December 12, 2013
Hello, hello!—it’s Wayne again, back with Part 6 of my story on the Eternal Bad Luck Charm album and the year 1999 (and yes, we will hit the year 2000 by the end) leading up and past its recording. Remember, this is my version and memories of that time; I’m sure Brandon, Chris, Dave, and Timbo (King Of Oregon and Mutant Pop) would say “What a drama queen!” and remember things in a completely different way. Thanks for all of the positive feedback and enjoy!
PART 6—LATE NIGHT, DRUNK CALL TO THE BOSS…IF YOU CAN’T BEAT ‘EM, JOIN ‘EM (EBLC Takes Shape)…FLY AWAY BUZZARD, FLY AWAY CROW…
As I had promised, I got myself good and boozed up like the drunken, baby I had become, and made my call to Corvallis, Oregon to tattle about Brandon’s new idea. Now, poor Timbo had to listen to me slurring and bitching about how the new record was DOOMED. I explained how the new songs were not catchy and forget harmonized, backing vocals! I remember trying to be witty by saying we should include a razor blade with each copy. I just knew when I finished my gripe session; Tim would tell me how he would talk with Brandon and end this nonsense about changing half of the f#*king record.
Well, to my surprise, Timbo laughed about the whole thing. He said something to the effect of, “You big baby!” and laughed some more. He then advised me that he had a feeling something like this was going to happen eventually. He basically said we would not be together much longer and he felt ETERNAL BAD LUCK CHARM was going to be our final album. I thought, “WHAT? No way!”. He told me being in a band is give and take and it was time for me to give, be a team player, and make it work.
I switched tactics and made the plea to delay the recording. If we could back up the session from October 1999 to April or May of 2000, it would at least allow time for the songs to gel better. He quickly vetoed the “delayed recording” idea, too. Once again, he reiterated our implosion was close at hand and he honestly felt if we did not record in October—the record would not happen at all.
So, I took his advice and went to rehearsal the next day and dived headfirst in with the band and embraced the new material. While I did not like every new song, “Cigarette Buzz” and “The Maddening” were both beyond my original first impressions as each time we plowed through them; they kept evolving and taking shape and were turning into great tunes. Chris really had a large part in taking some of the parts that were bland and by the numbers and came up with fantastic and unique drumming which totally changed the songs’ original directions (“The Maddening” and “P.S. I Miss You” are two fine examples). Not to toot my own horn, but I dug the bass intro to “Cigarette Buzz” I came up with as well. Dave also had lots of patterns and changes that added to the tunes. Still, Brandon worked extremely hard; changing lyrics and phrasing daily. He would call me and read me lyrics and ask what sounded better in certain songs. I knew the lyrics were 100% heartfelt and true—no monster songs for this record. I started to share some of his passion for the new direction.
Before we left that October, we had the thirteen songs as ready as we possibly could in the time frame allowed. Personally, I was still nervous because for previous records, we knew the songs inside and out—basically we could play them in our sleep. There were several new songs I had trouble remembering where certain changes were and which songs were fading out, etc…However, years later, I can be honest and see maybe some of these dark spots were due to alcohol consumption. I still wanted certain songs off of the record and would have welcomed back some of the TURNTABLE session tunes, but I was determined to deliver the record to Mutant Pop and I felt that we might be able to surprise Timbo by coming in under budget.
Just as the album title implied, bad luck hit us on the trip to Sonic Iguana. About forty-five minutes out of Ashland, I got a flat tire. Only it didn’t just go flat…there was no patching it as there was a long tear all over the side—weird because the tires were only a few months old. After the spare was put on, I drove back to Ashland to get a new one. We moved all gear and supplies I was carrying to Chris’s truck. Brandon and Chris soldiered on as they were meeting Dave in Cincinnati to caravan on to Sonic Iguana.
After getting the tire replaced, it was getting near dark so I decided to get some sleep and leave early the next morning and be at the studio for the noon start time at Sonic Iguana. That way, even though I would be beat, the rest of the guys would be refreshed and alert.
Of course, I could not sleep. I did spend some quality time with my two year old son, watching “The Nightmare Before Christmas” with him for the first time. I still remember just how happy he was and how he laughed and smiled through out the entire film (funny the things your brain stores). Finally, after tossing and turning for couple of hours, I hit the road earlier than originally planned (around 2:00 AM) and headed toward my home away from home, Lafayette, Indiana.
At some point just before dawn, I closed my eyes and went off the road. I did not wreck but it did scare me enough into taking a break, grabbing some coffee, and really cranking the stereo for the remainder of the drive. Funny the things your brain stores part 2; I remember the sun coming up while singing along to Groovie Ghoulies, “World Contact Day” as vividly as if it happened yesterday.
I arrived early to a cold, cold Lafayette morning. It was October but the weather felt like January. I called the studio apartment from a pay phone and a hung over Brandon meet me downstairs. It seemed he and Chris had some bad luck of their own on the way up as well…sitting for hours in a traffic jam due to an accident.
There wasn’t much else to say so we woke up Dave, piled back in my car and headed to the Liquor Barn for some fuel to get us through the day…