Record Business

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.

Heart

Yes Ann and Nancy Wilson in their heyday were a force to be reckoned with! They were hugely popular at Rock Radio during the release of their self titled Album “Heart” They were a staple at Radio especially after making the determination to go all in with MTV and their more mainstream rock sound. With this release “Heart” they cracked the Top 10 with multiple tracks and for the first time had a #1 Billboard hit with “These Dreams” This ballad propelled them as Ann is quoted as saying to me…”beyond our wildest dreams”. The band was touring during this time and came to the Oakland Coliseum on this Sold Out tour. I was invited backstage for a meet & greet. Little did I know at the time, that the radio promoter had brought bottles of Champaign back stage. When I was talking to the sisters, the promoter pulled out flutes and proceeded to pour us all glasses to toast this achievement of having gone to #1 on the Billboard charts that day. This was the bands first #1 and we all enjoyed the opportunity to share in this massive achievement. A photographer was on hand and the photo showed a delighted Ann and Nancy Wilson in a celebratory mood. This party happened preshow, so by the time the band hit the stage, they were in rare form.

Thin Lizzie and Phil Lynott

I was invited to a Thin Lizzie show at The Warfield theater. It was early in my career and a friend asked me to go with her. I was a huge fan and could not refuse. She said she had backstage passes and wanted to get there early. The Warfield backstage is under the stage. We hung out for a while and realized the band was doing a sound check. Charlotte had obviously been here before and knew the way, she grabbed my hand and said follow me as she led me to a private stage door and up this tiny metal spiral staircase onto stage right. It popped us right up onto the stage. After a blistering sound check Phil Lynott came right over to us, kissed Charlotte who then introduced me. She had met him before, and he knew she was coming. Clearly he was interested in hanging with her. I made my way back to the backstage area where I chatted with Neal Schon of Journey who was hanging… Neal later joined Thin Lizzie for a few songs during their amazing set. It was a brief and simple meet, but little did we know that a few years later, Phil would pass from complications from pneumonia at age 36...

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!

Iggy Pop opening for The Cars

I was invited by a friend in the business to see Iggy Pop on his Blah Blah Blah tour open for The Cars at the Oakland arena in the late 80’s. I had a pair of tickets so I asked my wife to go with me and I told her that I had Back Stage passes for Iggy Pop. She was cool with it but was not as keen as I was. When we arrived there was a green room stage right set up for the greet and meet. There were probably about 20 of us. Iggy slid into the room with his manager and came right up to Nancy and I first. I introduced myself and Nancy and Iggy with his steel blue eyes was completely dialed into us. I asked him about his early days and how I had seen him at The Old Waldorf run across the table tops and cut himself with a broken bottle. We dished about the state of music and where he thought it was going. He said he was digging on The Clash recently and a few other bands. It was a great conversation and then he moved along to meet others…We stayed and had a beer all the while waiting for everyone to finish their conversations and then something incredible happened. Iggy came right back over to me and said Hey Ric and Nancy, how are you seats. I said we were all good… he had a sharpie in his hands and I rarely did this in those days but I asked him to sign something for me, he leaned over and signed Nancy’s plain white T Shirt she had on. He Thanked us for coming and exited. What struck me the most about him, was that he made the rounds at the Greet and Meet , made an effort to come all the way back around and over to me and had remembered who we were by name and made contact again to make sure we were all set for the show. Remarkable experience.

Drinking Champagne with Diana Ross at the famed Clift Hotel in San Francisco.

I was invited to an exclusive private party at The Clift Hotel in San Francisco for Diana Ross who was embarking on a new venture “Ross Records”. a joint label deal with RCA Records. She was interested in meeting music executives in a few key markets to discuss the launch of her New Record Label and subsequent album “Red Hot Rhythm & Blues”. Here I was with my wife Nancy sitting on a couch drinking champagne and talking business with the most famous lead singer from the most successful female vocal group in Pop Music history, Diana Ross. This World Famous performer was discussing intimate details about her new project with me; and discussing how I could help her launch her record in the San Francisco Bay Area market. She told me that the Bay Area was always very supportive of her, from her early days in The Supremes to her solo career. We talked strategy, sales history, radio support and retail plans. She told me about working with Luther Vandross her producer and backing vocals on the record. By the way, The song “Dirty Looks from the album cracked the Top 10 R&B singles charts and went Gold. .So many players from the Wrecking Crew are all over the record. She discussed a TV special she was planning around the release date with special guests Etta James, Little Richard, her friend Billy Dee Williams, LL Cool J and others. She was a dream come true, sweet, honest, open and intriguing to talk to. I was also stunned when a letter arrived recapping our visit and Thanking Me for my input. Memorable to say the least.