[Media embed: {"text":"greg norman --> intern --> musician --> repair tech --> engineer --> greg norman","level":2}]
Greg Norman has worn many hats. For 15 years he's worked for Steve Albini, helping build and run Chicago's Electrical Audio, but he also records at his home and takes on many other projects.
And he's a nice guy.
What makes for a good engineer?
You don't want to be the dick in the way. Or just not have a good way of communicating. I don't have a problem telling a band that they've flubbed a take. There's a way to communicate that in a way that doesn't make everyone feel awful! I still talk to people who have recorded and had bad experiences. At the end of the session, they hated the guy because they had the worst direction and communication. It's tough. You're stuck together in a room for 12 to 14 hours a day!
I finished a session the other day where I went 10 hours without eating anything and kept suggesting breaks. It never happened.
It's funny you brought that up. That happened to me last week. A person came in to record five or six songs for basic tracks in two days. It was that sort of scenario. It felt like if they weren't doing something every second that an opportunity was being wasted. I can deal with that for two days or so. The longest session I worked on was 3 1/2 months. It was four people, and their mom, who never wanted to take any breaks. It was a trial. I remember saying, "You know, I'll do this again but I need a significant amount of money." The studio salary didn't cut it.
You lost three months of your life!
