their audiences like the line of traffic in front of them.  They blast away even when it’s obvious that the horn will do no good.  How do you react when a driver does that to you?  I don’t react well.  Than again, you learn to ignore it.

Consumers have learned to ignore car horn marketing.  The harder you slam away, the less chance you have to get them to pay attention.  Using car horn tactics in channels such as social media can do way more harm than just the apathy caused by ignoring your messages.  Your inept marketing can be held up for ridicule, much like the dope that’s too busy reading his email to drive.

Horns can be lifesavers – alerting another driver you’re behind them as they back up or making sure a pedestrian is aware you’re coming, for example.  If they’re abused, however, they’re just so much noise and serve no purpose.  We need to make sure that our marketing doesn’t fall into that trap.

You with me?

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