Javier and his wife came all the way from Eagle Pass, TX for this
This year’s Record Store Day was the coolest ever. In past years, I tend to show up in the afternoon because I’m usually working or had other plans. When Waterloo Records stated that Garbage would be there for autographs and only 300 people would get the opportunity, well I had to be there before the place opened. I totally spaced on getting tickets to their sold-out show at La Zona Rosa, a much better venue than Austin Music Hall; coincidentally, I almost got my ribs busted seeing Garbage there in ’98. So this autograph opportunity was an even better chance. Besides, when would I ever get to meet Butch Vig and Shirley Manson up close again?
Upon arriving (about 8:30 AM due to Somara needing a ride to work, cursed one-car situation), there was a line around the corner. I cursed, posted something nasty about the Hipsters ahead of me giving their buddies cuts but decided to take my chances. One thing I wasn’t going to do was beg my friend Chip for yet another favor.
The doors opened around 10 AM (sooner I think), the crowd filtered in and my charmed life came to the rescue. The majority came early to gobble up the RSD vinyl specials! There were some treasures/special pressings: the soundtrack to Empire Records, Iggy’s Raw Power (RSD was his birthday so he was made the official ambassador), Lou Reed’s Transformer, Fleetwood Mac’s Rumors, a live 1981 album of Devo (not the King Biscuit show, I have this on CD thanks to Rhino), tons of 7-inches; they’re not all 45s, some are 33 1/3 rpm discs. I was tempted to get this reprinted Buck Owens coloring book to join my Aquabats trinket (A Day at the Rodeo!) yet passed. Below is a movie demonstrating how chaotic it was:
While 90 percent of the people in the store were descending over the vinyl goodies, I got to walk right up to a vacant checkout spot and receive my wristband! There was a condition, I had to buy the 7″ single or pre-purchase Garbage’s upcoming CD Not Your Kind of People…as if I would balk at that! I’ve been pretty stoked about the band’s return after their 2007 single “Tell Me Where It Hurts” showed me they got their collective mojo back. Butch contributed to the last Foo Fighters record and Shirley sang something for Prometheus Bound in the last year which contributed to my jonsin’ for new Garbage.
With my wristband secured, I had to find a way to kill a few hours. Garbage wouldn’t appear until 3:30.
There was some bad news. Their concert had been canceled. Duke’s mother is sick and he wanted to see her. (Duke plays guitars/synths.) It was quite a bummer for some; I met a couple who came all the way from San Francisco and Eagle Pass to see them. Garbage did earn points with me by honoring their promise to appear at Waterloo Records. Think about it. The show’s kaput/postponed (I’m hoping they’ll move it to a larger venue should they swing back here), the band could take the day off, touring is an exhausting grind. I know I would be tempted if I were a rock star.
The time came, the queue was formed, the rules were laid out, etc. I had been pondering for a couple weeks about what I would ask Butch Vig. The man is a legend to my generation. For those of you who don’t recognize his name, Butch was the producer on Nirvana’s breakout Nevermind which propelled him from being just this guy with a studio in Madison, WI to the most-sought-out producer throughout the Nineties: Smashing Pumpkins owe him a debt of gratitude. Butch went on to contribute his skills on stuff by Sonic Youth, Depeche Mode, L7, Crash Vegas, Soul Asylum, Helmet and U2. You may not see Butch as often yet whenever I see his name on contemporary stuff as producer (Jimmy Eat World, Goo Goo Dolls and Foo Fighters), my reservations on buying it are lowered considerably. My ’98 tour shirt did get noticed, mostly for how pristine it looked. I explained my technique: cold water, inside out, air dried and stored away for at least a decade.
Back to actually meeting the band, less hero worship.
Shirley enjoying her Diet Coke, fat guy on the right is me!
Garbage in person was fantastic! All of them were really nice, pleasant and engaging. I think this often surprises people thanks to the West’s obsession with celebrities, schadenfreude and the media’s need for conflict to sell ad space. We know the standard narrative on VH-1’s Behind the Music, Aerosmith would the template while Weird Al’s story is the polar opposite, thus probably isn’t played as often. How bands/artists allegedly behaved up through the Nineties have colored our expectations. Most fans are pretty level-headed too. The overwhelmingly rude or psycho are few and far between. I think the Internet, the major labels losing their iron grip and the decline of Arena Rock have helped erode the barriers for the better.
What did I ask Butch? I couldn’t come up with a question (damn it). I thanked him for making the Midwest cool again, let him know I attended Marquette in the Eighties, a nadir decade for the Midwest scene in my book; and thanked him for showing my Nineties detractors on how Macs were vital in making music. I think he was taken aback by my spouting off which hardware was used for Version 2.0; PowerMac 8600 with ProTools. Butch smiled, said computers are a big help nowadays, especially with Logic and all the tracks you can store. He gets these other people wanting to use tape, why?
I thanked Steve (guitars/synths) for coming, have a great tour and please come back to visit. Same for Shirley. Her Scottish accent is charming. Shirley is a trooper to be so nice and smile throughout all these people wanting some facetime like me. I would be exhausted, a bit irritable too, probably afraid of the psychos offering marriage proposals. Below is what they put in my CD insert:
To answer any questions about the fourth autograph in light of Duke being absent, it is Eric Avery. Eric was the original bass player in Jane’s Addiction. He is currently touring with Garbage and appears on the upcoming album. Getting to meet him briefly was an added bonus!
I do want to close with a quick plea for courtesy based upon something I overheard during the autograph session. Somebody skipped Eric intentionally. I suppose the person didn’t recognize him. Butch intervened by passing the item back to let Eric sign it. All I ask is let all the people at the table sign your stuff. They’re present because they contributed. It might be on the recording, it may be a member of the touring band, something. It’s rude and impolite to ignore them. Sure I felt like a tool when I didn’t know immediately who Eric was but I knew he wasn’t present arbitrarily. After I did my homework, getting his John Hancock on the booklet made me happier and makes the story better.
There may be additional pictures from some other people I gave my e-mail address. They may show up, they may not like Nada Surf.
Garbage’s fifth studio album Not Your Kind of People hits the streets in May.