Positively Patsy Part 25

In New York we had a conference with Simon and his CEO about the TV show. One of the networks was interested and we made an appointment to go and see them. When we got to their office it was almost filled with suited types with lots of gold jewellery. I immediately asked how many TV executives it needs to change a light bulb.

I think my thoughts had been clear enough as half of them left. I looked at the ones left and asked which ones makes the decisions and which ones were yes men and three more left, leaving two. One looked at me and said “You are one feisty girl to come in here like that.” I said “I am here with a proposal that will give you the top ratings for a month and I think I need to talk to the guy who says yes or no.” “OK” he said “give me your pitch.” I asked him if he had caught Chris’ documentary which was shown on another channel and he said yes.

I then asked him if he would like a number of programs that he could show over a few weeks, culminating in a live show, held in a stadium, of a range of music but culminating in a live set of ‘Amazon’ doing new songs and a few of the hits. I said that we would organise the show and keep the door takings but that his channel could do the filming with sound piped from our mixing desk. I then said that we would then split any profit from the sale of the show 50/50. I said that the documentaries sold overseas for several million.

“OK” he said “what have you got for the other shows you spoke about?” I told him we held the sole rights to all video and sound from the World Tour of ‘Amazon’ and ‘Primal Purge’ a couple of years ago and that there was originally sixty eight shows, of which just two have been released to DVD. He looked a bit interested at this. I then told him that the first part of the show would be choral music and Greg Goggins would play classical guitar in that set. “OK” he said “how much do you want to be paid for all this?” I said that it would just be a hundred thousand as a donation the ‘Angels of Joy’ charity plus his costs to do the filming.

“That’s a bit much” he said “how do you justify that?” I told him that I would be contacting some other recording stars to add to the line-up at no cost to him. “OK” he said “I’ll talk to my boss and get back to you in a couple of days.” On our way out Simon, who had remained silent, asked me what stars I had in mind. I asked him what stars he had in his stable who would like a bit of feel-good air time and would fit in with a choir. He told me he would email me a list of names but it was up to me to get them on board.

Next day I flew down to Nashville and got in touch with the school choir. I spoke to the choir master and outlined my idea of a joint choir singing the more accessible pieces for about thirty minutes, with Joanne, Peggy, Riordan and me singing along with them; plus about four other artistes when I got them on board. I said that the set would finish with Greg Goggins playing a classical guitar accompaniment to a couple of songs. He had heard the Cotswolds CD so knew how that went. He said he would talk it over with the choir but thought they would go for it.

Next day Simon emailed me a list of current stars in his stable and contact details. I picked out four female singers who, I knew, sounded right. I called each one and explained what I was setting up for a one-off show in June that would require them to sing with a choir first but that I will arrange for them to do a couple of their own songs with ‘Amazon’ as the backing band. Three of the four were very interested so I made an appointment to see each of them the following week.

Simon had also found a suitable stadium near New York that held sixty thousand. I looked again at his list and rang a couple more singers and got a positive result with both of them so added them to my appointment list for the following week. I then went to speak to Sarah at the new headquarters for K Beat and laid out my ideas to her, with the names of the extra stars I wanted to have, and that we would need accommodation for the Cotswolds Choristers, the extra stars and, maybe, a few others, as well as a rehearsal studio in the new complex which I would pay for if needed. I told her it all depended on the TV channel at the present.

Two days later the TV network called me and told me that they would allocate a three hour show for me in prime time on the Saturday night in the middle of June so we were really off and running now. I called Simon to do the signing of agreements and then I called Sarah to book the rehearsal studio for all of May and to arrange the accommodation in a good hotel for sixty from the first of May to the end of June. After a couple of days rest I flew to my first appointment and was able to talk Shalysa into appearing free, for the air time and to show a different side of her persona.

Next day I flew to the second appointment with Barbreeza for another positive result and the following three days were equally positive, even quicker once the stars I spoke to knew who else was to be on the bill. I told them all that I had hotel rooms booked for all of May in Nashville and that we would do all the rehearsals there and they all agreed to turn up in the third week of May. Each one provided me with the songs they wanted to do in their solo set so I could get the band to rehearse them before they arrived.

I emailed Simon with the list I had attracted and he was quite excited at what the show may produce in terms of video content. It was now near the end of February and I contacted all of ‘Amazon’ to be in Nashville for the beginning of May and then contacted Greg and Peggy to come then as well. I also arranged the travel for the Cotswolds Choristers and emailed the choir master with the details, telling him I would arrange transport here. While thinking about that I booked three buses for all of May and June and got onto Tom to find three drivers.

The building work on the music store was nearly finished, as was the café next door with Joanne there almost every day, so I got the builder out to the ranch and showed him what I wanted done. He told me most of it was straight forward and would take about three months as he would put a team on it straight away. He was a bit unsure of the studio so I told him to just give me outside walls as the first project and I would get a specialist to finish it off.

Just for a bit of a break, I sat down in our office in the new K Beat building and got a sheet of paper and a pen to map out the show. I thought we could open with the joint choirs singing three songs then adding our extras for another three songs. Then I thought we could have the five stars doing a couple of songs each, accompanied by the ‘Amazon’ band and with the choirs as backing singers. Then I thought we could have Jake and Greg play a few numbers of their blues songs, followed by the rest of ‘Amazon’ to finish the event. We would have to time it properly when we were all together but I thought we could fill three hours easily. We needed to allow about twenty minutes for ads so only had the hundred and sixty minutes to fill.

I thought it would be fun to pay for a couple of spots for Meyers Music Mart of Nashville. For another slant on the whole thing I got my SUV and went out to the nursing home. When I walked in I saw Kay and we had a hug. I told her I was here to talk to the ‘support crew’ and asked her how they were. She told me that a couple had passed away but the main ones still sat in the day room so I went there. When I walked in I was greeted by Jim and Roger and I noticed a few new faces. I was introduced around and then asked what brought me to their humble abode now Ruby had passed.

I sat them down and outlined the coming few months. Roger asked if he could be on board from the start as he could see another book. Jim said that I certainly didn’t let anything get in my way and thought that it would be a real money spinner with the line-up I had put together. He asked me how much we had agreed to for the profits and I told him 50/50 with the TV channel for video but we were keeping the ticket sales. He congratulated me on my business acumen and I said that I needed to think that way now I owned the music store.

Part 26

After leaving the nursing home I had a drive out into the country again. On the way round I stopped at the country store for a drink and small bar of chocolate. Jennifer was there so we sat and chatted. She told me that the choir master had told them they would be in a TV show and she thought it would be fantastic. I told her of the five stars I had signed up for the show and she started shaking. I told her to calm down, as after a couple of weeks rehearsing with them, they would seem like normal people. Just like me. “You’re not normal” she said “you are wonder woman!”

Back at the house I sat for a while with my coffee before Joanne came home. She had really put her whole being into getting the café the way she wanted it. We had got hold of some mannequins and had a Jake, a Kyle, and Riordan, Nina, Joanne and me dressed in stage gear and equipped with the right guitars and a keyboard. They were behind a clear screen and there was a sign saying that the musical instruments were supplied by Meyers Music Mart. We had found the two original 50 watt amps in the storage next door and they were set up behind the figures. We had cut a doorway between the two shops so that people could wander between them without going outside, especially good in cold weather. She had installed a coffee machine, pie warmer and an ice cream maker and organised a deal with a baker nearby to supply pastries and cakes.

Next door we had completed the extensions with two soundproof booths with 50 watt amps in, plus a restroom for the staff with a locker room and a secure door to the back lot. I had the dirt car park bitumised and got a nice letter from the town hall thanking me for beautifying the area. We were planning an opening at the beginning of May when we had the band and choirs present. Jake had investigated some suppliers and we had a line of entry level guitars and keyboards and had increased our stock of violins and other stringed instruments. Business was pretty good so far and I thought it may get better after the official opening and a few column inches in the paper.

The builder rang me and said that the studio walls were up and that he had converted one of the out buildings to a security hut, with space for a desk and a bedroom with ensuite. I got in touch with our security firm that we already had at the house and asked them to install a set of perimeter alarms and cameras on the entry gate and around the ranch. I also got on to Sarahs’ studio expert and asked him if he could build me one in the shell we already had. The house had been cleaned and painted inside and out so Joanne and I had a great couple of days picking furniture and all the other bits needed, especially our own big bed.

We had an enormous flat screen TV in the lounge and had fast internet installed along with the security lines. Given a few days to move our stuff we could say goodbye to Alices’ house. It had been like home for about four or more years now but we were very happy to finally move into our own place. Of course, after moving, we had a mass of paperwork to plough through for address changes on all our cards, licences and a host of other things, like power and water connections. It was almost too much to bear but we did it in the end and slept our first night in our very own bed. It was a very quiet place to be as we were so far from any main roads but it did enhance the times we played our instruments. I found that I had developed mild tinnitus and the quietness allowed me to notice it. I suppose standing in front of a bunch of big amps can do that to you, even wearing extra strength ear buds.

The TV network had been looking at the tour footage and had decided that the Saturday night before our show; they would show the Seattle one, which had no interval and the bands changing over during a ‘Dancefloor’ jam session. They also requested a meeting to discuss the show format, so I flew to New York to attend the meeting with Simon. This time they were a lot less confronting and we all sat in a boardroom like civilised people. They told us that we needed to allow for the ads so I proceeded to outline the show. I told them we would start quietly with the combined choirs singing three songs; then there would be an ad break while we added guest singers plus Greg and me on guitar. Then the choir plus would do three songs before another break.

I said there could be a few minutes at this point as we would need to clear the choirs off the stage and add the band; then we would have two of my guest stars doing two numbers each, ad break, and then two more with two songs each. After the ad break we would have the fifth guest with two songs and then Nina with two songs. After that ad break we would have ‘Amazon’ on stage for five songs and, after another ad break, we would finish the evening with everyone on stage to sing a finale song which I was writing, which would be called ‘A night in June’ and would run for about seven minutes. They said that they could use the light system that was used in sports; when we went to ads the light would go on and when it went off we were live again. They picked up on the song name and said they would advertise it as ‘Amazon and friends, a night in June.’

With that sorted out I went to see Annette and Maxine to talk about stage wear. I told them all about the show and asked if they would be interested in supplying all of the clothes and, maybe, buying an ad or two. They were keen and asked me if I could supply all of the sizes, especially the five stars. I said that the choirs would only need a simple long dress but not in black, with the boys in similar colour with shirt and pants. The five stars should all be in different colours with ‘Amazon’ and Greg in gold. They had all of the sizes for the band so could get going on those quickly.

I asked that the choir dresses should have a zip back as we would put a bud mic on them with the wire running to a sender that was in a pouch at the waist, clipped to the back of their panties. Also, while in New York, I went to see our main souvenir vendor and told him what was coming up. I made sure to tell him it was a one-off show and, quite likely, a good one to have a web site for as it would be shown nationally. When I told him who it would showcase, and the venue, he got quite excited and I told him to contact Simon about a sales site on the day. He said he would get in touch with some of the other vendors to see if they would be interested.

He took me to lunch and we chatted about the shows we had all been to. He told me that he had really had a good time at our events as they all seemed to be more profitable than most, without having to put up with drunken crowds being obnoxious. I said that this may be because we were all clean and that could be the fans we attracted. I did tell him that the previous Saturday to the show there would be a showing of the first Seattle gig from the world tour and he was very interested at that.

Back in Nashville I emailed the choir master in England and asked for a complete list of sizes for the choir and told him about the format for the show. I then phoned the choir master here and asked for the sizes and told him the format. I then emailed Greg and Peggy with the format and asked them to come to Nashville in the beginning of May, followed by an email to Riordan with the format and a request for her, Nina and Julia to be in Nashville for the beginning of May. Then it was an email to each of our stars to tell them to be in Nashville from the middle of May, and the question as to their size and preferred dress length and colour as the stage dresses were to be supplied by L’Estrange.

It all seemed to be coming together. We were into March now and I needed to finalise the building work on our house. The studio designer had built the soundproof studio and the basic layout for the control desk. He wanted to know how many feeds I wanted and I asked for at least twenty with a mixing desk to suit. We discussed recording equipment and I chose the best I could get, knowing that it would probably be ‘so last year’ in a year or two. Our garage was now finished so we could put the cars away; everything seemed to be coming together.

Marianne G 2020