Lila Downs, Mexican-American Diva.

As summer slowly begins to warm away the cold shadows here in the northeast, one’s thoughts may turn to good summer listening. Being that it's almost Cinco de Mayo, let’s choose Lila Down’s “La Cantina” (2006). This CD will get the car-stereo pumping while you make those windows-rolled-down summer road trips.

It was The “Frida” Soundtrack that first brought Mexican-American singer Lila Downs to my attention, followed by her subsequent stellar performance on The Oscars in 2003. Her voice soars through the film’s songs, “Burn it Blue”, and “The Floating Bed”. She also appears in the movie, as the breathless gypsy singer in the smoldering tango scene between Salma Hayek and Ashley Judd. Lila’s alluring sound caught my ear, big-time.

Lila Downs’ story is an interesting one; being the offspring of an American father and Native-Mexican mother of Mixteca heritage, she grew up bouncing between Mexico, Los Angeles, and Minnesota. Her dad was a college professor whose academic studies brought him to Oaxaca in the 1960s, where he met and married Lila’s mother. As a small child, la “chiquitita” Lila sang the popular mariachi and ranchera songs of southern Mexico. After her parents split up, Lila spent a good portion of her childhood in the US with her dad, eventually attending the University of Minnesota (how much farther from Oaxaca can a body get?). Naturally she became somewhat Americanized, developing a love of classical and jazz, as well as rock and roll. Hippie Lila dropped out of U of M and even became a Grateful Dead-Head for a time, following the band from show-to-show in a VW bus and making her way by selling jewelry.

As she grew in to a young woman, the Oaxacan blood in Lila began to stir, then to pulse, then to pound. For one thing, Lila looks strikingly Mexican. Her jet-black hair and sculpted Indian features remind one of Frida Kahlo herself. Other similarities are not entirely accidental, as Lila has often referred to Frida as an inspiration and muse. Her tightly braided mane and colorful Mexican frocks summon the iconic image of Frida, to be sure. In the ‘90s, Lila answered the call, moving back to Oaxaca. There, while singing in clubs, she met American ex-patriot and jazz saxophonist, Paul Cohen. Their artistic collaboration (and romantic partnership) has resulted in some of the most eclectic folk-rooted music being made today. As “All Music Guide” puts it, “She has created a very individual strain of song that has indigenous Mexican roots and North American sonorities.”

The first fruits of the Cohen-Downs collaboration were a couple of cassette-only releases which leaned more to the jazzy/world-music side of the fence. By the late 90’s a more deep and folkloric style began to emerge in the music. In ’97 came the first CD, “La Sandunga”, whose standout track is a heart-wrenching rendition of the Chavela Vargas tragic ballad, “La Llorona” (the pioneering and legendary ranchera queen Vargas is another great influence on Lila). By the time she released “Tree of Life” in 2000, the lyrics of which were derived from the religious codices of the Zapotec and Mixteca tribes, Lila had found her voice. The result is an exotic sound, richly infused with layers of Euro-Spanish, Latin, and native Mexican music. Lila delivers the songs like a torch-singer; like a Diva, using her voice’s incredible range of pitch and tone to express the emotions of each piece. Against a black-velvet backdrop of Spanish guitar and native percussion, she conveys a jazzy sense of world-weary sophistication on songs like “Xquenda” and “Luna”.
2001 saw the release of “Border (La Linea)”, followed by the Latin Grammy award-winning “Una Sangre (One Blood)” in 2004. Both of these LPs weave an increasingly colorful cultural tapestry, incorporating traditional songs and instruments. Lila explores styles like norteno/Tejano, ranchera, mariachi, and even reggae on these releases. The “Border” LP is especially compelling, telling the story, occasionally with English lyrics, of the immigrant crossing the border from Mexico for the dream of a better life in the USA.

Lila’s latest work, “La Cantina”, pays homage to canciones rancheras; traditional, tequila-soaked ballads of the Mexican cantina bar. Cantina culture is central to small town life in rural Mexico, having given rise to cantina singers and table dancers, and a wealth of popular, heartbroken songs.

An excerpt of Billboard.com's review of “La Cantina” says this: Downs' dark, smoky voice is the perfect vehicle for these (ranchera) songs, which juxtapose the deep emotion of fado and mariachi music with norteno and tejano influences (notable especially on those songs that feature the legendary Texas accordionist Flaco Jimenez). Everywhere you turn there are deeper complexities lurking beneath the already complicated surfaces of the songs: the quietly wailing clarinet that follows the distorted guitar solo on "Agua de Rosas"; the ska-funk inflections that are constantly hovering around the edges of "Tu Recuerdo y Yo"; the dubwise phase-shifting effects on "Cumbia del Mole" (a song that explains how to make one of the more popular Mexican sauces, and which is helpfully performed in both Spanish and English versions). Very highly recommended. ~ Rick Anderson

The LP’s opening track, “La Cumbia del Mole” has instantly become one of my favorite tunes of all time. While spending some formative years growing up in Texas, I fell in love with certain Tex-Mex styles, especially the cumbia, an infectious Afro-Latin dance rhythm with origins in Colombia. The Tex-Mex or Norteno version of cumbia, typically played by small border bands called “Conjuntos”, adds melody to the rhythm with accordion and an almost klezmer-like snake-charmer clarinet (picture a guy in a fez). Yes, that’s right, Mexican and Tex-Mex music has German, Bavarian, Polish and Czech influences. Weird but true. Listen to the trumpets in a good Mariachi band. If they were a little more sober, slightly less slurred, they could pass for those of the German beer hall. The classic “Arboles de la Barranca,” covered by Lila on La Cantina, is a great example of the strong Germanic influence in Mexican music, with its anthemic trumpets and oompah-pah brass. I have seen and danced to great Texas bands like Brave Combo, performing polkas and cumbias. My favorite Tex-Mex artist is the almighty king of accordion, Flaco Jimenez, who appears as a special guest on "La Cantina". I have had the great pleasure of enjoying Flaco and his Conjunto on several occasions. If you can remain seated during a good cumbia, well, either you need another shot of tequila, or you have had one-too-many, and have passed out. (I also love a good mole sauce -“mole” meaning “the grind” or “ground”- a notoriously hard thing to make, because it typically involves dozens of ingredients. Why do most Mexican restaurants in the U.S. NOT have mole on the menu? Simple; it’s too complex and time-consuming to make!)

Like a delicious mole, Lila’s voice is dark, chocolaty and full of rich, smoky spice. La Cantina’s second track, “El Corrido de Tacha” is an example of the Tejano/norteno style at its best. The song tells the story of a country girl, still a teenager, who catches the bus to Mexico City to become a table dancer and singer in the cantina. Flaco’s accordion does some deft dancing of its own on this track. Next up is the soulful “Agua de Rosas”, a journey of healing, showing Lila’s more delicate side. The instrumental breakdown features a very Santana-styled guitar solo over a Cubanesque minor-key mambo. “La Cama de Piedra” and “Penas del Alma” are examples of the slow, weeping waltzes which are as much sobbed as they are sung. Their message: “Entre copa y copa” (from one glass of mescal to the next) we drown our sorrows and count our miseries. On a brighter note, the delightful “El Relampago” (The Lightning Bolt) is a refreshing treatment of a Mariachi classic. The lyrical violins and famous “ly ly ly's” make this one of our favorite warm-weather, top-down tunes. “La Tequilera” is another Tex-Mex number about a cantina “regular”; the female tequila-lush. Accompanied again by Flaco’s irresistible accordion, Lila sings the song with hiccups, sighs and “oys”, as if soused herself! (Apparently Ms. Downs is no stranger to the joys of agave!) Throughout the album, Lila adds unexpected modern production treatments, yet remains extremely loyal to the source material. Wonderful!

"La Cantina" makes you want to quit the daily grind, buy a casita in somewhere south of the border, and live a tequila-splashed life full of fiesta, music and mucho mole!

NOTE: This LP should be listened to while enjoying ONLY top-shelf, 100% blue-agave Tequila. My recommendation (if you can find it) Corralejo Reposado! Salud!

http://www.liladowns.com/index_en.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tejano_music
http://www.flacojimenezmusic.com/
http://www.tequilacorralejo.com/

Drewcifer’s Recording 101 Primer

Spring Mixing Tip: Pre-delaying the Reverb

You don’t hear a lot of heavy or obvious reverb on modern pop recordings. The vocals tend to be very up-front and dry. But are they really dry? Is it possible to add depth and dimensionality to vocals using reverb that is extremely subtle? Absolutely! It’s done all the time. One way to accomplish this is to pre-delay the ‘verb. That’s why that “pre-delay” parameter is a feature on most modern reverbs, be they plug-ins or outboard. It wasn’t always so easy: Back in the days of the analog pioneers, the mixing guy would send the vocal-signal through a delay unit, usually a tape delay, which was daisy-chained in-front of a plate reverb. This delayed the onset of the reverb by 50ms to 100ms or more. The gap between the dry vocal and the reverb makes the vocal stand forward more, sound “drier”, and not be “swamped” by the ‘verb. In the end result, the reverb may not be obvious at all, but if it was removed you’d definitely notice something was missing.

WHY IS THIS BABY SMILING?

Because his daddy has prevailed in getting unemployment benefits, even though the man at daddy's old job was fighting it! Yay daddy! You're my hero! Now go get me some new clothes and MORE dipeys!

So, let's do one final recap here; the "Reader's Digest" condensed version.

Let it be known that this was a personal blog, just a practice-run of a blog that had only been in existence for three weeks at the time I was sacked. It never mentioned Mercenary or was linked to Mercenary. Any references to pro audio or recording were drawn on my 24 years as an engineer, musician and producer (I had only been at Merc for a year). It was solely my intellectual property. Only one of the five blogs was about studio-recording. The others were rants about social issues, and the announcement of the birth of my baby boy; the posting that got me sacked.

1) I was fired for blogging. That was the reason given to me at the time, in no uncertain terms.
2) I was fired without any prior warning whatsoever. (I had worked there 13 months)
3) I was fired over the phone on voice-mail. It was the day we got home from the hospital with our new baby, and also my wife's birthday.
4) I was not given any second chance, and was cut off on that very day without a penny of severance.
5) In an attempt to save face, Fletcher created a laundry-list of additional reasons for firing me.
6) "Excessive absences": a) There was no company policy in-place until after I was fired. b) My absences were due to very legitimate issues like a high blood-pressure spike (180 over 110), migraine, and primarily my wife's very difficult pregnancy. c) According to Mercenary's own newly written policy, one is allowed 5 vacation days, 4 sick days and 2 personal days. That's 11 total. d) Going by Mercenary's own numbers, I used 4 sick days, 4.5 personal days, and only 2 vacation days. That's 10.5. So, how excessive was that actually?
7) "Failure to sufficiently participate in Mercenary's 'educational' program": a) I am already a veteran engineer with more experience than anyone at Mercenary, with 24 years, including six recording projects in the last 18 months, four of them being full-length CDs. As such, I have a very good knowledge-base in all things pro-audio. b) I have a wonderful home studio in which to test gear, which is far more convenient for me than staying after hours at work (for which no additional pay was offered). c) Using my home studio, I brought home and tested at least 26 pieces of gear during the time I was at Mercenary. d) I did four recording projects at the Mercenary studio, during which I tried and learned dozens more pieces of gear. e) Fletcher said I failed to do the 4 hours-per-week required in the Mercenary studio. Well, so did everyone else. There is not a member of the sales staff that came close to filling that "requirement", yet others were not fired. Like them, I was busy answering the phone and talking to customers.
8) I worked on my blog during "company time": a) I worked on the blog during breaks in my work-day, and at home. b) There is rampant non-work related activity going on there with regard to computer and internet use. All day, every day, employees are surfing places which have nothing to do with their work. Why were they not fired? At least my blog could be considered a supportive companion-piece to my day-job at Mercenary.

Lastly, I really wanted the blog to be a positive part of Mercenary. I hoped that in the future it could be tied-in as a feature of Mercenary's web-site and the company's marketing efforts on the internet. Clearly, blogging and the blog-o-sphere itself is a growing phenomenon on the web, and can certainly be used as a tool to draw interest and draw traffic to a certain issue, or in this case, a certain sales agenda. Good marketing right? Not anti-Mercenary! PRO-Mercenary! What if in my blog I talked about this great new microphone I just tried and really love, and in that posting I embedded a link to a place where you can learn more about, and PURCHASE, that mic? A place like....um... Mercenary? Hello!

I believe Fletcher lost his temper, became enraged, and did something out of impulse and anger. His firing me may have been legal (maybe, barely!), but from the standpoint of moral righteousness, it was utterly wrong; a horrific decision, and personally damaging to me and my family. In a word, it was viscous. I absolutely have punitive grounds to stand on. I'm sure the deed hasn't been good for Mercenary either. Not only has it generated bad press for the company, but they lost a top-performer in sales, and one who was popular with and respected by the customers.

The next place I work, and yes, there is plenty of interest out there, will respect my talents and embrace my blog.

In the meantime, Drew the Fourth is screaming for hs bottle. Gotta go!

Chili's Original Texas Red Chili Recipe (by popular demand)

I've had a number of requests for the recipe for Chili's original "Texas Red" chili, now no longer available at Chili's restaurants (see my outrage here: http://drewciferstonezone.blogspot.com/2007/02/chilis-red-is-dead-long-live-red.html)

So here it is, as provided by their "guest relations" people. It is very similar to Drewcifer's own, only I add diced green chilis, and sometimes chopped red bell pepper.

Chili
Ingredient Measure
Chili Meat 4 lbs.
Water 3 ¼ cups
Tomato Sauce 1 pound
Chili Spice ¾ cup (recipe attached)
Onions, Yellow, Diced 1 ½ pounds
Water 1 cup
Masa Harina 2 ½ ounces

Procedure:
1. Preheat a 6 quart stock pot over medium high heat.
2. Place the meat in the stock pot and cook to medium rare.
3. In a small bowl, combine the 3 ¼ cups water, tomato sauce, and chili spice.
4. Using a wire whip, mix well to make sure chili spice is evenly distributed.
5. Add the water, tomato sauce and chili spice mixture to the stock pot and bring to a slight boil.
6. In a separate saute pan, cook diced onions until they are transparent and lightly browned, and transfer to stock pot when cooked.
7. Cook at medium setting for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.
8. In a separate bowl, mix 1 cup water with masa harina. Mix well with wire whip. Add to the stock pot and cook an additional 10 minutes, and serve.

Chili Spice
Chili Powder ½ cup
Salt ⅛ cup
Ground Cumin ⅛ cup
Paprika 1 tablespoon
Black Pepper 1 teaspoon
Granulated Garlic 1 teaspoon
Cayenne Pepper To taste

Procedure:
In appropriate container, combine all ingredients until thoroughly mixed.

Yield: ¾ cup

Enjoy!

Fired for Blogging: Drew's Side of The Story

I have never been fired from anything in my life, which made this blindsiding even more of a blow to our system. This has created a sudden and unexpected hardship for me and my family. Financially we find ourselves in the very difficult position of having a brand new baby, and an income that has dropped to only my wife's small maternity-leave pay.

I certainly had no intention of doing anything that would harm, compete with, damage or detract from Mercenary Audio in any way. On the contrary, I originally wished to create something that was a benefit to Mercenary.

With the benefit of three weeks to compose an official reason for my dismissal (required by Mass so he can stop me from collecting my unemployment benefits), Mr. Fletcher has made his case. Now I will make mine. Keep in mind I had no warning of any kind, written or otherwise, that I was in danger of being sacked. There was no performance review after my first year, or anything of that nature. Fletcher never indicated in writing to me there was a problem. And never was I given any kind of witten policy guideline or list of "do's and don'ts"

2007 began business-as-usual at Mercenary, with me as part of the team. When I left work on the 15th to go have our baby, everybody said, “See ya when you get back! Bring cigars!”

A POINT SO OBVIOUS I HAD OVERLOOKED IT: At no time did Mercenary give me the option of deleting the blog and saving my job. They never said: "The blog or your job, you choose" At that point, only a small handful of people had seen this little practice blog. Not the case now, obviously...

Fletcher has published: Mr. Townson was dismissed for a variety of reason, the blog "Drewcifer's Tone Zone" http://drewciferstonezone.blogspot.com was merely the straw that broke the camel's back. I will give you the broad strokes in this blog entry.Mr. Townson was dismissed for excessive absenteeism, failure to meet the continuing educational requirements we expect and demand from our staff, misuse of company time and resources, attempting to create divisiveness among the staff, and finally, the insubordination of creating a blog that references "professional audio tools and techniques" [which is in direct conflict to the goals of the company].

Never, not once, was there any official sit-down with me to discuss any of these issues. Had Fletcher communicated his concerns, making clear my job was at risk, I could have addressed them.

Our company is unique in that it requires our key staff, especially the sales staff, to be up to date on the tools and technology involved in the recording of music. To this end we have built a well equipped audio recording control room so our staff can use the tools they discuss in sales matters. The idea behind this control room is to have our sales staff be educated about the tools they discuss from an applications perspective. Hence the studio is called "The Methods and Applications Laboratory". Our sales staff is mandated to spend a minimum of four [4] hours per week working in this area, those four hours may be spent during "company time" though most choose to spend their time in that room "after hours". Mr. Townson spent less than 4 hours per month expanding his education in this room.

For Fletcher to imply I was not “up to date on the tools and technology involved in the recording of music” is absurd and borders on defamatory. It was well-known to all at Mercenary that I have my own home studio. I am a partner in a commercial studio as well. I have the ability to test gear –and really put it through its paces—at home. No one else that works there, including Fletcher, could claim having a studio at home. This was one of the many upsides to hiring me in the first place. Through this method, and over the course of my tenure there, I regularly tested a LOT of gear for Mercenary; arguably more than any of the other sales staff. I have a good ability to translate my findings both by speaking and writing. I wrote reviews which appeared on Merc’s web-site (like this one: http://www.mercenary.com/weco.html), and told all my customers about the cool sounds I got with the new “widget X34”. This led to me selling plenty of “widget X34s” for Mercenary. So, I spent many more hours than four a week using my own studio, educating myself and keeping up to speed. I also DID use the Mercenary studio for two ACTUAL sessions. Not play-dates or guinea-pig trials, but real sessions for an upcoming release. And finally, hello people, I’ve been doing recording for 24 years, I’m not a rookie! It’s not just my job, it’s been my life and career for decades. I have a deep knowledge-base, I have a keen ear, and I know how this stuff works. Indeed, I even taught Fletcher how to use the studio’s Nuendo DAW system. As an acknowledgment of my abilities, Fletcher asked me on a number of occasions to suggest improvements to mixes he was working on.

Mercenary Audio never had a "sick day/time off" policy prior to the hiring of Mr. Townson. However, it seemed that as soon as Mr. Townson was hired there was a parade of "sick days", and personal days, which caused the management to begin a log of his days not in the office. Prior to the creation of this log our policy had been "if you need time off, take it", until Mr. Townson abused that policy.

First off, I contest that I took more days out than anybody else there. When I did, the reasons were entirely valid, and I always called in, always checked (and answered) my Mercenary email from home. When I joined Mercenary, I was told, “This is the only place you can call in hungover.” I replied, “Well, that’s good to know, but it’s more likely that I will call in with a migraine”. This was understood by Mercenary at the time of my hiring: I have suffered from migraine, diagnosed, since age 13. Ask anybody who knows me. I have had to leave sessions in the middle of a mix. I have been to emergency rooms where double-doses of intravenous toradol and demoral didn’t make a dent. Lucky for me, I currently can control the headaches pretty well. I tend to wake up with one at about 5 or 6 am, take a dose, lie back down and by around 9 or 10 I’m good to go. So, yes, I’m late, but in the past that would have been a full sick-day. As far as “abusing a policy”, there was no policy to abuse that I was aware of.

Then in May we got pregnant, and it was an unusually difficult pregnancy; horrible, to be honest. My poor wife was 96 lbs before carrying a (very big) baby, and she's in her mid 30’s. We had at least half-a-dozen trips to the hospital, as well as weekly doc appts, sonograms, etc. She had multiple and very painful UT infections, a kidney stone, noro-virus, and other problems, like hormone-induced depression. (The petit 5' 0" woman gained over 50lbs of pregnancy weight, and felt absolutely misrerable the whole time). She was not allowed to drive, for instance. I had to call in sick a couple times after I had rushed her to hospital at 2 am or 4 am and she ended up being there all day. One day, I actually left her at the hospital and went to work for six hours, because the Doctor needed to keep her there till 4 pm. During this time, the comments I was getting from Fletcher and Jay Fitz were, “Family comes first’” and “Do what ya gotta do,” and “We got your back.” I repeatedly and strongly expressed to Mercenary that after the baby was born, things should smooth out in this area. I never got the chance to prove it.

Mr. Townson was informed prior to joining the company that travel would be mandatory for trade shows, client demonstrations, and further education. This requirement extends to every employee at Mercenary Audio who is directly involved with the equipment we sell, be they in the marketing department, sales department or management. When assigned to attend a trade show and educational event in September, 2006; Mr. Townson declined to attend, leaving the company with a staffing shortage at this show, which required us to not only scramble to rearrange who would stay at the office and who would travel to San Francisco, but also damaged our ability to meet with various manufacturers, expand our relationships with those manufacturers, and discover new companies whose ethos was on par with Mercenary's goals.

I don’t know about damaging Mercenary, but it is true I declined to go to that AES convention. I told them right from the gitgo, like in March or April, that I could ABSOLUTELY not go to the San Fran AES show DUE TO PERSONAL FAMILY REASONS; previously scheduled. It was a timing-related issue, requiring me to remain in the Boston area over that weekend -- AES extended through that same weekend. Then, in maybe July, they asked me again to attend AES, adding more pressure and making me feel even more uncomfortable about it. Again, my answer was no, and I said that it would not change, and begged them not ask me again. Incredibly, in September, they asked me a third time. I was so stressed out and full of anxiety that I literally puked a couple of times. I said, “Ok, if you’re going to fire me for not going, then fire me, because I’m not going, and this is a deal-breaker. While the rest were in SF, I was part of a tiny skeleton-crew, myself handling the work of three guys (including taking all incoming sales calls). I came in early and left late. We were a lean mean machine, cranking out the work. We got it all done, seamlessly and flawlessly. It was good. I was proud. Not a beat was missed as far as the customers were concerned. Discouragingly, Fletcher reprimanded me for not posting enough on the Gearslutz forum over those days. Wow. Silly me, I thought handling in-coming orders came first, leaving no time for forum-fishing.

It was never about refusing to travel for the job or not pitching in to do my share as Fletcher states. I told them I was willing to and WANTED to go to the Tape Op Con in June, but they denied my request. I told Fletcher and Jay that it was highly likely that I’d have no problem attending the NY AES convention in ’07.

*As an interesting footnote here, when Jay and the others came back from SF, I expected a whole AES roundup meeting, discussing what was seen, who was met-with, what was new and exciting, etc. Nothing of the kind happened. When I asked about the show I got a shrug and a, “Ugh. Nothin’ really good this year.” That’s it? Yep, that was it, a non-event.

We did take umbrage to Mr. Townson's blog for the following reasons. At one point Mr. Townson asked Mr. Fitz [Mercenary's C.O.O.] if he could start an educational blog about professional audio. Mr. Fitz said he may not start such a blog. He then asked me [Mercenary's C.E.O.] if he could start such a blog ["going over Mr. Fitz's head"], I too responded in the negative. Yet if you look at the blog, the very first line at the top of the page says: "Mics, Drums, and Rock & Roll: A Music Recording Blog!" That says "conflict of interest" to me, what does it say to you?

WHAT?! I asked if I could start a blog that linked to Mercenary, potentially to drive traffic and sales its way. I had the best interests of Mercenary in mind. Mercenary said no. When I started my personal blog, in part to post photos of my kid, I never had any inkling that I needed permission. Indeed, as Fletcher himself admits, other employees (who still have jobs at Mercenary) blog. , Given this backdrop, it is unimaginable that they meant no blog, whatsoever, period.

My personal blog (prior to my firing) doesn’t mention Mercenary anywhere. Why? Because when Mercenary said no blog linked to Mercenary. I took it to mean, and who wouldn’t, that I could do no blog linked in any way to Mercenary. That’s why I was not only careful to not use Mercenary’s name, but I even decided to post NON-audio related content to get started, just to get my chops honed. Nothing on the blog could have possibly adversely affected Mercenary or its business. We're talkin' five posts people. One about chili. Five little posts! My intellectual property. Does that say “conflict of interest” to you? And, by the way, I did not use my real name anywhere on there either.

What does my anonymous blog say? It says: this is the blog of a guy who has had a two decade history as a recordist, musician, published writer, and pro audio consultant who just became a father. Is Mercenary claiming it owns phrases like “pro audio” “recording” “rock and roll” or “microphone?”

The majority of the time stamps on the blog entries were posted during company hours

This was not the reason given to me for my dismissal. There was actually confusion on the time stamps. They originally defaulted to either GMT or PST, and I later changed that setting to EST. But first let me say, if the boss is going to fire people for doing non work-related stuff on their computers, then I’m the least of his worries. He’d have to fire everyone, and then he’d have to fire himself. One guy’s got his IM window open, chatting with a buddy all day. Another guy’s surfing MySpace. And there was worse. I would mostly go to sports web-sites like Dallas Cowboys or Boston Red Sox. At this job there was no set schedule during the work day, and you didn’t leave for lunch (a runner was sent out).

Is it not true that labor law requires that people have a minimum half-hour lunch break and a couple of 15 minute breaks daily? And that that break-time is legally considered personal, NON-company time? Obviously, no-one can work a straight 8-hours without a break. It was typical for me to take a couple of 10-minute brain-breathers throughout the day. I would do personal stuff during lunch time, like pay a bill or listen to an internet radio station. In the late afternoon, I’d take another ten minute “brain-breather”, and go get a cup of coffee or walk around the warehouse or call my wife. Talking gear all day can get monotonous, especially when you end up answering the very same questions day after day, so the mind can wander. Let he whose mind does NOT wander cast the first stone. As such, I never wrote any posts on Mercenary time.

Our "shop" is open from 10a Eastern Time to 6p [18:00] eastern time. During that time we are somewhat flexible as to what may be done with the time. Playing with the equipment in "The Methods and Applications Laboratory" is encouraged. Researching other audio related websites is encouraged. Viewing sites like CNN's, and "Boston.com" is tolerated. Mr. Townson also used that time to create the beginnings of a children's clothing line, which was also tolerated. The creation of an 'outlaw recording tools and technique' site was intolerable.

I did not create “the beginnings of a children’s clothing line.” I came to Fletcher with an e-commerce idea for children’s t-shirts. (Mercenary sells T-shirts, including children’s shirts). I showed him the idea one-day at work. He wasn’t interested. That was all there was to the “clothing line.” I had several other ideas which were brushed off like dandruff. I created an idea for a new Mercenary product, which was not shot down so much as it was ignored. So much for the “somewhat flexible” work environment that allegedly tolerates creativity. My ideas and comments to Fletcher were often met with the reply, "I don't have any bandwidth for this!" Even more often his responses were alarmingly disrespectful, but that I can't get in to now.

Further to that, Mr. Townson told several members of the Mercenary Audio staff about the existence of the blog, with strict instructions not to let either Mr. Fitz or myself about the existence of the blog, creating an air of divisiveness among the staff.

This is utterly not true. Who knew and didn’t know about the blog was random coincidence. If anything, the ones who knew were the other bloggers, and the ones who didn’t were not blogging. Simple as that. No conspiracy. No strict instructions.
(I'd like to know if Fletcher was aware of the other blogs. If so, then it makes me look all the more singled-out, and if not, has he accused the other bloggers --who were not fired-- of conspiricay to keep secret their blogs?)
FURTHERMORE, a blog is public. It goes out to the world. Why would I think I could keep it secret? Even so, it's MY PERSONAL BLOG, never mentioning Mercenary at all. It's not their business anyway!

They capitulated, but because we have a "family atmosphere" at Mercenary forgot the request when the picture of the child was posted on the blog. This was how Mr. Fitz came to learn of the blog. He held onto this information for several days before showing me the blog. Upon seeing the blog I sat with it for a day or two to let my temper cool before acting. It was at that point that Mr. Fitz, myself, and our Human Resources person met to decide a course of action.

Sat for a day or two? That’s an interesting statement because on the voicemail left by Fletcher he says that something had come to his attention “within the last few hours, so you’re fired.”

Did the timing of his dismissal absolutely suck? Yes, it most certainly did.

We are in agreement here. It should be noted that no severance was offered; my pay was immediately cut off as of the day of the call. Also there was no ability for me to come in and clear my desk or settle my affairs. Within three hours of the call, a courier was at my house delivering all of my personal effects from Mercenary – the contents of my desk and some audio gear. Three hours...

Had Mr. Townson's son not arrived only days earlier there would have been no "cooling off" period and he would have been instantly dismissed upon the discovery of "the blog".

Again, a highly dubious claim. The proof is in the voicemail which refers to a matter of hours, not days.

Yes, I dismissed Mr. Townson via telephone. No, he was not home when I called, so yes, he was fired on a voicemail. We discussed the matter later in the day when Mr. Townson called the office later to determine if this was "a joke" or not [it wasn't], and while we did not discuss the other matters at length. A proper letter of termination was subsequently drafted and sent to Mr. Townson.

I have yet to receive that letter. I’m guessing it’s a requirement by Massachusetts in order for Mercenary to fight me collecting my unemployment, which, unfortunately, is the course they’ve chosen to take.

I’m sure I’m not the only person who feels that, if you have any class at all, you sit down with the employee, in-person, mano-a-mano, and you say, “This is a problem. This isn’t working.” And maybe you say, “We’ve made our decision, and it’s final. You are being let go.” And then you give the fired guy a chance to gather his stuff, clean out his desk, maybe delete some personal stuff from the computer (Oh yeah, they went through that with a fine-tooth comb, too), and maybe you give the guy a little parting money for his newborn kid. And maybe you don’t fight him claiming unemployment benefits, because, yeah, there’s that new screaming boy and formula is $24 a can. That’s fair, right?

That’s what you do if you have any decency at all.

What you don’t do is leave a voice-message on the day the couple’s first baby comes home from the hospital.

Not fair.

At the end of the day, I did a good job at Mercenary where it counts: I helped customers; steered ‘em the right direction, helped ‘em make the right choices. I’d say I have a 100% happy-client satisfaction rating, with nothing but praise for my valuable contributions. I talked, advised, answered Emails (sometimes wrote Harry Potter-length replies), posted on forums, tested and reviewed gear, taught those around me what I knew, and generally contributed in a positive way. There’s a reason why I have made many friends and am universally liked by the people that know me in the music, recording and pro audio scene. It’s because I do right by them.

I have been heartened by the great show of support I have received during this crisis. Turns out a LOT of people are on my side.

Bottom line: My actions and my little blog certainly did no harm to C.N.Fletcher or his company (or his family). Contrarily, he MOST CERTAINLY has harmed me, my wife, and my new baby. By firing me the way he did, he not only threw our lives in to crisis, he stripped me of the joy of being a new, first-time dad. And now he's continuing the cruelty by fighting me on getting my unemployment money. WHO IS HURTING WHO?

* the mud may continue to fly, but I am not going to engage in it. This is a huge and exhausting distraction, and my efforts need to be focused on getting a new job (opportunities are presenting themselves, and anyone who is interested can contact me through here), and looking after my wife and new baby. And maybe, just maybe, getting a little sleep.

Mr. Townson's Dismissal

Mr Townson, that's me, Drew Townson, was dismissed by his employer, Mercenary Audio on February 22, over the phone, via voicemail, on the day we got home from the hospital with our new baby. It was also my wife's birthday. The reason given at the time was my blog. This blog. Now, the blogosphere has erupted with posts weighing in on the issue. My former employer, Mr. C.N. Fletcher, has carefully crafted his full side of the story, saying that the blog was the final straw among other issues. I am also carefully crafting my counterpoint to this, and after it is reviewed by my attorney, I will be posting it up here....soon. Stay tuned.

Hi Gang..well, it's been a few weeks since my last post. Hard to believe little Drew-bear is already a month old today! He's a noisy (and hungry) little devil. A lot has happened to the Von Tone family in the last month, some of it great, some of it not so great at all. The day we got back from the hospital with the little guy, also my wife's birthday, Drewcifer (me), was fired from my job, suddenly and unexpectedly. Even worse, the deed was done in an utterly classless way; over the phone, via voice-mail. And us with a brand new mouth to feed! The reason given by my (to remain nameless) employer? This blog. Yep. This little, insignificant practice blog of mine. Legal advice has recommended I not blog or speak about this in detail, so that's all I can say about it at this time...

Sucks, don't it?

Maybe not. Maybe a blessing. Vows of support and job possibilities are rolling in from every direction now. Thank you for your votes of confidence.

'Nuff said about that.

In the meantime, let me add a couple quick items. First, and this is timely, I have become aware of a soon-to-be-published book called, "Speechless: The Erosion of Free Expression in the American Workplace," by Bruce Barry. In it, Barry explores the question: "Is it legal to fire people for engaging in free speech that makes employers uncomfortable, even if the speech has little or nothing to do with job or workplace? For most American workers, the alarming answer is yes." http://www.speechlessthebook.com/

Secondly, Loreena McKennett (see blog below) performs tonight on Boston's WGBH Channel 2 on "Great Performances: Loreena McKennitt, Nights from the Alhambra". The show is running on PBS stations all month long. Set your Tivos for that one; I know I will. http://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/shows/mckennitt/