Country File

by Pop Shield

Nothing gives me a greater sense of the surreal than the following procedure:

  1. Spend a week of transatlantic prep for a session for a big shot country music star, all with a silly number of cooks on email cc.
  2. Nail a plan.
  3. Goalposts moved.
  4. Nail another plan.
  5. Run your exhausted self and helpful visiting sound engineer ragged by rigging everything ‘just so’ for said star, whilst trying to meet the many demands of his paranoid 4-piece band and the outstandingly grumpy road crew.
  6. Goalposts moved again.
  7. Complete the line check and set up of band monitoring.
  8. Country music star gets into a fight with a band member, fires his band and decides he will accompany himself on acoustic guitar.
  9. Fly straight into record mode with no rehearsal. Get away with it.
  10. Country music star asks you if you would like to have your picture taken with him.
  11. Smile.
  12. Guitar tech gives you branded plectrum.
  13. Derig.