The Wages, An Illustrated Story | 11. Masterstroke | Late Lobby
If the men seemed undisciplined about women, I learned quickly how serious the rest of the music business was. On our second day, Crystal and I had gone for a planning meeting at Genuine Oak. Ben came to greet us personally in the building lobby. While he was giving us a charming welcome, a man with a bass rushed in. Ben looked at him with fury and shouted, “Over an hour late! Again!”
The bass player pleaded and wept about his taxi being stuck in traffic during the terrific snow storm outside, but Ben was not moved by the man’s tears.
“These ladies were here on time and they’re not on the clock in the studio today. Do you know how many people I am paying to shit away dollars while they wait for you to meander in with one of your goddam stories? Your tracks for Dougie Lightspeed were meant to be finished by 12:45. If that’s not done the studio can’t be retooled for Bourbon Clamp Blues at 2 PM. Now I have to decide if I piss off Dougie or Bourbon. I am supposed to be in a strategy meeting about country music with the Wages sisters. You just screwed me into rebuilding the entire day while every other label is making music and making money. You know what? Fuck it!”
We never saw that bass player at Genuine Oak again. When Ben said, “You know what? Fuck it!“ it meant the end, and it did double duty as a warning to all witnesses, including Laurence the security guard and a few bystanders from an unrelated office. We later heard Ben end a couple of phone calls with that and the phone slammed down with a clang.