In the middle of 1998, Abed was invited to record one of his songs for a compilation CD to be released by a San Diego independent label that promoted alternative and experimental music. The label owner paid for the studio time. Abed was going to get to do a full production of the song, including drums and other instruments. He asked me to provide piano and background vocal tracks. I was excited about the prospect of contributing to a CD release that people were actually going to hear.
Abed had one eight-hour session booked at the studio. We were basically tasked with getting the entire song recorded in one day. In addition to Abed and myself, Abed's sister performed with him on backing vocals, his brother-in-law played bass and the label owner Ferd played drums. This was the first time I had met Ferd. I had seen him playing drums with other local acts, like Appalachian. I didn't know that he had his own label. There were other artists associated with the label there as well, some of whom were going to have contributions on the CD release.
The guitar and drum tracks were recorded first. Abed sang live while he was playing, but recorded a complete vocal later. His brother-in-law recorded the bass section in the control room.
Then it was my turn. I had figured out a piano part to play underneath a sustained note that Abed held. Afterward, I had three tracks to do backing vocals on. I recorded them in the same manner in which I'd done on my CD release. I recorded a guide for each part, then I would sing with the guide. The other artists didn't think I knew what I was doing, but they were surprised when the completed parts all came together.
A few months later in October, Abed had moved in with me. We had to prepare for the CD release show, which was going to be at the Casbah. Abed was going to do a half-hour set. Other artists on the release would also do their own sets. We were going to get to perform as a full band, with his brother-in-law and Ferd. I also performed pieces on the bells, a small xylophone-type instrument. We did several rehearsals at the label's office/practice space. We were going to have a really tight set and we were excited about the upcoming performance.
The night of the CD release (December 1st), all of the featured artists showed up to perform their sets. (There were seven of us. Hird was among the acts.) In order for us to quickly segue from one act to the next, everyone had their instruments on stage and plugged into the sound system. Mics were set up, including one for the bells. We all did sound checks.
There was an order that had been pre-determined. We were the fifth act to take the stage. However, the fourth act was this one guy who had several keyboards. Toward the end of his set, he pulled an "Andy Kaufman." He put all of his keyboards on "drone" mode, got up, went into the audience and had a casual conversation with a friend of his. This meant that the instruments were playing themselves while he continued his conversation. After a few minutes, we wondered if he was going to turn off his keyboards. He made no indication he was going to get back up on stage. He just kept talking to his friend.
Abed, Ferd and I went up on stage so we could start setting up our instruments. Suddenly, keyboard guy starts yelling, "Hey! What are you doing? I'm not done yet." Abed yelled back, "Then get up here and finish already!" "I'll finish when I'm ready!" And he tried to get back to his conversation. Ferd made a circular motion with his finger and the Casbah's sound guy turned down the volume on the keyboards. Amongst ourselves, Abed and I said, "Yeah! Now, you're finished!" We got off the stage so he could turn off his equipment. He took his time doing that.
Our set went very well, just like we practiced it. I don't remember any major flaws. Afterward, a couple of friends came up to me and said, "Wow! That was great! You're really good on the xylophone." I responded, "I've been playing keyboards for 20 years. I only started playing the bells two weeks ago and you think that's what I'm good at?"
The rest of the night went smoothly. At the end, we each had to go on stage to retrieve our equipment. Only a few people could be onstage at a time, so Abed and I had to wait until some of the others had cleared their stuff. After I had put my keyboard in my carrying case, I realized that my patch cords were missing. Somehow, I figured out that Hird had taken them. "Oh, I'm sorry! I must have grabbed them by mistake!" I didn't accuse him of taking them on purpose, but he knew had been caught.
Unfortunately, that incident caused me to lose track of the bells. A few months later, when we were preparing for another show, we figured out that they were missing. Since they weren't mine and I didn't bring them, I wasn't held responsible for them disappearing. (And I don't think Hird took them.) But I'm pretty sure Ferd was a little miffed at me for that.
But Abed and I got to do several more performances that were showcases for the label, including the Christmas shows in 1999 and 2000. It appeared to be an annual tradition.
But we never got to appear on another compilation.
No comments:
Post a Comment