The NY trip was a flop and getting worse. The new dancer, Alaina, they hired to replace me got terribly sick. She, in turn, gave the crud to Billy who literally spent nearly the entire 6-weeks coughing. Steve gave Alaina his airline ticket and she flew home. Mick and Keith also got fed up, and hopped a plane home too.
As promised, Annie had arranged for a NYC Corporate Music Lawyer to watch the band play at Matti's little club. After the show, he invited Annie and Steve to his office in Manhattan where he told them that he loved the band.
He advised them against signing with a Portland Agent that was courting them. Instead, he said he could get them a gig at the Peppermint Club in Manhattan and would arrange a meeting with a group of CBS Record executives.
They were so excited to tell Billy. Steve called Billy, and while he was on the phone with him, Alf picked up the another phone and said, "Steve you don't have the authority to do this anymore, Matti is going to manage the band." With that, they headed over to Matti's to find out wtf was up. When they arrived, Billy blew her off AND the Peppermint Club AND CBS Records!
Steve and Annie had had enough and packed up and left too...after all that both of them had done. They were hurt to the core.
The only productive part of the entire NY fiasco, was a tape. Dr. Flaxel (drummers Dad) had invested $20k for the band to use in the recording studio. Billy picked the legendary Power Station Recording Studio. Larry Alexander who had engineered for David Bowie and John Lennon, recorded five songs for Billy. Two days and 20K latter, they had a damn good tape.
After coming home and playing a bit in Portland, Patti was hired to take Alaina's place and it was (from what I heard) NOT a pretty sight. These were not complicated dance steps, but one did have to know how to dance. Billy decided to fire the dancers right after the New Year.
As luck would have it, Clive Davis with Arista records got wind of the band after hearing the tape. He flew up and arranged to attend a show at the Starry Night Club.
John and Billy picked Clive and Neil Partnow (his right hand man) up at the airport. Poor John was so nervous, he could barely speak. Clive Davis was like God to these boys, having produced Janis Joplin, Santana, Billy Joel and yes...Bruce Springsteen.
Four months earlier, Clive had signed a 19-year old singer named Whitney Houston and he wanted to add a new rock and roll band to his lineup. He liked what he heard! And, here he was...in the flesh, ready to listen.
The show was a success and Billy Rancher and the Unreal Gods were signed with Arista Records! The party lasted for 2-weeks.
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