This was an eye opener for me. Here was a guy that never thought it wouldn't work, he just pursued it. I will always be thankful to him because I learned a lesson in humility from him. But I had my thinking cap on from that time on. This might be the way. My wife was a real estate agent, but she really is a sales person. She can sell anything. She kept telling me that she could book me, but In the secular world, most of the places to play that paid anything were usually controlled by booking agents already. So I never paid much attention. But the night I came home and told her the Frog Pond had ended, I told her "Baby, you say you can book me. OK. Put me in a Wal Mart and I'm going to use that first album I made Mom and Dad to get started. I had already started using backing tracks and playing guitar at the Frog Pond when Dirk would sometimes go and do weddings. I just covered for us to keep the Frog Pond happy while he was gone.
I had been reworking that tape I had made my Mom and Dad as my equipment got better and better and it was about done. Two more songs to go. I jumped in, finished it, and mixed it down and then did another pass leaving out the lead vocal. I put these on Mini Discs and used them to sing to. By that time I could duplicate cassettes and knew where to get covers printed. We made up a hundred copies and she booked me at the Wal Mart in Dublin GA. I only worked the after noon and sold 22 tapes. I made almost as much as half a week in a club. Little did I know that would be the lowest sales we ever had except for one exception later on. It just got better and better and within a short time she had me doing grand openings for the super centers that were starting to open up. We had many places we could go back to whenever we wanted. I was never off! There were Wal Marts everywhere. Then one of the managers we worked for in Stockbridge GA introduced us to his Dad who was a regional manager out of TN. Now we no longer had to ask permission. He just asked us where we'd like to go and he would arrange it. Sweet.
One thing that I struggled with in my change over to Gospel was that I was always running in to the idea that if you do Gospel music, you shouldn't charge for it. But one has to eat and you need a place to stay, not to mention equipment to play through and a vehicle to get there with. So I finally realized that if I tried to make those people happy, this was not going to work and no one would be blessed. So I finally just put that thought behind me since it seemed like I was just being led at that time. Doors began to open.
I built a bigger studio, got much better equipment and life was good. But then, the union tried to sue Wal Mart and they told them if they were going to let entertainers like me in the store, they were suing to get their people in. We were called outside vendors. Wal mart did not pay us, but we could sell our product. So to counter the suit, Wal mart basically said OK, no more outside vendors. So it ended December of 1999. But God provides. I made fast friends with the manager in Thomson GA of the Wal mart there and he had been transferred of all places to the store in Conyers, about 5 miles from my house in Covington. He let me play there the last two weeks of December. I was able to make enough for us to live on for a few months as well as buying a CD replicator. Now we had CD's and Cassettes, just no where to play, not like Wal mart anyway. Not to mention I had recorded 3 more albums in the meantime.
I had been reworking that tape I had made my Mom and Dad as my equipment got better and better and it was about done. Two more songs to go. I jumped in, finished it, and mixed it down and then did another pass leaving out the lead vocal. I put these on Mini Discs and used them to sing to. By that time I could duplicate cassettes and knew where to get covers printed. We made up a hundred copies and she booked me at the Wal Mart in Dublin GA. I only worked the after noon and sold 22 tapes. I made almost as much as half a week in a club. Little did I know that would be the lowest sales we ever had except for one exception later on. It just got better and better and within a short time she had me doing grand openings for the super centers that were starting to open up. We had many places we could go back to whenever we wanted. I was never off! There were Wal Marts everywhere. Then one of the managers we worked for in Stockbridge GA introduced us to his Dad who was a regional manager out of TN. Now we no longer had to ask permission. He just asked us where we'd like to go and he would arrange it. Sweet.
One thing that I struggled with in my change over to Gospel was that I was always running in to the idea that if you do Gospel music, you shouldn't charge for it. But one has to eat and you need a place to stay, not to mention equipment to play through and a vehicle to get there with. So I finally realized that if I tried to make those people happy, this was not going to work and no one would be blessed. So I finally just put that thought behind me since it seemed like I was just being led at that time. Doors began to open.
I built a bigger studio, got much better equipment and life was good. But then, the union tried to sue Wal Mart and they told them if they were going to let entertainers like me in the store, they were suing to get their people in. We were called outside vendors. Wal mart did not pay us, but we could sell our product. So to counter the suit, Wal mart basically said OK, no more outside vendors. So it ended December of 1999. But God provides. I made fast friends with the manager in Thomson GA of the Wal mart there and he had been transferred of all places to the store in Conyers, about 5 miles from my house in Covington. He let me play there the last two weeks of December. I was able to make enough for us to live on for a few months as well as buying a CD replicator. Now we had CD's and Cassettes, just no where to play, not like Wal mart anyway. Not to mention I had recorded 3 more albums in the meantime.
By this time that little voice was speaking louder and louder about that Gospel music thing. So I told Dirk that I could no longer play clubs. I didn't know how, but I was going to be a Gospel singer.
While playing with Dirk, he basically carried the load and we never had to rehearse since we already knew each others material, I had been building a studio beside my house which had two acres of land. I had started producing Gospel music in the studio even though I was still finishing up my secular career. Then one day a friend of mine came by the studio to talk. Back in Crab 'n' Claw days he would come by and play his fun machine keyboard that had auto accompaniment so he could play one note in the left hand to establish the key and rhythm, and then he'd play a melody to go with it in his right hand and he was pretty good with it. He wanted to make a Cassette. I knew he didn't have much money and I did not want to take advantage of him so I told him that the way he played, he really did not need to multi track anything since he did it all at one time. So I suggested to him that he get a dual well cassette player and record each piece until he had it like he wanted it, then assemble all the good takes on to one master cassette that he could then use to make copies. I figured no more than he would sell one copy at a time off the dual well would be enough. I was wrong.
Some time later he brings me a C-90 cassette full of songs. 90 minutes worth. Turns out he was buying tapes ten at a time from Turtles and his wife was writing the titles on the little card that came in the cassette by hand. But here was the surprise. "Bird, I need help. I've started playing at Wal Mart and we can't make the tapes fast enough any more. I sell 10 or 15 every time I play." So we designed him a cover and I did his duplications for him. This is how I found out that at that time, Wal Mart would let people come in and sell there products and give wal mart a percentage. Turned out though that those of us who were considered entertainment were allowed to come in and sell our CD's and tapes and not have to pay the percentage. We were all called outside vendors.
While playing with Dirk, he basically carried the load and we never had to rehearse since we already knew each others material, I had been building a studio beside my house which had two acres of land. I had started producing Gospel music in the studio even though I was still finishing up my secular career. Then one day a friend of mine came by the studio to talk. Back in Crab 'n' Claw days he would come by and play his fun machine keyboard that had auto accompaniment so he could play one note in the left hand to establish the key and rhythm, and then he'd play a melody to go with it in his right hand and he was pretty good with it. He wanted to make a Cassette. I knew he didn't have much money and I did not want to take advantage of him so I told him that the way he played, he really did not need to multi track anything since he did it all at one time. So I suggested to him that he get a dual well cassette player and record each piece until he had it like he wanted it, then assemble all the good takes on to one master cassette that he could then use to make copies. I figured no more than he would sell one copy at a time off the dual well would be enough. I was wrong.
Some time later he brings me a C-90 cassette full of songs. 90 minutes worth. Turns out he was buying tapes ten at a time from Turtles and his wife was writing the titles on the little card that came in the cassette by hand. But here was the surprise. "Bird, I need help. I've started playing at Wal Mart and we can't make the tapes fast enough any more. I sell 10 or 15 every time I play." So we designed him a cover and I did his duplications for him. This is how I found out that at that time, Wal Mart would let people come in and sell there products and give wal mart a percentage. Turned out though that those of us who were considered entertainment were allowed to come in and sell our CD's and tapes and not have to pay the percentage. We were all called outside vendors.
During my solo period early on after building the studio and getting better equipment, I began to produce more and more Gospel music. It was becoming my first love though I still struggled through giving up performing as I had always known it. But two ladies came into my life via the studio. Anita Bray and Carol Westbrook (now May). They came in to do projects of their own, but I recognized several things about them not the least of which was that they could sing.
I was about to embark on my second album, Gospel Ship, and, being a vocal man, I had an idea of how I wanted to do the vocals. Rather than me do my harmonies like I would normally do, I asked them to do the back up for me in a some what contrapuntal way. Some what a “call and response” type of harmony. They agreed and we had a great time working on that album. I still enjoy listening to it now and then though I heard it hundreds of times in my performing days.
Well, we had finished 4 songs and a church, that I eventually became a member of, invited us to come sing for them on new years eve, I believe it was 97/98 but not sure. We were still individual artists at that time and were to each do our “set”. I had this idea though that we could finish the evening together and do the 4 songs we had completed. We did and it was magic! Don’t remember exactly how it came about but we decided to, in addition to our solo work, get together from time to time and perform as “Joyful Noise”. My brother Ken joined us for a while as well singing bass. It was great singing with them.
I miss them a lot, but it was a lot of work not to be full time and life finally got in the way. Grand kids etc. and we just didn’t want to travel much anymore. Maybe the favorite group I was ever in though, certainly not to be full time. But I guess that was the magic. We didn’t have to do it, we just enjoyed it. I love those ladies!
I was about to embark on my second album, Gospel Ship, and, being a vocal man, I had an idea of how I wanted to do the vocals. Rather than me do my harmonies like I would normally do, I asked them to do the back up for me in a some what contrapuntal way. Some what a “call and response” type of harmony. They agreed and we had a great time working on that album. I still enjoy listening to it now and then though I heard it hundreds of times in my performing days.
Well, we had finished 4 songs and a church, that I eventually became a member of, invited us to come sing for them on new years eve, I believe it was 97/98 but not sure. We were still individual artists at that time and were to each do our “set”. I had this idea though that we could finish the evening together and do the 4 songs we had completed. We did and it was magic! Don’t remember exactly how it came about but we decided to, in addition to our solo work, get together from time to time and perform as “Joyful Noise”. My brother Ken joined us for a while as well singing bass. It was great singing with them.
I miss them a lot, but it was a lot of work not to be full time and life finally got in the way. Grand kids etc. and we just didn’t want to travel much anymore. Maybe the favorite group I was ever in though, certainly not to be full time. But I guess that was the magic. We didn’t have to do it, we just enjoyed it. I love those ladies!