1. In your job, what are some challenges you have to deal with in relating to "production" people? In your case I suppose that production people would be like A&R, Label execs, studio heads, engineers, that sort of thing.
A key challenge is maintaining a label's interest midway through a project. They will always ask you for advance samples of rough mixes and other unfinished works-in-progress. Avoid giving these out at all costs, especially when they say "I know the difference between a rough and a final mix." Play them something ONLY when it is ready, unless you really trust their ears.
2. Can you tell me a war story, or a story of when something went badly wrong or seemed like it was all going to fall apart but then came together at the end [or didn't]?
Once I flew a very famous musician all the way from Lagos, Nigeria -- where he lived -- to Nashville to play on a record. At the studio, just twenty minutes before the start of the session, he said to me, "Did I tell you I only play in key of G?" My heart nearly stopped, because "no" he hadn't told me this.
So I took a deep breath and thought....how can we work with this? The song we were doing was in the key of "B." I went to the singer and asked if she could possibly move the song up one half step to the key of "C" and still song well. Luckily, she was fine with this plan, so I went back to the musician and said, "just play in the key of G (which is the dominant chord in the key of C) and everything will be fine. Just play what you feel!" The track worked out beautifully and his part was written about extensively in the critical press. More importantly, I didn't have to explain to the label how I failed to record this musician after paying $1,000 in airfare to bring him to Nashville from Lagos!
3. Any advice for a person who's just starting out, someone who is about to graduate?
An internship is a great way to break in!
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