: The Making of Tender Loving Abuse – Parts 3 & 4
Last month I started a eight part series about my adventures in the rock & roll business. In parts 1 & 2 I talked about how I got into this situation. This month I’ve attached Parts 3 & 4 of “The Making of the Tender Loving Abuse album”. In these next two exciting sections, I’m off to California and we start recording the album.
Related to this – a few folks have asked where you can get a hold of the Tender Loving Abuse album. The answer is basically “You can’t”. There was only an extremely limited release and it is not available on iTunes or anywhere. If you search around you will occasionally find a copy for sale on Amazon. However, I am working on digitizing my copy and will make it available before I’m done.
Meta-Note: Tender Loving Abuse has since been made available on Amazon, YouTube, etc
PART 3
OK – a couple of more memories from New York came to mind…
It’s a Saturday night. Rick, Gary, Tico, and me are hanging around – and Rick decides we should go out and get some prostitutes. He had a rental car – so Gary drives, Rick is in shotgun, and Tico and I are in the back. We’re careening all over Manhattan – Rick is shouting out obscenities and crazy stuff to passing women – “Hey are you are a whore? Come over here!”. I was trying to make myself inconspicuous and wondering what the hell I was doing with these maniacs. We ended up back at Rick’s hotel in midtown… prostitute-less. We’re walking back to the hotel and Gary starts howling like a wolf at the moon. What the heck? Oh, there’s an attractive woman on the other side of the street… We all end up sleeping in Rick’s room that night amidst much joking of who was going to do whom
One more memory from the rehearsal studio. During a break I walk out into the hallway and Jack is involved in a passionate embrace with an attractive blond woman. After a brief throat clearing from me ( they were blocking the hallway) Jack introduces me to his wife. I’m embarrassed that I don’t remember her name, but she came out to LA with Jack and spent a lot of time with us. In general she was a positive influence on the guys since they tended to be on their better behavior when she was around
So on to sunny LA. Rick left separately, while Gary, Tico, and I flew out together a few days later. I think this was early June. On the plane ride, the 3 of us are sitting together, and either Tico or Gary (I forget which) says “OK, let’s make a vow that we’re going to stick together on this and support each other”. Yikes. It was already clear to me that Tico was not going to make the final cut, and I sure was not going to risk my big chance for someone I barely knew. But what was I do? I couldn’t very well say “Screw you guys it’s everyone for themselves”. So we put our hands together and made the promise. I felt really hypocritical about that for a long time.
Jay picked us up at the airport and took us to the motel. I forget the name of the motel but it was a rock and roll hangout place. There was a steady stream of bands, roadies, groupies, and hanger ons coming and going. I think Tom Waits lived directly behind the place. The next day we went over to Landers/Roberts and met the money men. I may be mixing them up, but my memory is that Landers was the alpha male. Big husky guy, short blond beard, domineering. Roberts sort of lurked around, his shtick was that he kept his shirt collar turned up to look cool. There were various movie posters and gold records on the wall – don’t ask me who. There were also assistants – I guess you’d call them interns now – who basically were gofers and worked for nothing. All high energy personality stuff. We were really fawned over. Very heady stuff.
Next over to the studio – the famous Record Plant. Our lead engineer was Lee DeCarlo. Jack had already told us a little bit about him. He told us that he was a great guy and that Playboy bunnies hung around his house. Well, he was a great guy but I never saw any bunnies. Lee sized Rick up pretty quickly – we were shooting the breeze and Rick started complaining about something. Lee turned to us and said, “Listen to her!” Ha-ha – we all had a good laugh – even Rick. One thing you could say about Rick is that he took as good as he gave – he was great at repartee.
Anyway, we did the initial tracks in this enormous room – it could easily hold a full symphony orchestra, but it was just the 4 of us. The drums were set up on stage and the curtains were almost completely closed to keep the sound in. The piano was over against one side of the wall draped in curtains, while Rick and Gary roamed around the middle. So was started playing, but the piano was out of tune. No big deal. Don’t Talk Back (?) had no piano so we did that first. The piano tuner came in and then we did Baby Now I – and here we had problems. Tico and I couldn’t see each other cuz tof the the curtains on the stage to isolate the sound. We kept having tempo problems – and I didn’t know what could be said or not. Finally I asked if Jack could come out and conduct to keep the tempo straight. That worked out.
So we settled into a pattern – get up around 11, lunch, go to the studio, record until about 11, then catch dinner and hang out. I think we knocked off the rhythm tracks in about 2 weeks, then started doing vocals. Most of that is a blur to me. Meanwhile, the social scene was, umm, how shall we say.. interesting.
First of all, Tico was a chick magnet. There was a steady stream of girls going in and out of his room. Me being mister shy, it was amazing to me how these guys could just walk up to a woman and have them go off with them in no time.
A couple of days later (on an off day) I was woken up by a knock at my door. I opened it up and there was a vision of loveliness in front of me – “Hey come on Eric, we’re going out for lunch” Was this one of Lee DeCarlo’s bunnies? No, it was Rick’s girlfriend Debbie – “my little puddle”. Debbie was funny and wacky in her own right. She played a little guitar and (possible senior moment coming up here) I think she did nude dancing to pick up extra bucks. I have a memory of Lee & I going to watch her one night and she did her act on roller skates! So we went to lunch, then went over to Rick & Debbie’s place and hung out. We all hung out a lot there on off hours – they had cable TV which was a big novelty to me – and we watched Jaws over and over while getting stoned and listening to music. I had made a cassette of my favorite Beatles songs which Rick liked.
That’s all for this time..
PART 4
First of all, thanks for the compliments. I’m glad people are enjoying my ramblings – I was concerned that this might be a case of TMI (too much information). Getting back to 1979 here, I’m going to be jumping back and forth in time now instead of going chronologically. There were a lot of different things going on; and this is the only way I can figure out how to tell the full story. So if occasionally something seems disconnected – e.g., like how did I end up staying at Rick’s place – eventually I’ll catch up.
L’Enfant Terrible
If you’re not familiar with this term, it’s from a French expression. The literal translation is ‘The Terrible Infant’. In actual usage it refers to a person who behaves badly, but is tolerated by virtue of his/her artistic genius. It also refers to someone who breaks the rules and/or shakes things up. You can all tell I admired Rick tremendously – it was a privilege to be a part of his life. But sometimes…..wellll…..I can’t remember a lot of stuff, but here are a few samples:
The first weekend we were there, we all went driving around in the rental car – we might have gone to the beach, movies, etc. Anyway, Rick had left a shirt in the trunk. Couple days later we were getting out of the car and Rick yelled at us for getting his shirt all wrinkled – after all we should be looking after his stuff. Rick was so intense about everything, and when he got angry at you it was … well, intense. Tico, Gary, and I exchanged glances. I didn’t know this was part of the job description.
Another time, we were doing something goofy in the studio. I think we were tossing around a sandwich that was left over from lunch – the idea was to throw it without it falling apart and the next person had to catch it and keep it together. The game ended badly when Rick really flung it hard at Gary, who had his bass guitar on at the time. Mustard/ketchup/whatever got all over his bass. “Damn it Rick, you always take things too far!”
I know there are many others like this, but I can’t recall them.
Sex and Drugs and Rock n Roll
One weekend early on, I spent a few days with my sister, who was/is living in LA. Monday, I got to the studio and there’s this very attractive women with a thick French accent draped all over Rick. Now I don’t think anyone who’s listened to Rick’s lyrics or read his explanations for songs such as Temptation, will find this surprising – and I was not very surprised either – but I was not comfortable with the situation. I mean, what would happen if Debbie found out?
So anyway, Lee and Jack were doing some technical stuff and we’re hanging out. At one point the Frenchwoman compared us all to different movie stars. I forget who Rick, Gary, and Tico were, but I was Woody Allen. Then there’s a knock on the door, and Debbie pokes her head in. “Hi everyone!” “Hi!” She leaves. Dead silence. A minute later there’s another knock at the door. It’s the guy who mans the front desk to let people in and out. What happened next was astonishing. He apologized over and over – “Rick man, I’m so sorry, I wasn’t thinking clearly, please forgive me man, I’m sorry….” I then realized that the guy was seriously concerned for his job. Rick told him it wasn’t his fault.
Sometime later that day (or it may have been a few days later) Rick gave sort of a speech to no one in particular. It was something to the effect that things were different now that he was recording his album and Debbie had to understand that their personal situation was changing. A day or two after the speech, we were leaving Rick’s place to go to the studio and Debbie cornered Gary and me. “Is Rick seeing someone else?” I thought Gary was going to lay things out. Yet somehow, even though he talked at some length, he didn’t say yes and he didn’t say no, …. in fact Gary managed to not really say anything at all! It was one of the most amazing performances I’ve ever seen in my life; to this day I don’t know how he did it. But Debbie must have read something in my face, because the next day she cornered me alone and asked the same thing. I tried my best to repeat what Rick had said without giving any details or saying yes/no. I thought I was doing what Rick wanted.
Big mistake.
Next day at the studio, Rick chewed me out in front of everyone. “What did you tell Debbie!? What were you thinking! How could you tell her that I was seeing other women?!” I thought I was done for and that I’d be shipped out on the next plane. But no. This soon blew over and a few days later the French woman disappeared.
Eventually, Rick took up with this tall blonde bombshell who could have been a Playboy centerfold. She had been in and out of Tico’s room a few times as well. I called her Tits (not to her face of course). “You mean it’s my last day here in LA and the only chance I’ll get to see my sister play and you loaned the car to Tits?” Eventually she ended up staying at Rick’s; and Debbie was banished to the living room. By then I was staying at Rick’s as well. So Debbie and I camped out in the living room commiserating with each other while Rick and Tits had the bedroom.I was miserable over it.
For a while, there was some talk that Debbie would get to play rhythm guitar on one of the songs – Debbie would practice and practice. It never happened. Years later I was watching a TV show about celebrity impersonators; there were various scenes of people walking into an office saying, “I’m Marlon Brando”, “I’m Johnny Carson”, “I’m so-and-so”, etc. Then, for about 2 seconds, there was a woman speaking in a very timid voice, “I’m Cher”. Wait! Re-wind that!! Was that Debbie??? I think it was but I’ll never be 100% sure. I hope where ever she is, she’s reached some measure of happiness and security.
More Sex and Drugs and Rock n Roll
Were there drugs? Well, like duh… However, it didn’t take over things. It was mostly cocaine and weed. Generally Rick didn’t seem all that interested in drugs. If something was available he would join in, but he didn’t seek it out; so I was surprised and saddened to learn that he had gotten involved in heroin. I, on the other hand, really enjoyed both; but coke was way beyond my limited means. This was after Tico and Gary had gone home. I would usually bring in a few jays; and the coke, well, somehow it was just there by some mysterious osmosis. One day my stash ran out and then I came into the studio everyone ragged on me. “Come on Eric, you’re supposed to supply the weed and we supply the coke!” With 20/20 hindsight, I suppose it was good for me that I didn’t become successful, I could have turned into a serious coke junkie if I had the money. (Yeah, I suppose there’s a whiff of sour grapes in that statement.)
It was even more surprising to read that Jack had gotten into heroin, since Jack too seemed like he could take it or leave it. One time Jack was in the middle of some intense technical detail, and he had the coke in the spoon right in front of his nose, yet he didn’t snort it for a full five minutes or so while he was concentrating. Lee was flabbergasted, he had never seen anyone do that (and as the lead engineer in one of the top recording studios in the world Lee had seen pretty much everything).
Once Jack and I were talking about drugs – what our experiences were, and it turned out that I had never tried opium. I don’t know how he did it, but a few days later, Jack somehow materialized a small cube and gave it to me as a present (it didn’t do anything for me….) I’m running out of steam here.
Next time:
Jeff Seitz makes another appearance, Gary and Tico go back to New Jersey, and Rick tries to give me a new image.
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March 8, Friday, 7:00-9:00ish PM – Kevin Kiley, Ruthie’s BBQ, 64 1/2 Chestnut Ave, Montclair (973) 509-1134
It’s been almost a year to the day since Kevin & I performed together at Ruthie’s – too long. Kevin is a masterful singer and interpreter of American music; he has a knack for coming at songs from a totally different angle and makes them his own. Normally Kevin fronts a full band The Outpatients, this time around it’s just me on piano and Kevin singing and playing harmonica. Come watch us as we explore.
http://www.ruthiesbbq.com/
http://www.kevinkiley.com/
March 9, Saturday, 8:30PM-10:00PM – Jump, Shuffle, and Moan at Hat City, 459 Valley Street, City of Orange, NJ 07050 (862) 252-9147
Rob Signorile fronts this tight 6 piece blues combo. Hat City is clean, it has a good sound system, and it has a great menu. We played here in December and had a great turnout, we hope to have the same. You can leave your hat on.
http://www.hatcitykitchen.com
March 23, Saturday, 7-9ish PM – Eric Heilner, Raffle/Fund Raiser for Playhouse, 88 Franklin Ave, W. Orange, NJ 07052 (973) 736-9451
Many moons ago my kids went to Playhouse Nursery School. In one of those coincidences of life, my wife Lisa is now a director at said same school. This is their annual fund raiser. There will be raffles, silent auctions for various goodies, food, and entertainment by yours truly. Come on down and maybe you’ll win a prize or two while donating to a worthy cause. I will be playing piano from roughly 7 to 9 or so. And afterwards, you can go across the street and have a drink at The Franklin Tavern.
http://www.playhouseonline.org/
March 29, Friday, 9:00 PM-1:00ish – Better Off Dead at The Great Notch Inn, Route 46, Little Falls (973) 256-7742
VD King is currently touring in SE Asia. Yesterday he sent in a Facebook post that he was playing the blues in Bangkok. Yes, that’s Bangkok. But VD will be back in time for our monthly soiree. And if there’s any place in the good old USA that’s more exotic than Bangkok, it’s The Great Notch Inn. The audience at “Da Notch” is almost as entertaining as the music.
http://www.betteroffdead.com/home.htm/
http://www.agreatertown.com/little_falls_nj/great_notch_inn_new_jerseys_rockin_roadhouse_00089580
March 30, Saturday, 10:00 PM-1:00ish – Shaved Ham at Joe and Joe Restaurant, 65 E Central Ave Pearl River, NY 10965 (845) 620-1800
Shaved Ham, yes indeed. I’ve know these wild & wacky guys for several years now; and I recently did a few numbers with them at a “Woodstock Retrospective” show. As it turns out, their regular keyboard player is not available, so this evening I’m helping out. Those of you who are used to hearing me play blues, New Orleans style, and R&B will be in for a surprise – as I do Steely Dan, Genesis (Genesis!?), Boston, Chicago, etc. Shaved Ham has amazing vocals and they put on a great show.