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Table of contents for Record Contract Asides
Jeff apparently wasn’t satisfied with his comments to this blog in response to the record contract series. He “alerted” Delious to the existence of the story and Delious stopped by to post his comments on The LA Slimeball Was on Family Jewels Last Night.
Here are his comments, and of course, my rebuttals:
Jeff alerted me to this post. At first I was upset when I read this record contract series. There is alot of made up stuff on here to suit your side of the story.
I stand by my story 100%. I will freely admit to altering the chronology of events in order to make the story flow in a logical manner. And also because I’m not sure of the exact sequence after 10 years. The fundamental facts are accurate.
I’m not gonna go the route Jeff did, cause I’m not at that place in my life. It was 10 years ago. But since this is the only contact I have for you. I’m gonna fill you in on what you don’t know. 1st off! Jeff and I fucking…that’ll bring you a lawsuit. Check my records I’ve taken people to court for less than that. No,Really I have! But I’m just gonna laugh that off.
Yeah, I really wouldn’t admit in an open public forum that you are prone to bringing frivolous lawsuits. Judges tend to frown on things like that. Besides, if you go back and read what I said, I actually defended you. To save you some time, I’ll quote myself here:
As far as the record contract goes. I had no choice to let you go for the main reason (and I say this with all politeness, cuz after 10 years I can’t be bitter. I can’t even believe I’m responding to this post). The problem I had with you was you were a good singer on the songs that were already on the radio. Your version of “Someone else’s star” was awesome. That’s why I invited you to be part of this group. The problem was when Anthony and I gave you new songs where you had to create your own sound, it wasn’t special, you had trouble with that.
That’s an interesting perspective.
I don’t know if you remember how long it took to record the hook to Precious few, but Anthony was like…he’s gotta go. I had to convince Anthony that you sounded better than what you were doing.
I remember quite well how long it took to record the hook to “One of a Precious Few.” I remember quite well being asked at the last minute to sing a part I hadn’t prepared. I remember it happening at the end of a very long recording process almost as an afterthought. I also remember you trying to get me to sing it like the hook from “Someone Else’s Star.” They were/are vastly different songs. It didn’t translate well. You also kept trying to get me to sing with an R&B vibe like you do, and criticizing the fact that I couldn’t emulate your style. I hope that with more experience that you learned how to “produce” someone without frustrating them to the point of tears.
You are also directly contradicting Anthony Smith. I actually had a conversation with him less than a year ago (a story I haven’t yet told here). He remembered me quite well, and he filled me in on some details that I didn’t know previously. He also told several of my friends in my presence that I was one of only a few people he had worked with who could walk in and nail harmony parts in one take.
Even then I let you stay in the group, but when you started calling the president of Atlantic records behind my back making deals and then telling me that Rick said that you and Matt HAD to be in the group or the group would be dropped, which made me ask the PRES. of the label if this were true (too which he replied, Delious this is your group, I never said that to Paul or anybody. That’s when your tenure in the group came to an end.
I never met or had a conversation with Rick Blackburn, the president of Atlantic Records until AFTER I severed my ties with you. How could I have possibly gone behind your back to him? I never claimed to speak on behalf of Rick Blackburn. I *did* however tell you that I would not be a part of the group if Matt were not participating. I *did* have a conversation with Al Cooley, and I relayed that conversation in its entirety. My “tenure” with the group ended when you took advantage of the Oklahoma boys’ naivety.
I shouldn’t have had to go to the president of the label with he said/she said questions. That made me look like an idiot.
I think you accomplished looking like an idiot when you sent out oppressive contracts that were cut and pasted together out of books.
Matt was never kicked out of the group, he quit for personal reasons.
He was waiting on the new contract, just as I was. His “personal reasons” were the same as mine: a desire to not get completely screwed.
You were the only one I wanted to replace.
Because I was challenging you and had enough brain power to not get blinded by the carrot you were dangling in front of us.
Again, I’m not saying this with angst. I actually hope you’re doing well in whatever it is you’re doing. But please don’t make me out to be this horrible person.
I think if you read back over the record contract series you’ll see I didn’t really make you out to be that horrible of a person. Greedy? Yes. Opportunistic? Yes. Creepy, slimy, or otherwise revolting? No. Up until the very end I enjoyed your company. You were polite and seemed to be genuine in your interest in us (unlike your counterpart).
What you had was a Production deal. Which is rare in Nashville but common in the music industry. Yea, they aren’t great for the artists, but there are worse contracts than what you had.
Exactly what I have explained here. I’m sure it’s a great consolation to Jerimy, Doug, and the rest that their’s was not the worst contract in history. I’m sure when Jerimy went back to his father’s construction company in Oklahoma, he thought, “well that was fun, and even though I have nothing to show for it, at least I didn’t get screwed as bad as Toni Braxton did!”
If you didn’t like this contract, DON”T ever audition for “American Idol”.
I was smart enough to avoid your contract, and though my CFS has affected my short term memory, I have not had a lobotomy. Also, I’m 4 years older than the upper age limit for the show.
Considering the money I put into making that group, I was still on the losing end, considering Nashville deals don’t rival the ones in the pop world.
Perhaps that is another reason that production deals are such a bad idea in Nashville. As I’ve said before, there would have been more than enough money to go around, especially if you had focused on helping us become a cohesive group that would have been around for a long time.
Oh! as for AL Cooley, considering the things he said about me consider him the ultimate snake for the things he said about you. Maybe he was just covering his ass. But I notice he didn’t get you a deal anywhere else.
All I can say in response is that everything Al told me ended up being the truth. I have no evidence that he lied or misrepresented himself to me. I can’t say the same for you. I didn’t actively pursue a deal after Al and Rick told Matt and I that they were concerned about friction between us and South 65. In fact, I left town shortly thereafter. You could say that my experience with you and Jeff left a bad taste in my mouth. And not in a fun way.
I don’t remember the Pee wee Herman story, (not saying it didn’t happen, just don’t remember it)
I don’t remember much about that night, but my memory of that phone call is vivid.
I seriously hope you’re doing something you love,
I’m making a living with music and telling stories about my past and present. Contrary to what Jeff or you may believe, I really don’t harbor the bitterness that I’m accused of. Until about a year ago I hadn’t even thought of you or Jeff in a very long time. What I experienced makes up who I am today. Do I occasionally wonder how life would be different if events in the past had happened another way? Sure… who doesn’t? I’m sure you do the same.
Oh! as far as feminine, I knew when you were when I put you in the group, but that didn’t stop me, I never had a problem with that even when the guys came to me and told me.
I wasn’t hiding the fact that I’m gay. I really didn’t see it as an issue since I had already been clued in to several people in the industry who were also gay. I’m going to overlook the assertion that you’re making that feminine = gay.
South 65 may not have been Dixie Chicks successful but they did make money, opening on the George Strait Tour and for major country artists and let’s not even talk about their reception at fan fair!!
Again, I’m sure that’s a huge consolation to the guys. In fact, I think I feel worse for them than I ever did for myself. At least I could say that I had a hand in my destiny. They left their’s up to you.
With all that said, I hope you stop spreading the false knowledge on this website, because if I wanted I could sue you now but this is so 10 years ago.
Sue me for what, exactly? Libel? You wouldn’t have a case. You would have to prove that my story is a lie. You would have to prove that I had an intent to cause you some harm. You can’t do either of those things, so threatening me with a lawsuit is just foolish and frankly sounds quite childish.
Good luck in everything you set out to do. Delious
You too, Delious.
Oh… and congratulations on being one of the top search results on my website. Your name combined with either the word “naked” or “gay” has been in the top 15 search terms of this site for a record breaking 8 months. That’s not even counting all the people who misspell “delicious.”
Maybe you should consider a career in gay porn, there’s obviously a market. I’d even sign up to be an affiliate, just to show there are no hard feelings.
