This is the first in a series I'm writing on the many roles and responsibilities of a record producer.
It's going to take many articles to delve into the countless producer styles and techniques that are as varied as the bands they produce. Personally, my role as a producer/engineer changes constantly. I often start projects firmly placed in one role (engineer) and am slowly brought into the producer role by the bands I'm working with. Many bands make no distinction between a producer and an engineer and often times put the engineer (who they hired to record and mix their record) into awkward producer-like roles. This can be a lose/lose proposition for everyone involved. The band is asking the engineer to take on the role of the producer (which means a producer was needed), but the engineer wants to make his client (the band) happy and will do his best to jump in and help move the session along, probably not aware he may get the blame for being a bad "producer" down the road.
I think the most common producer role I'm first asked to play, while supposedly hired for my engineering skills, is this: The "Designated Asshole." It was very important for me to single out the first producer task asked of me by bands without a producer, because I feel this is the moment I know they need a producer ... whether they actually realize it or not.
Now, this whole "Designated Asshole" thing isn't what you think. I don't immediately don a Hitler mustache and gleefully hit the talkback button barking orders in broken English while randomly using words like 'umlaut' and 'glockenspiel.' It's usually more like this: Johnny (the guitar player) lays down a solo and asks the dreaded "so, what do you guys think?" question. Jimmy (the singer) wants him to re-do his solo, but Jimmy's afraid to say anything to Johnny that may be misconstrued as a personal attack. Why? Because Jimmy banged Jenny (Johnny's girlfriend) two years ago and evidently it's still a "touchy" subject. So, Jimmy asks (designates) me (now the asshole) to ask Johnny to re-do his solo and something very cool happens: Johnny is so pumped that I (a non-band member) care enough about their project to ask him to do it again that he rocks out a solo so good it will make Jenny want to do 'that thing she does' to Johnny's 'Little Joey' over and over again. On the other side of the glass, Jimmy lets out a sigh of relief after dodging the bullet and heads for the lounge to grab a smoke and return one of Jenny's many text messages.
Why the happy ending? Is it because I'm smart enough to use discretion after banging Johnny's girlfriend? Nope (but I am). It's band psychology 101. There's nothing personal between me and Johnny. I'm just there to make the best record possible, regardless of who's sleeping with whom. All of that stuff is just background noise to me (or any professional) and is not a motivating factor in my decision making process ... and more importantly, my motives won't be questioned by people in Johnny's shoes. I'm sure I don't have to tell you how incredibly deep bands' relationships can run, often back several years and several "Jennys." All of this baggage is part of being in a band – and can get in the way if you don't have a handy-dandy "Designated Asshole" around to use as a buffer, a tie breaker on tough decisions, someone to take the blame on things from time to time, or redirect everyone's focus when things get a little ugly.
Now for the nitty-gritty stuff.
Take a guess what suffers if there isn't a professional involved to act as a "Designated Asshole" when needed? That's right: The record, the fans, the sales and the band. The "Designated Asshole" is just one of the many parts of a producers' "body" bands can "use" to their "advantage" during the recording process (am I the only one giggling at the accidental sexual undercurrent in my "anal"ogy?). ANYWAY – here's the real deal: "The Designated Asshole" may be one of the most trivial tasks a producer handles, yet it's vital to the recording process. If you've been in situations like Johnny and Jimmy's in the past, then you've been in need of a producer. Period. This also means you could've benefited from many, many other far-from-trivial roles producers play during the recording process.
We've only scratched the surface of these roles, but hopefully this will act as a catalyst for your quest to learn more about what (and how) producers' do that thing they do.
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