Premier Rock Forum

fidelitorium intern wrote:Mitch is honestly the nicest engineer I've ever met and I don't have to deal with going to get coffee/food for him or clean toilets or anything of the sort.



- Tyler

Awesome deal. Mitch seems like a very cool dude (i met him at this year's TapeOpCon), and a great guy to intern for.

I recommend that even though he does not require you to clean toilets, get food etc, that you volunteer, and even insist on doing such services all of the time. You owe him something in exchange for him taking you under his wing, and this type of work, which has to be done by somebody, is how you should repay him.

I am on my 7th intern right now. While they *can* be very helpful, they are also a ton of work. Make it easy. Here is some quick advice:

KEEP YOURSELF BUSY. try to balance "sit-in" time with "work time"

Make a list of projects. Walk around the facility with a notepad and just start jotting down anything that comes to your mind that might make the place better. particularly stuff that no one that works there will ever have time to get to...
-get paper towels
-clean stove and oven
-needs bigger dish rack
-clean out and organize tape closet
-clean couch cushions
-organize and lable audio adapters
-etc, etc etc
Obviously go over the list with your employer before persuing any projects.

Also, a very important thing to note is that you are free labor. You don't get paid. From the perspective of the studio owner this is very weird and awkward. I personally dont feel right constantly asking my intern to take out the trash, do the dishes, etc. I feel that if she/he feels like she/he is learning something, if he/she wants to make the studio a better place to record in, if he/she wants eventually make records at the studio, they will be motivated enough to take it upon themselves to stay busy, take out the trash, clean the walls, and make suggestions that might make the studio a better place to make records in.

Stay busy, show your enthusiasm and do whatever you can to make the engineers' lives easier. It will pay off in the long run.

mike

Know where all the restaurants in the area are so you can volunteer to make the food runs.

Don't get in Rob's way if he's up there doing tech work, but offer him a good beer at the end of the day and he'll put in a good word for you.

Pay close attention to Eric Marshall when he's there on a session. He's one of the coolest and off-the-wall rockin' drummers in the state.

Pay close attention to Brock if he's there on a session. He's one of the most musical drummer/percussionists anywhere.

Ask Don Dixon about "Camp."

If you ever get the chance (like if Mitch needs an errand run over there or something), go see the old Drive In, if you haven't.

Remember that Mark Williams is a vegetarian.

Be nice to Shalini.

Don't offer an opinion without being asked. I can't believe anyone in their right mind would do this as an intern, but I just saw it happen AGAIN a couple weeks ago at a studio that I was told wasn't accepting interns a few years ago. In fact, it may be best to skirt the issue even if you are asked.

Pay attention to everything Mike said.

Tell everyone I said hey.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

cgarges wrote:Don't offer an opinion without being asked. I can't believe anyone in their right mind would do this as an intern, but I just saw it happen AGAIN a couple weeks ago at a studio that I was told wasn't accepting interns a few years ago. In fact, it may be best to skirt the issue even if you are asked.
Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

This is really important. No matter how comfortable you are with the engineer and the band, don't make suggestions. This is a very bad idea, always. You are not there to express your opinion, and you are not paid to make any type of creative or evaluative decisions. In fact, you aren't paid at all.

Even if the singer comes in after a take that was clearly "awesome" and asks "how was that!?", do not say "awesome", Or "good", or anything. Trust us on this one.

This hypothetical situation has happened in a session in some form:
I noticed that something was wrong during a vocal take, but the singer thinks it is awesome before hearing it played back. He comes into the control room to ask "How was it?!" and before I can explain that "it was good but there are such and such part that I think you should listen to an consider trying again", the intern goes, "it was fucking awesome!", and then the rest of the dudes in the band, who are stoned and drunk out of their gourds and didn't even hear the take go "fuck yeah! let's smoke a bowl! That shit rules!". Before I know it there is a goddamn party in the control room and I am now the dickhole that's about to "ruin" it for everybody. And then when the singer finally hears his take and realizes that isn't as good as he thought, he also realizes he shouldn't have just smoked that bowl.

mtar

cgarges wrote:Be nice to Shalini.

Seconded!

just buy yr own tape machine

fuck washing dishes for someone like that

sinevil wrote:just buy yr own tape machine

fuck washing dishes for someone like that

What have you decided to do with your life? what ever it is, fuck that.

learning together. YES!


washing someone elses shit buying their cold cuts. NO!

and yes fuck whatever i have chosen to do with my life.


the worms will not know the difference whether you washed the dishes or bought yr own studio. well if you wash alot dishes yr meat might be tougher. then the worm would have to work alot harder to eat you. whoa i never thought about that. definitely wash the dishes washem hard.

sinevil wrote:learning together. YES!


washing someone elses shit buying their cold cuts. NO!

and yes fuck whatever i have chosen to do with my life.


the worms will not know the difference whether you washed the dishes or bought yr own studio. well if you wash alot dishes yr meat might be tougher. then the worm would have to work alot harder to eat you. whoa i never thought about that. definitely wash the dishes washem hard.

I have never interned anywhere. I just started working. So I can't say that I think interning is necessary or that the only way into audio is as a subordinate.

But I will say that if this guy is already doing that, he's not complaining about the work and his boss is not a dick, than he should do whatever he wants. It appears that what he wants to do is learn from this guy. That is what you're suggesting isn't it? to do what he wants?

Frankly, if working as an intern for this guy for six months gets him a consistent assistant engineering job, he should wait it out. there isn't very many engineering positions that are both 'consistent' and a 'job'.

Jeremy