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| From | "Jaimie Vernon" <bullseyecanada@hotmail.com> |
| Subject | RUBBER HAREM |
| Date | Thu, 05 Feb 2004 20:59:33 -0500 |
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At Date: Thu, 05 Feb 2004 12:36:24 Rick wrote:
>Nickelback? Well, let's not go there...
I'm not a fan either....but they've sold 8 million copies of the last two
albums so I'm not going to complain about a band that I don't happen to care
much for -- obviously others out there do. Sharon likes them and I'm more
than supportive...cause as we've discussed here, it beats listening to one's
1970's record collections over and over again.
>Jaimie, I was just curious on a your opinion about a band you have
>connections with - Harem Scarem*/Rubber/Harem Scarem
>I hated Harem Scarem* (the original Harem Scarem circa 88-99 or
>whatever, unbelievably bland hair-metal/AOR crap)
>But, I loved their reincarnation as Rubber (circa 2000 - 2002 dates
>are approximate)
>Yes, I knew Rubber was really Harem Scarem, even though they didn't
>seem anyone to know that, but I liked the music.
>
>But, they still had some identity crisis, why did they call
>themselves Rubber in Canada, but Harem Scarem in Japan, etc?
>What is the point of that? Who does that?
Harem Scarem were signed to a ten year deal with WEA Records in Canada at
the cusp of the grunge era. The last bastions of corporate hair rock made
them a hot commodity in Canada from 1990 to about 1993...then grunge started
the ground swell and every heavy, prog-induced Bon Jovi-esque recording that
came out of this four-piece band was critically panned as the media here
decided to turn their attention to Seattle and the cross-border ascendency
of Vancouver's underground music scene. As time went on, Warners was still
selling 25,000 units a year here....even though the band promoted themselves
less and less (the record prior to their name change wasn't even toured),
they shunned the media and the label had other marketing priorities.
During this period Japan began to release the albums in the Pacific
Rim...they decided to tour there and in Europe where dated hair-metal was
not only encouraged but sacred. From 1990 to 1998 Harem Scarem released 27
CDs between the North American and Japanese markets. They toured the Far
East 7 times...playing the Buddokan twice.
Warners in Canada was threatening to let their deal lapse, but the band had
an ass-tight contract that made it impossible for Warner to walk away
without Harem Scarem getting the money they were promised in advances. The A
& R guys wanted to get rid of them cause the albums couldn't be worked from
a media and radio perspective...but the accounting department wanted them to
stay -- 25,000 albums a year with a zero deficit in the promotional budget
was nothing to sneeze at.
As a compromise, the band opened its own studio and began licensing albums
back to Warner in Canada under a new name -- RUBBER...giving A & R a reason
to get behind them again....the gamble paid off -- the self-titled debut in
1999 went gold and gave the band their first Top20 hit "Sunshine".
The boys were shrewd. They developed a separate foreign deal with Warners
territory by territory and received advances on each country they released
the album in....carrying on the name Harem Scarem because they'd become true
rock stars in places like Japan, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Austria, Germany,
et al.
The second Rubber album in Canada was also the last under their original
deal. They were free from Warners in North America and could continue
releasing albums freely through their Warner affiliated foreign deals.
The foreign labels have been giving them $100,000 USD every 10 to 12 months
to crank out a new album, with territory specific bonus tracks, as Harem
Scarem -- and the band gets to keep the rights in North America...but only
if they continue to call themselves Rubber here.
I jumped at the chance to license everything for North America under the
Rubber moniker...cause we get a different package with different songs. And
let's face it...the true fanatical Harem Scarem fanbase will buy EVERYTHING
they release (27 previous CDs proves this)....so I get the export business
into the foreign territories as well.
>Anyways, then they released "Weight of the World" Woof! What the hell
>was that? It was horrible. Apparently now they are calling themselves
>Harem Scarem everywhere now.
"Weight Of The World" was the first foreign deal album after leaving Warners
whereby the band got to return to their old musical style to satisfy the
foreign market's taste. It was recorded on demand...as was the most recent
one "Higher".
Harem Scarem no longer tour regularly -- last year was their last hurrah on
the worldwide stage [their fifth live album 'Live At The Gods' comes out on
my label in a month]. They are strictly a recording project now and reunite
to write, rehearse and record the next album as required by their Japanese
backers.
>Was Spinal Tap based on Harem Scarem? The whole thing really seems
>like a joke - I noticed Harry Hess (ld. vocals) released a solo album
>in Europe - was it jazz fusion? Is Pete Lesperance going to get
>caught at airport security with a foil wrapped cucumber in his pants?
Harry's solo album was closer to the two original Rubber releases...it's pop
-- I passed on it because we have too much Harem Scarem material in the
development stages right now; Pete has a graphic design business that is his
secondary source of income AFTER he cashes his cheques from the Harem Scarem
sales [the band did 750,000 sales during their 10 years with Warner; and
nearly 60,000 since leaving the label].
Drummer Creighton Doane has a brand new Power Pop release coming out on
Bullseye -- he also drummed on the most recent Kings CD "Because Of You"
(co-produced and engineered by Harry Hess), produced the John Boswell hit
album "Stranger In The Mirror" from 2002; and co-wrote, produced, arranged
and played drums, guitar and keyboard on last year's Maureen Leeson debut
"aka MOE".
>Don't get me wrong, I care about the music, and I will always cherish
>Rubber's first two albums, even if they were desperate attempts for a
>new audience, but at least the Darkness are joking.I hope Harem
>Scarem are joking too...
For all intents and purposes Harem Scarem are less a band and more of a
corporation. The fans buy their product, the labels pay their advances, and
the guys get to continue living very comfortable lifestyles.
Call it whatever you want....these guys turned a nasty media image into a
goldmine.
Jaimie Vernon,
Bullseye
http://www.bullseyecanada.com
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