November 19, 2018 we got the news of the passing of Patrick Mathe. 8 years after the passing of my dear friend Karen Deal on November 19, wife of the late Marty Balin.
There is something philosophical in so much loss, however, we who are still breathing carry on to document the memories and the works.
_________________________________________
Patrick Mathe signed Joseph A. Viglione to Flamingo/Carrere, the first album released by Patrick, I'm A Star by Count Viglione.
There is something philosophical in so much loss, however, we who are still breathing carry on to document the memories and the works.
_________________________________________
Patrick Mathe signed Joseph A. Viglione to Flamingo/Carrere, the first album released by Patrick, I'm A Star by Count Viglione.
"I'm a Star" was actually written about a member of my band, Jack Daniel (stage name,) because Jack had become indignant about my stage performances which, of course, landed me in Playboy magazine as one of Boston's 5 best rock bands.
Jack would like to lift riffs, thus:
"I can steal my buddy's songs
He writes the songs that I like
I know a guy who can write a song
about a galaxy or a dyke..."
I'm A Star
Joe Viglione, ASCAP
Var Music Publishing, BMI
I'm A Star
Joe Viglione, ASCAP
Var Music Publishing, BMI
__________________________________________
Jack called a few months back from south of the border, so to speak, to reunite our original 1973 band. What's the point? I have one of the best rock and roll bands in New England right now, I want to go backwards? Really? yer kidding, right?
That did not sit well. But we move on, it's not like the 1973 band did anything of significance at the time other than have a bonafide cult figure, yours truly, in the group.
since you people are all fascinated with my private life I'll give ya a nice little story from the time. Jack Daniel knew I had a girlfriend but kept calling me the three letter epithet for homosexual because of my admiration for Bowie, Lou Reed (whom Jack admired as well, go figure,) Alice Cooper, Ozzy, etc. "You fag why don't you go to the Cabaret nightclub where you belong." (paraphrased)
Now I'm thinking.."the Cabaret? Really? Sounds like fun!" Cabaret became 15 Lansdowne St and then Avalon and now the House of Blues but we're talking 1973. So at the Cabaret there was a very unattractive stripper who rumor has it went on to become a program director of a radio station right down the street. Ha ha. A good friend of mine is having Thanksgiving dinner with the person in question in 48 hours so, oh my God, this blog will be dinner conversation but you know me, I love to entertain.
So here I am a hot young guitar player at 19 when the drinking age WAS 19 and this handsome dude with a suit and tie is hitting on me at the Cabaret. Jack was right, I had found heaven. He was friggin' gorgeous and everything I wanted, thank you very much now thankfully ex first girlfriend. HA HA. But he had parameters. If I was going to sleep with him I had to spend the entire night at his hotel. I'm thinking "I've never spent the night anywhere except a vacation or something "normal," sleeping with a dude for the ENTIRE night was a possible deal breaker. Like, what do you say to the family in the morning when you are in the closet and obviously not out with your girlfriend since you were at band practice.
So now the negotiation is going on. This executive from the FILM INDUSTRY (his dad was a distributor of films coming in to Boston back in the day, which y'all know is also something important to me having met Alfred Hitchcock the year before at the Sack 57 when he was here promoting the movie Frenzy
To be or not to be, that is the question. Handsome movie executive hitting on young-untouched-by-man homosexual with girlfriend, ha ha, (shades of 1995, 22 years later, with Jo Jo and Joe kissing an NBC executive whom we had trapped poolside in West Palm Beach - me on his left, she on his right, but I digress...) ..."so are you coming back to the hotel with me or not" he is asking and I'm like "Yes, but not for the entire night. I just can't do it." And he's like, "No, you can't leave in the middle of the night you've got to stay the entire night." You've got to be kidding...like the attraction was there but being the romantic that I am I made the unromantic decision - I was a teenager, not going to spend the entire night and upset the family.
Well, I get home and the family is waiting for me. One of my siblings saying: "Jack called on your phone and woke the entire house up and said you should have been home by now because band practice ended hours ago..." (dear sibling worried about brother who didn't come home on time. Can't blame them, any family member expected home at 10 and showing up around 2 am would be cause for concern no matter what the situation, compounded by the fact that no one knew about my private life. Subconsciously I knew to get home.)
Yikes...Jack, the dude who didn't know he had actually tipped me off to the Cabaret and a portal to the alternative lifestyle, phones the house at midnight, an inappropriate hour - something which he never should have done, and the family is worried about a family member who almost spent the night in a hotel with an executive from the film industry...
File under: AMBER ALERT!
Ahhh...the good old days...back up in the morning to work on Park Street in Medford at our warehouse. Ahhh...the good old days...from being with a hot handsome man at 1:30 am at the Cabaret to have staring at you come morning manufacturer's rep Paul Donato and (we say affectionately) from Hunt Drug (now Hunt Photo and Video) Carl Galusi - a.k.a. Ziggy Bush from TV3, in the morning at the warehouse in Medford. From the heaven of the date at the Cabaret to back to the Twilight Zone. RIP Ziggy. Luckily I wasn't grabbed by Donato in the AM, unluckily, I didn't get grabbed by the movie executive at 4 AM, but that's the trade-off, isn't it?
I'm not reuniting the band not because Jack was and still is a dick! I'm not reuniting the band because he cost me my night in heaven!!!!
Add a not very good looking Mr. Program Director dancing naked in the background to turn something beautiful into a Twilight Zone episode and who needs cold showers? ...boy was that movie guy hot...maybe he'll return some day...in my dreams...
BACK TO THE FIRST ALBUM
Jack called a few months back from south of the border, so to speak, to reunite our original 1973 band. What's the point? I have one of the best rock and roll bands in New England right now, I want to go backwards? Really? yer kidding, right?
That did not sit well. But we move on, it's not like the 1973 band did anything of significance at the time other than have a bonafide cult figure, yours truly, in the group.
1.
genuine; real.
"only bona fide members of the company are allowed to use the logo"
Now I'm thinking.."the Cabaret? Really? Sounds like fun!" Cabaret became 15 Lansdowne St and then Avalon and now the House of Blues but we're talking 1973. So at the Cabaret there was a very unattractive stripper who rumor has it went on to become a program director of a radio station right down the street. Ha ha. A good friend of mine is having Thanksgiving dinner with the person in question in 48 hours so, oh my God, this blog will be dinner conversation but you know me, I love to entertain.
So here I am a hot young guitar player at 19 when the drinking age WAS 19 and this handsome dude with a suit and tie is hitting on me at the Cabaret. Jack was right, I had found heaven. He was friggin' gorgeous and everything I wanted, thank you very much now thankfully ex first girlfriend. HA HA. But he had parameters. If I was going to sleep with him I had to spend the entire night at his hotel. I'm thinking "I've never spent the night anywhere except a vacation or something "normal," sleeping with a dude for the ENTIRE night was a possible deal breaker. Like, what do you say to the family in the morning when you are in the closet and obviously not out with your girlfriend since you were at band practice.
So now the negotiation is going on. This executive from the FILM INDUSTRY (his dad was a distributor of films coming in to Boston back in the day, which y'all know is also something important to me having met Alfred Hitchcock the year before at the Sack 57 when he was here promoting the movie Frenzy
To be or not to be, that is the question. Handsome movie executive hitting on young-untouched-by-man homosexual with girlfriend, ha ha, (shades of 1995, 22 years later, with Jo Jo and Joe kissing an NBC executive whom we had trapped poolside in West Palm Beach - me on his left, she on his right, but I digress...) ..."so are you coming back to the hotel with me or not" he is asking and I'm like "Yes, but not for the entire night. I just can't do it." And he's like, "No, you can't leave in the middle of the night you've got to stay the entire night." You've got to be kidding...like the attraction was there but being the romantic that I am I made the unromantic decision - I was a teenager, not going to spend the entire night and upset the family.
Well, I get home and the family is waiting for me. One of my siblings saying: "Jack called on your phone and woke the entire house up and said you should have been home by now because band practice ended hours ago..." (dear sibling worried about brother who didn't come home on time. Can't blame them, any family member expected home at 10 and showing up around 2 am would be cause for concern no matter what the situation, compounded by the fact that no one knew about my private life. Subconsciously I knew to get home.)
Yikes...Jack, the dude who didn't know he had actually tipped me off to the Cabaret and a portal to the alternative lifestyle, phones the house at midnight, an inappropriate hour - something which he never should have done, and the family is worried about a family member who almost spent the night in a hotel with an executive from the film industry...
File under: AMBER ALERT!
Ahhh...the good old days...back up in the morning to work on Park Street in Medford at our warehouse. Ahhh...the good old days...from being with a hot handsome man at 1:30 am at the Cabaret to have staring at you come morning manufacturer's rep Paul Donato and (we say affectionately) from Hunt Drug (now Hunt Photo and Video) Carl Galusi - a.k.a. Ziggy Bush from TV3, in the morning at the warehouse in Medford. From the heaven of the date at the Cabaret to back to the Twilight Zone. RIP Ziggy. Luckily I wasn't grabbed by Donato in the AM, unluckily, I didn't get grabbed by the movie executive at 4 AM, but that's the trade-off, isn't it?
I'm not reuniting the band not because Jack was and still is a dick! I'm not reuniting the band because he cost me my night in heaven!!!!
Add a not very good looking Mr. Program Director dancing naked in the background to turn something beautiful into a Twilight Zone episode and who needs cold showers? ...boy was that movie guy hot...maybe he'll return some day...in my dreams...
BACK TO THE FIRST ALBUM
Now the album was originally entitled "Sometimes My Heart Sings Blue" but Mr. Mathe' at the label said that the French would misconstrue it as a blues album. Oh well, the last thing I wanted to title it was "I'm A Star" because - heck - the song was about someone else, not me!
The re-release, with bonus tracks, goes under a variation of the second title I had in mind "Secret Little Tangents in Violet "e" Motions." Much more poetic. Coming soon. We'll dedicate it to Patrick Mathe' for having the genius to sign this genius and launch my legend.
THE BEGINNING OF NEW ROSE RECORDS:
There had been a 12" single released prior, but Joe Viglione was the first artist to release an album with Patrick Mathe. I became A & R for New Rose Records and signed Johnny Thunders,the biggest selling New Rose disc of 1983 along with Willie "Loco" Alexander to New Rose/RCA circa 1980.
We licensed the American rights to Greg Shaw at Bomp though RCA in America and Polygram were very interested due to Willie having been on MCA in the U.S.
Though I had negotiated the Bomp deal the major labels were in the running and the artist chose to go with Bomp at the time. C'est La Vie, I love Greg but what could have been had we kept the negotiations with the majors going.
Patrick Mathe was essential in the RCA America interest as Patrick had worked for RCA. The Count released four albums with Patrick, and my work is on a number of compilation albums including the beautiful boxed set Play New Rose For Me. Rest in Peace, Patrick, and thank you for launching your albums with this artist.
________________________________________
We licensed the American rights to Greg Shaw at Bomp though RCA in America and Polygram were very interested due to Willie having been on MCA in the U.S.
Though I had negotiated the Bomp deal the major labels were in the running and the artist chose to go with Bomp at the time. C'est La Vie, I love Greg but what could have been had we kept the negotiations with the majors going.
Patrick Mathe was essential in the RCA America interest as Patrick had worked for RCA. The Count released four albums with Patrick, and my work is on a number of compilation albums including the beautiful boxed set Play New Rose For Me. Rest in Peace, Patrick, and thank you for launching your albums with this artist.
________________________________________
Text Jean Louis Mahjun
10 days later Patrick Mathe himself left us. He produced our 4 records with Alain and took me to Texas for a solo CD that was an unforgettable gift. But above all he had become a POTE, a real one. Forever in our 💙 and in my memory. Goodbye Friend ... - with Patrick Mathe.
________________________________________
Patrick Mathé was born in 1949 in Moulins in Allier. In 1963, he leaves to join his father in Paris and discovers especially via Hi the friends music that would change his life. After studying at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales in Paris, he joined RCA-France at the age of 23 as sales manager.
___________________________________
Upon his return from military service, he seized the opportunity offered to him (two years salary in exchange for his departure from RCA) to found with a partner a chain of record stores: sirens. Four stores are open, but this first experience runs out and he left the chain late 1976 - early 1977 to take the direction of the Paris store, Music box.
Worn by the excitement of new currents
Driven by the excitement of new musical trends (New wave and Punk), the example of independent labels and record stores in London, this first sales experience and label (Flamingo) is a success. In March 1980, with his partner Louis Thévenon, they opened rue Pierre Sarasin, in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, the New rose store, which very quickly became a revolving plate of alternative French rock and attracted an important audience from its opening. A few months later, a first record reference is published on the New Rose label: Paralytic Tonight, Dublin Tomorrow by The Saints. More than 800 records will be published by New Rose from 1980 to 1995, reissues and novelties, revealing or reinforcing the Gun Club, Johnny Thunders, The Cramps, Bo Diddley, Elliott Murphy, Calvin Russell, the Black Borer or Mouse riddled.
At the same time, New rose is developing a very dynamic distribution network based, among other things, on the many existing record stores. In 1992, Patrick Mathé sells the New Rose catalog to the FNAC but remains deputy general manager of the label.
At the same time, New rose is developing a very dynamic distribution network based, among other things, on the many existing record stores. In 1992, Patrick Mathé sells the New Rose catalog to the FNAC but remains deputy general manager of the label.
The reception of a cassette of Lama Gyourme and Jean-Philippe Rykiel sent by Fabien Ouaki, president of Tati group, encourages him to launch a new label at the end of 1994: Last Call. This first album, Songs Of Awakening, now totals 400,000 references sold. Patrick Mathé bought a large part of the New rose catalog, reissuing on Last call some of these old references. He continues to follow certain artists (Elliott Murphy, Calvin Russell ...) and publishes new ones (Gary Lucas, The Silencers, Screamin 'Jay Hawkins). He is also interested in world music, including Soledad Bravo and Angel Parra.
Interview with Patrick Mathé, directed by Jean-Rodolphe Zanzotto (BnF) and recorded by Luc Verrier (Sound Engineer, BnF), August 19, 2016, in Flavigny-sur-Ozerain.
