It's the first workday of a New Year. Everything feels like a fresh start which is why, at this time of year, I always seem to reflect on how I got into this kookie business.
In 1982 I had graduated from NYU wanting to be a screenwriter. I figured that my most reasonable route would begin as an advertising copywriter, move on to TV and then to the movies. Without a real clue in my head and a bogus resume in my hand I trudged up Madison Avenue in hopes of kick-starting my career.
After dropping off a few resumes I stopped in at the offices of Aucoin Management. Aucoin's office were built off the fat of the land that was KISS in the 1970's. Their sprawling space used to encompass two floors of a Madison Avenue office tower but they were no less impressive now that they were merely one entire floor of the building! My friend Milhan Gorkey was the receptionist their so I stopped in to say "hi."
Aucoin no longer managed KISS at this point. It was the middle of the music industry's first real recession and Aucoin's other big client, Billy Idol, hadn't yet hit the charts. During the course of our conversation, Milhan mentioned that 15 employees had been let go the previous day, including the office boy and things were piling up. I offered that I'd work there for free if i could use the office for my writing. Before long I was was in the Stephanie Robertson's office. Stephanie used to be a production manager for Aucoin but was now the office manager. We talked for half an hour and agreed that I'd come in three days a week in exchange for being able to use their offices for return phone calls and general writing.
I had never considered that a backroom existed in the music industry. I always thought that a band writes some songs, records them, gets them on the radio, goes on tour, sells t-shirts, scores groupies and then break-up. Although this all turned out to be true, it seems that it took a lot more people than I thought to make all of that happen.
After my first day in the office I was hooked and ended up coming in five days a week. My pay consisted of subway reimbursements which I pocketed in lieu of running across town to pick up and deliver packages. After three months Aucoin started paying me. Actually they shared me with Chrysalis Records who had just moved to New York (into the old Aucoin offices which we moved down to his apartment in the Olympic Towers).
During my time at Aucoin I met the members of KISS, watched Billy Idol record Rebel Yell, was there when Huey Lewis delivered Sports and Toni Basil "Mickey." Before I returned to Toronto I even met Muhammad Ali. Good times!
