B, Al and I walked into the studio with our producer, Rocket Jackson in the spring of 2011 not knowing what to expect.  It had taken a tremendous amount of negotiations to even get to this point.  I didn’t think we’d ever get here and yet, here we were.  I didn’t have time to get nervous or anxious – until that moment, when I made a HUGE mistake:

I got the studio before HE did.  I beat Chuck Brown to the session.

Why is that a mistake? Because I got the full CB vibe from the parking lot to the end of the session and I wasn’t prepared for all of him.

When he pulled up and got out of the car, he was Chuck.  I mean, I’m wearing jeans and a sweatshirt or something; he’s wearing gators, a black suit with a long dress coat, a hat, all the rings all the bling – everything.  He was CHUCK.  I actually considered praying he didn’t come in as his vibe was so strong, just staring at it through the window.  I wasn’t ready…

He came in, took out his axe and began tuning up and singing a bit.  I introduced myself and the band and he knew immediately that we were shook just standing next to him.  And, as powerful a figure as he was, he did something that he didn’t have to do: he made US feel comfortable.  For example -

He said he wasn’t in his best vocal shape although he sounded great.

He said he didn’t know why we needed him on the track because it sounded great already

He told me he liked my singing voice and we talked shop about favorite singers, both of us diggin on Ray Charles

He took many many takes just so that we could have enough material to work with

He told fantastic stories about ‘the good old days’

He took over the session and made us feel good about ourselves

That, my friends, is a professional.  I loved every second of that all too brief encounter with the man that put go-go on the map.  The track turned out great http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/ericbyrdtrio

He even said “man, you’re at home on that piano!”  that was the highlight of my career.

Thanks Chuck.  Thanks for making us feel like we, even for a brief moment, could hang with a legend like you.  Tell the people you love you love them while you can.  Tomorrow is not promised.

ebb

Updating...

I’m excited to announce the new Eric Byrd Trio Iphone and Droid app, available for free!  Check it out and let me know what you think.  Email me at eric@ericbyrd and type ADD ME to be placed on our mailing list.  We hope to hear from you soon

Click here to get the App!