10-07-12 Survival Jobs for Writer-Musicians -- Starter Job #215 (The Squares “Can’t Stop The Rain” coda)

Once the lyrics and melodies and song structures were in place, Tom and Bruce went to town on the catchy licks and bassline, and we all started harmonizing on the choruses. Because I started to sing the lyrics and nobody objected, I sang lead on the song. Wow, that was a rush! Once we were in the room, I think that Malloy & Brannon kind of had to step aside -- or more likely, the Washington Squares force field pushed them to the periphery, as in a centrifuge. They started the song and handed it off, so we were fleshing it out and finishing that sucker.

I was considerably cheered that, after an hour or so, we had a new collaboratively written song made in Nashville. How cool. Did it matter that five people were in the room and that I kind of took over on a few aspects, and everybody shared equally in the song? Didn’t matter to me, not a bit. I’d do it again -- write with a group of writers -- and come up with some cool tunes.

I know that I took the lyrical/melodic lead, but the song wouldn’t have been the same without the contributions of everybody (esp. the new, faster tempo and cool guitar and bass parts). I’m very proud of “Can’t Stop the Rain.”

We recorded that song and “You Are Not Alone” in David Malloy’s Nashville studio the next day. The version we completed and took back to NYC with us didn’t impress the record company; it wasn’t very folky at all, too souped up with synthesizers and effects that made it sound kind of new wave (like Human League or Haircut 100), which was happening at the time but it wasn’t our style.

At any rate, we did record “Can’t Stop the Rain” as well as “You Are Not Alone” on our first album, the sessions we did at Electric Ladyland with Mitch Easter producing. . . 

10-06-12 Survival Jobs for Writer-Musicians -- Starter Job #214 (The Squares “Can’t Stop The Rain” pt. 2)

So, I put my nervous headache and migraine aside and bravely faced the music (literally). We drove back at the office/writing room for Malloy and Brannon just in time for a “working lunch” to finish writing a song with five people in a -- a “Nashville Committee” songwriting session. I’d heard about them & was so excited! I would now have to prove myself in a competitive group of writer-musicians, two of whom I knew well. And as much as I like to be “nice” and polite and never step on others’ proverbial toes, I WILL speak up when necessary.

Once in the writing room, I sat on the floor, and the guys sat around casually, too. I had a pen and notebook in hand rather than a guitar -- Bruce and Tom had their instruments. I started out saying, “Now here, this melody -- what if you took the last part of this line and started with it because it sounds more interesting?”

Those few notes/that part of the melody became the top of the verse. Bruce added full, dramatic guitar strums -- a D - D - E pattern. Tom noodled around on bass and got the “Shakin’ All Over” bassline to fit.

“And how about that repetitive part, ‘Nah nah nah nah. . .’ -- that can start the chorus?” My brain was on fire. I was deconstructing and reconstructing the melody because it needed some juicing up, sprucing up -- pruning too, perhaps.

After maybe 20 minutes of getting the song melody and structure tight, I tuned out everything else in the room and remembered sensory images -- sights, sounds, smells -- from the summer I had my heart broken for the first time. I thought of how flowers start to die. . . came up with the line, “Last rose of summer, withered” and I thought, what else, what else? I got it:

“--Like the love gone in your eyes.” Gone or lost? Somehow, “gone” sounded more country.

Malloy and Brannon approved of the direction of the lyrics, so I plowed on and sketched out lyrics that included a chorus, “Can’t Stop the Rain, Can’t hide the pain, I see the flash, I hear the thunder--“

The rest of the chorus goes, “--It’s going to fall, despite it all, but I won’t let it drag me under: No, you can’t stop the rain.”

10-02-12 Survival Jobs for Writer-Musicians -- Starter Job #211 (The Squares in Gnashville. . .)

As before mentioned, we had this early (G)Nashville connection with the Washington Squares. Apparently, the label really wanted to try to pair us with David Malloy as producer and sometime co-writer and so, we were flown down south to have a writing/recording session.

It was really cool, to go anywhere first of all -- I love adventure! -- but best of all, we were sent on a creative mission. Joy. We arrived in the middle of a hot day and were sent, pronto, to our motel on the outskirts of town. That day, we poked around the neighborhood and found a very silly pastime at a nearby recording studio for the public that was basically a karaoke setup. . . people came in to record vocal tracks to their favorite songs, then received a copy of the recordings on a cassette tape.

I think it was the Barbara Mandrell recording studio or somesuch. . .  but we had such a fun time there. I recorded “Stand By Your Man” and “You Ain’t Woman Enough”; Tom recorded “Like a Virgin” (what can I say? He was a big Madonna fan and it was a riot!); Tom and Bruce recorded “To All the Girls I Loved Before” (a total crack up -- Bruce did a silly voice, more like Ricky Ricardo on helium rather than Julio Iglesias); and Bruce recorded “Your Cheatin’ Heart.”

If there is any way I can find those recordings on that ancient cassette I carried around for years, I’ll certainly try to salvage it and convert to digital (I promise!).

That’s where I’d say the country roots of The Washington Squares were born. . . I’d always loved classic country music, and had friends who were country music writers and bonafide southerners (Stephanie Chernikowski, the photographer, and her friends, Martha Hume and Chet Flippo). I don’t know if Tom was much into country music, but I know that Bruce loved Hank Williams and lotsa rockabilly. . . probably a lot of the early Sun Studio sessions.

9-24-12 Survival Jobs for Writer-Musicians -- Starter Job #207 (Oops! We did it again with Billy Crystal, take 3. . .)

I have to say, we did some really interesting and cool stuff, and I very much credit Tom Goodkind with getting us out there and finding opportunities. He was an MBA from N.Y.U., and figured out how to use his business degree -- and acumen -- to get us ahead, from marketing to business plan.

One of the opportunities that came our way was to go on a Midwest tour with then-upcoming comedian Billy Crystal. This was before “When Harry Met Sally” and the Oscar hosting that he did. . . as I said, he was an up-and-comer.

At any rate, again, having temp jobs on the side in NYC worked well for me. We got the tour itinerary and, I believe, flew to Cleveland, where we rented a car to drive around where the tour was going. I don’t exactly recall, but think we toured with a bongo player at that time, either a guy named Ben (who was a little scary) or Frank Gianninni (who was a real nice, cool guy).

So, we did the first show on this little theater tour, and it went well. Billy liked us, and we posed for a pic with him (attach).

But Bruce had some other plans in his nutty, defiant brain. A natural comedian himself (and a Jerry Lewis aficionado), he got it in his head to learn and steal Crystal’s jokes -- and tell them during our set.

SO WRONG! I had no idea he was doing that at the time, though. Did Tom know? Hard to say, but I think if he did know, he’d have said, “Bruce, man, that’s such a bad idea ‘cause we’ll be thrown off the tour, man.”

. . . which is exactly what happened after two gigs: we lost the tour and were sent back home with our figurative tail between our legs.

Still, I just really wish I knew what possessed Bruce to do that.  But we’ll never know, ‘cause he’s long gone. . . next year, it’ll be 20 years ago that he died.

9-05-12 Survival Jobs for Writer-Musicians -- Starter Job #200 (Oops! We did it again, take 2. . .)

We played this gig at the Bottom Line one time -- I think it was a benefit for something, maybe AIDS research or World Hunger Year? -- and the Squares took the stage. Now, Tom and Bruce customarily did a little back and forth comedy routine a la the Smothers Brothers or Lenny Bruce, generally leaving me out of the picture because they were quick, the fastball wits. I was the female in the middle who’d look left to right, right to left, and look bemused and mildly tolerant of those “bad boys.”

As you can tell, I, too, have my own brand of fastball wit, but as I’m accustomed to putting it on the page, onstage I tended to not get words out quick enough, and I’d fumble. But THIS one time, I was heard. . .

This was after Bruce made some jokes about Michael Jackson, maybe along the lines of, “How can you can tell it’s bedtime at Michael Jackson’s? When the big hand touches the little hand. . .”

So, In the news at the time was a gory tale of a man who killed his girlfriend and cooked some of her body parts to eat. Ugh. So Tom says onstage, between songs, “So, you hear about this guy who ate his girlfriend?”

Not missing a beat, I jumped right in, “Well, Tom, plenty of guys eat their girlfriends” -- referring to a sexual act, you know, a double entendre. Nervous laughter and a few rather sick guffaws met my bold remark. I thought it was pretty good -- stopped the guys in their tracks for about a minute. They were incredulous that I could have said something so quickly. . . and I wonder what would have happened had Bruce said that instead of me.

Anyway, after the show, our record company voiced mild displeasure at my onstage comment. Never had the guys ever been chastised for their shenanigans, but I thought there was a teensy bit of a double standard at play there. . . cute girls just can’t “play blue,” I guess.

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) 

7-25-12 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!)

7-23-12 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)

7-22-12 Survival Jobs for Writer-Musicians – Starter Job #155 (The Washington Squares - Conflicts & Band Roles)

Personalities according to their instrument/role in band. Here’s an incomprehensive list of self-evident truths that I won’t belabor but want to share:

Lead guitar players: brilliant musicians, moody, quiet when you needed to talk about anything important, passive-aggressive, etc. . . . their talents are admirable, but I find it hard to know them or get close to ‘em. Drummers = fun and a little crazy, opinionated, real characters. But, drummers are easy for me to chum around with. Bass players = usually bandleaders, more even tempered than the rest, sweet. Generally, bassists are romantics -- or snide bastards! Vocalists = good P.R. people, schmoozers, “the face” fronting the group.

In the Squares, we had three vocalists, two lead players (Bruce AND Tom, on electric banjo later on), an occasional drummer, and Tom on bass (though he’d occasionally have Bruce or I play bass, on “Promises” and “Fourth Day of July.”). Oh, we also had two stand-up comedians who dealt in “fastball wit.”

Me being in the middle of it, in our inverted V formation, I tended to feel left out. . . I was of the more cerebral, rambling stage patter school, which didn’t work so well in a tight group. Oh well. At that point in our act, it didn’t hurt to have the cute girl in the middle. . . though I felt smarter than I may have looked, I was also not clued in at the right times so how smart was I, after all?!

My tenacity always won out. I stuck with the Squares through the good times and the bad, and I stuck with survival jobs and boyfriends too, generally -- until the breaking (or tipping) point prevails. . .