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Table of contents for The Record Contract
- The Record Contract; Part I: The Audition
- The Record Contract; Part II: The Callback
- The Record Contract; Part III: The Phone Call
- The Record Contract; Part IV: The Gathering
- The Record Contract; Part V: Getting To Know You
- The Record Contract; Part VI: Growing Closer
- The Record Contract; Part VII: Trouble in Paradise
- The Record Contract; Part VIII: Pressure Rising
- The Record Contract; Part IX: Decisions, Decisions
- The Record Contract; Part XI: Meanwhile
- The Record Contract; Part XII: The Studio
- The Record Contract; Part XIII: The Contract
- The Record Contract; Part XIV: Bonding
- The Record Contract; Part XV: A Response
- The Record Contract; Part XVI: Toni’s Party
- The Record Contract; Part XVII: Waiting Game
- The Record Contract; Part XVIII: The Hammer Falls
- The Record Contract; Part XIX: A Realization
- The Record Contract; Part XX: A Pinch of Insult
[For my newer readers, this post is the conclusion of a months-long series relaying the story of my record deal in Nashville back in 1996. You can start this story from the beginning, or catch up with any posts you may have missed by going to the Record Contract Index page. You will be able to navigate through the story from there.]
Unfortunately, the details about dinner with Paul Reubens are a bit fuzzy. Eight hours of margaritas during an extremely stressful day will do that to you. I have no idea what we ended up cooking, I only have whispers of memories of cooking a big pot of collard greens.
What I do remember is that Mr. Reubens is an incredibly nice and hysterically funny man. He is not at all like his Pee-Wee Herman character, except for that glimmer of mischief when he gets on a roll. He and Hoss didn’t know each other that well, but became friends after Hoss publicly supported Paul on the air during the “scandal” a few years earlier. I do remember him asking what my favorite Pee Wee Herman joke was, and I was too inebriated to know better, so I told him:
“Question: How do you know Pee Wee Herman is sitting behind you at a movie theater? Answer: The back of your neck is sticky.” He laughed and said, “I’m not that good of a shot.”
Hoss and I filled him and Mama Sharon in on the events of the day, and everyone took turns expressing their disgust at the way things had transpired.
Paul asked me what Delious had to say for himself. I told him that I hadn’t called him, I was too mad. He told me to call Delious right then and demand an explanation. Delious had promised that the contract would get fixed, and he failed to follow through, and now they had coerced the Oklahoma boys into signing the bad version, and he needed to answer for it.
He was right. I had to do it, and I was feeling no fear. I paged Delious from Hoss’s phone and waited for the phone to ring.
A few minutes later, Delious called. He was on conference with Jeff. I put him on speaker and Hoss, Mama Sharon, Paul and I sat in a circle around the phone.
Delious came on the line and the first thing he said was, “I can not believe you went to Atlantic behind my back.”
“Atlantic came to me, Delious. You told them that we had already signed the contracts and were ready to go. You told me that the contract was going to be fixed. You’ve done nothing but screw over everyone,” I snapped.
“It was still a shitty thing to do,” he said. “I don’t have to explain my actions to you. It’s my company.”
Jeff jumped in, “Good luck trying to find another record company that will give you even a second glance you fat piece of shit.”
“Excuse me!?” I think I hit an instant warp speed 9.
“We’re going to save a ton of money by replacing you, we won’t have to feed you or pay for the 15 hours a day of a personal trainer’s time,” he countered.
Delious laughed, “Too bad, Paul. You’re out of luck. Rip up the contract, we’re going to replace you with Stephen’s brother.”
“You know what, that’s fine. You’re going to find out that fucking people over in Nashville is going to bite you in the ass. Without me and Matt, your band is nothing more than two pretty faces and a effeminate tenor who’s too busy blowing you to sing a note.” I said.
Paul spoke up and said, “Hey guys, this is Paul Rubens. I’ve met some sleazy sacks of shit during my career, but you guys are the slimiest.” He slipped into character, “You know you guys are fucked when Pee Wee calls you sleazy. Heh Heh.”
Hoss hit the disconnect button.
It was over.
**************
Matt and I approached Al Cooley and Rick Blackburn sometime later. They were told by Atlantic Los Angeles that it would be a bad idea for them to offer us a deal because of the tension it would cause them with South 65 and Delious’s band ‘All-4-One.’ Al seemed to be very sorry about the whole situation.
South 65 released two albums, the first of which features my voice on two songs, “To Me” and “One of a Precious Few.” I am uncredited. I decided not to sue since the album bombed and I didn’t want my name to be further associated with the project. The second album, Dream Large, was virtually destroyed by critics, one review I recall called it “the worst thing to happen to country music since Hank died.”
While this is the conclusion of the “Record Contract Series,” I have more stories that evolve out of the events that I’ve talked about. Stay tuned for them.
And thank you.
