Getting back into the blog earlier this week, I said that I wasn't going to write much about my involvement in the San Diego music scene. But I really wanted to write about this particular incident.
In 1994, Abed had recently moved back to San Diego after I had driven him to live with his mother in New Mexico two years earlier. I found out after I had called his mother to see what he was up to. She said he was living with his father and gave me the phone number. I called him and he was excited to hear from me. We met up at his father's apartment.
The funny thing was that we had both started doing our own music. We played each other tapes of songs that we had written and recorded. He had been playing open mics around town. He told me that the San Diego music scene was abuzz because this one person had gotten signed to a major record deal. I will call her "SuperFamousSingerSongwriter" here on out. (Yes, I realize you know exactly who I'm writing about, but I really don't need this blog to show up in Internet searches for that person. Besides, SuperFamousSingerSongwriter will be making a cameo appearance in this blog much later on, and not how you expect.)
Abed told me that SuperFamousSingerSongwriter had managed to get the recording contract because she played at this little coffeehouse called the Inner Change in Pacific Beach. He was going to play an open mic there and invited me to go see him perform. When I went there, his father was also in attendance. I remember sitting through a few performances of other people playing acoustic music. I recall this one singer-songwriter who sounded like James Taylor. He said he was a computer programmer and performed a song called "0s and 1s." It was pretty good, so much so that I remember it to this day, more than 20 years later (but I don't think he became much of a success). However, there was this one guy who was trying to be a stand-up comedian. At first, I thought this would be entertaining, but it was apparent he was just starting out and hadn't developed a stage presence yet. It was very hard to watch, so I turned my chair away from the comedian. I know at one point, he tried to come up behind me and get me to engage with him, but I wasn't having any of it.
Finally, Abed's slot came up. He performed a few of his songs on his guitar. The topics of his material showcased a feeling of protest in their delivery, but he did have a strong stage presence and a voice similar to the style of Tom Waits. I thought it went well, but also knew the majority of the music-loving public probably wouldn't find him entertaining. However, Abed would constantly fight against that label, saying, "Nobody should feel entertained by me!" He was all about getting his message across and not sugar-coating it.
A couple of weeks later, Abed told me that he had arranged an audition for the owner of the Innerchange to get a regular gig, like SuperFamousSingerSongwriter had. He gave me the date and time. I showed up a few minutes early. He had just started talking to the owner. He said I could take a seat with them during the interview portion of the audition.
The owner talked about how she had been flooded with inquiries since the news about SuperFamousSingerSongwriter had spread. She was aware that everyone was hoping that she could get them a similar deal. She informed Abed that there was long road ahead of him before she would attempt to use her connections. She said that there were a few requirements. The first was that he needed to have a following and a mailing list. He already had a mailing list, so that wasn't an issue. The second was that when people came to see him, the members of his following needed to buy something when he was performing, whether it was coffee or food. They needed to spend money.
She then described how she would then get in contact with her connections to help pave the way to a record deal. The way she was talking, it sounded like she was practically promising him a path to a recording contract. I don't know if he had the same take on this, but I was astonished that she was being so optimistic. I thought this was really going to happen.
I should point out that Abed was 20 years old at the time and he's considered very attractive. (I know a number of women who would have loved to have hooked up with him.) I think the owner saw what was on the surface and thought that she had found the male version of SuperFamousSingerSongwriter and was eager to pull the strings again. The interview was completed. A few people Abed had invited from work showed up. Remembering what the owner said, I got up and purchased a soda, but it was the only thing I could afford. I hadn't planned on spending money that night, but I knew I had to if this was going to happen for Abed. I don't recall seeing his co-workers order anything.
There were a couple of other patrons in the coffeehouse who appeared to just be socializing and weren't aware that there was going to be a performance. Abed got up on stage and started his act with his full-throttle angry young man vocals howling above the crunchy chords from his acoustic guitar. I knew what to expect and his co-workers knew what to expect, but I don't think it was what the owner was expecting.
His set went on for about a half-hour. Afterward, he went to talk to the owner by himself. When he came back, he told me, "She told me I wasn't ready for a regular gig yet, but she was going to try to set me up with some protest folk venues she knows." I realized that the owner did not want him or his music in her coffeehouse and that he should give up on those hopes of getting a record contract through her. As it turned out, she never did set him up with any venues.
The Inner Change continued to be an important part of the San Diego music scene for a couple of years and even went through a remodeling. But shortly after that, it closed down. However, it was apparent that the owner still clung to her legacy of getting SuperFamousSingerSongwriter where she was. One night, after the broadcast of the Grammy Awards, one of the local TV news stations did a live remote from Java Joe's in Ocean Beach, stating that it was where SuperFamousSingerSongwriter got her "big break." Reportedly, Inner Change's owner called up the station and angrily demanded a correction, saying that Java Joe's was not the big break, she was. The station never did air a correction.
Abed continued on his path of performing angry protest songs, evolving into other musical styles along the way. He still composes, records and performs to this day. I've practically given up on it. That's why I write this blog now.
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