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SOUL TWIST
Yes For An Answer
By PETER CASE
 989: I went to the office with Steven Soles, the player/manager, as my witness. The Man With The Blue, Post-Modern, Fragmented, Neo Traditionalist Guitar album had just come out a few weeks before, but I was already getting the feel: they weren't gonna do anything on this one. Maybe I first got the idea when I walked into Soles' little Santa Monica apartment one day. Steve was sitting at his kitchen table, where he usually did 'business'. "Hey man, call Marco over at the record company: he told me he loves the record. He was raving about how much he loves it. Wants you to call him right away."
This was unusual, unexpected... hard to believe... Marco's the label head of promotion, famous for his gonzo, over the top, wild and crazy 'style'. His support or lack of, could make or break the record as far as radio was concerned. Steve dialed the rotary phone, then handed me the receiver. I told the receptionist my name, and asked for Marco's office. He picked up on the first ring.
"PETER, HOW YOU DOIN, BIG GUY? HEYYYY, DUDE, LOVE THE RECORD!!!! LOVE THE RECORD... BUT WOW, MAN....WHERE'S THE DRUMS, BUDDY? THERE'S NO DRUMS: YOU SHOULD GET ME DOWN THERE TO PLAY DRUMS!!!!"
It was obvious he hadn't listened past the first cut, "Charlie James," which was a song I'd learned when I was a street singer, a dark moody 12-string blues, the overture to the stories I was telling on the album. The drums came in on the second track, and the drummer was Jim Keltner, one of the greatest drummers in the history of Rock and Roll... but this was lost on my promotion man. He couldn't get that far.
I went out on the road for a couple weeks at that point, carrying my trio lineup with Mike Bannister and Duke McVinnie ... we played up the West Coast from L.A. to Seattle, and across to Montana, traveling in a rented van with my pal Phast Phreddie at the wheel, going back down through Salt Lake City to Denver, then finally back to L.A. We saw lots of fans, some moose, elk, and the shows went well, people came out, shows were packed, but it was obvious the record wasn't out there, or getting any help from the label. In fact, it seemed like they were throwing it away. It wasn't even in the stores.
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I felt like I couldn't stand for it anymore, and a meeting was arranged for me to meet the label president, Ed, at his next available moment, after I got back to town. I was ready to go when I was ushered into his office. He muttered something about how expensive one of his new paintings was, but I jumped the track:
"Let me off the label, Ed... let me have my record back..."
He started to say a few things to try and turn me around but I said, "I sold more records when I was on Beat Records, and the record company was just a kid in Long Beach set up in his mother's garage." My line was "Save your money and my time, and let me off the label."
He began to turn red all over. I thought he was gonna blow, but instead he said, "You've gotta speak to David." David was the owner and founder of the label, and a very famous Record Mogul. He had signed me to the label a few years before, and then faded back into the stratosphere, as far as we knew. Fine.... we were led into David's office. It was a big room, on the top floor of the three stories... a view of Hollywood and afar out the windows that went around the room. David was in there, looking casual in slacks and a polo shirt... he looked tan, and relaxed as he motioned to us to sit down.
We did and he said, "You must be very frustrated, Peter. I'd be frustrated too."
I delivered my formula: "David, save your money, and my time, and let me off the label."
"Peter, if you're gonna have hits, you can have them here. What is it you would want us to do?"
"Well for starts, you could advertise: some of my best friends don't even know this record's out. There's zero profile. Maybe a couple of ads to announce it."
"Peter, advertising doesn't sell records."
"Well we could make a video... a lot of your records get played on MTV."
"Peter, we can't get MTV to play our videos anymore: it's just a waste of money."
"Well David, you could just support us when we go on the road, making sure the record's in the stores and the local press is aware of the record and the shows. We're a hard working road act: look at R.E.M.., David...their company has backed them up for the slow build, while they built the fandom by touring. We can do that, but you've got to work with us, back us up."
"Peter, R.E.M. doesn't sell records."
"Well, they sell a few hundred thousand…"
"A few hundred thousand doesn't begin to pay the bills around here, Peter."
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"David, you've gotta go past a hundred thousand to get to a million."
"Peter, it doesn't work like that. You need a hit: it's all about the radio."
"Well then, promote us to radio."
And with this he gets up and walks across the room to the telephone on a table behind his desk. He picks it up: "Give me Promotion... hello Marco, what are we doing for the Peter Case record? ... we're not? ... hold on a second... Peter..." He turns to me, holding the phone down, blocking the receiver, "Which track do you want us to go with?"
I thought for a split second: "Put Down The Gun."
"Marco, I want you to go with 'Put Down The Gun:' I want a twelve inch, service it to everybody, the full treatment, we'll get the indies on it, as soon as possible. I want to make this a top priority."
He hangs up the phone and turns back to me... "How's that?"
"What?" ... I was dumbfounded, caught off guard by this...
"Peter, for once in your life, take yes for an answer."
"Huh?"
"Peter, take yes for an answer... you've come here to my office, asked, and gotten exactly what you wanted. We're going to promote your record. We're putting out a single to radio, and we're going to give it the full campaign. Take yes for an answer!"
"When is the single coming out?" I asked.
"Two weeks."
We talked for awhile longer, but that was the size of it. He told me he wouldn't let me off the label 'til my contract expired, and that, if I could have hits, I could have 'em there. He said he wasn't gonna let what happened with Hiatt happen again... (John exploded when he left the label, sold tons of records...someone took out Billboard ads to point it out to the community)...
That was it. Some inane things were said to wrap it up, and we were escorted out. It seemed fishy, but what could I say...
We went back on tour the next day, and stayed gone for a long time. Two weeks came and went, and there was no single, no nothing... the only thing that changed was, they stopped taking my phone calls.
That's show business! •
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