SO I AM OVER YOU - Old Demo

From The McCready Demos.

To celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of my 1993 showcase at South by Southwest, I share a song from the demo that got my career off the ground.

This version of Necktie Second’s “So I Am Over You” comes from The McCready Demos.

Paid subscribers can download this track—CD Quality AIFF or MP3—by visiting my “rarities” page.

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A NIGHT ON THE TOWN

It was 1992, and Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready had just returned from tour. Mike and I worked at a pizza joint together before he joined what would become one of the biggest bands in the world. Pearl Jam was enjoying massive success. Their debut album, Ten, would go on to sell over 13 million copies.

During his time off the road promoting Ten, we met up for a show at Seattle’s Backstage, my home away from home. Over dinner before the show, I told Mike I had a few different opportunities where folks offered me money to record. I explained how none of them felt right. They all had strings attached, like owning the publishing for my songs.

Fast forward to the end of the night, and Mike and I were hammered. Par for the course in those days. (I’m happy to report that we both sobered up a few years later.) After the show, we were hanging around the dressing room, and Mike wrapped his arm around my shoulders and said in a drunken slur, “Pete, I want to give you the money to go record.” While this was a fantastic offer, I worried it was the liquor talking, so I replied, “If you feel the same way in the sober light of day, I’ll take you up on it.”

LET’S MAKE A DEMO!

The next morning my phone rang. It was Mike saying, “I meant what I said. How does six thousand dollars sound?” It sounded amazing! I’d never had a budget anywhere near that, and the money would afford me the luxury of recording in a proper 24-track studio.

We chose Bear Creek, located just north of Seattle in Woodinville, Washington. The studio was housed in a converted barn on ten secluded acres. It was by far the nicest studio I had worked in at the time, and I savored every moment.

Studio owner Joe Hadlock handled engineering duties and dialed in some great sounds. Bassist Sean Mugrage came up with that catchy bass hook. I can’t recall for sure who played drums on the session. It most likely was Christopher Kutz.

I would return to Bear Creek a couple of times. In 1993 I recorded a batch of acoustic versions of songs I’d written. (I’ll have to dig those out, and if they don’t make me cringe, I’ll share some here.) Then in 1996, with Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Dave Stewart of Eurythmics fame at the helm, The Sinners and I recorded the title track for the Miramax film Beautiful Girls. That’s another story for another time.

ANOTHER GENEROUS ACT

Mike brought a few guitars to the session. One, in particular, got a lot of use, a Fender SRV model Stratocaster. As we packed up, I told Mike that the guitar had shined on the sessions. “Take it,” he said. “Take it where?” I asked. “You can have it,” he replied. To this day, I cherish the gift. Here’s Mike back in the day on stage with the guitar:

Mike McCready playing the Strat that he gifted to me.

MAJOR LABEL INTEREST

As I mentioned in my Necktie Second studio tour post last week, this demo helped me to land my first major label record deal. While making Pearl Jam’s sophomore effort VS Mike passed the tape—in those days, it was a cassette tape—along to their producer Brendan O’Brien. Brendan had recently acquired signing power at Rick Rubin’s American Recordings.

Brendan was not the only A&R person to show interest. I had several offers after playing my showcase at 1993’s South by Southwest conference. My managers, Kelly Curtis and Krisha Augerot decided to entertain the offers in the order they came in rather than engage in the usual bidding war routine.

“AND OFFERS COMING OVER THE PHONE”

The first concrete offer came from Larry Hamby at A&M. A&M’s parent company had provisions in the deal that my managers would not agree to, and the negotiations fell apart.

Next, we moved on to our second offer from Brendan and American. I liked the idea of being on a smaller major. Rick Rubin and his label had a reputation for being very artist-friendly. Plus, I loved the idea of being on the same label as Johnny Cash. Shortly after signing my deal, I opened for and met The Man in Black and was thrilled to tell him we were label mates.

Fun fact: I was the first to sign to American after they shortened the name from Def American. (I’m 99% sure, but could be wrong about this.)

Signing my deal with American.

Brendan flew to Portland, where I was living, and we met for pizza at Bagdad’s. I gave him more than an earful. I was very passionate and had many ideas about the record I wanted to make. After the meeting, he told my managers that it seemed to him that maybe I did not need a producer. I assured him that I was excited to have him as my producer, and soon the ink was dry, and we were on our way.

Peace & Love Songs,

Pete

PS: Paid subscribers can download this track—CD Quality AIFF or MP3—by visiting my “rarities” page.