Gene and Karl were there right on time but there was no Bob. The two soon became worried that perhaps there had been an accident as it was totally uncharacteristic of him to be late for any band business meeting, especially one this important.
Only half in jest, I was thinking more sinister thoughts... Sherry the girlfriend had gotten drunk and naked yet again and Bob had killed her, especially after my repeated phone calls to her house with no answer.
Midnight rolls by and by this time we know something bad has happened. We decided to go home and wait by our phones.
Sure enough, there were several messages waiting for me as I walked in. Three were from Sherry crying and another from a fellow whose name and voice I didn't recognize.
Calling Sherry first, through her sobs I made out that indeed Bob had been arrested and was in jail. The charges were felony breaking and entering as well as grand theft.
“What the fuck is going on Sherry?”
She tried to explain. It seems that Bob had been renting a room in a house from an older lady and was accused of breaking into her home safe using an auto body grinder and stealing a large amount of valuable jewelry. The stranger who had left the message for me was the ladies son. What the hell he wanted from me, I had no clue and I was not about to call him back.
“Can you bail him out Mike, please!” Sherry pleaded, still sobbing.
“I’ll see what I can do, try and relax Sherry.”
I got his booking number from her and called the Police Station where he was being held that informed me that due to a past record as well as the large amount of jewelry taken, there would be no bail until a Judge sets the amount at the arraignment in a few days.
This is great. Now I've got to not only break the news to Gene and Karl, but think of a viable excuse to stall the Record Company.
Hearing the news, Gene and Karl were not only angry but devastated that after all the struggles we had finally gotten a record deal, however small it might have been and this could blow the whole thing out of the water.
It did.
The following day, I received a mid-afternoon collect call from Bob who had finally gotten permission to use the jailhouse pay phone.
His first words were “I’m sorry Mike.”
“What the fuck do you mean ‘you're sorry Mike? This is a huge mix-up and we'll get it straightened out and…”
He interrupted. “I did it Mike, I did it....”
What could I say? That was my last conversation with Bob for the next three years. He was sentenced to maximum security.
It was time to rethink everything. Images, as a band was dead. Bob was not only the lead guitarist, but lead vocalist and wrote all the songs as well. Convicted felon or not he was extremely talented and it would be difficult if not impossible to replace him in the band.
Time was marching on, money was running out and a quick personal career decision had to be made. Do I totally forget music, where I had made zero money and go back to real estate deals full time, or ride the storm out and see what develops?
I'd get my answer within 48 hours.
CHAPTER SIX
“Mike!” The enthusiastic voice on the other end of the line was obviously Alan Coffman’s.
“I need to talk to you at length. Nikki and I have some ideas, can you and I meet for lunch?”
“Sure, OK.... where”"
“How’s the Beverly Hilton coffee shop, tomorrow around noon sound?”
“I’ll be there.”
On the short drive over to the Hotel still wondering what exactly was up, I decided that I would be aggressive in our luncheon meeting. Challenge him a bit and make him answer my questions first. If he didn't like my style, there was no use going forward with whatever he had in mind. I had no more time for any bullshit from anyone at this point.
Joining him in a corner booth, I fired the first salvo of questions:
“So, Alan, tell me how did you become interested in the music business?”
He seemed pleased to answer. “Early last November, I was reading an article in Time magazine about the band KISS and their finances. I was stunned by the amount of money that they had made over their career. At the same time I was becoming increasingly bored with my real estate and construction businesses and was looking for a new venture to become involved with.”
“I can certainly relate to that Alan, that’s why I'm sitting here today.”
He went on. It seemed that his wife’s brother who went by the nickname ‘Stick’ had been a guitar tech for Mick Mars for several years in various pre-Crüe bands such as Whitehorse. Stick had driven to Grass Valley from Los Angeles to share Thanksgiving dinner with the Coffman family and over turkey and gravy mentioned that he was involved with Mick in a new ‘KISS-like’ band he felt had great potential.
Alan continued in detail. ‘The KISS-like’ comment… It struck a nerve in me and I remembered the Time article that I had recently read.”
“I asked Stick if they had management or any financial backing. The reply was ‘No way, they're just four starving Hollywood musicians.”
“I told Stick that I might be interested in possibly investing, that I was looking for something new and perhaps I could apply my business skills to developing the band. Only if I like them and see some potential, of course.”
He went on.... “My personal music taste runs from Johnny Cash and John Denver to early Motown. Knowing that, Stick suggested I pick up some rock albums to get a feel for this bands music. He gave me a list that included the Scorpions, Cheap Trick, Alice Cooper and a few others. Later in the week, Stick called me and said he had talked to the band they were anxious to meet me and perform a private showcase, but they didn't have any money to rent a rehearsal hall.”
“I said I would wire the money to L.A. for it... no obligation, how much and when? I flew down the next week and met the guys. From the research on rock that I had been doing, they definitely seemed to have a marketable look and sound.”
Alan explained that he was very impressed with what he heard and had a meeting that lasted for several hours with the guys after his private show in room ‘C’ at Studio Instrument Rentals (S.I.R.) on Sunset Boulevard.
(The same room where the Van Halen "Jump" video was later filmed).
That night, after a handshake management/backing agreement he gave each guy a $50 bill and told them to ‘go have some fun on me.’
He mentioned they looked at the bills in awe,
“It was like they hadn't seen a bill so large in a very long time, if ever.”
Not surprisingly I later learned that the Rainbow as well as the Troubadour front bar was their first stop.
Alan continued his story over lunch....
From his London and Sister days, Nikki had gotten to know the booker of the Starwood, David Forrest, fairly well and with a phone call he had no problem getting the then unheard of Mötley Crüe an opening slot on an upcoming Yesterday & Today (Y & T) show at the club.
Alan had returned to Grass Valley and was working on putting together a formal management contract and budget agreement, spending hours on the phone each day with Nikki going over the details and strategy for the bands promotion and financing.
He made arrangements to fly down for the Starwood show.
As it was a last minute booking, Mötley Crüe was not listed in the L.A. Times Starwood ad for the Y & T show.
The night of the show, the guys were extremely disappointed that Alan had not shown up. ‘Has he changed his mind?’ ‘Maybe it was too good to be true’ they wondered. It turned out that Alan had stood in line to purchase a ticket from the Starwood box office and taken a seat in the clubs balcony. “I truly did not know managers were expected to be in the dressing rooms with the band. I’d never heard of a guest list.” Alan told me with a slight smile.
Hearing this, I’m thinking I’ve got a hell of a lot of work to do if I'm to be involved with this guy.
Seems the first show ended up being successful, despite
Vince leaping off the stage in the middle of the set and punching a drunk in the audience who was chanting: ‘Faggots!’ ‘Faggots!’
No charges were filed. This time at least.
Much to the relief of the band that night, Alan finally appeared backstage and congratulated them on a successful show. He stayed in town for a period and took them on a multi-thousand dollar shopping spree for stage clothes and instruments that included brand new Marshall stacks, SVT bass cabinets and a massive drum kit for Tommy. A professional photographer, Don Akins, was hired to shoot publicity photos and a press kit was designed and printed. There was studio time booked to record a two song demo (‘Toast of the Town’ and ‘Piece of Your Action’), which was first released on cassette and later pressed into a 45 rpm vinyl record.
There were sketches made for the drum riser and other stage props including screens to hide the amps and other sound gear from the audience. Alan said that Nikki wanted the fans to concentrate on the band members, not the equipment, a ‘clean’ stage look. Alan would take the drawings back to Grass Valley and have his carpenters construct them professionally.
Several new dates were booked, including the Troubadour, Pookie’s (which was basically a large sandwich shop in Pasadena), A Whiskey show and a night at Alpine Village in Orange County.
Alan told me that he originally had one major reservation about getting involved with the band and their potential....
The guys were very ‘Hollywood’ and while they appealed to the local Sunset Strip club crowd, how would they be received in Middle America? It was a legitimate concern.
This marketing aspect was critical in his ultimate decision to make a personal financial commitment to the band. Upon his return home in order to ‘test the waters’ he booked several venues in smaller towns in both Northern California and Northern Nevada and started advertising the shows in the rural newspapers.
Initial ticket sales to the shows were very strong. He felt that if nothing else, curiosity and lack of any real competition in these farmland areas for entertainment were a large factor in that.
Without knowing or realizing it, he was utilizing a strategy very common to professional managers and agents, which is to begin even a well known stadium act’s new tour somewhere in the Mid-West or South, well out of the media spotlights of Los Angeles or New York as a ‘test’ to work out whatever rough spots may exist in the shows prior to coming under the eyes and ears of critical press reviewers.
He arranged to rent a Winnebago motor-home and in-law Stick drove the coast route North.
Everyone was invited to stay at the Coffman's large palatial home as their guests.
A very young Crüe outside the Coffman home in Grass Valley, California. Their first ‘tour.’
He went on to say that a disturbing thing happened the first night they were there. He proudly showed Nikki, Mick and Tommy the new drum riser that had been built. He had it strategically placed it in his darkened garage as a ‘presentation’ and when he opened the door, the platform lights lit up not unlike a landing UFO. The boys were all smiles.
(Sometime after the Electra deal, that riser was given as a gift to RATT, repainted red and black and appears in the "Round and Round" video.)
Alan said that he had wondered where Vince was and why he wasn't interested in seeing the new stage props. Walking into his house, Alan overheard Vince on the phone, apparently trying to score ‘something.’
He told me he was amazed that after only a few hours in a new, small town Vince had managed to find the phone number of the local dealer. “I let it ride for the time and hoped that it was an isolated incident.” Although I appreciated his candor, I was a bit surprised that he was so open with me at this point.
By now Alan and I had talked for at least two hours at the table and as interesting as the stories were, I was still wondering what he had asked me there for.
I was blunt....
“Alan, this is all well and good, but the bottom line... What's up? Why am I here?”
“It’s like this. Nikki and I were impressed with you the other day at the studio.”
“Well, thanks...”
“Here's my problem Mike, and it's a big one. I have to spend a certain amount of time up North in order to maintain my established businesses. If I don't continue those operations, I won't have the money to finance the band properly.”
He went on... “I need someone here, here in Los Angeles that can handle Mötley Crüe business on a day to day basis, with my supervision, of course.”
“Someone I can trust to make decisions regarding the band when I'm not around. I want somebody who, even if I end up disagreeing with that decision, I will know had the best interest of the boy’s career in mind when it was made.”
“Secondly, we have to get the guys on the road. Immediately. Anywhere, somewhere.”
“I know Alan, you mentioned that in the studio and I do see your point.”
This later would prove to be a very difficult task. Even though Mötley was fast becoming the biggest draw in L.A, even in cities as nearby as San Diego, Las Vegas, Phoenix or San Francisco club owners and bookers would innevibitly ask “Mötley Who?” and at best offer a Tuesday night slot opening for the God-only-knows local act for $50 and free beers.
He continued. “Thirdly, I need someone who can keep the guys sober and out of trouble.”
Compared to this one, the previous ‘get the guys on the road’ assignment later proved to be a walk on the beach on a summer day.
“Are you interested Mike? Bobby Dean recommends you highly and told me that frankly, you know more about the music business than I do.”
I wasn’t sure that was exactly a complement but laughing to myself, I bit my lip to avoid the obvious response which would have been, “Well, Bobby’s sure as hell right, I do know more than you as I like to be with my bands in the dressing room pre-show and I know managers generally don't pay for tickets to the shows.”
None-the-less I answered him. “I’m very interested Alan, but don't forget I haven't even seen the band live or heard their music yet. That would be the first step, so I’ll know what I'm dealing with.”
“Fair enough Mike, that makes sense...Come to the Roxy Saturday, I'll leave you a backstage pass at the box-office. We just hired an opening band from Germany called Dökken. You'll enjoy them too.”
I didn't bring up the fact that Dökken was basically a Southern California based band as I guessed he was confused by the fact they had just returned from a small club tour of Germany.
I asked “The Roxy? You mentioned that at the studio last week.” I was impressed that the Roxy had booked a metal night and had chosen the Crüe. At the time basically a blues and pop venue featuring such diverse acts as Jose Feliciano, The Smothers Brothers and Marty Balin, The Roxy was considered the finest showroom on the Strip.
“Yep, the Roxy, Mike”
Alan picked up the tab and as we walked out to the parking lot together, he said “I feel real good about our conversation, I hope we can get together on this and go forward.”
“Me too, I’ll see you Saturday.”
As I was heading to my car, Alan yelled. “Oh Mike, one more question...”
The Roxy goes metal. The Crüe and Dökken were the first true hard rock bands to grace their stage since 1973 when The New York Dolls closed ‘The Rocky Horror Show.’
I stopped and turned around. “What's that?”
“Are you a Jew?”
Taken aback by such an off-the-wall question, I simply replied “No, why?”
“Just curious,” he mumbled, grinned and went to his car.
Later, pondering what had ended up being more than a three hour discussion, I was becoming more and more excited about getting into what appeared to be a truly professional management situation, especially where the financial burden would not be entirely on my back, if at all.
Although I put it out of my mind for the moment, that last question bothered me. Why would he ask such a thin
g? Did he want me to be Jewish or want me not too? What the hell difference did it make? I had no problems with anybody’s ethnicity what-so-ever and didn’t appreciate being asked mine.
I decided to spend the next couple of days at the Benedict Canyon house trying to hustle the workers to get the job finished post haste, and attempting to avoid thinking about the music business. Still, I was greatly looking forward to the forthcoming Saturday night.
I suddenly remembered that due to all the commotion within the last 10 days, what with Bob being arrested and the death of Images, my meetings with Alan and Nikki, and maintaining a day-to-day construction business, I had forgotten to call Steve (Blackie).
That would have to wait, at least until after the Crüe show.
Saturday rolls around and I decided to have an early dinner by myself at the Rainbow and just walk next door to the Roxy. Sure enough, I was guest-listed and a backstage pass was waiting for me at the box office.
I went upstairs to the dressing room where I was greeted by Alan.
“Glad you could make it. By the way, you haven't met our singer Vince yet?” and introduced us.
After some small talk, Alan went on to say with some concern that Nikki wanted to take all the colored gels off the stage lighting and do the show with only bright white lights, and that he didn't think it was a good idea.
“What do you think Mike?”
I disagreed. Although I’d never seen a rock show without colored lighting, what with the colorful stage props and costumes I’d heard about I felt perhaps Nikki was right, it would be a unique effect.
“I vote for the white lights, might as well experiment.”
Out of the corner of my eye I saw Nikki grinning on the dressing room couch.
Metal, Madness & Mayhem - An Insiders Journey Through The Hollywood 80s Page 5