WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.419 Welcome to today's deep dive. I'm so glad you're 00:00:03.419 --> 00:00:06.919 joining us because, well, we have a really wild 00:00:06.919 --> 00:00:09.720 story for you today. Yeah, it's definitely one 00:00:09.720 --> 00:00:11.279 of those stories that just makes you shake your 00:00:11.279 --> 00:00:15.160 head. It really does. Because I want you to imagine 00:00:15.160 --> 00:00:18.420 being handed the winning lottery ticket. Like 00:00:18.420 --> 00:00:21.199 a massive blank check contract with the biggest 00:00:21.199 --> 00:00:24.500 most powerful record label of the 1990s Right 00:00:24.500 --> 00:00:27.859 the absolute dream for any working band exactly 00:00:27.859 --> 00:00:30.539 But now imagine looking at that ticket realizing 00:00:30.539 --> 00:00:32.380 it requires you to fundamentally change your 00:00:32.380 --> 00:00:34.719 identity Yeah, choosing to just rip it up instead, 00:00:34.920 --> 00:00:37.060 which is you know unthinkable for most people 00:00:37.060 --> 00:00:39.020 totally unthinkable But that's exactly what one 00:00:39.020 --> 00:00:42.579 band did in 1994 So our mission today is to explore 00:00:42.579 --> 00:00:46.539 this really fascinating microcosm of 1990s music 00:00:46.539 --> 00:00:48.759 industry dynamics. And we're doing it using just 00:00:48.759 --> 00:00:51.939 a single source. Exactly. We are diving entirely 00:00:51.939 --> 00:00:54.880 into a Wikipedia page detailing Godstreet Rhyne's 00:00:54.880 --> 00:00:58.219 1994 album, $1 .99 Romances. It's such a great 00:00:58.219 --> 00:01:00.619 artifact. I mean, it's the absolute definition 00:01:00.619 --> 00:01:03.539 of diagnostic muddy waters for music critics. 00:01:03.679 --> 00:01:05.480 Muddy waters is a great way to put it. Yeah, 00:01:05.480 --> 00:01:07.480 because this isn't just a story about a record. 00:01:07.640 --> 00:01:11.319 It's really this profoundly revealing. look at 00:01:11.319 --> 00:01:14.379 the brutal mechanics of the 1990s music industry. 00:01:14.879 --> 00:01:17.739 You know, what happens when an immovable artistic 00:01:17.739 --> 00:01:21.239 vision meets an unstoppable corporate machine? 00:01:21.500 --> 00:01:23.200 Right, and let's set the scene for you so you 00:01:23.200 --> 00:01:25.659 can really feel the stakes here. The year is 00:01:25.659 --> 00:01:28.719 1994. Geffen Records isn't just another label. 00:01:28.920 --> 00:01:31.659 I mean, they are the apex predators of the industry. 00:01:32.000 --> 00:01:34.200 Oh, absolutely. They had just ridden this massive 00:01:34.200 --> 00:01:38.480 wave with Nirvana's Nevermind and Guns N' Roses' 00:01:38.799 --> 00:01:40.480 Use Your Illusion. Right. So signing with Geffen 00:01:40.480 --> 00:01:43.079 in 94 wasn't just getting a record deal. It was 00:01:43.079 --> 00:01:45.480 getting strapped to a rocket ship. And, well, 00:01:45.700 --> 00:01:47.900 at the exact same time, the format of music is 00:01:47.900 --> 00:01:50.540 completely shifting. Yes, exactly. The compact 00:01:50.540 --> 00:01:52.700 disc has completely overthrown vinyl and cassettes. 00:01:53.019 --> 00:01:55.420 CD is the absolute king of audio. Which fundamentally 00:01:55.420 --> 00:01:57.980 changes how artists create, like the shift from 00:01:57.980 --> 00:02:01.299 vinyl to CD in the 90s was it was like moving 00:02:01.299 --> 00:02:04.079 from a tiny studio apartment into this sprawling 00:02:04.079 --> 00:02:06.000 mansion. You get to the runtime, right? Yeah, 00:02:06.099 --> 00:02:10.159 exactly. Suddenly, artists had 74 minutes of 00:02:10.159 --> 00:02:13.379 pristine digital space to fill. And instead of 00:02:13.379 --> 00:02:15.860 leaving rooms empty, God Street Wine basically 00:02:15.860 --> 00:02:18.580 bought furniture for every single corner. They 00:02:18.580 --> 00:02:21.000 really did. I mean, one out of 99 romances is 00:02:21.000 --> 00:02:24.379 a massive... 72 minutes and 23 seconds long. 00:02:24.580 --> 00:02:27.080 It's huge. Yeah, spanning 14 distinct tracks, 00:02:27.099 --> 00:02:29.400 they used almost every available second of that 00:02:29.400 --> 00:02:32.039 disc. And crucially, you have to remember, this 00:02:32.039 --> 00:02:34.680 marks their very first release on a major record 00:02:34.680 --> 00:02:36.900 label. Right. You've climbed the mountain. You 00:02:36.900 --> 00:02:38.560 made it to the big leagues. But to understand 00:02:38.560 --> 00:02:40.939 the drama of what actually happened with this 00:02:40.939 --> 00:02:42.960 major label deal, we first need to look under 00:02:42.960 --> 00:02:45.860 the hood. We have to understand the band's entirely 00:02:45.860 --> 00:02:48.699 unique musical identity. Right, because Godstreet 00:02:48.699 --> 00:02:51.819 Wine was not your average 90s rock outfit. Not 00:02:51.819 --> 00:02:54.900 even close. Far from it. Let's look at the core 00:02:54.900 --> 00:02:57.400 construction of the band. You have this incredibly 00:02:57.400 --> 00:02:59.840 tight five -piece lineup. Okay, lay it out for 00:02:59.840 --> 00:03:02.620 us. So you've got John Bevo handling organ, piano, 00:03:02.780 --> 00:03:06.460 and vocals. Loa Faber on guitar, vocals, and 00:03:06.460 --> 00:03:08.740 notably taking on mixing duties. Wait, wait, 00:03:08.740 --> 00:03:10.960 let me stop you there because for the listener 00:03:10.960 --> 00:03:14.000 we need to clarify this. You just mentioned Lowe 00:03:14.000 --> 00:03:16.580 Faber is the guitarist, but he's also handling 00:03:16.580 --> 00:03:19.879 mixing duties. Yeah, which is huge. Right, because 00:03:19.879 --> 00:03:22.979 usually a major label guards the mixing desk 00:03:22.979 --> 00:03:25.419 with their lives. That's where the final commercial 00:03:25.419 --> 00:03:28.460 sound is shaped. Exactly. So for a band member 00:03:28.460 --> 00:03:31.259 to maintain that level of control on a massive 00:03:31.259 --> 00:03:34.979 Geffen debut, I mean... that seems practically 00:03:34.979 --> 00:03:38.060 unheard of. It is incredibly rare. The mixing 00:03:38.060 --> 00:03:39.740 process is where you decide, you know, if the 00:03:39.740 --> 00:03:41.199 drums are gonna punch through the speakers to 00:03:41.199 --> 00:03:43.319 sound like a radio hit, or if the guitars are 00:03:43.319 --> 00:03:45.219 gonna wash over you like a live show. Right. 00:03:45.500 --> 00:03:48.439 Retaining that control shows how fiercely protective 00:03:48.439 --> 00:03:50.879 Lowe Faber was of their sound. Yeah, and he was 00:03:50.879 --> 00:03:52.979 clearly the creative anchor for the whole project. 00:03:53.039 --> 00:03:56.539 Yeah. Because out of the 14 tracks on this sprawling 00:03:56.539 --> 00:03:59.780 72 -minute album, Lowe Faber wrote almost all 00:03:59.780 --> 00:04:01.840 of them. Yeah, with just one exception. Right. 00:04:01.979 --> 00:04:05.620 Track two. Mile by Mile, which he co -wrote with 00:04:05.620 --> 00:04:07.699 Aaron Maxwell, who by the way was another guitar 00:04:07.699 --> 00:04:10.229 player and vocalist in the band. Right, and rounding 00:04:10.229 --> 00:04:12.509 out the band, you had Dan Pfeiffer playing bass 00:04:12.509 --> 00:04:15.169 and singing, and Tomo holding it down on drums 00:04:15.169 --> 00:04:17.970 and vocals? Basically everyone is singing. Exactly. 00:04:18.170 --> 00:04:20.610 Almost everyone contributing vocals implies this 00:04:20.610 --> 00:04:23.509 deep structural focus on harmony and complex 00:04:23.509 --> 00:04:26.189 arrangements. Okay, so you have this unified, 00:04:26.250 --> 00:04:29.329 singular creative vision executed by a tight 00:04:29.329 --> 00:04:32.649 five -piece band who insists on maintaining technical 00:04:32.649 --> 00:04:36.689 control. But here is the crux of the issue. The 00:04:36.689 --> 00:04:39.839 genre problem. Yes. they were universally considered 00:04:39.839 --> 00:04:43.100 part of the jam band scene. Yet, mechanically 00:04:43.100 --> 00:04:46.019 speaking, the music they were writing was completely 00:04:46.019 --> 00:04:48.540 alien to that genre. And the critics immediately 00:04:48.540 --> 00:04:50.800 picked up on this discrepancy. If you look at 00:04:50.800 --> 00:04:53.459 the Washington Post review of $1 .99 romances, 00:04:53.579 --> 00:04:56.160 they specifically noted that this album separated 00:04:56.160 --> 00:04:58.439 God Street Rhyme from the rest of the Jam Bam 00:04:58.439 --> 00:05:00.620 pack. Right, because of who they modeled themselves 00:05:00.620 --> 00:05:02.740 after. Yeah, the Post pointed out that instead 00:05:02.740 --> 00:05:04.740 of using the Grateful Dead or the Allman Brothers 00:05:04.740 --> 00:05:06.660 as their primary model, which was, you know, 00:05:06.800 --> 00:05:08.899 the expected blueprint, they used Steely Dan. 00:05:09.199 --> 00:05:11.899 OK, let's unpack this, because to a casual listener, 00:05:12.300 --> 00:05:14.279 that might just sound like dropping two classic 00:05:14.279 --> 00:05:18.810 rock names. But musically, That is a wild, almost 00:05:18.810 --> 00:05:21.050 contradictory comparison. It's night and day. 00:05:21.490 --> 00:05:23.930 Exactly. The Grateful Dead and the All Men Brothers 00:05:23.930 --> 00:05:26.850 are all about the vibe. Their music is built 00:05:26.850 --> 00:05:30.449 on standard blues scales, meandering exploration, 00:05:31.110 --> 00:05:33.329 and those happy accidents that happen when you 00:05:33.329 --> 00:05:35.389 just improvise for 20 minutes. Right, it's very 00:05:35.389 --> 00:05:37.649 loose. But Steely Dan is the exact opposite. 00:05:38.009 --> 00:05:41.670 They are notorious for surgical precision, obsessive 00:05:41.670 --> 00:05:45.009 studio perfection, and utilizing highly complex 00:05:45.009 --> 00:05:48.129 jazz chords that require intense focus to execute. 00:05:48.410 --> 00:05:49.970 Oh yeah, you don't just stumble into a Steely 00:05:49.970 --> 00:05:53.490 Dan chord progression. No. So being a jam band 00:05:53.490 --> 00:05:56.509 modeled after Steely Dan... It's like showing 00:05:56.509 --> 00:05:59.209 up to a laid -back, tie -dye beach bonfire, but 00:05:59.209 --> 00:06:01.350 you're wearing a perfectly tailored, sharply 00:06:01.350 --> 00:06:03.670 pressed vintage suit. That is such a perfect 00:06:03.670 --> 00:06:05.629 way to visualize it. You're bringing this level 00:06:05.629 --> 00:06:07.649 of clinical execution to an environment that 00:06:07.649 --> 00:06:11.110 usually values raw energy. And Billboard magazine 00:06:11.110 --> 00:06:14.009 echoed this exact sentiment. They praised the 00:06:14.009 --> 00:06:16.170 album for capturing what they called the group's 00:06:16.170 --> 00:06:19.110 Steely Dan -like musical cool and sophistication. 00:06:19.269 --> 00:06:21.410 But think about what that actually means in practice. 00:06:21.750 --> 00:06:24.879 If they were so sophisticated and cool, Why were 00:06:24.879 --> 00:06:26.879 they lumped into the jam band pack in the first 00:06:26.879 --> 00:06:29.040 place? Was it just the era? Like, well, you play 00:06:29.040 --> 00:06:31.259 long songs in the 90s, so you must be a jam band. 00:06:31.420 --> 00:06:34.120 Well, what's fascinating here is how the production 00:06:34.120 --> 00:06:37.199 of the album likely amplified this anomaly and 00:06:37.199 --> 00:06:39.639 confused the industry even further. OK, how so? 00:06:39.939 --> 00:06:42.600 So the producer on this record was Jim Dickinson, 00:06:43.620 --> 00:06:46.779 and UPI, in their review of the album, explicitly 00:06:46.779 --> 00:06:49.660 called it strong and noted that Dickinson worked 00:06:49.660 --> 00:06:52.120 his magic. Right, but what kind of magic? Well, 00:06:52.199 --> 00:06:54.379 Dickinson wasn't a guy who just hit record while 00:06:54.379 --> 00:06:57.160 a band jammed in a room. He likely helped cement 00:06:57.160 --> 00:07:00.060 this polished, sophisticated sound. Making them 00:07:00.060 --> 00:07:02.720 an anomaly. in their own scene. Exactly. So you 00:07:02.720 --> 00:07:05.439 have a band playing the grungy club circuit alongside 00:07:05.439 --> 00:07:08.500 noodle heavy jam bands, but on record, they are 00:07:08.500 --> 00:07:12.060 laying down these incredibly intricate, meticulously 00:07:12.060 --> 00:07:14.500 produced tracks. Which is a double edged sword, 00:07:14.860 --> 00:07:17.699 right? On one hand, you're wholly unique. On 00:07:17.699 --> 00:07:19.839 the other hand, marketing departments and music 00:07:19.839 --> 00:07:22.160 critics have absolutely no idea what to do with 00:07:22.160 --> 00:07:24.399 you. Yeah, they were completely stumped. And 00:07:24.399 --> 00:07:26.980 that brings us to the bizarre critical reception 00:07:26.980 --> 00:07:30.399 this album received. Because the tension in their 00:07:30.399 --> 00:07:33.839 sound, that surgical precision meeting the jam 00:07:33.839 --> 00:07:36.899 band ethos, it led to some of the most conflicting 00:07:36.899 --> 00:07:39.300 reviews you'll ever read. Oh, without a doubt. 00:07:39.560 --> 00:07:42.100 There is one specific review from Trouser Press 00:07:42.100 --> 00:07:45.060 that perfectly encapsulates this paradox. I love 00:07:45.060 --> 00:07:48.519 this quote. It's a highly specific, totally backhanded 00:07:48.519 --> 00:07:50.920 compliment. Trouser Press described the band 00:07:50.920 --> 00:07:53.579 on this album as being, quote, like a top drawer 00:07:53.579 --> 00:07:56.139 wedding band taking the liberty of showcasing 00:07:56.139 --> 00:07:58.639 some songs of its own devising while the chopped 00:07:58.639 --> 00:08:01.079 liver is being served, end quote. OK, we have 00:08:01.079 --> 00:08:03.220 to stop and push back on that. Is that actually 00:08:03.220 --> 00:08:05.819 a compliment? I mean, it's buff. It's brutal, 00:08:06.019 --> 00:08:08.220 because calling them a top drawer wedding band 00:08:08.220 --> 00:08:11.459 implies incredible technical skill. I mean, they 00:08:11.459 --> 00:08:13.740 can play anything flawlessly. Right. They have 00:08:13.740 --> 00:08:16.620 undeniable chops. But saying it's happening while 00:08:16.620 --> 00:08:19.019 the chopped liver is being served makes it sound 00:08:19.019 --> 00:08:21.920 like easily ignored background music. Like, oh, 00:08:21.920 --> 00:08:23.720 the band is playing, but who cares? The appetizers 00:08:23.720 --> 00:08:26.139 are here. Yeah, it completely dismisses the actual 00:08:26.139 --> 00:08:28.300 songwriting. Exactly. And I want you to look 00:08:28.300 --> 00:08:29.860 at the track list with me for a second. Look 00:08:29.860 --> 00:08:32.480 at the ambitious lengths of these songs. Track 00:08:32.480 --> 00:08:36.019 one, Princess Henrietta, is six minutes and 50 00:08:36.019 --> 00:08:39.659 seconds long. Yeah. The final track, Into the 00:08:39.659 --> 00:08:42.860 Sea, is six minutes and 24 seconds. Are critics 00:08:42.860 --> 00:08:46.440 basically saying a 72 -minute runtime of complex 00:08:46.440 --> 00:08:49.879 Steely Dan -esque rock is just high -end elevator 00:08:49.879 --> 00:08:51.940 music? Well, this really highlights a classic 00:08:51.940 --> 00:08:54.639 tension in music criticism. Which is what? The 00:08:54.639 --> 00:08:57.440 line between technical perfection and raw rock 00:08:57.440 --> 00:08:59.720 authenticity. You have to remember, grunge had 00:08:59.720 --> 00:09:02.879 just blown up. Right. Nirvana, Pearl Jam. Exactly. 00:09:03.179 --> 00:09:05.200 Critics wanted pain. They wanted distortion. 00:09:05.379 --> 00:09:07.620 When a band is too tight, too polished, especially 00:09:07.620 --> 00:09:10.120 in that raw environment, critics sometimes perceive 00:09:10.120 --> 00:09:12.820 it as clinical. They mistake precise execution 00:09:12.820 --> 00:09:15.940 for a lack of soul. Exactly. If you sounded too 00:09:15.940 --> 00:09:17.980 good in 1994, people thought you were faking 00:09:17.980 --> 00:09:20.919 it. And this sets the stage for the band's commercial 00:09:20.919 --> 00:09:23.220 struggles. Which brings us to the actual label. 00:09:23.389 --> 00:09:26.070 Yeah. Because the tension in their sound perfectly 00:09:26.070 --> 00:09:28.149 mirrors the tension they experience behind the 00:09:28.149 --> 00:09:30.629 scenes with their corporate partners at Geffen 00:09:30.629 --> 00:09:32.649 Records. Yeah. It was a massive culture clash. 00:09:32.730 --> 00:09:35.330 Let's look at the timeline. Their indie record, 00:09:35.429 --> 00:09:38.330 Who's Driving, came out in 1993. Right. Totally 00:09:38.330 --> 00:09:40.370 independent. Then they get scooped up and this 00:09:40.370 --> 00:09:43.610 major label debut, $1 .99 Romances, comes out 00:09:43.610 --> 00:09:47.409 in 1994. And then their next album, Red, comes 00:09:47.409 --> 00:09:51.190 out in 1996. But let's hover on that 1994 Geffen 00:09:51.190 --> 00:09:54.480 release because Geffen They even threw a literal 00:09:54.480 --> 00:09:57.039 army at this project. Oh, the production team 00:09:57.039 --> 00:09:59.179 they funded was massive. I mean, you don't just 00:09:59.179 --> 00:10:01.480 have Jim Dickinson producing. You have engineers, 00:10:01.740 --> 00:10:03.899 mixing assistants, art directors. They even had 00:10:03.899 --> 00:10:06.240 George Marino doing the mastering. A total legend 00:10:06.240 --> 00:10:08.779 in mastering. Right. But the craziest part, they 00:10:08.779 --> 00:10:11.860 brought in a vocal coach, Sanchez Harley. Yeah, 00:10:11.860 --> 00:10:14.840 a vocal coach for a gritty touring jam band. 00:10:15.039 --> 00:10:17.480 It makes no sense. Well, it shows you that Geffen 00:10:17.480 --> 00:10:20.320 was trying to polish them to a mirror shine. 00:10:20.639 --> 00:10:23.059 They wanted mainstream success. Right. They spent 00:10:23.059 --> 00:10:26.759 a fortune trying to turn this 72 -minute Steely 00:10:26.759 --> 00:10:30.259 Dan -inspired jam band into a radio juggernaut. 00:10:30.419 --> 00:10:33.899 But despite this massive investment, $1 .99 Romances 00:10:33.899 --> 00:10:36.639 was their only album with Geffen. Just one and 00:10:36.639 --> 00:10:38.919 done. Yeah. They were deeply disappointed with 00:10:38.919 --> 00:10:40.799 the label's promotion. Well, here's where it 00:10:40.799 --> 00:10:42.970 - gets really interesting, because a lot of bands 00:10:42.970 --> 00:10:44.769 get disappointed, right? Sure, it happens every 00:10:44.769 --> 00:10:47.529 day. Bands complain that their label didn't push 00:10:47.529 --> 00:10:49.529 them, and usually they just sit there in contract 00:10:49.529 --> 00:10:52.610 purgatory. But God Street Wine didn't just get 00:10:52.610 --> 00:10:55.450 dropped. They actively negotiated to leave the 00:10:55.450 --> 00:10:57.970 label right after the album dropped. They looked 00:10:57.970 --> 00:11:00.429 at the Geffen machinery and said, we're out. 00:11:00.690 --> 00:11:03.710 Which is wild, because they recorded their next 00:11:03.710 --> 00:11:07.409 album, Red. entirely on their own, before proving 00:11:07.409 --> 00:11:09.710 their worth and signing with Mercury Records. 00:11:09.889 --> 00:11:11.470 And if we connect this to the bigger picture, 00:11:11.629 --> 00:11:13.789 it explains so much about the industry. I mean, 00:11:13.909 --> 00:11:16.250 think about what a massive gamble it is for an 00:11:16.250 --> 00:11:18.169 artist to walk away from major label backing. 00:11:18.289 --> 00:11:20.549 And a massive production crew. Right. To bet 00:11:20.549 --> 00:11:23.110 on their own independence just because of a promotional 00:11:23.110 --> 00:11:26.230 dispute, that takes incredible conviction. Absolutely. 00:11:26.669 --> 00:11:28.850 They refuse to compromise their art for corporate 00:11:28.850 --> 00:11:31.580 convenience, so... What does this all mean? Well, 00:11:31.580 --> 00:11:33.620 the ultimate cultural footprint of the album 00:11:33.620 --> 00:11:35.980 is pretty telling. Yeah. Steve Blush, who wrote 00:11:35.980 --> 00:11:39.159 the book New York Rock, actually called one dollar 00:11:39.159 --> 00:11:42.600 ninety nine romances a quote dollar bin classic. 00:11:42.720 --> 00:11:46.620 Oh, wow. A dollar bin classic. There is so much 00:11:46.620 --> 00:11:49.159 poetry and tragedy in that phrase. It really 00:11:49.159 --> 00:11:51.600 sums it up perfectly. It does. It acknowledges 00:11:51.600 --> 00:11:53.899 the undeniable quality. It's a classic. It has 00:11:53.899 --> 00:11:56.620 real merit. But it also acknowledges the harsh 00:11:56.620 --> 00:11:59.899 commercial reality that it ended up heavily discounted. 00:11:59.950 --> 00:12:02.110 forgotten by the mainstream machinery. Yeah, 00:12:02.110 --> 00:12:03.970 they didn't know how to sell it. So into the 00:12:03.970 --> 00:12:06.730 dollar bin it goes. Man, that's rough. But, you 00:12:06.730 --> 00:12:08.730 know, for you listening, this deep dive isn't 00:12:08.730 --> 00:12:12.389 just about a 1994 rock album. It's a masterclass 00:12:12.389 --> 00:12:14.769 in knowing your own worth. Absolutely. When the 00:12:14.769 --> 00:12:17.230 situation with Finn didn't serve their 72 minute 00:12:17.230 --> 00:12:20.450 artistic vision, God Street Wine didn't compromise. 00:12:21.049 --> 00:12:23.450 They took the terrifying risk of walking away 00:12:23.450 --> 00:12:26.289 from corporate security to bet on their own talent. 00:12:26.480 --> 00:12:28.539 Which is something we can all learn from, honestly. 00:12:28.840 --> 00:12:30.519 Definitely. So I want to leave you with this 00:12:30.519 --> 00:12:33.820 final provocative thought. If a highly sophisticated 00:12:33.820 --> 00:12:37.100 major label debut, praised for its musical cool, 00:12:37.519 --> 00:12:40.679 ends up remembered as a dollar bin classic, what 00:12:40.679 --> 00:12:43.779 does that say about the true value of art versus 00:12:43.779 --> 00:12:46.139 the machinery of marketing? That's a great question. 00:12:46.220 --> 00:12:48.620 Next time you see a CD in a discount bin, ask 00:12:48.620 --> 00:12:51.279 yourself, what forgotten masterpiece of chopped 00:12:51.279 --> 00:12:53.419 liver sophistication is just waiting for you 00:12:53.419 --> 00:12:54.039 to discover it?