Countdown Entry #47   8:45 PM, Friday, June 25th, 1999:   What a week, booked a gig at Fats Monday and now one for Shorty's tonight. I'll start with Fats:   Went in on the 17th and gave the package to the bartender, since cameron, the manager wasn’t there. She was very nice. I’d been to this place before...IT’S PERFECT. I thought "Cameron has got to dig the tape. This would rock." Called him back on Monday...and he did. Goddamn…out of nowhere! I can’t believe it. He said he dug it. He offered me $150 to play Thursday, August 12th (which is the try-out night) and then if it goes well…we go on to Friday’s which is double. $300!!! Giddy-up. I gotta keep in touch with him though. For my own sake, August is a long way away. AWESOME. I’ll put a flyer up next month. SHorty's however was a bit more difficult. Take a gander at my phone log (face-to-face meetings in bold):   6/11/99 2:30 PM – bartender said to call and ask for Chuck after 4 PM. Will do…will do…   6/11/99 4:10 PM – I called and asked for chuck..uhm..he left he won’t be back until the evening…   6/11/99 7:30 PM – still isn’t back. evening is a relative term. I’ll call Chucky Monday at 4 PM.   6/14/99 1:00 PM – chuck isn’t in until 3:00 PM. I’ll try to call him after my meeting with tim at lennox.   6/14/99 4:30 PM – finally got ahold of chuck and he said he’d be there all night, so I’ll stop by around 8:30 or 9 and give him a package…   6/14/99 8:45 PM - chuck was very cool. older guy-and the place was dead...but it had a stage! it was exactly where i should play. it is perfect. i hope he has the forsight to see that. he said he’d get back to me...but i doubt it will be before me. another wednesday call back and i really want this one..it’s just too perfect....   6/16/99 4:00 PM – asked for chuck. she put the phone down…for 10 MINUTES. good god. kept calling back for another 15…finally got back around 4:45 and he had left…she said call back in an hour. will do.   6/16/99 5:30 PM - got a hold of chuck. he said he hadn’t looked at the tape yet, and then he said: "what are you asking?" Completely took me aback and I just said "$200" he said "ok" and I’ll call him tomorrow. i may just try to go see him after work. how strange.   6/17/99 7:15 PM - GODDAMNIT... "No, shit...chuck ain’t in until Midnight." You know my dad owned a bar, and was in at the same time, and left at the same time. Jesus. It sucked even more because there was no benefit. The bartender didn’t know who I was, and I wasn’t gonna say "Tell Chuck the 4TVs guy came in..." It was just a bust...like the Easton Champps day. But at least I found some restaurants on my way there. Christ Chuck.   6/18/99 12:45 PM – he just left…she said try back around 5 PM.   6/18/99 7:00 PM – he’ll be in at 8:30. Fuckin’ A.   6/19/99 2:30 PM – I was at gabby’s, thought I’d see if he was there…I was wrong.   6/21/99 4:15 PM – won’t be in until later…no idea when. Jesus. This is over. I just know it. Try back again tomorrow. I’m so busy after work today (doin’ 2 new sets) I’ll never have time to call him back. Tomorrow afternoon AGAIN.   6/22/99 4:30 PM – set up a meeting for Friday at 3 PM!!1 wow…I got a hold of him! Amazing. I bet I can finagle at least one gig. Wish me luck.   6/24/99 3:30 PM – since this is so out of my way, I want to confirm he’ll be there. he wasn’t now, he should be at 5:30.   6/24/99 5:30 PM - he confirmed. cool. let’s cross our fingers.   6/25/99 3:00 PM - and finagle a gig i did. Sunday, July 18th. More nights depending on the crowd that night. I can deal with that. a REAL nice guy. Sat and talked for awhile, he said his Sunday and Monday nights are the worst. We’ll see what I can do with ‘em. 9-12. Shit. I need more sets. I will have to do 2 more in a bout 10 days. WHEW. That will still be cutting it close. That’s...well, that’ll be ok. 3 sets of 3 sets....that’ll be cool. Anyway, I’m also gonna make legit posters. For ALL the gigs. GIDDY UP! $200. Hopefully by the end of July, every place will be $250. I’ll give him the poster next week.   See, it's a little more work than you'd expect huh? Shorty's is an anomally, every other place has been like this. Been talking to one place, Brian Boru's, and I've visited 2 times and called 11 times and still haven't talked to the manager. You really have to hustle, but it's payin' off. Some other big developments too:   Jori Sorensen, an intern at CD101 and her parents own Ritz Catering company. They constantly get asked for referrals on entertainment. For business gatherings, weddings, and everything. This could be the goldmine. This is where 4TVS will work the best: a captive audience. This exactly what I was looking for. And lookee what happened Wednesday:   6/23/99 4:45 – so we know where one package went….HOLY SHIT. Way to go Ritz Catering for passing this along for me! Mike leaves a message saying he’s "VERY interested" and wants to talk to me ASAP. AHHH!!! I called back but he was gone…left a voicemail..and will call him IMMEDIATELY tomorrow. SUNUVABITCH! This is huge, they could book me in some big places for a lot of moolah, and more importantly EXPOSURE.!!! I’m not gonna be able to sleep ever again. 1999 is gonna be amazing.   6/24/99 10:00 AM – talked with mike for about 20 minutes. He used to listen to me on WTVN. Small world ain’t it. He is very excited. He thinks he can book me at many different corporate events. First one starting July 24th at a golf course. I would net $300. That works for me. Now that should be a Champps night, but maybe I can finagle trying a different night…maybe I could do a Sunday…who knows. But this is more money, and Champps hasn’t given me a contract. So there. I’m dropping off an extra package to Mike for the golf place this afternoon.   6/24/99 2:00 PM – dropped it off and shook his hand. about all I could do. hope to hear from him soon.   So big. Can't wait. Of course it hasn't been all good. They loved it at Buckeye Hall of Fame Cafe, but wants to wait until the act is more established. That's understandable I guess. But some people... man I can't believe they're even in positions to book entertainment. This guy at Polaris Grille actually said (after I dropped off the tape and talked to him), he couldn't watch the 6 minute video presentation: "I apologize, I don’t have time, I don’t THINK I’m interested, I do apologize..." That is a direct quote. And that is a direct quote from a moron. I’m sorry. But if you run a business, and you don’t have the foresight to look at a 6 minute videotape presentation for your entertainment...you’re a moron. That’s all I can say.   Adam

 

 

JUNE 1999