Bad Mutha Goose nabs record contract
by Peter Blackstock
Austin American Statesman; Austin, Tex.; Jul 26, 1990

After years of waiting for the right offer, Bad Mutha Goose finally received it this month. And this time, the band jumped, signing a record deal this week with Alpha International of Philadelphia.

The upstart label - which currently has an artist, Robbie Mychals, on the Billboard black singles chart - is distributed by Capitol-EMI's high-powered CEMA distribution network.

"The reason that Bad Mutha Goose held out for so long, is that things like creative control were very important to the band," said manager Jan Mirkin. "Now they do have the creative control they want."

The agreement signed Tuesday is a typical seven-record deal, with the record company carrying options on the last six. The plan is to release a 12-inch single in the fall and follow up with a full album early next year.

The band is scheduled to go into the studio sometime in August with producer Joe "The Butcher" Nicolo, who has produced in the past for such acts as Boo-Yaa Tribe, 7A3 and Schoolly D.

"It came down to Alpha, Rough Trade and Island," said guitarist Tim Kerr. "Island wanted to market it through college radio. We felt like, `Yeah, that's part of it.' Then we talked to Alpha, and they said they wanted to market it through black, underground, dance and college. That was it. Rough Trade would have been great, but we just worried that if they ran out of money getting the album done, if they'd be able to come up with more money if we still needed to get things done. Alpha has pretty much understood where we were coming from, so it worked out real good."

NOT GUY: John Lombardo, a founding member of 10,000 Maniacs who left the group just before they released their breakthrough album In My Tribe in 1987, was in town a couple of weeks ago to work with Ronnie Lane and Augie Meyers at Arlyn Studios.

Lane and Meyers were adding embellishments to a collaborative album between Lombardo and violinist/vocalist Mary Ramsey, who live in Buffalo, N.Y. Most of the recording was done at noted producer Mitch Easter's Drive-In Studio in Winston-Salem, N.C., with the help of Maniacs drummer Jerome Augustyniak and guitarist Robert Buck.

Lombardo and Augustyniak came to Austin to work with Lane, who contributed vocal tracks for a duet titled We Have Nothing. Dan Griffin, the band's manager, said Lombardo and company sought out Lane for the project because they had long been big fans of Lane's work with the Faces and Slim Chance.

OFF THE ROAD AGAIN: It's not easy for a band without support from a record label to go out on tour for an extended period of time, but High Noon doesn't seem to mind doing things the hard way. The Austin rockabilly trio just returned from a two-month tour that took them as far up the eastern seaboard as Dover, N.H., and then back down through the central United States.

Guitarist Sean Mencher reports that the trip was a resounding success. "It was unbelievable how good a reception we got," he said. "We were asked back to every place we played." Mencher said the Rodeo Bar in Manhattan, perhaps best described as New York City's version of the Hole in the Wall, is interested in flying the band back for a weeklong stay.

Nashville was another high point of the trip, as rockers Johnny Van Zandt (of Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes) and Gary Tallent (of the E Street Band) showed up for the band's show at the Exit Inn. Mencher seemed most excited about having met Scotty Moore, who played guitar with Elvis Presley on some of his classic recordings for Sun Records. Give Mencher credit for his keen investigative methods in seeking out the legendary but obscure Moore: "I just looked him up in the phone book," he said.

High Noon hasn't wasted much time returning to its busy schedule upon returning from the tour. The group will be at Scholz Garten tonight, Saxon Pub on Friday and the East Stage at Aqua Fest on Saturday.

HERE AND THERE: Chris Thomas receives a write-up in the New Faces section of the latest issue of Rolling Stone. . . After Little Richard's show at Aqua Fest tonight, fans can head to the Cannibal Club for "Little Richard Appreciation Night" with Speedy Sparks, Mike Buck, John Reed, Will and Charlie Sexton. . . TONS Productions makes a $13,155 contribution today to the Austin Parks and Recreation Zilker Park Children's Playscape. The money was raised from Willie Nelson's Fourth of July Picnic. . . Wednesday is the deadline for entries for the Music Umbrella of Austin's Austin Songwriters Competition. For information, call the Music Umbrella at 476-1324.

The Austin beat was compiled Michael MacCambridge and Peter Blackstock.