We got our masters back from the first record and they have been remixed.
I knew where the record company owner lived. About 75 minutes from me in a remote corner of the DMV.
A full 36 years had passed and the rights to the master tape reverted to us. It was time to reach out … in a gentlemanly fashion.
I wrote a letter, saying I had not heard from him since the late-1980s. Were there any unpaid royalties or outstanding statements? Can we get the tapes back?
He responded by letter that he held a meeting with the acts on his label, saying that record distributors weren’t pushing his product, there were no more royalties on sales and don’t expect unsold LPs to be returned. So he was shutting down the company.
I don’t recall that meeting. I recall a disconnected phone number and mail that came back.
Then I sent him an email to his work address telling him I would show up. (Pro tip: learn to use the free trace-a-person tools that are out there.) I did not want to wait for him to mail the tape. I went to his country house on a cold, rainy morning in late spring. He was waiting for me, smoking on his front porch.
We exchanged pleasantries and I got the master digital audio tape and two copies of our video for the “The Well,” one of which was busted. I drove to the nearest FedEx and sent the audio tape to Bob Hair, who immediately went to work remixing.
The results blend old tunes with new tools. You will be able to hear and download them in July 2024.
For an idea of what you’ll get, click on the first song here, “Shake Your Jewelry.”
A video to “The Well” is here
A strange unauthorized version of “He Said No” is here
