Well....it is a strange story and I'm not sure if I will remember it all correctly, so....
After about 4 hours, the guys have learned about 3 or 4 of Brad's songs and are working on something new (I believe it was a song called "My Way").
They finish their jam session and decide to get together the next day and do it again. Well, they practice for about a week together and have a total of about 6 songs down when William's dad's band packs up their equipment for a show.
The band was unofficially started then and suddenly had to come up with equipment to practice on because we had been using someone else's amps and microphones and such. So we all scrambled and dug through our closets and put together a HORRIBLE collection of tiny amplifiers and RadioShack microphones so we could practice.
Anyway, we practiced almost everyday for about 3 weeks. We would play Brad's songs, jam on random chords, and generally goof off.
Then, on the 4th of July, 1997, William's dad's band was going to play at a party in town. However, they were supposed to play at 7pm and their lead guitarist was not going to be able to get there until after 8. So he called us at the last minute and convinced us to come down and play our 6 or 7 songs at the party. Well, we couldn't get in touch with Joseph, so Brad, William and Syd went down to the party. We introduced ourselves as "Captain Geech and the Shrimp Shack Shooters", but the guy who introduced us said, "Captain Geech and the Shrimp CRAP Shooters!" We played all of our songs twice, it took us about 40 minutes!
Everyone seemed to like us pretty well, actually. So we hung around afterwards and had some beers. It was a great party.
We continued to practice and learn new songs. Brad had and enormous list of songs we could play.
Then, about a month later or so, we were asked to open for William's dad's band again. This time at a Biker Bar in Stevenson, California called "Dave and Rose's River Inn." So, we practiced and got ready and played there. We had picked the name "Purelace" by this time and it seemed like it would be a good name (at least at the time) Everyone loved us at the bar! We were actually surprised that the crowd there liked our style of alternative rock.
Shortly after that, we hooked up with another guitarist. Anthony was a good solid guitarist and Brad wanted to focus on his vocals so we became a 5-piece. We went back and played at the River Inn once more and had a great show again.
Well, a little while after that, we had our first difference of opinion in the band. We wanted to go to a studio and cut a demo, but Joe didn't want to. Joe decided to quit the band and we were back down to 4 of us: Brad, Syd, William, and Anthony.
In October of 1997, we went to a studio in Shingle Springs, California. A little place in the mountains called "ProMedia Studios" or something like that. The owner/engineer, Keith, was an Englishman who liked to play drums in reggae bands. Well, we spent 2 days and recorded our first 5 track demo CD. It was fun and very educational.
Well, we continued to practice and practice and practice.
Sometime in November, Brad's brother-in-law asked us if we wanted to make a video. We said, "of course" and so we went out and shot footage for our first video "Boston Fish". This video was 95% computer animation and we were only seen for a total of about 15 seconds in it, but it was cool. In fact, it played on a Sacramento, California TV station (Q58) on a music show called "RAW". After that success, we decided to make another video. We spent the day in the foothills of Sunny (and windy) California and shot the footage for "Lies". This video actually showed the band! It was a great video (and still is) and it really got us all excited about our music.
As we improved, we realised how poorly we sounded on our first demo and decided to try our hand at another one. We found a studio closer to home. A guy named Frank had a studio in his garage in Modesto, California and promised to do "better than anyone else in town!" So we set up some time and went in and recorded our second demo. This one had 8 tracks. We had 3 new songs and we replayed the 5 songs that were on our first demo.
So, now we were moving forward. This was around December 1997. Now I don't remember exactly when, but around this time we also played live at the bar in the old bowling alley in Turlock, California. That show went well, we were the only band that played and we played 2 full sets. That was a fun show!
Well, we continued to practice and played a show at a sports bar in Modesto called "Sidelines". That was a bad show. The sound sucked, the crowd sucked, even the beer sucked. We swore never to play there again. In fact, that show broke our spirit for playing live for a while.
But nothing will keep a true musician down for long. In the next few months, we pulled it together and played 2 shows at the "Boomerang Club" in San Francisco (that was a GREAT place to play) and then we played at the Stanislaus County 1998 sober graduation party with 2 other bands ("Mouse" was one, I don't remember the other right now).
We also decided to go and try to record yet another demo CD. This time, we would do it right!
We hooked up with Roger at Celestial Sound in Modesto. He had a better studio, better equipment, better attitude, and a better price than what we had experienced before. So we went in and recorded some new stuff that Brad had written.
This stuff was MUCH better than our previous CD's. We left that studio actually feeling good about what we had played.
Well, now we are getting into summer 1998, a lot has happened so far and we are only about a year into being a band!
William's and Brad's youngest brother (Brian) had a friend at school named Michael Mardones. Michael had come over and heard us practice and really liked our music. Well, it turns out that Michael's dad is none other than Benny Mardones (you would know his song "Into the Night"). So Michael tells his dad about us. Well, Brad ends up sending our demos and videos to Benny. Benny keeps them for a while, listens to them and decides that he LOVES them. So Benny calls Brad back and asks him if we want to work on this music in a professional studio!
Of course we did! We aren't stupid!
Well, about this time, the second difference of opinion in the band occurred. When it was all said and done, we were a 3-piece; Brad, William, and Syd. Anthony was no longer part of the band.
So now we are working with Benny and the people he knows to try to get signed. Some of the many things we did were to get a new name (Purelace was nice, but it didn't sell easily), find a new guitarist, and get ready for a photo shoot.
Well, we were waiting to schedule a photo shoot, in the meantime, we played a Labor Day Picnic Party for Procter and Gamble in Modesto. LOOOOONNNNNNNGGGGGGG DAY! But a good show!
Unfortunately, shortly after we played this show, Ryan decided that he wanted to stay in the band he was in before joining up with us. Well, it happens, but we NEEDED a guitarist, and soon!
Around this time, we did some more video work and made our third video to "Nothing I Can't Take". A strange/haunting/crazy video collection of a lot of our past video footage.
We also worked with Roger some more to get several more songs done for demo purposes. It was a busy time for all of us.
Then Joseph came by. He brought his guitar over and wanted to just jam with us. After that night of practice, we had all mended our differences and Joseph was back in the band.
September 1998, we go down to southern California for our photo shoot. Some of the pictures are posted on the page for you to see. We go out for a whole day of camera work with Benny, Susan, and Jan. A long day that ended with us sitting on the beach watching the sunset.
Now things are starting to move along.
Early 1999, we go to Hollywood Sound Recordings and work on our first professional studio tracks. We record "Living With You", "Nothing I Can't Take", "There She Goes", and "I Can't Stand Myself" (this last song is not one of our own).
The thing about professional recording is that you don't start on one song and work until it is done. You lay down basic tracks for everything, then start overdubs/punch-in's/double and triple (and quadruple) stacks/re-takes/oops I lost that track/etc. This is just to get the music recorded. Then begins the long process of mixing the tracks.........
Well, several months later, we scrapped all of these tracks. In the music industry, you learn to cut your losses and move on. Things weren't working well and we didn't like the way the songs were turning out.
But life continues....
Well, after that whole mess, Benny hooks us up with a new group of people. A new studio, a new producer, a manager, the whole thing. ....even a new name......
We were now working under the name "So What", a clever little quip that seems to go well with everyone.
So, we go down and record tracks in this new studio (it doesn't have a name yet, Jeff just calls it "studio"). Our first trip, we just record "I Can't Stand Myself". Then a month or so later we go down and record "Living With You" and "Sunday Morning". This is mid-summer 1999.
So these songs get mixed and mastered and slapped onto a beautiful new CD. It was GREAT work, the songs sounded better than ever! Now comes the hard part.....waiting.
The thing most people don't realise about the music industry is that you never know what will happen next. A lot of people think that if a great band plays great music to a record executive, they get signed and go on to become millionaires. Not true. In fact, the great bands often have to go through HELL to get a deal. The executives with the power don't just go handing out money to any pretty face that can play guitar.
So we wait....and wait....
Finally, we get a chance to showcase (play live) for a couple of record labels! We did. It was a very different to get up and play for someone that could offer you a record contract than it is to play for a few hundred people you don't know. But we rose to the challenge and played!
And now we wait again. We are waiting for the important people to review our CD and comment on our performance and see what tricks we have to do next!
And that's where we are today, still working with Benny, still writing and recording music (we have MUCH better equipment now!), and still waiting for the "big break". It's coming, I can feel it........
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