29 years???
There are a few expressions I really don't care for:
>Bucket List
>Once In A Lifetime
>$#@% Happens
>It Is What It Is
>Time Flies
The drag is, time does fly.
The Bad album may not feel like we were in the studio couple months ago, but there is no way it was 29 years ago. (Actually the production would have been going on 30 years ago).
The Bad album was recorded at Westlake Studio D, on Santa Monica Blvd in West Hollywood, CA. To this day it is a beautiful studio with several cool little features.
>It has it's one mini-kitchen (basically a coffee bar)
>A bathroom with a shower (which we used to record many of the percussion sounds on the album)
>A motorized skylight (I seem to remember one in the recording room and one in Michael's lounge upstairs)
>An upstairs kitchen and lounge
>A private entrance off the parking lot (nice for slipping VIPs in without drawing a lot of attention)
>Some of the loudest speakers I have ever worked with
>A huge control room - particularly for the late 1980's
The classic Westlake "feel" is everywhere (sloping ceiling, uneven walls, stretched fabric panels, no 90-degree angles, etc.).
One of my many memories of the Bad album is Quincy's chicken sandwiches.
Quincy had a chef by the name of John-Luke. This guy could cook. At least once a week he would show up with a plate of simple chicken sandwiches that were amazing. I have never tasted a chicken sandwich that came close to them. The chicken was moist and tender, with just mayo, a sliver of jalapeno and a bit of salt and pepper, served on toast cut into triangles. I have tried to replicate them - no luck.
Bruce had his original Macintosh 128 on a rolling cart next to him at the console, with a box of floppy drives. We would type out lyrics, liner notes, to-do lists, etc., and print them up for the project.
He also had his mug of coffee (typically half coffee and half hot water) on a coaster next to his Mac. Bruce would walk into the studio a few minutes before noon (downbeat was at noon), and open his briefcase and settle in for day at hand. He was the captain of the ship - and Quincy would constantly be calling him "Svensk!" Bruce also loved Butterfingers, and there was always one stashed away somewhere for an after-dinner snack.
Rod would usually find a spot next to Quincy or Michael, and he would commence filling several ashtrays throughout the day. I seem to remember we had air cleaners near him, but I never remember the studio really smelling of smoke. Rod was always quick with a joke in his thick British accent, and he was remarkably generous, funny and talented. He also has the most exaggerated head-bob of almost anyone I have ever seen. When the groove hits him his head bobs front-to-back like a well-oiled machine. Pity the demo that received no head-bobbing approval.
Neither Rod nor Quincy could drive. Quincy was always driven in by one of his security team, while Rod usually grabbed a taxi from his home on Mulholland.
Chris Currell was always at his seat at the Synclavier in the corner, experimenting with sounds on this enormous machine. I remember there would always be a competition between Michael and Peter Gabriel as to who had the largest, most powerful Synclav. I remember helping unbox new memory boards and learning they they were roughly a quarter the cost of my house. Chris was - big surprise here - remarkably friendly and easy to get along with. Zero drama, lots of talent.
Craig Johnson was on the other side of the room, manning the patch bay, the outboard gear, the tape machines, the tape vault, the synchronizer, etc. Craig also kept the mood light and fun, particularly with puns.
Miko Brando would sometimes drive Michael, other times he would just be around to take care of errands, bring things in, or just hang out with us. He was very close to Michael and truly a pleasure to be around. I would sit in the small studio kitchen with Miko on many occasions and help with tasks that Michael needed done, or just swap stories with him. His were better.
Mark Hagen was another part of the comedy team. Mark was working on an apprenticeship with Bruce, and he was both a solid helper as well as a good friend. I think he and I both wound up driving Michael or Rod or Quincy at one time or another - funny how nearly half of the team didn't drive! Mark and I both had other sessions to attend to throughout the project, but we always found ourselves back in Studio D in the afternoon or evening.
Along the way were constant visits from Siedah, Frank Dileo, John Barnes, Jerry Hey, The Slam Dunk Sisters, Jolie Levine, Evvy Tavaski, Norma Skaikos - and of course Bill Bray (among many others).
Everyone loved Bill. He used to call Michael "Joker".
"You know what that Joker did?" he would ask me. "He threw my shoes out of the window in Tokyo, and I had to walk around in my socks to buy new ones!" Then he would laugh in his beautiful gravelly voice. One of the sweetest men you could ever hope to meet.
Bill always seems to show up around dinner time (5pm or so) and we would tease him about it. More laughter, more friendship.
In the center of all was Michael. The remarkably talented, sweet, funny, humble guy who I was fortunate enough to have an ongoing working relationship for nearly two decades. We had gotten to know each other during the production of Captain EO with Matt Forger in Westlake Studio A, and now he had invited me to help on this project.
He would show up early for vocal warm-ups with Seth Riggs, and many times it would just be the three of us in the studio, getting ready for the day. He was always cold, so we had heaters for him, as we had to keep the studio cool for all of the gear. He would greet everyone with a hug when he arrived, and when he left.
He almost always wore black chords, a heavy long-sleeve shirt, his black shoes, and sometimes a huge jacket. And of course the hat and Ray Bans. He was a rock star, and he always looked great.
Michael Bush would sometimes stop by to show Michael some new outfits, and he may have tried them on upstairs for fitting, but he never wore them in the control room with us. I seem to remember Joe Pytka stopping by, as well as Emmanual Lewis. He came by several times.
The animals would also come for visits, including Bubbles and two young chimps that I am trying to recall their names - Lucy? Muscles the python stopped by once or twice, but not very often. More than once I would be tasked with holding Bubbles or one of the smaller chimps while Michael sang. Not gonna lie - it was fun.
I remember his favorite snack food during the project - pomegranates. Here's the thing - pomegranates are a mess to eat, with purple juice all over your fingers and running down your chin. Michael could care less - he just loved them! He would tear into them sitting right next to Bruce at the console, getting juice all over his hands and the leather armrest of the console. Once he left the room Mark or I would grab some paper towels and give it a bit of a scrubbing.
Another favorite snack was popcorn. Air-popped popcorn. We ate so much of it that the Slam Dunk Sisters actually had two machines upstairs to keep it coming. We thought were were being "healthy", but after they poured about a cup of butter into each bag, I think the health part went out the skylight. But it was good, and after a couple hours the floor had popcorn scattered everywhere.
Bruce had many "sayings" that he was famous for through the years. One of my favorites was after a huge meal that the Slam Dunk Sisters would provide he would groan, "The only thing wrong with this meal is it ruined my appetite!" That's Bruce 101, and Michael loved it.
Michael started called me "Really Really Brad" almost every time I walked into the room. It was funny and a sort of cool. I knew Bad was going to be a single, but none of us knew it was be the album title. Back then we just called it "The Project." Bruce would also sometimes call me "Really Really Brad", but Quincy always called me "Braddy Daddy". Could I ask for a better nickname from Quincy Jones?
It was fun. It was pure magic. The songs were coming a mile a minute and even though the days/nights were sometimes very long, the vibe was incredible. I think for every bar of music recorded there was a minute of laughter in the room. A room full of friends. A studio family.
As the project went on the songs got bigger. TWYMMF was like a wall of thunder. Smooth Criminal was electric. Then came Man In The Mirror. Bruce would play Mirror for almost every guest that came in, at full volume. It was common for us to replace at least one 18" subwoofer per week. Seriously. There were four 18" subs in the room, and we would blow through them like crazy. It was like NASCAR when a sub would blow - a couple of us could have it replaced in maybe three minutes.
It doesn't seem 29 years ago, but the calendar doesn't lie. I remember during the project there was a little girl trapped in a well (baby Jessica) that we all watched on TV day by day as they finally successfully rescued her. The Chernobyl accident was also around that time. That was also when I bought my first CD player, which sat proudly on my Beta machine at home.
29 years did fly by - but no - I won't insert a Speed Demon pun here.
HOUSEKEEPING TIME
I have some seminar news for you! I have had to push back our trip to Europe this fall due to scheduling conflicts, but here is the TENTATIVE plan for the coming months for In The Studio With MJ:
London - Oct 15
Dublin - Oct 18/19
Berlin - Oct 22
Mexico City - Nov 12
Australia (Cities/Dates TBD) - Jan 2017
Thanks for your ongoing support, notes, comments and such.
Faithfully -
Really, Really Brad
