BE PREPARED
In 2007, I was lucky enough to travel to LA to record an album with a rockstar producer who really liked our work.
I’ve played in bands most of my life, and there was a point, a few years before this, when it was really looking like we could break through. Major record labels were showing serious interest in us, agents were knocking, and we had actual fans (here’s a video we made. Yeah, that’s me singing).
In fact, when my girlfriend at the time heard our songs, she started crying. I thought she was happy, but no, she was sad.
“You’re going to become famous, and you’re going to leave me,” she weeped.
But the music industry is really fickle. The label that was most interested in us decided to sign a band called Breaking Benjamin instead and they worried about promoting two bands at once who sounded similar.
Almost overnight, the buzz went away.
That was in 2005, but in the fall of 2007, we had some new songs, and we decided to give it one last shot.
At that point, a couple of band members left and some newbies joined. This was a definite sign that we were holding on too long, but at least we knew that. We knew it was our last hurrah. So we packed up our stuff, flew to LA, slept on our producer’s couch, partied way too much, actually attended a Backstreet Boys album release party (a friend was invited, so she brought us - my guitar player almost got into a fight with Nick Carter in the bathroom), saw a few concerts, and recorded a new album.
It wasn’t our best work, but it was an experience.
One of our new members was a bass player who, while a really sweet guy, just didn’t get it.
In the weeks leading up to our trip, he was unprepared. He didn’t know his parts. I kept telling him he needed to do better. That in a rehearsal studio, with everyone playing on volume 10, he could hide. But in a recording studio, where every instrument is isolated, he’d be completely on his own. Every note would be scrutinized. Every mistake would sound monumental with all eyes and ears on him.
But he told me I was overreacting, and that he’d be fine.
When the band traveled west, he didn’t fly with us. No, he decided to bring his fiance and fly with her. While our drummer was laying down his parts, the bass player rented a motorcycle and he and his fiance drove up and down the Pacific Coast Highway.
Ultimately, it was his turn.
He made it 30 minutes before the producer told him he was cut. That’s right. He flew to California, from New York, and was given 30 minutes before the producer told him he wasn’t good enough. As a band, we agreed, and the bass player left.
The producer, an incredibly talented musician himself, played the bass parts on the spot, and we moved onto recording guitars and vocals.
The bass player hung around LA for a few days, texting and calling us. Begging for another shot. But it was too late. His parts were done; and, it’s not like he just had a bad day, which we’ve all had. It’s not like he was simply nervous and needed another shot. He was unprepared. I knew it. I told him. He didn’t listen.
On the last day of recording we needed a chanting part in one of our songs to make it heavier. We called him in and if you listen to that record, his entire contribution was yelling 1 word 4 times, along with a bunch of us. It’s indiscernible that it’s him, but we know it because we were there.
A few weeks later, we attended his wedding. His family and friends were congratulating us on the new album. They were so proud of him as he didn’t tell them his parts had all been cut. I don’t blame him as I imagine he was very embarrassed.
It was a solid reminder though, that as the stakes are raised, so is the pressure. And the number 1 way to lessen pressure: be prepared. In a world where things often aren’t in our control, that’s something that totally is.
