I was on my hands and knees cleaning the toilet when I heard someone come in the door…..
"Are you Matt?"
It was Weird Al. Perfect.
I had gotten the call from Arne Frager after The Plant disappeared; Al Yankovic needed to do a session and had called their number, which Arne kept (very smart). We had worked it out to do the session at Jerry's place, Sausalito Sound. I had been in touch with Al via email for a few days in preparation, and all was ready; except "The Toe" was a bit….. messy. So I got there early and was straightening up like I had done for 8 years prior (another bunch of stories!), and Al showed up early.
I guess we both were excited.
We got everything ready; he was possibly the nicest person I have ever worked with. Then we waited.
Finally, a limo pulled up outside and in walked…… Ray Manzarek.
We were there to record Ray playing keys for Al's song "Craigslist". It is an original song, but definitely smacks of The Doors. Even more so in the video.
Arne's lovely wife Mari had coordinated the session and was there to help out with whatever we needed.
"Hi Ray; do you need anything?"
"Well, it's Cinco de Mayo, so…. how about some chips and guacamole? And some beer. And a candy bar."
Of course, these things magically appeared almost immediately.
Ray sat down and started learning the part. Al was very enthusiastic and a genuine fan, and we all just… did our jobs. Ray had some great stories; my shit was dialed in; Al knew what he wanted, and Ray played exactly that. We had some chips and guac, Ray drank his three beers, said his goodbyes and got right back in the limo without even taking a leak. That must have been a comfy ride all the way back to Napa.
After Al and I edited the keyboard parts, Jerry showed up. Al is a huge Talking Heads fan, so he offered to take us to lunch. We went to Avatar.
Later, before Al got back in his car and headed back to LA (he had driven up that morning, just for the session!), I stoked him a TH box set of the 5.1 catalog that we did a few years before. A few weeks later I got a package from him: a "White and Nerdy" hoody and a "What Would Al Do?" t-shirt. And later that year, a great Yankovic family Christmas card.
It was a sweet session.
After Ray died earlier this year, someone sent me a link to a You Tube video saying they saw me in it. Al had posted it with a very nice paragraph about the day. He had filmed us working it out during the session. Nice.
