Chapter 4 -- The First Pass Through the Studio
Following the Saturday session and a short review of some of the recording, Bob let the girls know they could pack up the gear and take it to the next practice garage if they wanted, but that he was going to look for some place where they could spread out like on a stage and practice that way. They could also leave things set up so that when they went to practice they wouldn't have to spend time doing that and could get right down to business.
As the girls were packing their things, he and Judy were standing there watching the progress.
"I owe you a big thanks Bob," she said looking him in the eyes. "I didn't expect all of the equipment you provided. I only hoped for some direction. Now they have that and more."
"Judy I think it's me that owes you! I'd still be sitting on my ass wondering what to do with myself if you hadn't sent Sara that demo. Sweetie, I heard a ton of their potential in that recording. Wait until I dump this recording at the studio and Bill works it over."
Judy's eyes grew as she heard what he said, "Studio? Bob, what are you telling me?"
With a sly smile he answered, "What I'm telling you is with their approvals, I have plans for these girls. In three to five years I would expect them to be multimillionaires, in ten, multi-multi, they're that good Judy; I wouldn't even consider these girls to be diamonds in the rough. These four are very highly polished stones. They may not have a final finish yet, but give them 6 months with me and we'll be touring around the country, and maybe even around the world. My intention would be to limit the tours. I don't want them doing the kind of tours that I've been on in the past. They should do short tours more often than long tours every now and then."
Judy just stood there aghast. She couldn't believe what Bob was proposing to do.
"My biggest challenge is to help them overcome their stage fright. I can see a few CD's as well. These girls will do very well!"
"Touring? Bob, isn't that a little much for their age?"
"Are you kidding? Heather is already years older than many band members who started touring. They were fifteen, sixteen and touring the world, let alone the country. Hell Judy, I was still fourteen when I started my first real tour, but because of the way we did things, I burned out. I'm twenty-five years old Judy, and I'm fried from the road. I want to help the girls avoid that and trust me, there will be some greedheads out there that will try to convince them they can make a boatload of money if they go with them. I don't want these 4 to burn out like that. I want them to stop when they're ready to stop, not because they have to in order to save their sanity and/or their health."
"But you're a man Bob," Judy said.
"Huh? What fucking difference does that make?" Bob asked incredulously. "Janell drums better than 90% of all the 'boys' I know. Michelle is far better than a majority of the 'guys' that play keyboards. Heather is far and above 99% of all the "premier guitarists" of any sex, and Maryanne? Shit, what can you say about Maryanne? I don't know ONE guy that can do what she can do." He looked right into Judy's eyes and finished, "Being a man or a woman has nothing to do with it Judy, not a god damned thing!"
"Ok, ok...Sorry," said Judy meekly, holding her hands up in surrender!
"Your daughter is going to be a fairly wealthy woman very soon Judy. She'll work for it, believe me, but she'll be doing something she loves to do, and it doesn't get any better than that Honey. We just can't let it go to their heads. I know Chelly the best, and I think she's got a damned good head on her shoulders Judy. You have done an incredible job of raising her. Maggie too, I'm sure. I sense that the other three are of like minds, so it's just a matter of keeping them away from the dark side."
She just looked at him with "deer in the headlights" eyes while she was thinking about the ramifications of what Bob had just said. She's losing her daughter? No, not really, she just won't be at home all the time anymore. She's eighteen so that eventuality is going to be reality soon enough anyway. This way she can make something out of all that practice and hard work. All of them have worked incredibly hard to become as good as they are. The money wasn't an issue in Judy's mind; she was more concerned about her daughter's sanity. Judy was a very torn woman at this moment.
Bob could see the internal conflict on her face, but it really wasn't his place to say anything more at this point. Michelle could essentially do anything she wanted without parental consent being required. He just didn't want any ill feelings, however this was really Chelly's future that they were talking about.
When she was finished packing, Michelle came over to sit with Bob and her mother. She had worked up quite a sweat helping everyone get their stuff into cases, ready to load and move.
She recognized that there was a little tension between Bob and her mom. That was very strange to Chelly, but she decided she didn't need to say anything about it for the moment. She's sure she'd find out what it was sooner or later.
"Let's leave all that stuff here for a couple days sweetie, I'm going to see if I can find a larger place to set it all up. If I can pull that off it can be left set up and we won't have to spend time setting up then tearing down, we'll be able to get right into the session."
She nodded an ok as she was taking a big drink of iced tea.
Judy looked at her daughter and said, "Bob's talking about you girls maybe going on a tour, Sweetie. How do you feel about that?"
Michelle looked at Bob, surprise registering, "Cool."
Judy nearly deflated hearing that her daughter liked the idea.
"Don't you think it's a bit soon to think about that honey?"
Chelly shrugged her shoulders, "I dunno, Mom."
Then looking at Bob, "How long do you think it will take us to be ready?"
"Probably six months, maybe a little more," he replied thoughtfully. "There are a lot of variables to work through, but I believe we can do it in that timeframe."
Michelle looked at her mother with her answer. "No, I don't think it's too soon to think about it. I love the idea. It scares me a little, but I agree with Bob. I think we can do it."
"Honey, I think..."
"I'm too young? Mom, I'm eighteen, for gods sake. I'm going to move out soon anyway, what's your point?" Chelly and Judy were on the exact same wavelength but with totally different interpretations.
Now it looked like Judy had been hit with a 2x4. "Soon? You've never said anything about moving out before."
"We've all been talking about it for a couple months. Well at least since Maryanne turned eighteen. Heather is already looking for a 4 bedroom place with a 2 to 3 car garage, but just hasn't found the right place yet."
"Oh," Judy sighed, sounding and looking a little sad. She looked at Chelly with undying affection, but was wondering what life would be like around the house without her there. First Maggie moved, now it'll be Chelly. She guessed that it was something all parents had to deal with. Janell and Maryanne's parents would have to deal with it as well.
Bob marked housing in his head, with a mental note to talk to Heather about it. There may be something he could do to help the process. He didn't say anything because Judy was already bothered that Michelle would even consider moving, but it's really an inevitability that she's going to have to face sooner or later. It sounded like Chelly was solidly in the sooner corner.
"Listen, I'll let you two talk for a bit. I'm going to go chat with the others before they get away," Bob said taking the opportunity to both allow Judy and Michelle the opportunity to discuss the issue and give him a shot at talking to Heather about the housing she's looking for. This could work out to everybody's liking, and it would be damned convenient to boot.
The three of them were sitting on some of the instrument cases talking. Bob sauntered up quietly, with a smile and sat down with them.
After waiting for them to wind down the subject they were discussing when he arrived, in a low voice so that Judy couldn't hear Bob asked, "Heather, Chell says you're looking for a place so that you can all move in together."
Heather nodded, "Yeah, I've been looking for a couple months, well ever since Maryanne turned eighteen and we all thought it was possible."
"Yeah, that's what Michelle said. Her mom isn't particularly thrilled with the idea."
Heather looked over at the two talking between themselves apparently oblivious to the conversation going on at the front of the garage
"I'm not all that surprised," Heather said. "Michelle is the one that suggested we all could live together. She really wants to get out of the house. There aren't any big problems other than she feels like Judy is clinging, and Chelly feels like she's ready to spread her wings some. It's scary for all three of them, but I'll be there to give them shit and kick their asses. I've been on my own for a couple years now."
Janell and Maryanne chuckled at her comment, but nodded their heads.
"Ok. I hear you. I'll have to tread lightly at this point, but I mentioned to Judy that I felt you four will be polished enough to tour in six months or so."
Two of three jaws dropped and eyes enlarged significantly.
"What?" asked Janell.
"Well, I think with some serious effort, you four will be polished enough to do a concert tour relatively soon. There are things that have to fall into place, but I really don't see any serious impediments. I do think the first one should be short and probably west coast only, but I honestly believe you are all that good."
"Are you talking about getting on a stage in front of people?" asked Maryanne.
Heather was being unusually quiet, as they had already talked shortly about the subject. She figured to let the other two come to grips with the idea on their own for the most part. Everyone was going to need to be part of the decision, and she didn't want to influence their thinking with her own opinion. Not yet anyway.
"That's exactly what I'm talking about Maryanne. I understand the issue of stage fright. I still get it before any show I play and I've been doing it for quite a while, but you've been on stage before it shouldn't be that big a thing for you."
"Bob, there may have been 100 people there, and it was a school function. I think 20,000 screaming people in a stadium or big auditorium is a whole different ball of wax."
"I understand Maryanne, totally. Remember, I still get very nervous before a show, and I've done a few."
Heather nodded with a smile. She'd changed her mind a little and joined in, "I think Bob's right. We can do it if we set our minds to it. It scares the shit out of me to think about playing in front of people, but Annie, you and Chelly have done it before. It's just a matter of scale."
"If we want our music to be more a part of us, sharing is the next logical progression." She had decided to just throw that out as food for thought. They would all sit down, without Bob, and discuss it and come to a conclusion, of that she had no doubt.
Bob was nodding his head. Heather had obviously thought about it after their talk and was coming to grips with the reality.
"But Heather, we can't..."
"Sure we can Maryanne. I was thinking about it earlier, and thought about one of my public speaking classes. The professor said one really good way to get over the fear of being in front of an audience is to imagine them all naked."
All of them chuckled with that comment.
"I'll have to think about that and maybe give it a try next time I'm on stage," Bob commented with a grin.
"You really think we can do it Bob?"
"Yes, I really think you can," he said softly. His face told them he was serious.
"Now I have a question about your looking for housing? Do you care where the place is located, and how much can you afford?"
"Well, I've been looking fairly local, but that's only because of familiarity and school," Heather indicated. "I can go to school anywhere there's a community college, but if I'm practicing my music all the time, I may have to postpone school until we find out if we can do this for a living. The other three can't really afford much at this point, so we talked about maybe $1200 a month so that it would be $300 each, then utilities and expenses, but I can front some money for a while if I need to. These are my sisters, so I'll help them all I can."
"How about subsidized housing about 400 miles away?" Bob asked with a serious tone.
"What do you mean subsidized, and where are you talking about?" Heather asked.
"Well, quite honestly, I'll have to think about it. The place is just north of Ukiah, north of a small community called Willits."
"I've heard of that place," said Maryanne brightly. "It's well known for growing some of the best pot in the world."
With a huge smile on his face, "Yes, that is true Maryanne, but not all of us grow weed."
"Us?" noted Heather. Nothing got by this lady!
"Yes us Heather," he sighed facetiously. "I have a very large home up there with a fully built empty studio. I've never put any of the studios equipment together because I wasn't sure I was going to do music that seriously anymore. With all your stuff and the mixing board it's a great start on a full-blown recording studio. Billy can bring the rest when he comes to give us the demo. I can probably talk Billy into moving eventually. He hates LA." Most of them didn't notice the look that came to Maryanne's face. Heather noticed!
The three of them looked at him like he'd grown a third eye in the middle of his forehead. Bob noticed it and chuckled, "By subsidized housing I mean that you don't pay rent as long as you continue to play music and practice every day. That's the only way you are going to get polished enough to tour. We can continually make recordings of our sessions to go over with a critical ear. I can keep sending them down here to be worked on, at least until I can talk Billy into moving up to Willits. I'll need to use a few contacts to see if we can get permissions from all the artists and bands that did the original music."
"Permissions?" asked Janell. "What's that about?"
"Permissions, yeah. Someone owns the rights to the music you guys play Jan, and you generally have to pay royalty money to use their 'intellectual property' in a commercial way. That's precisely what we're talking about doing. Now with that said, some of the stuff you play is old enough to be in what's called the public domain. If it's in the public domain, you don't have to pay the royalties - unless someone has bought the rights, which more or less resets the clock. It can be pretty complicated."
"Oh," said Heather. "Do you think you can get the permissions we'll need?"
"We'll have to see, Honey. We may have to change some of the music we do if we can't get clearances, but I think if they know it's me, and I've got something going, it could work out. We'll eventually have to pay something, but to get started they may allow us to play their work without charging a royalty fee. It's to their advantage as much as it is to ours."
Bob paused for a moment as Michelle and Judy joined the discussion. Michelle was smiling so perhaps she had made headway with Judy. Convincing her that it was only sensible to let her do whatever it is she wants to do, because she'll probably do it anyway. Perhaps the prospective income has something to do with it, but moving her 400 miles was going to be a challenge since Heather has been looking locally.
"I think I've convinced mom that moving and working on music isn't all that foreign an idea. I'd planned on moving soon anyway, so this is just a gravy opportunity that we can all take advantage of."
"We may have a place Chelly," commented Heather softly.
There was surprise on Judy and Michelle's faces because neither had expected a move to be that imminent.
"What you talkin' 'bout Willis?" Chelly asked in the voice.
"What I'm 'talkin' 'bout' is we may have a place to move. The landlord is thinking about it knowing that we play music."
"Oh, that's cool. Where is it?" asked Michelle.
"It's a good distance from here, but it sounds like it'll be perfect for what we need," Heather mumbled a little at the end.
Judy asked suspiciously, "What's a good distance Heather?"
"About four hundred miles," Heather answered with a touch of a wince.
Judy looked at Bob but there was no anger on her face. She actually started to get a wry amused grin and then she giggled, which caused Michelle to look at her sideways.
"Mom?" Michelle queried.
Looking straight at Michelle she said, "I think I know the landlord as well honey, and I'd bet the place 400 miles away is in a little town called Willits."
"Willits?" questioned Michelle. "What the hell is a Willits?"
Then looking directly at Bob, Judy responded, "It's in northern California, Sweetie. It's a quaint little town out in the middle of nowhere, north of San Francisco, very peaceful."
Bob couldn't help but crack his face, the smile had to come. She'd already figured it out, and it was her that he was going to talk to when he said he'd think about it, so if she was already kind of on board it was a done deal. He'd make the offer.
"And?" asked Bob with some waning trepidation...
"And, I think considering what you all are talking about, it's a pretty fair idea. It's a bit further than I'd expected, considering, but knowing the landlord, I know I won't have to worry about my daughters safety," she said grinning. Then added with a chuckle, "Only her virginity."
Michelle, being totally confused and apparently oblivious to her mothers comments, looked at Bob and asked, "Do you know what the hell she's talking about?"
Bob just nodded at her, with a huge grin on his face.
"Well... Anyone want to clue little ole Chelly in on the big secret?" Michelle said with mock indignation. Then looking directly at Judy, "What makes you think I have any virginity to worry about?" She had obviously been paying more attention than anyone thought.
Judy's mouth just fell open and her eyes grew as big as saucers.
"Chelly," Heather said with a chuckle, "Willits is where Bob lives."
Now it was Michelle's eyes that grew to the size of saucers and without straining any neck muscles she looked at Bob.
Heather continued, "He's offered to subsidize our housing, but that practicing every day is part of the deal."
Bob nodded his head at Michelle when she looked over to him. This was working out better than she ever thought. She's had her sights on Bob for quite some time and this could be her shot. She also knew that the other three, well at least two of them, would want some too, which was no big deal, she's willing to share.
There was also something else niggling her at the same time but she really didn't want to deal with it now even though she knew she had to. It wasn't one of those ignorable things, at least not in her mind. Inside herself she also sensed something else going on as well, and felt that she was going to have to make a decision about something she really didn't want to think about right now.
She had already mentioned it to Judy while they were talking about the move and Judy had been very sympathetic as well as very supportive. It may turn out to be one of the most difficult, but most important decisions she would ever make in her life. It was occupying the back of her mind, so when she looked somewhat distracted, Bob noticed Judy was looking at her daughter with some uneasiness. He decided to let it go for now, it probably had to do with the move talk.
"Subsidize your housing?" asked Judy having recovered somewhat from her shock.
"I told the other three that I would not be charging them any rent as long as they would practice every day. The house is paid for, and I don't need the income to have to claim on my taxes." Then thinking momentarily he added with a chuckle, "If it all works out they could actually become and expense on taxes." Adding, "It's 9500 square feet, 9 large bedrooms 6 large bathrooms on 675 acres just north of Willits. It also has a full studio built but no equipment installed. I'd like to install all of the 'stuff' that is in the garage as a start."
"If everything works out the way I hope, it will eventually be a full blown recording studio similar to what the Beatles had at Apple Records. It's something I've always dreamed of doing, and with you girls help, I may be able to make that part of my dream come true."
They all looked at him with amazement. He was, in a way, asking them to help him make one of his dreams come true, while he was making theirs happen.
Judy looked around the room at all the girls. "Well. I guess I'd have to say that if you four don't take Bob up on his offer, if it turns into an offer, you're fucking nuts," laughed Judy blushing brightly at her use of "their language".
"It's an offer," said Bob. "Judy, the thing that I had to 'think about' was needing to talk with you about your feelings. It sounds like you've been able to reconcile them enough that my making the offer won't cause any undue stress."
"Ok," said Bob looking at the group. "I know all of you are of legal age to just up and move, but you owe it to your families to let them know what's going on. Heather, I know you're in a bit different situation, but Janell, you and Maryanne should discuss the move with your parents and let them know of the opportunity. If there are any questions, let them know that I'll be happy to talk with them and confirm what I'm offering. They may be understandably skeptical, though I'm sure they are all aware of your abilities."
"They can talk to me as well," said Judy looking at all the girls. "They don't know you Bob, but they all know me." Then with a chuckle, "And they all know how I am about Chelly, so if I'm willing to let her do it, then it's got to be ok."
Heather looked at Bob with a grin, "I have to give my landlord a 30 day notice. Should I give it to him today?"
"I'd like you to be there sooner than 30 days, but I also understand the contractual commitment you made. Just because you've paid the rent, doesn't mean you're living there. I'll reimburse you the month's rent, so yes, you can give notice if you're sure you want to move. What about school?"
"The last quarter is done and there's another month before the next one starts. I haven't even registered for my classes yet, so moving isn't a real issue. I can transfer my units anywhere in the state, or really to any four-year college outside the state as well; all the classes I've taken are transferable. Is there a community college around Willits?"
"No, I don't think so. It's a pretty good distance from anywhere really. Remember the house is in the middle of nowhere, so it'll be peaceful and quiet for us to practice.
Then his face brightened, "Ya know what?" he said with a surprise. "There may be a Community College in Ukiah, and that's within a reasonable distance. I think it's called 'Mendocino College' or something like that, but it's part of the California community college system."
Heather looked at him thoughtfully, "Ok, I can postpone school for a year to see where this idea goes. If I'm making a living doing music, I can adjust my educational plans.
She began to get tears in her eyes. "I have to finish school," she quietly choked out, "I promised my parents that I would get my degree so I have to do it."
She didn't realize that Bob still didn't know about the loss of her parents.
"Heather, I also want you to continue and finish at some point. Even if we all have to temporarily move somewhere near a school for you. I'm proud of you that you honor your commitments."
Then looking around the room, "That goes for the rest of you as well. I'd like to see you all continue your education. Even if it's music major, it's still something you can fall back on if you need to. Bands don't go on forever, but honestly, I don't believe that after the first tour you four will ever have to worry about money again, just boredom when you decide to stop. But you may want to teach. You'll have to get a degree for that, and I think later in life you would all make excellent music teachers."
"I'd like to do some recording. I'd like to be able to recommend you girls to studios to play for big names as part of a studio band. There are a lot of avenues available to you. You're good enough now to play a lot of those roles, but in 6 months of practicing every day, you'll be that much better. I'll admit to you, I can be a real slave driver because I'm very serious about my music. I also want to consult with Billy after he's had time to review the recording we just made.
"Chelly, you'll have the opportunity and the time to get to learn all of that Korg, Kurzweil and Roland stuff." With a grin, "The Moog too!" Then looking across the room, "you too Maryanne."
There is going to be more, and better equipment installed at the studio. We'll be able to make just about any kind of sound we want. It'll just be a matter of figuring out how to do it."
The girls looked at each other in shock. It was Janell who voiced it softly for everyone, "Do you believe this is happening to us?"
They all shook their heads, moved over to give Bob a group hug, and together voiced a very sincere "Thank you" to Bob. The group hug would become a mainstay tradition in the group.
"Ok, we'll get back together in a couple days, unless you need more time. We need to talk about logistics. I'll schedule moving agents to visit each of your homes, to look at what it will take to pack your things for the move. After packing, they'll load your things in a truck and drive it up to Willits. Keep out enough clean clothes and toiletries to last at least a week or so. I have a washing machine and dryer so you can always do laundry at the house, but I think your stuff will beat us there."
"If you want to bring any instruments bring acoustics, and de-tune them before they go on the plane.
"De-tune?" asked Heather.
Bob looked at her smiling, "Yup, de-tune. Make all the strings loose so the change in pressure doesn't warp the neck. The airlines don't usually pressurize the baggage compartments. Also be sure to have hard cases, otherwise the baggage gorillas may damage your instruments. They may damage them anyway, but at least in a hard case they have a fighting chance for survival."
"Will two days be enough for you guys, Maryanne, Janell? I'm really serious about talking to your folks about the move."
Janell nodded and spoke first, "I don't think I'll have a big problem to be honest. My mom just got a new boyfriend, so she'll be more interested in her own life as long as she knows I'll be somewhere safe. She certainly doesn't worry about my virginity," smiling at Judy. "She's accepted that I'm supposedly an 'adult' now and she lets me make my own decisions. I also know, because of her, there are always going to be some kind of consequences for decisions, so I've been pretty careful. This one is a no brainer!"
"What about your brother?" Bob asked.
"Oh, he moved out a year ago, so she's used to not having him around. With a boyfriend, she'll be distracted enough she won't notice that I'm not there," she chuckled.
"I think mom and dad will be happy for me," commented Maryanne. "I already told them that the four of us were looking for a place to live where we could practice without having to set stuff up all the time. They've always been very supportive of my music development even though mom is disappointed that I don't have any desire to be a concert violinist. I'm sure I can still play the fiddle in our music."
Bob laughed at her reference to the instrument that began her musical development. "Make sure you always refer to it as a violin at home, Sweetheart. If your folks wanted you to be in an orchestra, referring to it as a fiddle may not go over very well."
"It's ok," she giggled, "I already call it a fiddle at home. My folks support any musical direction I want to go. Sometimes my brother and me sit down and play 'hillbilly music', as my dad calls it. I do fiddle and banjo both. They're rockers from way back, so my playing rock or retro rock is totally acceptable. I'll talk to them later today and tomorrow. Give me your cell number and I'll call you when I've cleared it with them."
Bob gave them all his cell number and let them know that he'd be staying in the guest room for a few more days, but would be traveling downtown to listen to what is being done with the session recording he'll take with him.
Things are starting to get interesting!