To be honest, there were moments where Billy's indignation over music business "Pharisees" made me back away for a second -- for example, when I suggested that radio isn't necessarily responsible for denying listeners access to music. ("Hey, excuse me! I'm sorry!"). Yet when we exited the restaurant, we parted as friends -- not say that we were actually "friends" but because this was our third interview we had achieved a bit of familiarity.
This is totally amazing. Thanks so much for digging this up and posting. He was on a tear and I agree with just about everything he said, which makes it that much cooler. Must have been something else being there for this.
Thank you very much for this, Bob; I've been waiting for it. One of the all-time greats. I well remember sitting in your office at Musician listening to the interview tape and laughing about the priests and rabbis and the frequent punctuation provided by (even more) pouring of the wine. BTW, I just checked and the much-shortened print version of this conversation appeared in the December 1997 issue.
"I got paid fifteen dollars, which in 1964 was like fifteen hundred dollars. I said, 'You get paid for this shit? You gotta be kidding me!' That was it; it was all over but the shouting."
I laughed out loud when I read that. Growing up I was exposed to all sorts of art, from Toulouse-Lautrec, to Beverly Sills, to Baryshnikov, to Frank Lloyd Wright. So I got involved with art, specifically drawing, painting, etc. My first year of high school I decided to take a drafting class. Being an anal retentive detail-oriented type I liked the combination of creating/designing with the graphic nature of producing construction documents. Towards the end of the first semester Mr. Mac, the teacher, handed me a couple of diagrams and asked me to produce a set of CDs for a concession stand with a press box above. When I finished he reviewed them, pulled out his wallet, and gave me $15. I asked him what that was for, and he said: "We're going to build it, you should be paid." My thoughts were almost verbatim to Joel's.
So I've been in the business now for over forty-five years, licensed for thirty, and still enjoy what I do. Smart man, Billy Joel is. Thanks for sharing this.
By the way, the press box/concession stand is still standing at the baseball field after forty-five years, having been exposed to several hurricanes and the wear of time. My wife and I are planning a trip back home in May, so I'll see if I can get a closer look.
To be honest, there were moments where Billy's indignation over music business "Pharisees" made me back away for a second -- for example, when I suggested that radio isn't necessarily responsible for denying listeners access to music. ("Hey, excuse me! I'm sorry!"). Yet when we exited the restaurant, we parted as friends -- not say that we were actually "friends" but because this was our third interview we had achieved a bit of familiarity.
This is totally amazing. Thanks so much for digging this up and posting. He was on a tear and I agree with just about everything he said, which makes it that much cooler. Must have been something else being there for this.
Thank you very much for this, Bob; I've been waiting for it. One of the all-time greats. I well remember sitting in your office at Musician listening to the interview tape and laughing about the priests and rabbis and the frequent punctuation provided by (even more) pouring of the wine. BTW, I just checked and the much-shortened print version of this conversation appeared in the December 1997 issue.
Amazing piece. Thank you. 🙏🏻
"I got paid fifteen dollars, which in 1964 was like fifteen hundred dollars. I said, 'You get paid for this shit? You gotta be kidding me!' That was it; it was all over but the shouting."
I laughed out loud when I read that. Growing up I was exposed to all sorts of art, from Toulouse-Lautrec, to Beverly Sills, to Baryshnikov, to Frank Lloyd Wright. So I got involved with art, specifically drawing, painting, etc. My first year of high school I decided to take a drafting class. Being an anal retentive detail-oriented type I liked the combination of creating/designing with the graphic nature of producing construction documents. Towards the end of the first semester Mr. Mac, the teacher, handed me a couple of diagrams and asked me to produce a set of CDs for a concession stand with a press box above. When I finished he reviewed them, pulled out his wallet, and gave me $15. I asked him what that was for, and he said: "We're going to build it, you should be paid." My thoughts were almost verbatim to Joel's.
So I've been in the business now for over forty-five years, licensed for thirty, and still enjoy what I do. Smart man, Billy Joel is. Thanks for sharing this.
By the way, the press box/concession stand is still standing at the baseball field after forty-five years, having been exposed to several hurricanes and the wear of time. My wife and I are planning a trip back home in May, so I'll see if I can get a closer look.
Soft cock. Classy.
did you ask him about Liberty Devitto?