I lost track of Alex Chilton about 1968. I figured the Boxtops were another one of those one hit wonders and the whole band was working in housewares of a department store now. There were a bunch of those one hit wonders in the early sixties. They gave it their best shot, and it was a good'un, but that was all they had. Soul Survivors, Marilee Rush, (I played bass for Marilee for part of one set,in Anchorage in '68. Her bass player was a casual aquaintence, and for some reason, had to take ten minutes to do something. He saw me in the audience, and asked me to fill in for him. I am NOT a bass player, but I faked it for two songs. ) Those two are all that come to mind at the moment, but there were dozens of them. Joey Dee was another. And Leslie Gore.
Yeah, I fell for several of those "You need to go to see "So and so" at "such and such" publishing company, in Nashville, Los Angles, Mussel Shoals, Austin, Bangkok, Moscow, New York City, the list goes on forever. Tell them I sent you."
One guy told me he was a retired producer. He heard me at a resort in NE Oklahoma, told me he really liked my stuff, and actually typed out a letter of introduction to a publisher in Nashville. I called the publisher, and mentioned the producers name, and a secretary told me to come on by. So I quit my job, gave up my apartment, and boarded a bus to Nashville.
This was the first trip to be "discovered", that I mentioned earlier.
I was waiting when they opened the door on a Tuesday morning. I handed over that precious intro letter, and my only copy of a demo that cost a weeks pay. The exec said thanks, and that was the end of our association.
I really thought he would listen to my demo, and give me a writing contract on the spot. It would be many years, and several such trips before I figured out, that publishers seldom listen to demos they have not asked for. And they don't ask for demos from writers that have not been in there face daily for several years. And they don't care a rosy red rodents rectum about any letter of recommendation.
And no matter how good a song is, if you haven't been in their face for years, they will give a contract to a hack that has been in their face for years.
And(From knowledge gained over many years clinging to the hem of the songwriting business) most producers don't retire. They are either fired, or strangled by a studio musician! No matter how charming they are when hiring musicians, when the door of the studio closes, and the red light comes on, they turn into unreasonable tyrants.
This is not universally true, just in my very limited experience as a session player. Truly, I had no business seeking session work. In my best years,I was pretty damned good, but the average pretty damned good guitar player, has no idea of how much better they have to be to do session work.
A working musician doing regular bar gigs, where everyone starts out, falls into a groove. Ain't no grooves allowed for a session player. If the producer needs county, rock, jazz, bluegrass, folk, blues, or bubble gum,Then that is what a session player plays. Or face the wrath of the producer.
The public personna of Chet Atkins was always an easy going, down home ,country boy. And for the most part, it seems he was. But I've talked to a couple of folks who worked sessions for him, and when it came time to record, No more mister nice guy! One story exists, that he made Elvis sit in the dark, until he could control his giggling.
I got my a$$ chewed to a fare-thee-well, for breaking a "G" string. I made a joke about breaking my "G" string in public. All the time I was restringing, I was berated, for being unprofessional. I don't even remember the producer's name, but it was very near my(very short) session playing career. All I did was break a damned string.
Several years ago, I had an ADAT of my last studio session before I broke my neck, burned on CD. After listening to the ADAT, the producer asked if I was available for session work. Not only NO, but HELL NO!
Not only can I not play that well anymore, I don't wish to endure the irrationality of an other producer.
(Of course, if you happen to be the lead singer, producers are great guys!)
Yeah, I fell for several of those "You need to go to see "So and so" at "such and such" publishing company, in Nashville, Los Angles, Mussel Shoals, Austin, Bangkok, Moscow, New York City, the list goes on forever. Tell them I sent you."
One guy told me he was a retired producer. He heard me at a resort in NE Oklahoma, told me he really liked my stuff, and actually typed out a letter of introduction to a publisher in Nashville. I called the publisher, and mentioned the producers name, and a secretary told me to come on by. So I quit my job, gave up my apartment, and boarded a bus to Nashville.
This was the first trip to be "discovered", that I mentioned earlier.
I was waiting when they opened the door on a Tuesday morning. I handed over that precious intro letter, and my only copy of a demo that cost a weeks pay. The exec said thanks, and that was the end of our association.
I really thought he would listen to my demo, and give me a writing contract on the spot. It would be many years, and several such trips before I figured out, that publishers seldom listen to demos they have not asked for. And they don't ask for demos from writers that have not been in there face daily for several years. And they don't care a rosy red rodents rectum about any letter of recommendation.
And no matter how good a song is, if you haven't been in their face for years, they will give a contract to a hack that has been in their face for years.
And(From knowledge gained over many years clinging to the hem of the songwriting business) most producers don't retire. They are either fired, or strangled by a studio musician! No matter how charming they are when hiring musicians, when the door of the studio closes, and the red light comes on, they turn into unreasonable tyrants.
This is not universally true, just in my very limited experience as a session player. Truly, I had no business seeking session work. In my best years,I was pretty damned good, but the average pretty damned good guitar player, has no idea of how much better they have to be to do session work.
A working musician doing regular bar gigs, where everyone starts out, falls into a groove. Ain't no grooves allowed for a session player. If the producer needs county, rock, jazz, bluegrass, folk, blues, or bubble gum,Then that is what a session player plays. Or face the wrath of the producer.
The public personna of Chet Atkins was always an easy going, down home ,country boy. And for the most part, it seems he was. But I've talked to a couple of folks who worked sessions for him, and when it came time to record, No more mister nice guy! One story exists, that he made Elvis sit in the dark, until he could control his giggling.
I got my a$$ chewed to a fare-thee-well, for breaking a "G" string. I made a joke about breaking my "G" string in public. All the time I was restringing, I was berated, for being unprofessional. I don't even remember the producer's name, but it was very near my(very short) session playing career. All I did was break a damned string.
Several years ago, I had an ADAT of my last studio session before I broke my neck, burned on CD. After listening to the ADAT, the producer asked if I was available for session work. Not only NO, but HELL NO!
Not only can I not play that well anymore, I don't wish to endure the irrationality of an other producer.
(Of course, if you happen to be the lead singer, producers are great guys!)