Both albums had been engineered by the Nerdlys and recorded at Blake Studios in Oregon. Matt was certainly not a country music fan, but he was a professional musician and he knew who Oren Blake II was and knew that he owned Blake Studios, which was the most advanced recording studio in the United States, and Blake Family Records, the most successful independent country label in the entire fucking world. Valdez and Kingsley had been allowed to record in what was traditionally a country music studio owned and operated by the infamous OB2. How had they pulled that shit off?
With the combination of the advanced studio, the talents of Kingsley and Valdez (Matt had been forced to admit to himself about three songs into The Struggle that Valdez was, in fact, quite talented as both a guitarist and vocalist), and the engineering and mixing skill of the Nerdlys they had produced two albums that were going to sell a lot of copies and get a lot of airplay.
Yes, they were sellouts. But they were going to be rich sellouts, weren’t they?
He sighed, taking another drink and then lighting a cigarette.
Most puzzling of all in this entire deal was the guitar playing. Kingsley played lead guitar on all of Valdez’s cuts as well as his own. Valdez played backing guitar, both acoustic and electric, on many of Kingsley’s cuts. Neither of them, however, were given any credit for this on either album. Kingsley did not lay down any true guitar solos at all except for the well-done piece he had played on Playing Those Games—something he would receive no credit for.
What was the rationale behind this?
And why was no one making note of the fact that the same musicians and producers and engineers were credited on both albums?
“And now for the biggest question,” Matt said to himself as he took a drag on his smoke. “Why do I give a fiddler’s fuck about any of this shit?”
He didn’t know. But after he finished his smoke, he decided to take a few bonghits. Once he was feeling good in the way that only good weed could make one feel good, he used his remote control to turn on Kingsley’s album again.
He listened to it all the way through one more time, took a few more hits, and then played Valdez’s album again as well.
His thoughts then turned to his own music. He began to envision just where and how he could put those overdubs into his own work and how a little engineering might not be such a horrible thing after all.
If he was committed to selling out a bit, he might as well do it right.
On January 17, 1993, Jake’s song Insignificance reached number 2 on the Top Ten list. It was unable to dislodge Whitney Houston and I Will Always Love You from the top spot, but it did enjoy a long bout as the most requested song in the nation. It would remain in the number two position for five more weeks before slowly starting to inch its way back down.
It was during this period of time that Jake’s days of living under the radar came to an end. Now that he was on the charts with one of the most popular songs in the nation, the media reporters began to seek him out once again. Pauline’s phone began to ring off the hook with requests for interviews. As instructed, she scheduled none, but they were persistent and she ended up giving quasi-interviews herself, trying as best she could to remain as vague as possible about everything and anything.
Of course, the most common question asked was about the possibility of Intemperance reuniting.
“There are no plans for a reunion of Intemperance,” Pauline told the reporters. “Jake has moved off in his own direction and seems to be doing fairly well with it at this point, and I’m sure you are aware of Matt Tisdale’s feelings on the matter.”
It took longer than they had any right to expect, but eventually the reporters noticed some of the same things that Matt had noticed, i.e. that the same musicians were listed on both Jake’s and Celia’s albums, that both were marked with the KVA Records label, and that Pauline Kingsley was the manager of record for both soloists (as well as one of the backup vocalists for both).
“It seems like there’s some sort of connection between Jake’s and Celia’s albums,” Julie Lopez from Entertainment Weekly Magazine asked Pauline one day in mid-February. “Can you explain that?”
“What would you like me to explain?” Pauline replied, vowing to herself that it was time to open an actual office—maybe down at the rehearsal studio?—and hire an actual secretary to field all these fucking calls.
“Well...” Lopez said, “National tells us that KVA Records is an independent label and that they are simply handling manufacturing and distribution for them. We’ve found that no other acts are associated with that label beside Jake Kingsley and Celia Valdez, and that you are the manager for both of them.”
“That is true,” Pauline allowed.
“And Jake’s mother, as well as Nerdly Archer’s mother, are both listed as the violinist and piano player, respectively, on both albums.”
“That too is true,” Pauline told her.
“In addition,” Lopez went on, “Nerdly himself plays synthesizers and is the engineer of both albums.”
“His wife, Sharon, is also one of the engineers,” Pauline said.
“Yes, of course,” Lopez said dismissively. “In any case, all of the session musicians listed on both albums also have the same names.”
“They do,” Pauline said.
“So ... that is why I’m asking if there is a connection between the two albums.”
“There is no real connection,” Pauline assured her, glancing at the clock. It was only nine-thirty in the morning but she was already craving a stiff drink. She was starting to get a little understanding of her brother’s alcoholic compulsions now.
“No connection?”
“Not really,” Pauline said. “Each was recorded individually as a completely separate project. Jake and Celia are friends and it was Jake that recommended me as her manager after La Diferencia broke up. I heard what she had to offer and I was impressed enough to take her on. That is why I represent both of them. And when it came time to record the albums, they both worked with musicians they were familiar with and recommended to each other.”
“I see,” Lopez said. “Would you care to comment on the reports we’ve heard that there is a romantic involvement between Jake and Celia?”
“There is nothing to comment on,” Pauline told her. “They are friends and nothing else. Celia, as I’m sure you’re aware, is married to Greg Oldfellow and they are quite happy together. Jake himself has been dating someone quite seriously for the past year or so.”
“He has?” Lopez asked, surprised. “And who might that be?”
Shit! Pauline thought helplessly. I fucked that one up. “Uh ... I’m not at liberty to say, sorry.”
“You’re not at liberty to say?” Lopez asked. “The public has a right to know this information. Can you explain why you are not willing to release it?”
“Jake and his lady friend would prefer to keep their private life private,” Pauline told her. “As I’m sure you’re aware, there have been issues in the past with intrusions and stalking of women that Jake has dated. He and she would both like to avoid all that if possible.”
“There have been issues in the past with Jake and domestic violence as well,” Lopez said. “He is a well-known celebrity with a notorious reputation. The public has an interest in knowing his personal life.”
“I’m sorry,” Pauline said. “I’m not going to tell you who he is dating. Next question, or are we done?”
She wasn’t done, but the rest of her questions stayed clear of the subject of Jake’s romantic life.
Still, the bag had been opened and the cat had a route out of it. It didn’t take long for the reporters to start trying to coax that feline free.