WHEN THE MAB MET THE GB
You want a couple really cool Bluebird stories? I know you do. Well here is one,but you have to kind of back up and see it in context. Sit down campers. This gets involved.
When I moved here on April 1, 1988, I was something of an anomoly. Everything I did seemed to work. I auditioned and played the Bluebird faster than just about anyone (except my friend Paul Jefferson, who did it his first night with no audition). It was hard to get in even then. It was always the best place and where everybody wanted to be. But even I, and becoming good friends with Amy,the owner, could only play there so much. (although looking back, I was there about every six weeks. Oh how things have CHANGED!!!LOL!) It was my main hang out.
But I also played all over the place. My first "official' night as a resident was at Douglas Corner. And I started playing there regularly. There were other places, Every Monday night was THE THIRD COAST, where I met and worked with Chuck Cannon, Stephony Smith, Lari White, Deana Carter, and all the real hot stars that would come out later. (including Gary that guy Justin and OD saw me with in Huntsville.) On Tuesday nights, the Hall of Fame, on Thusdays, the Commodore on Friday's and Saturday's, the Bluebird on Sundays. And there were always a few others that would pop up and then close. I would hit them all. Some times I would do two a night. Even did three one time. On Wed. there was no writers nights, so I did stand up comedy night. One of the guys I did that with is running for judge now. His name is Adam Dread. Funny as Hell. Imagine that. "JUDGE DREAD!!!"
So I was hitting everything and quickly I became the "Big finish at the end.' I was catching fire everywhere being talked about in offices and behind the scenes. Had record people, publsihers,managers, etc. all coming up to me, everywhere. THERE'S A NEW KID IN TOWN!!!!
About 6 months in, as I was getting known EVERYWHERE, I was called into the office of my ASCAP rep, Tom Long. (I thought I was in trouble AGAIN! They NEVER CALL PEOPLE IN.) Tom sat me down, offered me drinks, got me comfortable, etc. Then started asking me all kinds of questions about what was going on with me, because "my name was popping up all over." I told him about the things going on. Then he said, "ASCAP is doing a concert series called "The old and New Dog Show" and it would be at the Bluebird once a month, featuring the new up and comers and the old hit writers. Was going to be a big deal and they wanted me for the third one. I was pretty fired up. Then he hit me with what he wanted to talk to me about.
"The first one is tonight at the Bird and I want you to go. There is a new guy in town that's going to be a big star and is playing the show tonight.' I have been talking to him about you and want you two to meet. Go up and tell him I sent you. He will know who you are."
So I did. I got there and it was so packed there was a line outside. Sounds like today right? Well, they have this little speaker outside and you can hear everything going on inside. the Bluebird went smoke free years before anyone else, and that was a way to get the smokers outside. So there I am and I see this guy getting up and plugging in. He had this huge cowboy hat and seemed like a lot of the other guys we always get here. Then he started playing.
The first song was "Much Too Young to Feel this Damn Old." The second was "If Tomorrow Never Comes."
Yep. That was GARTH BROOKS.
I will tell you, there was an electricity I have never felt before or sense. I have felt people have it on times I have played and hit that stream that runs down your back when everything just works. but not like this. There was an etheral light about him and he just captivated every one in the overpacked house. You could feel it outside. There was something about his EYES, that he looked right through you into your soul. And of course the songs were amazing. He pulled it off better than anyone I have ever known, and I have no problem saying that he would have blown me off the stage. And that is pretty hard to do. Gotta acknowledge the KING.
At any rate, he finishes and gets a standing ovation. Everybody is slapping him on the back, shaking hands, and trying to talk to him. Then he did a very odd thing. The Bird is so small when you finish you need to get your guitar and case out of the way, so other people will have room. So he did. He came outside right where I was standing, his wife at the time, Sandy, on his arm, and put his case in his car, which I was standing next to. Before I could say "Great Job!" He looked at me and said "You're Marc-Alan Barnette arent you?" I was kind of taken aback, and said "Yeah."
He then told me about seeing me perform and named off one of my songs, "Can't Blame Nobody But Me" and how great that was. He told me about Tom Long talking to him and said we had to get together and write. We could contact each other through ASCAP and would do it in a few days. We talked for about 5 minutes, mostly him telling me how great I was, and then he had to go back inside. Everyone was wanting him.
Now first of all, this guy has every major label guy in Nashville INSIDE, and he is out there talking to ME. The second I would find out the next day, that Lynn Shultz, of Capital Records, actually signed him that night. An interesting thing about that, was that Shultz, had turned him DOWN that same day before that show. Lynn was a friend of Ralph Murphy, who was supposed to play in the slot that Garth played in. But Ralph was out of town and couldn't make it. He told them to put Garth in his place. Ralph's mother is still pissed at him for that. LOL!
But Garth had been turned down 19 times by labels and was about two weeks away from moving back home to Oklahoma and giving it all up.
This was his second stab at Nashville. The first had come in 1986, where he moved to town and never unpacked his U-Haul. He had decided he wasn't good enough for Nashville and went back with his tail between his legs. His wife Sandy, bitched at him until he came back in 87. He had gotten here six months before me. He had been the new kid in town,but had been rejected by everyone because they were looking for more "bluesy sounding singers."Nobody wanted that "Traditional sounding crap."
So I never got to write with him, but did see him three times after he bacame huge and he always remembered me. The thing that puzzled me was where he saw me. I could never figure that out. Then I found out about it a year after that.
I was in a meeting with my Brother In Law at the time, Stan Byrd. Stan managed a few artists like Mark Chestnut, and Tom Wopat, from the TV show, DUKES OF HAZZARD. Stan also had a publishing company and a radio promotion company. He was telling me how bad the future was going to get, that there would be no more staff writing deals and that this new thing, the Internet, would destroy the music business in the future. This was 1989. How true he was.
But as I am sitting there getting depressed, this other artist comes in that Stan was managing. his name was Doug Supernaw, and he had just been signed to a deal. He looks at me and says "You're Marc-alan Barnette arent you?" Again, I said Yeah?" What is it about all these people? He says, "I saw you blow Garth Brooks off the stage one night." Now I KNEW that hadn't happened and for the next few minutes he tells me all about this club, that neither of us could remember the name of,and how great I was, blah blah blah. Something about guys in cowboy hats I guess.
He described everything in detail. The club being downstairs, the crowd, all kinds of stuff. But I couldn't remember it at all.
I still didn't remember and he left. A few days after THAT I remembered it. The reason I did not remember was that it was not my songs I was singing. It was a friend of mine who had hired me AND Garth to sing two of his songs. Garth went on before me, so I missed him. But he saw me. But THAT WAS NOT EVEN WHERE GARTH NEW ME FROM.
Now....for....THE REST OF THE STORY.
Garth had seen me, but it was not that night. It was the same club, which I still don't remember the name of, but it was two nights later. I was playing in that same club as the feature on a writers night. At the end of my set, two guys came up to me and asked me what I was doing with my closing song, "CAN'T BLAME NOBODY BUT ME." The guy talking, an older guy was really all over me and I said the five dumbest words I have ever said:
I told him I was hanging on to it for myself, "I'M GONNA BE AN ARTIST!!!!" (DUH!)
He said, "you should. You are great and that is a great song." He shook my hand and left.
That guy was named Bob Doyle. The guy standing behind him was GARTH BROOKS. Yep. I pretty much turned down a Garth Brooks cut.
You never know who you are talking to.
MAB