PERSONAL STORY: 5 years ago today…. I lost my job. 5 years ago today something else just as bad happened. When I came home with my last paycheck I sat at the computer and sipped on some rum. I was crying inside, how would I tell my Colleen? I brought up my e-mail file and saw that I had a new message from my friend of 3+ decades, Mike Allison. He and I went to live in NYC and were roommates in 1980. Mike sent me a sparse demo for a song that he initially titled “Magic”. I sat there at the computer, sipping on Bacardi Gold (yuk!) and listened to Mike’s demo as my heart was very low. I kept thinking of my wife. But this demo from Mike caused me to sing outloud to the tune, “It’s you, it’s love, all I need, all I need.” It was sort of like what a ballad by Brian Ferry or David Bowie would sound like. As low as I felt that day, I called Mike and told him that I loved the demo and that I had something he might be able to add to it. So, I played the song back on the phone and sang a melody on top and the words of the chorus that I thought of. I explained to Mike that I had just lost my job, and the thoughts of my wife were very heavy to me during that time. Mike e-mailed me and said he was going to use the chorus and the melody. He also promised to give me 50/50 credit for the song that would be on his next album and “you will receive a check.” That’s not what was important to me. I loved Mike like a brother and only one year before I held his hand while in a coma in a hospital and praying for him. But, Mike’s promise never happened. The CD was released one year later to the day and when I put it in my computer via i-tunes I noticed that my name was not in the publishing credits. In fact, my name was only loosely mentioned in the liner notes in the thank you section but giving me “thanks for coming up with the chorus.” I decided to chill out and not concern myself about it for about one year. But, in that year since the CD was released Mike suddenly acted very distant to me. I even made 3 separate videos on YouTube of Darshan Ambient songs that each one had around 6,000 views, all with Mike’s permission of course. I did a lot of social network publicizing of Mike’s music, and I even introduced him to my friend, Jon Anderson of Yes for ideas of future music. For one year Mike hardly returned my messages. It was odd. He had estranged himself from nearly all of his California friends from our youth. I guess I was next in line, because all I did was help him with a song idea. One year after the album was released I asked Mike via e-mail if anything was actually going to come out of that thing he mentioned, that I would receive a check. His reply was very disappointing. He said, “I’m sorry if I misspoken, I do not recall and we are not talking about any large sum of money.” I didn’t care, I blew it off. Mike’s friendship was way more important to me than any measure of publishing. But, what I did care about was the fact that the lines of communication had been bad for several months and then it got worse after I asked about the song. After all, the song “It’s You” had very good download numbers on i-tunes and the videos I had made reached 6,000 views each and the CD was out for one year and he already had a newer one out. So, I asked. Mike stopped returning my messages. But, one night during a Yankees playoff game I posted something on Facebook that it was a thing of beauty to see Derek Jeter limping off the field. I was called very bad offensive names by Mike’s new wife and before you knew it I was blocked by both, never to talk to them again. It was very bizarre behavior. I always say that we have to separate the man from the music. I am a big Van Morrison fan, but he is known to be a very unfriendly man, same with Bob Dylan. So, we must separate the art from the artist or we may never be able to enjoy their art. Today, for about 4 years now, I have not listened to this song that I actually co-composed. It’s been too hard. Because a song that had a chorus intended for my wife on that day 5 years ago today was used and taken by a friend who was a close friend of 30+ years. I never received a dollar from the song, but I did get a couple of free CDs! On this day, I thought of this chorus and on this day it was the lowest day of my life on November 8, 2009. https://youtube/watch?v=ZS7HYRBg0bs&feature=youtu.be
Posted on: Sat, 08 Nov 2014 22:58:47 +0000
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