I guess you didn't really appreciate my previous comment. Maybe I should had been more direct. I personally believe that most (not all) of those guys who's doing this aren't totally ignorant. They know exactly what kind of an environment they're creating for you. They don't like change. They don't want to adjust. When you request for space they'll give you all the space you want on a song you don't know, making you sound incompetent. In their eyes, it's not their problem, it's yours.
I feel that you have to play around them or thru them. You figure out a plan. You figure out when to do it. Then you do it. Stay on sit with persistance until there's a resolution. It will get worst before it get better. If this wasn't the case, you would had went to him directly and he would had helped you out and you wouldn't be asking this site for advice. I don't think I'm THAT far off in left field.
tony