Before the tour ended, there were already discussions about an east coast tour. The record label was requesting Linda start on the follow up album. Linda asked me to stay on and help her write more songs and be a part of her band full time. I knew I was stupid not to accept on the spot, but I wanted to regroup at home for a week or so, and let her know. I told her I would come back and write more songs with her no matter what I decided about the band. She was a bit hurt and disappointed with my response, but once I told her about my own personal goals of having my own band, she calmed down. I did leave it that I was about ninety percent sure I would go back on the road with her, but I didn’t realize how grueling a tour could be. That was only for a month. When we got back to Los Angeles I passed along my tape of the blues band to the record labels executives.
I went back home for a few days to see the family and Gordy. They were all pleased I had a taste of success with Linda. It can be so funny how just a tiny bit of success will change things. The restaurant that we lost the open mic night at a few years back called Debby and begged her to come and play one night while I was in town. After Linda’s song started to climb the charts the owner had been calling Debby to see if she could get me to play there again with her. I think it was maybe a personal satisfaction thing for Debby, but she asked if I would do it for her. It was hard to refuse her request. Her family as well as mine all came for a free dinner that night. I even talked Gordy into coming over for a free steak. That was my fee for performing that night. I could invite eight people for dinner for free. I invited a couple of friends from the old neighborhood and even though we had only originally planned on playing for an hour, we ended up playing over two hours. I had a top 40 song on the charts, with another one climbing, so it was easy to pack the house that night.
I went back to New York a day or so later to catch up with Elise. Her show was starting to slow down with ticket sales. It was obvious they would be closing in the near future. They were in negotiations to take the production on the road, but the orchestra was going to be much smaller. She was not sure she wanted to continue on with it, or find another show. For the very first time, I think she was a bit humbled with my current success, and her possibly being unemployed in the not too distant future.
Linda gave me a ring. She wanted an answer whether I was going to continue on with her band. I said yes but only on the condition that my band could open up for her on at least three nights when the tour was in the New York area. She was not really pleased at first that I would try to demand anything, but she agreed. We were no Lennon/McCartney song writing duo, but we did have momentum with her new album now at number ten on the charts. It was close to going gold. Her first single topped off at number twelve. The single that I wrote was now at number three. It seemed the Bee Gees owned just about every other position on the charts that year. Linda was assuming her position as a band leader and taking much more control over her career. I think a few hits will do that to people. She needed to mature, but either way, she was far more secure in who she was as a performer and bandleader. She said the east coast tour would begin in about thirty days. We needed to rehearse and start writing for her next album. The record company wanted her next album out before Christmas. This was already February. I had a few songs ready to go, but I preferred to leave them for my own group.
My own band was all over the country. Junior was in Mississippi with his mother, Duke was in the New York area working as a studio musician. I knew where Debby was of course, and Phil had not practiced since I had left town. I called them all and told them we had an opportunity to play a few gigs in front of seven thousand people a night, but we needed to put it all together quickly. I also told them I was working hard to get us a record deal. Junior was not too anxious to come back to town, but I told him if something happened with his mom I would understand if he had to leave. Debby worked double shifts to make it so that she could come to New York and practice a few times. I had written a few new songs and wanted to work them into our upcoming shows. I even talked Elise into coming to one of our practices on her off day, to learn one of the songs with us. Phil was really weak with his playing and seemed disinterested until Duke gave him a talk about being a pro or moving on.
I only had three weeks before I had to head back to Arizona for rehearsals again. The club where the blues band played for years had us back for a weekend, so we could work off the rust as a band. We were only going to play six or seven songs opening up for Linda, but we all wanted them to sound perfect. I had made them all a promise that once this part of the tour was done with Linda, I would concentrate on our band. I am sure they didn’t believe me. Since I really didn’t know the future, I was not sure I did either, but it was the only way to get them all to commit to all the practice time for three shows with little money involved for anyone.
While in town I contacted Carl to find out why I had not received a penny from any royalties yet. He tried to explain how “It’s all really complicated and the record company has to make back all their expenses before you are paid a dime”. I told him “The frigging album was a hit and my single had made it to number three on the Billboard Top 40, don’t tell me they didn’t make any money.” We exchanged a few more not so pleasant remarks before I told him, “Make sure I don’t get screwed on this next album or I am not getting on the plane to record another one with Linda.” I also wanted to know how Yale Records liked the recording I sent to him over a month ago and he said “I didn’t like the sound quality so I didn’t send it.” I was not a happy camper! Carl assured me that my checks would come eventually. But he didn’t understand that I needed the royalty money to buy studio time. I had promised the band we would be in a studio one way or another after the next tour with Linda was complete.
Because I was the one writing the songs, doing the promoting, and eventually it seemed going to put up my money for studio time, I would name the band. For me there could only be one name, Dylan James and the 1812 Overture. I did give in slightly when they all griped it was too classical sounding. So we settled on Dylan James and The Overture. None of them except maybe Debby ever thought it would go beyond a few shows with Linda, but they really didn’t know how hard I was working behind the scenes to be heard and recorded. I had grown from some nerdy kid to a polished musician, who took this all very serious now. I think it’s why they all gave in easily on a name with my name as top billing.
The east coast tour started in Miami, worked its way to Tampa, then up to Jacksonville, and on to Atlanta before getting a few days off. Linda and I started to write the next album on the bus and on days off. We worked well together, but one thing was starting to bother me about her. The band had smoked pot on the bus many times on the first leg of the tour, but had always kept it away from Linda and me. On the second leg she was now in the back with them, and I suspected was having a love affair with the road manager. They were starting to be more open with it, but I tried to get her to focus on her music and career. She was now a twenty year old girl with much to achieve to be dragged down with the drugs and people who wanted to use her. I suspected it was more than just pot, but I really didn’t want to get too involved. I had nightmares about my summer with the beach band, and didn’t want to repeat it.
We played mostly colleges and venues that held crowds of about 7500. In Atlanta we were the opening act for the Grateful Dead. That was really an odd scene with people getting off buses who would follow them all over the country. I was in the parking lot getting some fresh air after the sound check and watched as “Dead Heads” would open up the bus doors and chickens and goats wandered off the bus before a few half dressed girls. There was one guy, who also got off the bus, who looked like all the ladies were his personal harem. I watched about three or four of them proceed to start dancing without the aid of any music. I walked over and asked them what they were doing and they said “Living life man, what are you doing?” I joined in till it was almost time to go inside. Before the show I was eating dinner with the rest
of the band and Bob Weir from the Dead walked in. I told him what had happened and I was pronounced an official” Dead Head”, so I have that going for me.
We weaved our way through Tennessee and Kentucky before getting back to the east coast of North Carolina. The album had gone gold with three singles having made it to the Top 40 with the big stations in New York, Chicago and Philadelphia all playing it in heavy rotations. The record label was trying to push up the next album to the fall, but it was going to be really difficult to get it all recorded and tour at the same time. When we made it to Baltimore we had two off days, so I met the band in New Jersey for a day of practice before we were to play in Philadelphia later in the week. I had asked Duke to keep an eye on Phil for me, to make sure he was practicing, but he still didn’t have his chops yet. Either that or I was now used to a really good drummer. Phil admitted he was nervous, as was Debby, but the other two had done this all before and were ready to perform. I think Carl knew he had let me down recently, so to make it up to me, he had his dad call in a favor and have someone from Yale Records come to our show in New York. I didn’t dare tell Phil or Debby, since I knew that would frighten them too much. I told the other two to really be ready mentally to perform for a New York audience.
We played well in Philly as Dylan James and The Overture, but it was not perfect. I was happy we still had another night to play before heading to New York. We had a tour stop at Princeton University. Not only did my family come back stage, I ended up having to get twenty free tickets for people from my past. I think they were still stealing my lunch money. My band played a bit better after opening night jitters, but we still were not perfect. I needed perfection for the next night in New York. I was doing double duty playing in both bands, but it was only an extra thirty minute performance. It really didn’t wear on me.
After the first night, Linda asked Debby if she would come on and sing back up on the songs she knew of mine. She was thrilled, but I was not sure if she did that as a favor to me, or was trying to get Debby in her band.
Two nights later we were playing on a college campus on Long Island New York. I let it slip that not only did we have someone from Yale coming to the show, but also someone from Linda’s record company who was there to see how our writing for the next album was coming along. Phil started to freak out, but I told him to do his best and not to worry. Debby seemed much more at ease with at all now. I had Elise come and sit back stage as well, since she was going to play one song with us. Lucky for us it was a Monday night, and it was her night off from the Broadway show. I was happy to see her and I think she was happy to see me as well.
We did four songs of mine, and filled the quick set with two others that Phil had been playing for several years, to keep him confident. We opened with one of those and that seemed to calm him a bit. Debby stepped up her performance as well, and the other guys were pros who hit their marks. I will admit I had some extra adrenaline that night, and maybe missed a note or two, but there was one song that was really well received of mine. Overall I knew we could have done better with more practice time, but I think overall we did about as well as I could have expected. After the show the only two things the guy from Yale would say to me was “Nice show, lose the drummer and why didn’t you have the fiddle player on stage more?” I told Elise that part and she just sneered at me and said “I am a violinist it is too bad a record executive cannot see a difference.”
We all got on the tour bus heading for one of the last shows in upstate New York. I left my band behind. We got about three hours out of the city when they turned the bus around. We woke up the next morning still in the city and I didn’t know why. The lead singer for The Who’s opening act had had an emergency appendectomy a few hours earlier. Linda was hired to be the opening act at Madison Square Garden on quick notice. They had the same management company and since we were in the area, we filled in on short notice. Now I was the one who felt like Phil did the night before. I was going to be on the same stage as all the greats that came before me and Pete Townsend would be performing after me with The Who. I think even Linda was a bit nervous, but not about opening up for The Who since she could not name one song of theirs, but was nervous about playing in such a sacred musical venue.
I met “Mr. Townsend” as I called him, back stage after their sound check. I was not going to miss their sound check since I was not sure we could stay and watch the show. We were playing an afternoon show the next day in upstate New York. He was very polite and took about ten minutes to speak with me. It was by far the highlight of the tour, other than playing with my own band. We didn’t talk about the guitar at all, but all about song writing. He took great pride in that and it showed in our brief encounter.
We came on stage to a half empty arena. People were filing into their seats and most were not expecting us to be playing at all. There should have been no pressure, but this was my moment to shine. All the tiny lights from the ushers putting people into their seats started to bother me when I turned and saw Elise give me the thumbs up off stage to my right. I knew I had to focus and show her and the Madison Square Garden audience I had arrived. All I could think about was the time I was in the same spot Elise was standing watching Skunk command the arena. It was now my time to strut my stuff as a rock and roll star on the big stage. The house lights went down. The drummer tapped the skins. The buzz in the crowd engulfed me. The hit song I had written started to play the first few notes. People recognized it and started to cheer. My dreams were now coming true.
When my solo came and that spot light hit me, I didn’t care that people where there to see The Who and Pete Townsend to do his famous windmill leap across the stage. I was going to make them talk about me the next day. I went into a trance, and my brain and fingers became one for over a minute with my solo. I stared right at this beautiful lady in the front row and pretended like I was playing for her and only her. I was no longer playing notes on the neck of my guitar. I was creating a melody like never before. My mind was nowhere but making sure I was one with my Les Paul.
After our performance I was cleaning the sweat off my guitar back stage and Mr. Townsend came up to me and told me that he heard part of our set. He was impressed with my solos. I immediately grabbed the nearest phone and called Gordy. He laughed at me some and said “Great kid but don’t lose your soul over what others think of you.” He loved to speak in riddles.
The tour ended. I was growing more concerned about Linda. She was growing more distant from wanting to write songs and was spending far too much time alone. I didn’t want to report her to the record executives, so I wrote the rest of the songs myself. I was not real happy with what I had written with Linda. So I decided to rework them on my own.
We were supposed to be in the studio in two weeks. I went back to New York to finish up the songs and spend time with Elise. She dragged me off to a new opening at the museum, but I didn’t mind. I knew I had been away and needed to build our relationship again, assuming there was one. I also tried to contact my band mates. Junior was back in Mississippi attending to his mother’s affairs. Her health was in deep decline now. Phil claimed to be excited about getting into the studio, but I was not convinced. Debby was immersed in her nursing job, and had a new boyfriend. Duke was back with his part time band waiting for me to make good on my word. The record company was breathing down our backs to finish the album with Linda. I was stressed.
When I arrived in Los Angeles to make the record, Linda was a mess. It was obvious she was into drugs now in a big way. I was a bit mad the record company would not do anything about it. It was very obvious she was not herself at all. I tried talking to her, but she wanted no part of my lectures about being a professional. We struggled to get the album done.
I spent hours with the producer over dubbing her guitar with mine since her work was very sloppy. Finally the record executive showed up and saw what a mess it all was and promised to get Linda into rehab, once we finished our work. I was really upset he would not do
it that day but said “There is too much money at stake here.” My response was “So is her life.”
A company executive pulled me aside the next day and told me he was impressed with the songs I had penned for the album. He had listened to the project and wanted to know “Do you have more ready to put in the can?” I told him I had a few, but I was saving them for my own band. I had lived up to my obligations with Linda and wanted to concentrate on my own band now. He knew The Overture was the opening act for Linda a few times, but had not heard any of the tracks I had made with them. He assured me if I helped get Linda over the finish line with this album, he would take a hard look at helping out The Overture.
I was really torn ethically. I wanted to stop with the recording process to get Linda help, but I also wanted this all done, and possibly get some help from the label for my own band. He appreciated the fact that I wanted what was best for Linda but he said “This is far more common than you know. I have had experience with drugs in bands many times.” We put the final touches on the album with Linda cleaning up long enough to finish her vocals. As promised, her record company impressed on her that she either entered rehab or they would not release her album. Her career would be over. They would not let me visit her in rehab, so I flew back to New York. I called to check on her almost daily, but they would not give out much information.
A Beautiful Song: A Musical Soul Story Page 8
