Nirvana

I met and spoke to Kurt Cobain, Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl numerous times. In this profession, it’s unavoidable when you work with a label whose artists you represent when you are in the field. One of the early interactions with the band was in the planning stages of the release of ”Nevermind” Through an executive at Geffen Records we had discussed with Kurt doing a record release party, which was vetoed. I suggested an instore autograph signing or an instore Live Performance. Kurt liked the idea of performing for a small group of fans in a store and said he would only do it at an indie store. I suggest Peaches in the U- District of Seattle which was approved by the band and label. They had a solid fan base already from the release of “Bleach” and performing in small bars and clubs near the University. 9/16/1991 the store was packed to the gills with anticipation, of course the fire department showed up, took one look at the crowd inside and said no one else is allowed inside, so we stationed a couple clerks to guard the entrance, so if you were late you were stuck outside. The band lit into a searing 10 song set rift with a mosh pit and kids crowd surfing over the record racks. Kurt at one point dove into the crowd himself. The instore turned into a success, and store sold all 400 pieces of “Nevermind” The band stuck around and signed autographs for about an hour outside in the parking lot in front of the Fire Engine. The fans were great and stuck around. I brought the band back into the store to meet Jamie the manager and his staff. I leaned into Kurt and asked “Well what did you think?” and he said “Better than expected” Enough said.

https://youtu.be/wqEFhNR9-t8

https://youtu.be/s7npc9J-Zzs

Peaches store in Seattle was in the process of being sold off. The new owners called them Beehive Records.

Shirley Manson and Garbage

I got to know Shirley while working with Radio Active Records on her Angelfish album. We had some success with the track “Suffocate me”. The Album was produced by Tina Weymouth of the Talking Heads. The band came into San Francisco during a tour for their self titled debut Album. I took Shirley round to a few record stores for an impromptu greet and meet and luncheon with some managers. The following year Shirley ditched Angelfish and would front the band Garbage; which was a Butch Vig incarnation. The first Garbage album was done mostly in the studio with Butch playing all the instruments. The Band Garbage recorded a hit with “Stupid Girl” and were a darling at early commercial alternative radio. They decided to hit the road and brought along bassist Danny Shulman from some early Run DMC sessions. The band scheduled mostly Radio Winter Festivals and a handful of club dates. In San Francisco Shirley contacted me and made sure I was going to be at Slims for an intimate club date. She said “Bring all those people I met last time, so they can see my new band” To say the least the band nailed it! Shirley hung around and signed autographs for anyone who wanted one (she was a trooper) Both Butch and Shirley told me later that night Backstage, that they were not sure how the music was going to translate since they were using samples and Midi controllers. After much discussion we convinced them that they sounded amazing and not to worry. Shirley’s stage presence alone was intoxicating. The next day they performed for Live 105’s almost Christmas, and KOME ’s Almost Acoustic Christmas to much larger crowds but unfortunately only a 5 or 6 song set!

Tom Waits

It could be the luxury of living in the San Francisco Bay Area. If you live here , you know what I mean and you also know better than to take it for granted. This is the city where you can come and be anonymous without trying too hard. You can blend pretty easily.

I had taken my son Clayton to a San Francisco Giants home game at the then, New Ball Park at 4th & Townsend called Pac Bell Park. We had made our way to the promenade deck where we had lower reserved tickets. Before the game had started. I glanced over at a concession line and saw Tom Waits standing in line with on of his son’s Casey. Our boys were similar in age, so I took my son by the hand and walked over and introduced ourselves to them. Tom was healthy, happy and pleased to talk baseball, sunshine, hotdogs, and the new ball park. It was casual, as we waited in line, and I later asked him what material he was working on? In that sly, graveled Tom Waits voice, he said, “I always have a cat in the bag”. It turned out to be a great day all around!