Wednesday, the humpiest day of them all. A late entry last night, over 1000 words, took a lot out of me, but I was more exhausted from the cold and Arif Mardin’s memorial. It was a great tribute to Arif. I sat there watching the tribute, listening to his family, the speakers, the video clips and noticed that I had come this far to be sitting in a theater at Lincoln Center surrounded by various executives, producers and musicians and how I’m just not involved with that world anymore. I had some good times while working in the music business but overall it sucked.

I remember when I was working at Arista Records outside of Susanne Savage’s office and I looked around thinking that that was the place where I always wanted to be, not necessarily outside of Susanne Savage’s office, but in ‘the biz’ and that’s when I had the epiphany. This was a horrible place to work, filled with horrible people promoting crappy records. I was only freelance so I had no strong ties to anything and the job was going to be ending soon enough. A very similar epiphany happened last night and carried over into today.

It’s just that I’m not involved in the music business anymore and don’t really have any contacts in that business anymore. No more free cd’s, no free tickets, that’s all gone. I’m fine with it. I’ve been getting my music lately online, sometimes legally, sometimes not. Juan has been doing a wonderful job of turning me onto new things, things I would have sneered at previously. Things like Justin Timberlake. I downloaded three of his songs, more surprised than anything that these songs were actually quite good. I remember Steve Fallon back in the day, telling me I was born 10 years too late, how I would’ve done great in the music business in the 1970’s.

I’d also probably would’ve been dead by now if that was the case. Drugs, Aids, something would’ve killed me. I’m glad to be in the time that I’m in, despite various difficulties. These are the good old days sang Carly Simon. She was at the tribute last night by the way. Last night I ran into Donna Kloepfer and Barry BonGiovi at the tribute. Donna, who’s been working in the recording studio world for quite a while, over ten years is itching to get out. Barry is already out of the business, I think he said he was selling cars in Central Jersey. I guess his cousin Jon couldn’t help him out. Or maybe he did and Barry politely declined.

Gloria, Arif’s former assistant is out of the business also having reached the heights of Vice President at Atlantic Records. Both worlds collided this afternoon when Corey Williams, a dear friend who married his wife Ann Marie on September 12 stopped by. I knew Corey from when I worked at Right Track, then worked alongside him at Arista. Now that Arista has folded he’s now at Atlantic and he too is looking to get out. He stopped by the office after I received his resume and he interviewed with Naomi (who certainly has a wild hair up her butt lately).

We talked a little bit, a few jokes from the past. I think it was the first time the people I work with ever heard me laugh like that. I hope Golden Staffing could help him, but in the meantime it wouldn’t hurt him to cast a wider net. One of these days, I’ll write down all the artists I worked with through the years. One of these days.

I found this on the net regarding Arif Mardin’s tribute last night.
“I feel like we’re one step closer to the end of an era,” Phil Collins said last night at the star-studded Lincoln Center memorial service for famed record producer Arif Mardin . “I liked that era, and I don’t want it to be over.” But it is, isn’t it?