Chapter 12
"Back to the good ol' USA."
By this time, Scott Hall was doing all of our bookings, and we were playing more
often than we had in the past. Scott had been our bass player back in the Show
No Mercy days. Scott had put a lot of time into the band for very little
financial profit. There was a problem stewing, though.
We were getting calls from some of the promoters who claimed that Scott was not
returning their phone calls. Scott admitted that it was hard to get in touch
with some of the promoters (this was before e-mail), but said he was, "leaving
messages, and that the promoters were not calling him." I knew that Scott had
responsibilities to his family and at his work (being a manager of a photo lab),
and I was beginning to wonder if he had too many things going on at once. Scott
was also making decisions without conferring with the band.
Scott normally did not make bad judgements, but now he was becoming irrational
at times. I knew we were not a huge band yet, but Scott wanted to present us as
larger than life. He was making a lot of people angry with his "tougher than
nails" attitude, and we were worried that we were going to look guilty by
association.
We had no one beating our doors down to take the booking department off Scott's
hands, and he was our only taker. He never really wanted to do the bookings, but
he understood that, in order for the band to get the live show out on the road,
someone had to pitch in. Maybe he was trying too hard, but there was a problem,
and Troy and I were trying to figure out a resolution.
While we were pondering over this, we, the band, flew out to Arizona, thinking
we had two shows booked there, one in Phoenix and one in Tucson. When we
arrived, we found out differently. The show in Phoenix had been canceled. We
found out also that Scott had paid for the plane tickets out of his own pocket,
hoping that the show would be successful enough that the promoter would pay him
back. That meant no money for the band, other than what we made on merchandise.
Even at this time I still was still fearful of band members becoming so
discouraged by the lousily promoted shows and the making of no money that they
might walk to find a real paying gig. Jerry and Rik, as with myself, were now
solely depending on the band to pay our bills. Any show that we took a loss on
was like taking food out of our children's mouths, and we took it very
seriously.
The Tuscon show was dismal, with a lame PA system and the poor promotion, it
barely brought in three hundred people. At this time, we were averaging about
600 people per show. To make matters worse, the promoter had no ride for us back
to the hotel. We had to wait around until all of the gear was loaded to hitch a
ride with a girl from the show. We questioned her sanity as we drove to the
hotel, and even got lost on the way there.
The next morning, the promoter was supposed to show up to take care of lunch and
drive us into Phoenix to catch our plane. He did not show. We had performed the
night before with Audio Adrenaline, who were on tour and had a vehicle. They
were headed our way to get the air conditioning repaired on their truck. They
offered us a ride to Phoenix, and since we had no hotel rooms reserved in
Tucson, we took them up on their offer.
We had a great time laughing about the entire incident with Audio because they
had not been paid either. We found a hotel in Phoenix (close to the airport and
shuttle service), which Troy put on his credit card, and we were set. I now had
made up my mind that I was going to have to dismiss Scott.
I called Scott and told him of how the entire trip had turned into a nightmare,
and about all of the events that had occurred. I then informed him I needed all
the contracts, the names of the promoters and their phone numbers. He knew what
I was saying without me actually having to fire him. He did not seem to be
bothered, and I think it was a relief for him to have the pressure of Bride
removed.
We were now forced to begin the impossible search for, not only a manager, but
also a booking agent. We tossed the booking responsibilities into the hands of
our wives, Sharon and Michelle. Troy and I sat down with them and instructed
them the best we could on how to book the band. They began to work, putting
together press kits, making follow up phone calls, plotting concert dates, and
the dates started rolling in. I think the male promoter enjoyed a friendly
female voice on the other end of the line rather than the forceful voice of a
man.
We were asked by the Syndicate, a Christian rock magazine out of Nashville, to
play a Christian rock night during the GMA week. We had been voted as the band
that most of the industry wanted to see live. Everyone was at this event that
was anybody in the rock genre. We played last on Saturday night for a full house
at the 328-performance hall. Other bands that had showcased in these two days
were the 77's, The Prayer Chain, Undercover and many more.
We were to play a thirty-minute set. We played a loose, but high energy set. We
performed all the favorites, and, for the most part, putting the fear of God
into the crowd. Some of these industry people were very conservative, and those
were the people I wanted to blow away. In these particular days, our attitude
was to come out like Mike Tyson and K.O. the crowd in the first round.
This show proved huge for us in the eyes of the record industry. They had heard
our records, read the interviews, heard the rumors of our live shows, but now
they had experienced the real thing. There was no denying the impact. Brown
Bannister, one of the top producers in the Christian music scene, loved what he
saw. He later would call me to do some backup vocals on a Petra record and for
the new Carman album.
John and Dino Elefante were also there, and they too saw that Bride was the real
thing; "an authentic rock band." We were what everybody wanted their rock bands
to be, and yet no Christian company had any idea what to do with us if they had
us. Scott had talked to several labels, including the Elefante's label, Pakaderm,
about signing Bride. John and Dino did not want to sign the band; they wanted to
produce our next record. They so much wanted the job that they flew Troy and I
to California, and we spoke seriously about the future. They made a lot of sense
... something that Star Song seemed to be running low on.
We could not just release another album the same way as we had done in the past.
We knew there was a whole world out there, and we were still trapped in the
Christian market. John and Dino shared their vision with us, and we began
considering. I even called Mike Kyle and hypothetically presented the scenario
to him. He did not think it would work, and thought that Dez would not like it
either. We wanted to use John and Dino, but we had already been doing
pre-production through the mail with Plinky, and studios had been reserved. We
just did not see any way of getting John and Dino onboard this late in the game.
We had loved what Plinky had done with the Snakes in the Playground record.
There was no denying that, for its time, it was cutting edge in the Christian
market, but we were still stuck as a band. The feeling was that we needed to
surround ourselves with influential people in order to make the band more
legitimate. We were always trying to prove ourselves to someone in those days.
We were so insecure that we could not believe that that anyone took us serious.
Troy and I found out later in years that we had intimidated the industry this
entire time.
While on a return to the New Union in Minneapolis, MN (which was now under new
management) we hooked up with Steve Baker, the former manager of the Union.
Steve was now managing a very successful new band called Pray For Rain, who
later changed their name to PFR. Steve spoke to us about the possibilities of
managing Bride. We talked for hours before the show, and hours after the show
that night, and came to the conclusion Steve would take over as manager, and we
would seriously approach Star Song about John and Dino. We had no doubt that
this would cause waves, and that Dez would hate the thought. The new album was a
week away, the studios had been rented according to Star Song, and we were about
to change the course and schedules of many people.
Jeff Moseley had come up from Nashville to discuss the possibility of resigning
with Star Song since this upcoming album would fulfill our last option with
them. We discussed certain things, and it looked like Moseley was willing to
move in our direction a little. After the meeting, we were still not convinced
that this was what we should do. After Steve talked with John and Dino over the
phone, he called me and suggested that we carry out our plan. I called Dez and
put a complete stop on the album. There would be no recording next week and
Plinky had been removed as producer.
Star Song was shocked, but since they were anxious to get us to resign with
them, they agreed to John and Dino. This verbal agreement would be challenged
later by the Star Song muscle, but as for now we had a couple more months to
write new songs, and we had the producers of our choice. We now had more
pressure on us to write the best songs of our life and to prove that we were our
weight in gold.
We knew if we recorded an average album that we would forever be trapped in the
Christian market and would be a slave to the record companies. To up our worth,
we had to just be ourselves and write from the heart. Too much planning and
arranging would destroy our true-to-form vibe. We began writing new songs in our
minds, and concentrated on the weekend touring again.
Brazil
We had planned on two other occasions to tour Brazil, but they both had fallen
through. We had heard that there were many Bride fans down there, and they
wanted to see us live. Both times the tour had fallen through at the last
second. The call came in the third time. This was a different event and
different promoters.
Fax communications were went on for weeks, and we applied for our Visa's.
Washington was in no hurry to get them to us. We were told that the shows were a
go. Two shows in Sao Paulo were scheduled. Our Visa's arrived the day before we
were to leave, and the tickets were waiting to be picked up at the airport. I
did not believe we were going in the beginning, but once we boarded the plane, I
realized Brazil was a reality.
It was a long flight, but the food was better than our past fights to Europe.
When we departed the plane in Sao Paulo, we were greeted by dozens of fans
holding signs that read "Bride Rocks." Sharon and Michelle, who had made the
trip with us, received a dozen roses each from the fans. It was some welcome, we
felt really out of place having never received such a reception as this before.
The hotel was a Four Star, 19 story, better than average building in the heart
of Sao Paulo.
Sao Paulo was huge and extremely busy. The outskirts of the city were covered
with small huts and shacks where the poor lived. This place was just one notch
up from a third world country. We got settled into our rooms, and were told by
our liaison, Flavio, that we should not go out by ourselves. He told us that the
streets were very dangerous. We were always confident that we could handle
ourselves in a fair fight, but nobody fought fair anymore, so we did not leave
the hotel without a posse.
We visited a place that we called "The Hippie Fair," which was a couple of
blocks away. It was set up like a flea market, but these were not your typical
vendors selling used albums and books. There were many vendors from the voodoo
region of Brazil selling hash pipes, knives for sacrifices of animals and other
trinkets to do with voodoo and superstitious rituals. There were also some
tourist items, and there was a lot of jewelry and precious stones at very low
prices.
We picked up a few gifts to bring home with us. Vince, our stage manager, picked
up a long voodoo staff that we felt was interesting in appearance; however, our
tour guides were afraid of it. We found the Brazilian people to be friendly but
very superstitious. They asked us to pray over the staff to cast the demons out
of it. We found no scripture where an evil spirit had ever possessed an
inanimate object. To this day Vince has not shown any signs of demon possession.
We have never witnessed his head spinning in a 360 degree motion, foaming at the
mouth or any of the other Hollywood theatrics attributed to demon possession.
Though, Vince did at one time wear a quarter in his ear for some strange reason.
This form of voodoo (though satanic in nature) has nothing to do with the
Americanized, Hollywood Satanism that we have been exposed to. This was not of
the pentagram type.
In all my years within the full gospel churches observing and taking part in the
traditions and practices of the church, I never witnessed any act where a table
moved untouched, a rod turn into a snake or objects fly through the air. I have
seen people jump high claiming to be in the Spirit. We as Christians may speak
of evil forces out there in the world, which do havoc upon the lives of men. The
darkest evil forces I have ever been witness to be the demons within the hearts
and minds of men themselves.
Our liaison took us to the soccer stadium where we would be performing. It was
something like I had never seen before. This huge concrete stadium looked like
something out of a gladiator movie. We had not been convinced that this was
going to be a larger than life show until we entered the stadium.
The stage was still being constructed. We were informed that there was a 650
person crew that would be working the show, there were 450 overhead lights, over
20 teli-beams and a 10 man camera crew that would broadcast the show on three 3
story video screen on each side of the stage and behind the drum riser. The
expected number of people for the two shows was 200,000 people. I remember one
of the girls we were with literally closing my mouth as I stood in awe at the
overwhelming sight of the stadium.
We were told that the promoter, who was a pastor of a church in Sao Paulo, and
his church had prayed and fasted for 27 days prior to the show. There was a
group of Christians who sang praise songs and marched in unity around the
stadium in a symbolic gesture of the walls of Jericho. The next day we met the
promoter at a radio station where he was a DJ, and he also ministered on the
radio. We did an interview there, as well as a couple back at the hotel with a
local secular newspaper.
There was some other artists from the U.S. that would be performing. Fighter"
was a pop sounding band with a stand up drummer that sang. This would be one of
their last shows because they were breaking up shortly after. "Sam Baker" and
his group would be playing. His style fell more into the church sounds, and then
we met a couple from California, Melissa and Randy, who had never heard of us
before. They were on a missions trip.
The big night of the first show came, and I would not go out to look at the
crowd. I could hear them outside. Our dressing rooms were in the locker room of
the stadium. The crowds above us sounded like that of a train as they roared and
applauded the bands before us. There were a lot of people running around
backstage. There were catered food specialist and hair stylist, singing
instructors, makeup artists and lots of security.
We were the last band of the night, and we were anxious to get out there.
Reports were coming to us that there were more than 60,000 people in the
stadium. This would definitely would be by far the largest show we had ever
played. It was hard to really focus in on what was happening. There was nowhere
to go to be alone and come to grips with the magnitude of this event. There were
people everywhere like ants. I normally liked to get away for just a few minutes
before I took the stage, but this show would give me no such luxury or breathing
room.
The announcement came. Then the promoter introduced the band with a loud
Portuguese accent, "Bride!" and our set began. I had heard bands say they had
played to big crowds before and could not see past the first few rows of people.
I, however, could see a mile back. Thousands of people cheering and shouting. I
saw the smiles the raised fists, I saw it all.
Our set was only 45 minutes, and I was more comfortable before this crowd than a
lot of the lesser shows we had done. There were Brazilians singing along with
our tunes, and I later found out that a lot of them learned the words, but did
not know what they meant. They just loved the fact that we were Christians and
had a heavy beat. We did "Hell No" as usual for the encore, and we ended with a
big bang. We had now finished our largest show ever. We stayed on that high all
night long, knowing we had another show to do the following day.
The second show the following day would be a 30-minute set. We received a police
escort to the stadium on the bus. This type of treatment I found humorous. We
were playing an earlier slot this night; about 9 p.m. The promoter told us the
stadium was packed to capacity (around 125,000 people) inside, and there were
over 15,000 outside who could not get in.
We decided to hit the crowd quickly and swift. We began with "Would you die for
me," "Fallout," "Psychedelic Super Jesus, and "Hired Gun." I preached real hard
in between tunes with Flavio interpreting to the crowd for me, and the crowd
responded wildly. They became so out of control that the house lights stayed on
the entire set for their own protection. When the show was over, we went out
front during the "Fighter" set to talk with those fans up front, and we signed
hundreds of autographs. We returned to the hotel knowing that we had won the
hearts of thousands of the Brazilian fans.
Reports after the show indicated that over 10,000 people got saved over the
two-day event. The admission to the show was food or clothing to be given to the
poor, and the event, called S.O.S. For Life, brought in over 300,000 pounds of
food. From my evaluation of Sao Paulo, I would have to say that it was a
struggling city, poverty ridden and dirty. I remember seeing the homeless and
hungry in NYC and L.A., and Sao Paulo was no different. However, the distinction
I felt was that these folks wanted revival of the heart.
I was gratified that we were a part of this great spiritual awakening and the
beginning stages of revival, restitution and restoration. To get food and
clothes to the poor was one of the natural lessons that Jesus taught us to do,
and not only had we preached the gospel, but we had spiritually applied the
lessons from Matthew chapter 14 through 16.
We were seen off at the airport by many of the friends we had made, and it was
emotional to leave them behind. I felt as though we had brought hope to them,
and I was hoping to see them again. We were now returning back to reality. We
were headed back to the small crowds, under promoted shows and promoters
thinking they knew what they were doing, when in actuality they were just saving
money.
Sharon and Michelle worked hard making contacts and doing a lot of follow up,
instructing the promoters the best ways to promote the shows. It is so insane in
the States. For Bride, promoters were usually fans of the band that decided they
wanted to see Bride. So, instead of waiting for Bride to come near to them, they
would take on the task of promoting a show. Sharon and Michelle had to walk most
promoters through the basics of promoting.
Some of the suggestions they shared were to print up lots of posters and flyers,
and be sure to hang them anywhere and everywhere young people went; to call the
local churches and get their youth groups involved, and to contact any t.v. and
radio stations and see if they would be interested in covering the event. They
were also encouraged to get the bookstores involved, and contact the Newspapers
(as they usually had a section of events where a person could advertise for
free). We also supplied a mailing list for each show to the promoter so they
could mail out flyers. More times than not, these instructions were not
followed.
Negotiations continued with Star Song and John and Dino through Steve. Star Song
was trying to push the recording back even further. I believe they were trying
to discourage us from using John and Dino by letting time go by, and also by not
trying to work with us. Dino and I pin-pointed a date, October 17th, and the
band rehearsed the new tunes for that date. Moseley had removed himself from the
center spot and put Dez in the forefront of organizing the studio times.
I felt like Star Song was still dragging their feet, so I took matters into my
own hands. I began the phone calling process, working out all the details with
John and Dino and letting them know that, with or without the trust and backing
of Star Song, I wanted to go ahead with the new album. They agreed, and plane
tickets were purchased,which Troy and I would be financially responsible for. I
had never in the past had to take my own money to finance an album, but I did
not care what the cost was. I would defy Star Song and their disbelief in our
music, and I would deliver the best record we had ever done ... I was sure of
it.
I was confident in our decision to use John and Dino. I had talked extensively
with them dozens of times about the vibe and direction of this project, and I
was sure that they had complete understanding of the songs. I wanted a different
record than Snakes. None of us wanted to record "Snakes 2," as we always
disliked bands who were fearful of change. This project would have more attitude
and power, and we tentatively titled it "Scarecrow Messiah." Star Song disliked
the title, but we went forward and printed T-shirts and had an incredible artist
using that theme to paint a cover.
An odd thing about the Bride albums and CD covers. We often had really nice
pieces of art, which artists had poured hours into in hopes that their work
would be used. More times than not, the record companies would not use them and
opt for a much less attractive cover for our albums. To this day, I believe
Bride to have some of the dullest rock album covers of all times. The one that
stands out best for me would be Silence is Madness.
Our mind set at this point was defiance. We could not understand why, but Star
Song seemed to be working against us. We felt there was some underlying sinister
plot against Bride. From our very first record until this time, we never felt as
though we had teamed up with a record company. We always had a feeling that we
were two struggling forces. This new record would prove to be an enormous
struggle ... and the straw that would separate the band as we knew it.