Make-up pick:
10.04: "Voices Carry", Til Tuesday (Riot Grrl)
Aimee Mann has to be considered at least a proto-Riot Grrl, right
?
Responsible for one of the weirdest days of my life. Started my own small, local music mgmt concern after i got sued out of the biz in '75, became quickly uncomfortable with the legal limitations upon my participation and turned it over to my two scouts when i got into radio. My giant house was where everybody practiced/partied so i was still connected to BSharp til i moved west a couple years later and i always took calls from and made calls for m'boys.
Early 80s, almost completely out of touch with guys, i get a call from one of em. Ever since
everybody, including BSharp, had passed on all 20 of Tom Scholz demos (i heard versions of "More Than a Feeling" in at least five different genres) before
Boston exploded for Epic, the local music biz had got overamped about everybody who got a li'l buzz. BSharp was never in the loop on that kinda ####, though.
Get a call out in the desert from m'boy Larry who begs me to fly out because they got THE hot new band holed up in a fancy suite away from the madding crowd of bizsters who have all decided they HAVE to sign them all of a sudden. He says the chick singer is crazier than a bag of dancing mice but was impressed that the founder of the company had worked with Bonnie Raitt, Ellen McIlwaine and other eccentric 70s chick legends she admired. Had a brief phone convo with Miss Mann and hopped the next plane to meet with her.
Get there, Larry's pulling on me endlessly, Jack's rolling his eyes and they were both pretty mellow dudes so i know this all is off the rails. Sit in this suite which musta cost them a year's bookings for 24 hours waiting for 'til Tuesday, who are supposedly off doing some promotional thing but will be RIGHT back. See a couple protopunk types connected with em but neither pale hide nor piled hair of Miss Mann or her partner. BSharp virtually ruined itself holding that suite for several days after some shark had spirited them away, so much i never billed em for my flight. Weird ####in deal.
Speaking of BSharp, now that everybody has made their alt-country pick, i'll make a
shoutout to an old friend (who owes me 14,789 cigarettes), BSharp client, and (with the greatest genius who slept 22 hrs a day, dug Nap) Vermont legend thru band N-Zones (and their party anthem "Boogie 'til Your Head Caves In") and Pinhead (BSharp got them 3 dates opening for The Clash), til he became a founding member of Ur-alt-country band Blood Oranges, is now in Son Volt and. as you can easily see, is one of alt's leading shredders.