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That time you "almost" got a break.

PostPosted: Thu Oct 28, 2010 4:11 am
by Krul
How many of you, once upon a time, started going good, and had some kind of offer that would have broke you into the industry, but for some reason, things fell through due to a being burned by a band member or a record company...etc?

Re: That time you "almost" got a break.

PostPosted: Thu Oct 28, 2010 4:16 am
by gtZip
Kruliosis wrote:How many of you, once upon a time, started going good, and had some kind of offer that would have broke you into the industry, but for some reason, things fell through due to a being burned by a band member or a record company...etc?


We did, but we were drunken aholes to a sub-label A&R guy, so that ended that right there.
No other offers.

Ahhh, the good old days of Jagermeister...
I'm glad I left all of that behind me.

Re: That time you "almost" got a break.

PostPosted: Thu Oct 28, 2010 8:06 am
by Mike Nobody
Kruliosis wrote:How many of you, once upon a time, started going good, and had some kind of offer that would have broke you into the industry, but for some reason, things fell through due to a being burned by a band member or a record company...etc?


We were supposed to open for YES, I think, or....maybe it was King Crimson. It was one of those big 70's prog-rock bands. It was a long time ago. Anyway, a short tour to NYC got cancelled just before that because our bandleader was having extramarital activities "nod-nod-wink-wink-nudge-nudge-knowhutimean?" My girlfriend and I were living with him and his wife. I was not happy about being put in the middle like that. But, I kept my mouth shut. Anyway, I don't know what bullshit he told her. But, we came back from a movie to find him and his wife waiting for us...intervention-style, to ambush us. Apparently, he was paranoid about us saying something and got to her first with some made-up story. The funny thing is, the dumbass BUSTED ON HIMSELF while trying to blame us. He got mad at ME, like it was MY fault, jacked me up and threw me through a wall separating the kitchen from the living room (he's over 400lbs, easy). My girlfriend, a trained martial artist, ran out from the bedroom with her samurai sword and got him off me. We ended up moving out ASAP. But, before we left we sprinkled cat hair all over his favorite spots in the apartment. He is terribly allergic to EVERYTHING!

We saw him in a bar a few months later. He acted like he knew we did something to him, but didn't know what. :lol: :lol:

Well, we were obviously out of the band by then.

PostPosted: Thu Oct 28, 2010 10:59 am
by Crip2nite
We were finally writing songs and recording and I was actually asked to write the background music for a commercial for a music store... We started mixing our originals into our cover mix and started opening up for some big acts here on the island( Southside Johnny, Zebra, The Good Rats, etc..) We started getting booked at colleges as well as clubs and were on our way to our dream...writing new songs along the way... My lead vocalist one day found out how great cocaine made him feel when he was up on stage.... need I say more?? :roll: Gigs cancelled... recordings stopped... rehearsals further and fewer in between as we tried to replace our singer to no avail... we all just went our way never to see each other ever again to this day...

PostPosted: Thu Oct 28, 2010 1:03 pm
by jimmydanger
I know a discussion of this is around here somewhere, but here goes. In 2001 a small label in LA that specialized in Motor City bands wanted to put out our first CD since Scott Asheton (The Stooges) played on it. Everything was ready to go and they said they wanted to change the name of the band to "The Far". We insisted on keeping the name "The Farleys" and they promptly dropped us.

PostPosted: Thu Oct 28, 2010 1:12 pm
by philbymon
I was in some sort of contest, back in the 70's. The winner was supposed to get a free session recording an entire album in a pro Nashville studio. They screwed up the line up, & my number was confused with anopther guy's. He got the win that week, but I blew everyone out of the water the following weeks, & was told I pretty much had it in the bag, by the powers that ran the thing. They even told me that I didn't need any coaching, which they offered to the semi-finalists.

I moved out of state before the contest ended, when I had made it to the finals. I've been kicking myself ever since, but I doubt that it would have really gone anywhere....besides, it was a country music contest, which I didn't really feel qualified for.

PostPosted: Thu Oct 28, 2010 3:07 pm
by jw123
I was in a group called Golden Shadow. We had some A&R folks from a couple of small labels court us for a couple of monthes. This would have been early mid 80s. I wasnt involved in the business side of that group, I was just there for the spoils and far alittle while they were pretty damn good! The singer Coburn Pharr went on to do a couple of albums with a band called Annihilator, got to tour the world with Judas Priest as a opener. He and I have regained contact and he made a comment that if it hadnt have been for me he might not have left Memphis for LA. When things were fallin apart, he and i were gettign shitfaced one night LOL, and i just made the comment that to succede we needed to be in LA. A couple of monthes later and he packed his bags and went away. I went into a family business at the time and pretty much became a weekend warrior musician after that. I still play with the same drummer which is way cool. I think our bassist freaked out and went into the seminary, the same guy that I would go to Iron Maiden concerts with and he would yell 666 all the time. I had forgotten some of that, LOL. I wish I still had pictures and our cd that never got released but I lost all that stuff along the way. The CD sucked to me at the time so I imagine it would really be horrible now, maybe good for alaugh.

PostPosted: Thu Oct 28, 2010 3:50 pm
by Mike Nobody
jw123 wrote:I was in a group called Golden Shadow. We had some A&R folks from a couple of small labels court us for a couple of monthes. This would have been early mid 80s. I wasnt involved in the business side of that group, I was just there for the spoils and far alittle while they were pretty damn good! The singer Coburn Pharr went on to do a couple of albums with a band called Annihilator, got to tour the world with Judas Priest as a opener. He and I have regained contact and he made a comment that if it hadnt have been for me he might not have left Memphis for LA. When things were fallin apart, he and i were gettign shitfaced one night LOL, and i just made the comment that to succede we needed to be in LA. A couple of monthes later and he packed his bags and went away. I went into a family business at the time and pretty much became a weekend warrior musician after that. I still play with the same drummer which is way cool. I think our bassist freaked out and went into the seminary, the same guy that I would go to Iron Maiden concerts with and he would yell 666 all the time. I had forgotten some of that, LOL. I wish I still had pictures and our cd that never got released but I lost all that stuff along the way. The CD sucked to me at the time so I imagine it would really be horrible now, maybe good for alaugh.


Golden Shower? I think I saw you guys!

PostPosted: Thu Oct 28, 2010 4:42 pm
by Chaeya
I was in London and a friend introduced me to Jazzy B from the group Soul II Soul with the song "Back to Life, Back to Reality," yeah that group. Well he talked to me asked me about appearing on their next album. I thought I had made it, finally a frickin break. So I went to Switzerland to clear out my passport so I could get another six months in London. Jazzy calls me in Switzerland and says they're ready to go. I go back to London and customs stops me. The witch went through everything, read my diaries which had information of me working as a vocalist in London. Got kicked out of the country.

I'm an idiot, I chose to get all busted up about the incident (I had had one bad luck trip too many at that point). Rather than lose my passport and come back into the country by train. But hey, that's what happens when you're an immature artist prone to horrible depression. What I was being a brat about was the fact that I had been in and out of London looking like a punk rocker, broke, carrying my synthesizer and no one said anything. The minute I dress up all conservative and have a load of cash, then they decide to check me out.

That's been pretty much my history of getting almost there and having something go wrong like people lying about deals they didn't have, people doing something stupid to lose the deal or just all the other host of promises that were never kept.

And to think I still want to do this. Go figure.

Chaeya

PostPosted: Thu Oct 28, 2010 4:44 pm
by Prevost82
I was playing in a Prog rock band around 73 at a festival and Ike and Tina Turner were the headliners. The hammond and bass player were turned back at customs so the bass player from the Prog band and I were asked to fill-in.

We finish the show and then we were ask to do a 8 date tour across Canada. I had a tour bus so we packed up with the rest of the I&T band and headed out (Ike and Tina flew into each of the venue)... well by the end of the 6th date the bass player and I had had enough of Ike.

So we quit and when out to a bar to get drunk and figure out what out next move was. There was a fusion jazz band playing and we started to talk with the band ... well to make a long story short ... we ended up jamming with them and forming a 5 pc. fusion band (this when Weather Report and Chick Corea had just getting hot).

We start writing and playing clubs got a good manager and A&R guys were trying to cut deals with us but they just couldn't get it done ... We tour for 5 yrs straight on the road working clubs up and down the east coast. Cut an album (we paid for), we were making decent money, had a good fan base ... we could fill a 1000 seat venue but never could get to the next level .. and fusion was losing it shine. We pulled the plug and have never seen each other since.

PostPosted: Thu Oct 28, 2010 5:16 pm
by jw123
Mike it was called Golden Shadow, not shower. LOL

We did get some golden showers from some chickie poos back then now that I think about it! GOSH WHAT WAS I THINKIN!

PostPosted: Fri Oct 29, 2010 3:19 am
by Starfish Scott
"pee on me" (wink) Nah, changed meh mind....LMAO

PostPosted: Fri Oct 29, 2010 11:39 am
by Krul
Some pretty interesting stories here.

I had a couple close calls. Sometimes it hurts to think about those "what if's", but then again, maybe it just wasn't supposed to go down that way. None of it really bothers me all that much, except for getting a master tape ripped off when we weren't in the recording studio. All behind one asshole: The New Drunk Vocalist With A Bad Memory And Horrible Pitch.

PostPosted: Fri Oct 29, 2010 6:54 pm
by Mike Nobody
jimmydanger wrote:I know a discussion of this is around here somewhere, but here goes. In 2001 a small label in LA that specialized in Motor City bands wanted to put out our first CD since Scott Asheton (The Stooges) played on it. Everything was ready to go and they said they wanted to change the name of the band to "The Far". We insisted on keeping the name "The Farleys" and they promptly dropped us.


There's already a band called The Far. WTF?

PostPosted: Fri Oct 29, 2010 7:02 pm
by jimmydanger
Do you know what year they came out? This was like ten years ago.