December 20, 2013
Hello ladies and germs— Wayne here, back with Part 7 of my story on the Eternal Bad Luck Charm album & the year of 1999 (and even a bit of 2000). As always, this is my memories of that time; I’m sure Brandon, Chris, Dave, and Timbo (Mutant Pop Head Honcho) would say say I’m nuts and remember things in a completely different light. Thanks for staying with me and I promise we’re almost to the end…Take care!
PART 7—ONE WEEK FEELS LIKE AN ETERNITY…TIMBO DOESN’T LIKE WHAT HE HEARS…BEST DUNGS SHOW EVER?…9 SONGS…
After all of the build up and trepidation leading up to us finally starting the EBLC record, the moment Chris finished his first drum take—I was excited. I still felt some fantastic songs were left off of the record to accommodate “the concept” of EBLC but overall I felt the thirteen songs we had would make a hell of a record.
I can not stress how hard Fergus Daly worked each day. Originally, he was going to be only an engineer but he earned producer status pretty quickly with his suggestions and encouragement. I honestly do not think he yawned all week and by the end, he probably cared more about the album than I did.
Other than playing bass, my job while at Sonic Iguana was to keep everyone on schedule and work to have the final bill come in on or under budget. Chis and I got our parts completed quickly but things slowed down considerably with guitar and vocals.
Now, that is not a knock against Dave and Brandon. Once the basic tracks were laid down I think everyone could hear there was room in the music to try different things…maybe some additional guitar parts and try some other methods with recording vocals. The only problem with those ideas was the budget. Brandon and me barked at each other quite a bit all week about the budget and pretty much everything—which was new. We always had a blast recording but the tension was thick every day. If I could have stayed sober maybe I could have made my point more clear. It’s hard to take a slurring, drooling idiot seriously…
I was completely miserable for the EBLC session. My son was just over two years old and I was missing him big time. I had grown spoiled by spending time with him EACH day; watching silly cartoons and playing games. Yeah, it was only one week but coupled with my drinking—I was bummed.
I visited the Liquor Barn each morning. Whiskey, vodka, tequila (yuck), beer, and cheap ass wine were all consumed during the days and we were always at a local bar or two at night. I am ashamed to think about how much I drank during that October week.
Most ideas I had for guitar and vocals were shot down and probably for good reason. EBLC was the first record I was missing in action for backing vocals as well. Not that I am much of a singer anyway! Number one, these songs were more personal and there just did not seem to be a lot of spots for extra vocals. Number two, Dave and Brandon were much, much better singers. Number three, sing? Sing? I could barely form a sentence some days.
The last night at Sonic Iguana me and Brandon really had it out. We had ran out of time and the record was over budget. Fergus was going to mix it a few days later. It did not seem to upset Brandon that we had blown the budget and that is where the fight started but far from where it ended. To this day, I still am ashamed of how both of us acted and of the things we said. Chris had already went home and Dave was in his own car, so it was a strange, long and quiet drive home.
Luckily, we had a show on October 24th at Bernie’s in Columbus, Ohio to flush the week of recording out of our system. It was a “mutant pop” marathon of four bands. The Connie Dungs, Dirt Bike Annie, The Proms, and Ruth’s Hat. If nothing else, we knew it would be a fun after party.
I recently watched a dvd of the show and I think it very well may be the best show we ever played or close to it. (I still prefer our July 2011 reunion show). Despite the fight the last night at Sonic Iguana, we really went for it that chilly, October night. We opened with our usual closer, MY BRAIN IS FULL, to mix things up and just went for it. Brandon broke a string early in the set but Dave took over on vocals and we did an impromptu version of SHOWGIRL with a young dude from the crowd taking over vocals on the last verse. We did play FEARFUL SYMMETRY that night as well. It really was an inspired show…oh, and the after party was indeed one for the ages.
When we did get back, I waited anxiously for Timbo’s call to what he thought about our magnum opus. EBLC clocked in a full 33% longer than any of our previous records and despite not liking some of the tunes—I was proud of the record. And when he did call, he was pissed! “Where’s the harmonies?…Where’s the hooks?…This record is TOO god damned long…What a pretentious piece of shit!” Yeah, he was unimpressed.
And when Sonic Iguana sent him the bill? Whoah Baby!!! We were GROSSLY over budget. Those multiple takes and extra late night hours Fergus put in really added up.
I’m not sure how many times it took Tim to get through the entire album. But in late November I got a CD in the mail with a note which said something like, “ETERNAL BAD LUCK CHARM-final cut”. Timbo had cut the record down to nine songs. I didn’t know whether to laugh of cry. He not only cut the record; he wanted to change the order of the songs… He wanted CIGARETTE BUZZ to be the opening song?
Despite the rift that was growing between me and Brandon, I could not bring myself to tell him the truth of Tim’s feelings of the album. Brandon did not have a phone during this time or Tim would have given him the scoop. When Brandon would ask me about Tim’s plans for the record I would just say the record was “still growing on him” and “he’s starting to really dig it”…with a big, fake smile on my face.