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THE WILD TIMES OF
BUD MATHIS
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Bud Mathis has had an exciting and varied career that's taken him from professional boxer, as Arizona Lightweight Champion, via Army Sergeant in World War Two, to marrying three times and fathering six children, 4 boys and 2 girls, to songwriter, performer and rock group manager. He is still active as an movie actor, appearing in Traveling to Zigzig Land and having just finished filming for the forthcoming Pirates Of The Caribbean sequel. He has also made appearances in music videos for such artists as Eminem and Gwen Steffani. Here, for the first time, we proudly present exclusive extracts from his private memoirs. Please bear in mind that everybody sees things from a different perspective and some of Bud's observations may vary greatly with accounts of the same events as recalled by members of the group and other associated people.
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Bud "Babe" Mathis at the height of his boxing career
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THE BEGINNING
The first band I found didn't have a name. They hadn't been together long. They consisted of five guys and a girl. I heard about them from a songwriter, Wolfgang Dios, from Switzerland. I had signed one of his songs , Black Roses, into my new music publishing company I had recently started, Little Giant Music Pub. Co.
You may think from the name I chose I had big ideas for the company. You're right. Why not ? What did I have to lose ? How about time, energy, money. peace of mind, sleep. But, that's another story. It will be a part of the overall story of my romp through the world of rock and roll.
Wolfie and I drove down to a beach town, south of Hollywood where the band lived, to meet them. And have them audition for me. The understanding was that if I liked them I would take them into a studio and record them on a couple of songs . Then, I would attempt to get the group signed to a label.
HIPPIES
What I saw were some guys with the totaled-out sixties look, plus a young female with the same look. Hippies was the term generally applied to young people who looked like them. They wore the look like a badge of honor.
The prerequisite identifying factors being, long hair on the guys, and no lipstick, or other makeup on the girls, and of course, no bra. Also, colorful clothes on both. No torn jeans on the sixties hippies. They liked flash.
They played a few songs for me and I was impressed. Not that I thought I knew anything about the competence of musicians. Or singers. I didn't. Nor did it matter. All I cared about was did I like what I heard ? I figured I represented the non-musician public. I liked what I heard that night.
I told the group I'd be in touch and Wolfie and I returned to Hollywood. I told him I'd find a studio and book time. He promised to make sure the band rehearsed the song, Black Roses.
At that time I had co-written a song , entitled, "Me" with a bass player/songwriter/ singer I had rented a room to. In the basement of the apartment building I was managing, in West Hollywood at 1234 North Formosa St.
I decided if I was going to invest money in a recording for this band, they could do one my songs, too. So, I brought the band up from the beach to my apartment. I introduced them to the bass player, co-author of the song, and had him sing it for them.
They not only liked the song, they liked the singer. They invited him to join the group. He accepted. Without even hearing them play or sing. These were desperate times for unknown, unsigned musicians, who were watching the world of rock and roll explode.
They wanted in. It was cold being on the outside watching all those new groups on all those new TV shows. And hearing all those stories about all that "front" money being paid by labels to unknown bands they were signing. This bass player needed a band. The band needed a record deal, another singer, and a bass player. Whammo. Done deal.
GETTING MY FEET WET
We were all positioned to join forces to take our shot. I agreed to take the band into a studio and record the two songs, Black Roses and Me. Of course, what with me being the publisher-producer it was up to me to come up with the bucks. Which I did. Karma was coming down heavy.
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My oldest son, Mark, joined with me to finance the recording session, which we did at
Elektro Vox Studio on Melrose in Hollywood. At that time it was a three or four track
state of the art place. That was more tracks than any studio I had produced any of my
demos in.
I'd had a demo done at Gold Star Studios, engineered by Stan Ross, a very well known and respected engineer-producer of the late fifties and early sixties. They were 8 track at the time. But, I wasn't paying for it.Calaban Music was. They were publishers who had signed my first pop song, Thirteen.
When the band learned I was willing to spend some money on them they came up
with the idea I should represent them. Like maybe become their manager. I really
wasn't too sure that was a good idea.
I didn't know anything about managing a band. Not to worry. THEY would teach me
everything I needed to know. They weren't kidding. They started right in giving me the
scoop on what to ask for from a label.
Suffice it to say I succumbed to their persistence and agreed to take on the task of
steering their career. On a handshake. Contracts could come later. My first mistake.
My education about the wild and woolly ways of the Sixties Generation, and rock and
roll was about to begin. It turned out to be full of surprises.
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Bud With "Flower Child"
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