7-30-12 Survival Jobs for Writer-Musicians -- Starter Job #163 (The Early Stirrings of Yuppie Culture in NYC, Where It All Started Pt. 1). . .

** FLASH to loyal readers: I'm on the road again now so it's been difficult to keep up with the blogs, but here we are again!  I'll fire off another few & hope it'll keep you in good stead . . . **

So, after a few weeks, we Squares got back home from the Beach Boys tour with added pride that we did well on a national tour -- even if it was a secondary market leg. Yah! Thanks again to that young agent who booked us on it. . . turned out when we signed with an agent the following year, however, it was with a middle aged agent out of Chicago who booked Koko Taylor, among other artists. . . respected acts, but blues. Tom Goodkind had his reasons for going with the agent he did, so we just went with it.

I wasn't always happy with decisions made for the band without my involvement/consent, but I guess real life isn't like school, and a democracy isn't necessarily what you get when you grow up and live "real life." But hey, I guess it could have been worse. . . I could have ended up workin' for "the man."  

The 1980's were an interesting time in the world. . . the time when "Yuppies" became prominent as a socio-cultural force to be reckoned with. Young Urban Professionals, or Young Upwardly Mobile Professionals, the Yuppies were people who we might have walked along the streets with, elbow to elbow, riding the same subways, day-dreaming some of the same dreams while straphanging to their day jobs. Yuppies seemed to run certain aspects of NYC, much to our rue. As much as we'd like to be invited to their parties to drink and eat for free and mingle for other reasons, our philosophies and ideologies were pretty much opposed -- as were our politics (us = lefties & them = rightwingers). 

Economically, Yuppies were the upper middle class or upper class white collar workers in their 20s and 30s. By age  40, it's all over, of course. . . but as we Squares were in our late 20s and early 30s, we sensed an interesting rivalry. To my way of thinking at the time, those who were Yuppies (or yupsters, as I'd quip) strove to have it all, not caring about how it affected others, or if they sold their souls for it. Politically, right wing Reagan Republicans ruled the Yuppie party, and we weren't having any of it (unless we could be liggers at the party).

From Wikipedia (Yuppie on Wikipedia):  "Yuppies are mocked for their conspicuous personal consumption and hunger for social status among their peers. Cornell University economist Robert H. Frank, author of Luxury Fever, has remarked, "When people were denouncing yuppies, they had considerably lower incomes than yuppies, so the things yuppies spent their money on seemed frivolous and unnecessary from their vantage point."^[4] Pro-skateboarder and businessman Tony Hawk has said that yuppies give "us visions of bright V-neck sweaters with collars underneath, and all that was vile in the eighties", and he has also remarked that a "bitchin’ tattoo cannot hide your inner desire to be Donald Trump."^[7]"

7-29-12 Survival Jobs for Writer-Musicians – Starter Job #162 (The Washington Squares - On the Beach Boys Tour: Ba-Ba-Ba-Ba-Ba-Babra Ann, actually)

Beach Boys "Barbara Ann" with Washington Squares

Actually, the last show of the Washington Squares/Beach Boys tour leg that we shared happened in Maine, in Old Orchard Beach. We heard that the Bush family compound in Kennebunkport was nearby, and that they may have even been around at the time. Not that we cared. . . we were folkie liberals who shunned those trickle-down-theory Reagan conservatives.

At any rate, Old Orchard Beach, Maine, was a really big outdoor daytime concert, with thousands in attendance. I’d have freaked out to BE in that crowd (ugh -- I just hate crowds -- can’t move, can’t breathe), but to play to that crowd: great! And as I recall, it was a pretty receptive crowd -- although one person might have heaved a near-empty container of suntan lotion (not yet the era of sunblock) at us onstage. Maybe.

I remember that before the show, the Beach Boys did a special pre-show merch giveaway (tee shirts and hats) and signing, a radio-station sponsored meet and greet. I made sure to get in line and get some tee shirts and a baseball cap signed. . . I still have them, somewhere, with signatures of Carl & Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Bruce Johnston.

We were invited to come onstage and sing and dance with the Beach Boys on “Barbara Ann,” and I am SO glad somebody actually videotaped that moment. We were singing along and dancing in our Squares stagewear, so happy to be a part of the party, being silly and having a ball. I’m hopping around, dancing and smiling and giving it my all (in those silly black fishnet gloves and my Ray Bans, of course). I shared a microphone with Carl Wilson! Yay! The whole experience was so cool.

(Remember, this happened YEARS before video equipment was as affordable, prevalent and portable as it now is. . . the camera was probably thousands of dollars, and probably weighed half a ton.)

If you watch at the very end, Carl says something nice to us as we’re getting offstage, Bruce asks the cameraman, “You got that?” and Brian’s “keeper,” the cute young blond surfer dude, is in the very last frames of the video. Wow. Let’s hear it for documentation. . . got a few B&W shots of us onstage with the BB’s too (though the people are pretty far away -- probably Jill took ‘em?).


(I'm onstage, the person furthest left, in my Ray-Bans and a white shirt over my black top)

(I'm onstage, dead center, in my white shirt and black leggings, dancing away)

7-28-12 Survival Jobs for Writer-Musicians – Starter Job #161 (The Washington Squares - On the Beach Boys Tour: More Endless Fun Fun Fun with Brian)

One day soon after, Brian Wilson did show up. He was accompanied by a young cute surfer-dude looking guy with long blonde hair and eyeglasses -- sorta like how Michael Stipe of REM looked in the early-mid ‘80’s.  Apparently, whatever was going on with Brian, whatever his issues, he had to have a “handler” on board with him pretty constantly. (I recently read that he had been diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, like my older brother Tom. . . and on a lot of medication.)

When we were invited to meet Brian, it was a pretty formal event for a rather casual situation/lifestyle (being on the road as musicians isn’t a very formal type setting, after all). We Squares were approached by one of the roadies to follow down a hallway at one of the arenas (probably Pittsburgh). It was sort of Spinal Tap-ish, a long hallway in a subterranean passage that went on for a while. The anticipation of the meeting in our minds probably lengthened it considerably. . .

At last, we faced an unmarked door and the roadie guy opened it and left. We were then greeted by the young blonde surfer-dude guy. He told us, “Brian’s looking forward to meeting you.” Aw, I’ll bet he says that to all the fans. Still, it was nice to hear.

Behind the surfer guy, in the back of a plain white room backstage, an almost gauntly thin Brian Wilson stood, sort of smiling, sort of gaping in a slack-jawed way -- the side affect of some psychiatric drugs. “Pleased to meet you,” he slurred, and shook our hands, one by one.

What do you say to a legend, especially one that seems discombobulated and kind of reminds you of your troubled older brother?

Beats me. . . I probably murmured back, “Pleased to meet YOU -- thank you!”

(Somewhere, I have a photo of us with Brian -- but can’t find it at present. Sorry!)

7-27-12 Survival Jobs for Writer-Musicians – Starter Job #160 (The Washington Squares - On the Beach Boys Tour: Continual Fun Fun Fun)

At one point in the tour -- maybe it was in Pittsburgh, which BTW I think is a great city & I’d love to visit again someday -- the rumor wafted through like pungent  incense at a teenage basement party in the early ‘70’s: Brian’s coming!  Brian’s coming!

The Brian, of course, was none other than the Grand High Poohbah and revered founder of the Beach Boys, Mr. Brian Wilson.  With (cool) brother Dennis gone, and sweet younger brother Carl dutifully keeping the name alive and the band on tour, the legendary Brian had been invited to join the tour periodically whenever he was available.

For years, he had been off and on in the care of  -- or under the spell of -- the infamous Doctor Eugene Landy, but at this point in ’87 he was once again more or less a “free” man. Brian was going to come on the tour for a few dates. The anticipation was as palpable as. . . well, name your favorite brew and, there ya go.

At any rate, when a guy is a living musical legend and you’re a musician, you just have to cross your fingers and hold your breath. . . We were so looking forward to seeing Brian.

We chatted with the tour manager about it, how much we wanted to meet and hang out with Brian. “I’ll let you know,” the tour manager said. We were extra nice to him and the entire crew. . . we so wanted to meet B. Wilson!

(photo of Bruce & BB band musician with equipment) 

7-26-12 Survival Jobs for Writer-Musicians – Starter Job #159 (The Washington Squares - On the Beach Boys Tour: Endless Fun Fun Fun)

One of the BB tour shows happened at a huge arena just outside Chicago. The weather that day was bizarre, I recall. We took turns driving our rental car and got kind of lost on the highways trying to get to the gig from our hotel rooms.

The sky just kept getting uglier and uglier. I complained how dark it was, and somebody in the car pointed out, “You’re still wearing your shades, Lauren!” Oh! I took off my Ray-Bans, but still: it was only midday and the sky still kept getting darker and darker, the color of a big purple and blue bruise. Scary! The rain let loose and golfballish hail filled the air and dented the car hood & roof. 

To the west we could see something even weirder in the sky: a large funnel cloud. Tornado time! I was more fascinated than scared at that point, but we pulled over on the side of the highway just because the precipitation was so horrible you could hardly see and somehow it seemed safer to stop. Traffic slowed or stopped in deference to the deadly show that Mother Nature presented for about thirty minutes.

Fleetly, the storm and its fury passed away. We started up the car and drove to the Chicago gig, car a little dented but safe again, where we all performed for about 8,000 BB fans. Wild day!

The next day, the tour played Milwaukee at some festival in a huge tent, and Victor from the Violent Femmes came out for a backstage visit. Here’s a pic of him and Billy Ficca.

7-25-12 Survival Jobs for Writer-Musicians – Starter Job #158 (The Washington Squares - On the Beach Boys Tour: Fun Fun Fun Continues)

We were particularly tickled that the BB tour included really good catering. Talk about your craft services. . . this food selection at a gig was beyond any that I’d experienced. I’m sure there was mixed salad plus a Caesar salad; three kinds of bread; two kinds of pasta, one of them vegetarian; a chicken piccata and some steak or other red meat; a salmon dish or a stuffed filet of sole (this was before the Tilapia craze hit the nation). Lots of other, interesting salad type dishes and gorgeous desserts, too -- which I rarely looked at except for an occasional cookie (I always adore a good cookie with coffee).

It was all quite elegant. Even though, of course, there were stressful moments especially when driving to the gigs, the guys and I had a great time, being well fed AND paid to perform a really pro, tight set of music, then be able to watch American musical legends, the Beach Boys, play songs we all knew and loved. What a ball!

I do wish I had a photo of me with my fave Beach Boy, Carl. I can see him, in my mind’s eye. . . . Carl Wilson made a point of finding us our first night on the tour, in the backstage catering-eating area and greeting us warmly. “Welcome, we’re glad you could join us on the road for this tour,” he said, shaking hands.

Such a sweet, good man -- he is sorely missed in this nasty world. The other guys in the BB band were really nice to us, too. Bruce Johnston and Bruce Paskow got along like peas in a pod. But Mike Love -- sadly -- showed us NO love, doing his best to ignore us any time he passed by. I just didn’t get it: how hard is it to be nice to strangers even just fleetingly? 

I guess it just wasn’t enough TM, eh Mikey?

(photos of the catering 1, 2 & 3)

(Below: chef, Bruce, Billy Ficca, and Tom loading up on the BB tour catering)

(Below: Bruce goofing around about how the food affected him. . . one fun guy, all right -- and can the mushrooms!)

7-24-12 Survival Jobs for Writer-Musicians – Starter Job #157 (The Washington Squares - On the Beach Boys Tour: Fun Fun Fun)

I don’t recall what we were paid, but Goodkind always was able to get us on the road, pay for travel expenses, and then pay the band at the end -- so it was better than being on a whaling ship of olden days, shipping out for a year then coming home with nothing to show. Oh, no! We traveled, made music, and made (some, mostly rent) money. Other than touring income, I worked more side/survival jobs.

Being on the Beach Boys (BB) tour, we rented a van or a large car and drove from gig to gig. We only had our instruments and our luggage, so it was OK. Billy Ficca came with us on the tour as our drummer, so it was a really tight, cohesive band. We were 3 ½ years into doing the band, so our sets were really tight, too. I think we had thirty minute sets when doing the BB opener. . . any more than that, the fans of the headliner would get antsy or annoyed, so we knew it was better to quite while ahead.

I mean, what would the Ramones do? (WWRD?)  Less is more!

For a big act like the BB’s, being on tour required nothing less than military precision and an organization that worked like clockwork. They had TWO different road crews with identical equipment traveling in two separate buses, the A crew and the B crew. They had two semi trucks traveling, too. I was pretty impressed with the whole setup. The logistics alone were staggering to comprehend.

(below: photos of the tour buses and the relaxing roadies)

7-23-12 Survival Jobs for Writer-Musicians – Starter Job #156 (The Washington Squares - Business: Getting on a Major Tour)

Because Goodkind was managing us, he spoke with the press, record companies, and agents. One agent, a sweet and very cute, tall guy named Michael, talked to Tom about getting us on a leg of a Beach Boys Summer Tour in 1986. I don’t know what deal was struck or what if any strings were attached, but what a coup!

At the time, I was temping in offices as a secretary -- in an era when the men didn’t type their own correspondence yet, for the most part. The move to word processing was underway, and the most used program was MultiMate (followed by WordPerfect by Microsoft). More anon about that. . .

Being on the Beach Boys tour was a dream come true, though in its own way stressful and harrowing. Funny that I never felt unsure or nervous about performing on a large, raised stage in front of thousands of fans. Thousands of fans of the OTHER band might have given pause to most sensible performers but to me, it was all good and once we opened our mouths and sang in that lovely, tight harmony with our songs of inspiration and fun -- how could they NOT love us?

I confess to only being nervous to playing in smaller venues when I can see the faces of the people, especially if I know them personally.

At any rate, the opportunity and the exposure when playing in the large stadiums on tour opening for harmony-singing legends The Beach Boys was pretty huge. . . I bought a new little easy focus camera, an Olympus, that had a slide out panel for the lens and a flash attachment that screwed in to the side. It was small and easy to use. We still had to buy film (usually 100 ASA B&W), but snapping away on a once-in-a-lifetime tour was definitely a given for me. . . I just HAD to document it.

We played Milwaukee, Chicago, Pittsburgh, PA, Ohio, and Old Orchard Beach, Maine. . . and perhaps a few other stops.

(photo of “big arena ‘87” above & “View from wings” below)