Page 37 - Tales the Maggid Never Told Me

Blood Libel

playing the same old schmaltzy standards for the parents then ripping
into some up-tempo rock tunes when only the under-thirty crowd
was left in the room. I more or less fell into the job of leader, as I
knew a bit about business from my days in the bakery and I was the
best sight-reader in the group. We shared the vocals. None of us
carried a tune any better than the average pop singer denied his
electronic filters and multiple overdubbed retakes. At any rate we
were able to refine our repertoire and learn how to manipulate an
audience. It was a good apprenticeship.

S: How long did it last?

B: Until we got our first real job at a club, four nights a week. Then I
had to quit my day job and get serious about the band. Since we were
already so together in our lives the transition wasn’t too difficult.
One of the Particles, the bass player, quit. We were making enough to
cover the rent without him and we brought in a guy who had plenty
of experience but didn’t need a place to stay. So that worked out.
And I had to come up with new material for the band. That started
me composing songs and arranging them with Max Wunderkind, our
keyboard man. Then a talent scout caught our act, we made a hit
record and the rest is too well known to repeat.

S: Tell me, anyway, Mendel. How did it feel to be successful?

B: I survived it. We were lucky. We were signed by a small label and
it never had a lot of money to spend on promotion. They probably
spent it on payola—bribes to disc jockeys to get our records played
on the radio—and left us alone between releases. None of us
particularly wanted to travel. Just before an album was to be released
we would do a three- or four-week tour to hype it nationally and keep
our fan base loyal. When we got our checks we invested wisely, kept
away from the diversions and distortions of show business and
concentrated on chasing the elusive grail of the American hit record.
After “She’s a Teaser, Don’t You Please Her” went platinum our
agent got us a multi-year, multi-record contract that kept us going
through the slump that destroys most American bands. I couldn’t
think of anything worse than spending the rest of our lives playing

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