The industry as a whole, was NOT very friendly to the "so-called" 80's bands... like TUFF. In short, we were no longer relevant, and the entire industry, along with many fans turned their backs. #facts
With that... I soldiered forward, starting my own label (RLS Records est. 1994) after getting signed and dropped, more than once. By this point, Todd Chase (Bass) and Michael Lean (Drums) had both left the band. We had also been dropped by Atlantic Records, then signed to IRS/Grand Slamm Records, and that deal went belly-up as well.
But, I continued to book shows coast-to-coast, manufacture merchandise, and distribute that merch, music (CDs, Cassettes, VHS - at the time) into Mom & Pop's stores across the Nation.
TUFF as everyone knows, built our brand and name on the Sunset Strip and in Southern California, on the West Coast and worked our way East, little by little but in the greater Los Angeles area, we definitely had a draw.
TUFF went from headlining clubs, to doing double-nights at all the clubs, from The Roxy, Gazzarri's & Troubadour too during our peak, 1987-1991!
We even headlined and Sold Out, the bigger clubs, like The County Club in Reseda and supported on bigger National shows at The Palace and Santa Monica Civic Center.
Okay, to my point...
In 1994 our beloved Gina B. was no longer at the Troubadour and the house agent was a guy named Lance.
I can recall this like it was last week... I call Lance and tell him, "Hey, we just released our NEW record, "Fist First" and we're going to go on tour, but we'd love to do a show at Troubadour."
A bit of History here, TUFF played our 2nd ever show at the Troubadour and over the years, 1987-88-89-90-91-92 and 1993, we always ended up doing a show here pretty much every year, sometimes 2 or 3. I have a log of the dates.
Lance took my call, and hemmed and hawed, "Well... " blah, blah, blah... as he seemed forced to give me any time on the phone.
I had to really push him, almost to the point of begging, and he finally caved in and agreed to let our "80s Hairband" play the club, even though what we were known for, was NOT hip in the industry.
Attached, is a 2 part contract, from that show.
Lance gave TUFF a $750 guarantee, vs: 50% of the door and I had to pull teeth to get this done. This was about 1/3 to 1/2 of what we used to get, only a year or two earlier.
To be fair, Lance wasn't mean, or ugly, but he wasn't very friendly either... I can read people and knew I was on the "outs" with my entire life's work but kept pushing.
I am curious... how many people do you think TUFF drew, on this night?
Page 2 breaks down, pre-sale tix sold thru Ticketmaster, and what the "walk up" number was that night.
The capacity online says the club holds 500, but that would be very generous... my guess is they are likely considering the Front Bar, and the Balcony too. If there are any more than 200 on the main floor, the club looks full.
Looking back at these old tour itineraries, and contracts is interesting... how a few years earlier, we were getting paid 3-4-5x the money and drawing 4-5-10x the people.
I can recall it all like it was yesterday... the good, the bad and the ugly, and the middle of the 90's - well, it was VERY ugly.
Okay... here is your chance... post your guesses in the comments, and I will come back and share Page 2, with the final numbers.
How many tix did TUFF sell in advance, thru Ticketmaster....
How many tix did TUFF sell at the door, as walk-ups...
How many tix did TUFF sell total, for Sat. July 23rd 1994!
Ready, Set, Guess?
Wanna SEE the contract? Click here, for my FB page > https://www.facebook.com/stevierachelle ... Nb8MTPyHMl
$tEvil
