LA Times article

[Avery]

Maybe someone who actually knows this "guy" should tell him that!
As if it would do any good!

Avery

At 09:28 AM 9/4/2006, you wrote:
>Hi, Tom.
>
>You probably came close to the real story, but look how long it took us
>as a group of people with inside knowledge of the realities to dredge
>that up from the swamp. Meanwhile, the story as reported by the tech &
>the story writer has done its job of skewing the public's idea of how a
>professional tech works, and appointed himself and his ways as the
>keepers of the flame and the One True Way. Nobody made him adjust his
>story-telling from honest to blowhard. I would be eternally embarassed
>to have ever once treated the artist, the hall, and/or my employer with
>the profound disrespect implicit in his story as he told it. To proudly
>trumpet it as a war story representative of one's capabilities is beyond
>my understanding. Somebody in a position of such responsibility ought to
>have better sense than to telegraph to his future clients how he might
>take care of their needs.
>
>-Mark Schecter
>
>
>Tom Servinsky wrote:
>>Sounds like a rebuttal letter or interview should be the next move 
>>for the LA Times to print.  Get going LA techs, here's your 
>>opportunity to take a stance to create some  fair and balance 
>>informational reporting.
>>Although I too found some pretty big tall-tail, story telling 
>>issues in this story, I'm going give Mr. Elliot a small 
>>pass.  First of all , I doubt if he called the Times and asked for 
>>an interview. Probably it was a writer who happened to be in the 
>>stage area, needed a story, ran into Mr. Elliot, and before you 
>>know it, there's a story. Factual or not.... a story. And if you do 
>>have that type of position taking care of important halls, your 
>>skill aren't too shabby! And   like it or not, die-hard aural 
>>tuners still find the use of ETD as a sign of artistic void. Anyone 
>>who uses doesn't deserve to be in this position.
>>To Mr. Elliot's defense, I have been interviewed dozens of times 
>>for feature articles by our Tri- county newspapers. Each and every 
>>time, the journalist ended up getting the message wrong....way 
>>wrong.  It is as though they never got it from me in the first place.
>>That being said, I found it humorous to walk through the logic on 
>>his 10 min. interlude as he blessed the piano and pronounced it fit 
>>for the artist. In all actuallality the series of events went more like this.
>>Blessed tech raced through his first tuning earlier that day. Tech 
>>probably not on top of his game(that day). Been there done that.
>>Artist banged the hell out of it during rehearsal
>>Artist expected a follow up touch up of tuning prior to concert
>>No Tech returns
>>Artist is getting nervous
>>Artist calls to complain
>>Tech summoned to get the hell over here pronto
>>Tech arrives 10 mins. prior to concert
>>Tech has sweat running down both eye brows hoping this doesn't 
>>issue doesn't get back Steinway
>>Tech cleans up some unisons
>>Tech gets an evil stare from the Artist and Carnegie staff
>>Carnegie staff informs him this better not happen again
>>5 yrs later, Tech rewrites the events of the day....fails to 
>>include why things went wrong, who was wrong, and includes more 
>>heroics to dress up story.
>>6 yrs later, article appears in newspaper.
>>Tom Servinsky
>>
>>----- Original Message ----- From: "David Love" <davidlovepianos at comcast.net>
>>To: <schecter at pacbell.net>; "'Pianotech List'" <pianotech at ptg.org>
>>Sent: Monday, September 04, 2006 1:01 AM
>>Subject: RE: LA Times article
>>
>>>Couldn't have said it better.
>>>
>>>David Love
>>>davidlovepianos at comcast.net
>>>www.davidlovepianos.com