So anyway, the Beastie Boys were complete assholes during the interview, slamming their fists down next to my cassette recorder so hard I was never able to transcribe any of it, and the article was, for obvious reasons, never written. I didn't know who Rick Rubin was at the time. But I do remember a guy named DJ Double R who was profusely apologetic at the time.
Six years later, he was arguably the greatest record producer on the planet, and I found myself sitting in the living room of his Hollywood home, being interviewed for a job with his record label. To say, I was in awe would be an understatement. To say I was like a kid off the turnip truck would be far more like it.
So there I sat in Rick Rubin's living room.
The two things I most remember about Rick's house are the big stuffed polar bear and the wrestling boots — which I recognized had the initials "RF" on them. I asked Rick if these stood for Ric Flair, and from there we were pretty much off and running.
Like me, it seemed Rick Rubin was a big fan of pro-wrestling. I would later learn he actually had a financial interest in the independent Smokey Mountain Wrestling promotion. One year after I actually worked for Rick at Def American, wrestling babe Missy Hyatt delivered her calendar to me as a birthday present in person.
How sweet is that?
Anyway, from there Rick and I discussed our mutual fondness for bands like Blue Cheer — and he played a track by the then unknown and unsigned band Monster Magnet, a band obviously inspired by Blue Cheer — the sixties psychedelic band who more or less invented heavy metal.
Rick and I had bonded on Ric Flair, Blue Cheer, and my background with hip-hop. Basically I was in, and I knew it. The phone call I got that hot spring afternoon on the porch of my Seattle house a few weeks later was simply the confirmation I had been waiting for.
What transpired over the next two years that I uprooted to L.A. and went to work for Rick at Def American — and later the renamed American Recordings — is in many ways a blur. The celebrities came and went from our office. In a two year period, I met everyone from George Harrison to Johnny Cash (I'll never forget the way that he extended his hand and said "hello, I'm Johnny Cash").
Article comments
1 - Donald Gibson
If the result of our lives is that we've never made any crucial mistakes or caused some underlying regrets, then we've got nothing to learn from and even less to teach others about what it means to really live.
This is a terrific read, Glen, and I'm proud not only to call you my mentor, but my friend as well. I've taken great insight and instruction from you on my own writing, which I would never have received if not for the perspective you bring to what you write.
Now if you'll excuse me, I've got some living to do...
2 - Glen Boyd
Thanks a lot Donald and right back 'atcha. This was a really difficult article for me to write, but one I've needed to get off my chest for about 15 years now. I have to admit that it felt quite good doing it too.
When I sat down and started to read the book about Rubin (review forthcoming), it all came flooding back and I recognized immediately how difficult it was going to be to write an objective review while divorcing myself from my personal involvement as someone who was actually there.
The only solution for me was to write a separate article where I could get all the personal stuff out of the way first. As a result, I'm now a lot more confident that my review of the book wont be colored in any way by any of those things.
Anyway, thanks for the comment, and the compliments.
-Glen
3 - tink
If I'd only known you back then, I'd have passed along a piece of advice that helped me numerous times during my career behind the scenes. Act like you know what you are doing, especially if you don't. Most people do not question what they perceive as authority.
Great work, great insight.
Thanks for the view inside.