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.

9-05-12 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.

8-30-12 Survival Jobs for Writer-Musicians -- Starter Job #194 (Schmoozin’ with the Stars, take 1)

Now for the real change of pace. While working all these strange places as a corporate spy (er, temporary secretary -- same difference), I was working in music as a Washington Square in the eighties, and as a Dave Rave Conspirator and Agnelli-Raver in the nineties.

We did get to meet a lot of cool people, especially folks and folkies who’d carved a good career back in the day. Most of them were really cool people, very likable and good to be with. I don’t have a pic of us with Dave Guard from the Kingston Trio, but he was quite a sweetheart. . . he gave an old banjo of his to Tom Goodkind, a 5-string banjo lacking a resonator, but one that was easy to walk around with and frail (Tom’s preferred mode of banjo picking).

Here’s a pic of us with Tom Rush (“Wasn’t That a Mighty Storm”) at the Lion’s Head in the village. I recall he wasn’t a very fast talker or mover, and I was impatient and felt anxious, somehow -- everything in my head and body was firing fast, and I needed to be around people who were similar. I’m not sure he had a big sense of humor, either. All right, let’s face it: I thought his music was OK, but not really my thing. . .

(Tom Rush pic by Jill Goodkind)

8-14-12 Survival Jobs for Writer-Musicians -- Starter Job #178 (Working Temp in NYC: Personal Errands for The Man)

Another thing about me, I love doing anything that’s uncommon or not part of the plan at work because I like change. I also like to think that life isn’t boring, and when you get out of the same ol’ same ol’, boredom disappears - poof! -- like a cockroach when you turn on the lights.

As it happened, some bosses had interesting requests as far as errands. A few asked if I wouldn’t mind picking up their lunch orders if I was going out -- that was well and fine. One or two asked if I could fetch their shirts from the cleaner’s down the street. That was cool, too.

The most interesting errand -- since this was pre-Ticketmaster -- was to pick up some concert tickets for my groovy divorced older guy boss, Merv Weiner, who was a Sr. VP in M&A at Bristol Myers-Squibb. The concert:  Leonard Cohen Live! at the Felt Forum. Everybody Knows he’s my man and so, I was more than happy to go in person to get tix for Merv because I also picked some up for my boyfriend and me.

Of course, I’d not have been as ecstatic if he asked me to get tickets for Billy Joel or somebody I loathed. . .but the trip outside the office to do just about anything other than work at a desk between 9 and 5 was kinda heavenly.

So, thank you, Merv -- and thanks, Len, for an awesome concert way back when at the Felt Forum. That was where I bumped into Allen Ginsberg and discussed our favorite songs off Cohen’s I’m Your Man album. He said to me, “I like that Manhattan song. And how’s Tommy (Goodkind -- from the Squares) doing?”!

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)

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. . .

7-15-12 Survival Jobs for Writer-Musicians – Starter Job #148 (The Washington Squares - Early Visuals 4)

The Washington Squares had a penchant for the press, but that was partly because Tom Goodkind knew how to schmooze writers and editors on the phone and he’d just go run with it when he had a live one on the hook, so to speak. The copy in this Village Voice Folk City ad just cracks me up, as he mentions what we’re wearing along with what we’re playing in the descriptions of who we are and what bands we were from in the New Wave scene. He really knew how to promote. . . as that was his job at the Peppermint Lounge, too: as a music promoter.

So, we have the ad from the gig -- and then a review of the gig:

But if that good Variety review was a feather in our cap, getting an early New York Times review (thank you Stephen Holden) was like an entire Apache headdress. . .