Davy's On The Road Again Ch. 11

The girls showered off first. Davy asked me if I was prepared to do battle today and I told him that I was as ready as ever.

"I know you are, man, and my spirit is with you today. I love our friendship." He kissed me on my temple and I felt centered and at peace.

I stepped into the shower next as the ladies put up coffee. It was nine o'clock when Danny called to say we were due at the meeting at eleven. He said he would pick me up. An hour and a half later, he and Kathy pulled up and honked. I got into the back seat.

"I like the way you dressed today. It shows them no respect." While Danny was dressed in a tailored business suit, I was in my jeans, t-shirt and faded work shirt. I was glad that Danny noticed my deliberate fashion sense. We pulled off the Ventura Freeway into the Warners-Reprise lot suitably situated near Forest Lawn Cemetery. We signed in and were escorted to the meeting room where a team of six suits awaited us. The table had a layout of coffee and croissants which we ignored. Danny and I sat at the head of the table with Kathy at his side. She opened her case and set out an array of folders.

"Danny, it's good to see you again. How's Irene?" asked the head suit. I could feel Danny's eyes roll upside his head.

"Davy, welcome back to the lot. We've missed you. Hey, those YouTube videos are superb. We have some big plans and I'd like to outline them for you." Thus began the dog and pony show. As each new plan was offered, a Powerpoint presentation filled the screen behind the Head Suit and a different flunky made the presentation. Personally, I hate PowerPoint. They bore the shit out of me. Needless to say, my mind frequently wandered.

Danny and I said nothing as they continued. Forty-five minutes later, it was over and the Head Suit asked our feelings.

Danny took his time considering the question and answered quietly, forcing the suits to lean in to hear his response. "You ask what our feelings are and I can safely say that we have none. I think this presentation should have been made about forty years ago. But enough of this chazerai, let's talk about the last forty years before we look toward the future. Davy lost his career because you would not renew his contract but you held him bound to material stipulations that were tantamount to slavery. You've never paid him any of the money you've earned from his assets and you prevented him from utilizing his earning power. How do you address that?"

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Head Suit opened a folder and began to read the terms of the old contract. "We followed the stipulations here and agreed to and signed by Davy and former officers of the corporation. We just followed the contract. We are willing to amend and reward Davy in our new agreement but you must remember that he is still bound by some of the old terms which still exist past the termination of the last contract in 1990. Also, our accounting clearly shows that moneys expended by us were never recouped. We consider that debt still unpaid. But we are willing to overlook these stipulations so as to move forward to develop a new and more lucrative partnership for all parties. Still, you must understand that we are taking a very large risk."

"Lucrative for whom? For which party? Be specific!" asked Danny in a slightly higher volume. "Your old contract was, in some ways, duplicitous and disingenuous. For example, here on page fourteen, item four, it states that your annual accounting is to be paid for by Davy and added to his debt. Your accounting was, and has never been, accurate or reliable. Playing with creatively invented numbers does not make for credibility. Our accounting, based upon ASCAP and RIAA numbers reveals an entirely different set of facts. Don't play these games with us. Let's get real, if you don't mind."

"Danny, we will be glad to look into these numbers again but you understand that many years have passed and our records do not go that far back any more. How do you suggest we approach this problem?"

"My suggestion is that you toss them out. They are worthless, meaningless and fraudulent and you know it. But let's stop with these red herrings and get down to meat and potatoes. We're here to hear your offer so come on, what do you have?"

"Look, while we appreciate Davy's work as well as his back catalog, in all honesty, he is not a commodity in this current culture. How can we value his worth and current potential? I think that our presentation shows that we are willing to take a chance on whatever future he may have. But again, I remind you that we are the ones taking a risk."

Danny thought for a few moments before he began to address them. Now his voice was a little stronger and firmer. "So if I understand what you are saying, you're kind of lukewarm about Davy regardless of his recent and I might add, successful productivity. In that case, it makes this meeting very easy." His volume rose. "I'll make it simple for you. We don't want you to risk anything. We want all of Davy's catalog - the masters, the art, the whole package - and we want it turned over immediately. We want all contracts declared null and all succeeding material stipulations voided. Since we were never part of "the family", we would like to disassociate ourselves from your company and regain all rights and properties for our own discretionary use. That's what we want. Is that clear and simple enough for you to understand?"

"Never going to happen. Get serious," Head Suit snidely deferred.

"Never going to happen, huh? That's your position? Then this meeting is over and we have nothing more to discuss. You will be receiving a letter from our attorney, David Boies, as well as a demand from our accountants, Lewis and Spergal, for a full and complete accounting and disclosure from the day of the signing of the original contract, as well as all of your ASCAP spreadsheets for every year going back to the original date of signing. We'd rather have a court decide our future. Let them decide if your contract caused detriment and damage to Davy. We've heard quite enough. Thank you, gentlemen and good day?"

"Wait a minute, Danny. Can't we discuss this? What kind of money are we talking about here? What kind of money do you believe will make you whole, Davy? And, if I may be so bold to ask, how can you afford a long drawn out legal battle?" Head Suit was now pushing the envelope and attempting to draw a violent response from me.

Danny jotted down a number and passed it to me. I took a deep breath. I spoke calmly but with an indignant air. "First of all, don't you talk to me in that tone of voice. Who the fuck do you thing you are? I was making hits for this company when you were still in diapers. You think I give a shit about your team of salaried in-house hacks, like the ones sitting on your side of the table? Considering all the different ways you have used my catalog over the years without paying me and taking into consideration the damage and pain you brought to me and my career, I'd be happy to settle for $125,000,000.00. Maybe more. I'll have to see what my lawyer, Mr. Boies, has to say on the matter."

Head Suit broke into laughter and his underlings snidely smirked. "That's fucking absurd. We can't even pretend to take that figure seriously. You'll never receive that number, from us or from a court and you know it. Stop dreaming."

"Stop dreaming?" exploded Danny suddenly seeming enraged, "Who the fuck do you think you are, you pedant? Here, read these letters and then we'll tell you who the fuck we think we are!"

Kathy handed the letters to Danny who shoved them over to Head Suit. They were the letters from Rangel and Schumer. Head Suit read them and smirked and passed them to the suit on his right, who read and dismissed them, pushing them away.

"Meaningless," uttered Head Suit, "Boilerplate bullshit."

Danny pulled out his cellphone and dialed Senator Rangel. "Yes, hello, is the Senator in? He's expecting my call."

"Danny, how are you? What's up? How's everything going? How's my friend, Davy?" Danny had him on speakerphone so the suits could listen in. He filled the Senator in on the lack of realistic negotiations. The Senator listened and said, "Alright then, let me go forward with scheduling a public hearing on the matter. I'll see if I can get it for, say six weeks from now. Let me call Senator Schumer to fill him in. Have David call me and ask him to please send over all pertinent documents. Don't worry, Danny, it's about time we stepped in and put an end to this type of artistic contractual servitude. They appear to be blatantly thumbing their nose at the First Amendment. Give me a call later, will you, and say hello to Kathy for me." His last comment seemed to make Head Suit cringe.

Danny looked hard at Head Suit and angrily said "Now I'll tell you who the fuck we think we are! Don't take us for assholes. It's forty years later and we're not some star-struck kid believing your lies and bullshit. We are an injured party demanding restoration, that's who the fuck we are. So shove your crap where the sun don't shine and start reconsidering your position, which at the moment is tenuous at best."

The suits huddled up and discussed this development. Notes passed back and forth. Finally, Head Suit, looked narrowly at Danny and said, "We appreciate the force of your demands and we are not unwilling to seek a negotiated compromise. Perhaps as a sign of good faith, we might be willing to offer Davy a check to cover any past compensation. Not that we admit any wrongdoing, but merely as a way to be civil about this." The suits huddled again.

Danny scribbled a note to me. It read "Watch this. $2 mil offer. Now it's your turn to give it to them, Hamlet."

The Head Suit looked at us and with an evil smile, said, "As an offer of good faith and as away to continue negotiations without getting into all the extra nonsense, we are willing to write you a check, call it a signing bonus if you will, of $2,000,000.00."

I jumped up from my seat and yelled loud enough for the residents of Forest Lawn to hear, "$2,000,000! You miserable prick! You're fucking kidding me! You sit there and insult me like that? Take your check and shove it up your ass. I'd rather see you in court as well as in the headlines. And speaking of the court of public opinion, how do you think you're going to fare when your boy Avinet is all over the headlines. Right now, he's singing like an angelic choir to the FBI. You fuckers think you could pay some bum to spy on me and then try to extort me! Fuck you! Avinet is naming names both past and present about who you fucked, how he was paid and who paid him. You think I want to negotiate with you scumbags? I'll see you in jail first. Fuck that, I'll see you in Hell!"

The suit looked shocked as the color drained from his face. "I...uh...I haven't heard about this. What are you talking about? Who is this Avinet?"

Danny stood up. Now he was in the driver's seat and he spoke with an air of condescension. "Relax, Davy, Relax. Settle down. Down get excited. You shouldn't have told them that but as long as you did, the cat's out of the bag and so we're not dancing anymore. You know very well who Tom Avinet is so don't bullshit a bullshitter. Shall I call FBI Director Mueller to fill you in? Perhaps it will jog your memory." He pulled out his cellphone again. "I have him on speed dial."

"No, no. Not necessary." Head Suit was now deflating rapidly. The Flunky Suits were scribbling notes and passing them to him.

"Good. I don't think we can make our position clearer than that. Good day. We'll see you in court." Kathy collected the files as we walked out of the conference room and headed toward the elevator. Heads were staring at us. As we strolled down the hall, Danny whispered, "Say nothing in the elevator. Don't say a word until we leave the lot." He hit the call button and began to count. "1...2...3...4...5..." At 30, the elevator doors opened and we stepped inside. A hand reached in and held the door.

"Wait a minute." It was Head Suit. "We have decided to agree to release you from any contractual obligations or debts we claim again you, Davy. We will return to you all masters and all that goes with them including artwork, publishing rights, etc. We will negotiate a financial settlement to settle your displeasure. If you do not want to be on the label, we will not force the issue. We deny any culpability or responsibility to any acts by any former employees or any outside or third parties. Likewise, we deny any purposeful mismanagement or falsification of records. We offer you this check as a token against any settlement of claims and as a sign of good faith on our part to relieve ourselves of any obligations, past or future."

Danny took the check and studied it. He handed it back and said, "We want that statement in writing and we want the check certified before we accept it."

Head Suit looked scornfully. It looked as though he wanted to say something but then stopped and asked us to follow him. We reentered the now deserted conference room as Head Suit gave his secretary instructions. Danny turned to us and sotto voce said that the check was for $12,500,000.00 and, as he estimated and as they most probably knew, was approximately one-eighth of what they owed me. He said that the final settlement would probably be about $65,000,000.00 give or take a few.

Head Suit returned with the statement. Danny busted his balls by having some of the framing language changed and retyped. Head Suit returned again a few minutes later. Danny read the statement and angrily crossed out several words and wrote some comments in the margin. Chagrined, Head Suit returned with the amended statement. When Danny was suitably satisfied, we all signed it. Only then did Danny accept the check. Head Suit looked at us and said, "I trust we can keep this private and out of the news until the negotiations are complete. It is not necessary that allegations be aired in public." We nodded to him. Danny added, "Oh, by the way, watch Davy on Ferguson's show tonight." Dig, dig.

We walked back to the elevator. Danny reminded us of his order of silence by placing his finger against his lips. I felt light headed and thought I was hyperventilating. We left the building and walked to the car. Danny opened the truck and, from his valise, he took out a portable surveillance sensor. He walked around the car and got no readings. He then unlocked the car and waved the sensor around. It beeped near a point in the middle of the dashboard. He reached up and took out a small magnetic-backed microphone. He wrapped it in his handkerchief and satisfied that there were no others waved us into the car. He turned on the radio and held the mic up to the speakers. He told Kathy to snap a picture of it and to be ready to snap pictures of the guard. He asked her for a piece of stationary and an envelope. He wrote, "I believe this belongs to you. I found it under the dashboard in my car. It was not here before we drove onto the Warner's lot. We have photographed it's discovery. Furthermore, I have a logged and dated security surveillance video of the persons who installed it. This will cost you." He signed the letter, folded it and inserted it into the envelope. He dropped the mic in and sealed the envelope. He wrote Head Suit's name on the front. We drove up to the gate and Danny hailed the guard from his booth.

"How can I help you, Sir?"

"Here. I believe this is the property of Warner's. Please forward it to the addressed party." He handed the envelope to the guard as Kathy snapped away. We drove off and Danny pulled the car over about a block away. He turned and looked at us. He face broadened into a huge smile.

"Did I write the fucking script or what! OR WHAT!" We began to roar and scream. Quiet little Kathy had tears rolling down her cheeks from laughter and relief. "What a bunch of assholes! That last bit just covered my fee! Hahahahahaha!" He drove up onto the Freeway and other drivers must have thought we were nuts the way we were carrying on.

"I trust you'll keep this out of the news!...FUCK YOU, ASSHOLE!...fucking surveillance mics! You think they would learn! Wait a minute..." He dialed a number on his phone. "Hello, Charley...yeah...yeah...run with it...yeah...from unnamed sources within the Warner's Building...yeah...don't mention it. More to come, I promise. You're the first guy. Yeah, I promise." He hung up. "It's done. That was TMZ. Fuck them! FUCK YOU, ASSHOLE!" He waved his middle finger at the Warner's lot.

"Danny, I'm free. I'm really free. You did it!"

"You deserve it. After all the shit they put you through, after all the years we fought with them...they fucked up big time and now they're gonna pay...And this is just the beginning of the end for them...fucking bastards."

"I just can't say...I'm dumbfounded..I..." I rode the rest of the way in silence. Shock had set in. I'm Free! I'm Free. And freedom tastes of reality. Truer words were never written.

As we drove up, Amy, Mark and Deb ran out of the house. "Well? What happened?" Danny and Kathy jumped out of the car and started to Lindy. They were so giddy they had trouble getting any words out. I got out and just nodded yes and they all began to scream. Mark ran back in and came out with champagne and glasses. He popped the cork and sent the champagne shooting into the air.

"It was just like Danny said. It was line for line. It was fucking amazing." I started to giggle.

"Tell us everything! We've been dying for hours!"

We walked back in and the three us filled them in, ending each other's sentences and adding elements to the narrative. "It's over. We won. It's all new again. I feel like a little kid." Mark was laughing through the entire narrative. He fully understood the ramifications.

"We have to celebrate!"

"Celebrate? When have we not celebrated? That's all we seem to do!"

Amy jumped my bones on the couch and gave me ten thousand kisses. She whispered into my ear, "How much?" I whispered back, "We have a check for $12.5 and we'll probably end up with about $65 mil plus all the masters. Plus everything!" She screamed and nearly broke my eardrum. She grabbed the bottle and started chugging the bubbly as it foamed out of her mouth. "Damn! What balls you have! I love your balls! Whoopee!"

Mark asked what she was going crazy about and she screamed, "Twelve point five fucking million dollars and more to come. Sixty-five million dollars."

"Tax-free and it's all yours. My fee is covered by the surveillance mic...and we're going to make a bundle!" laughed Danny as he kissed Kathy. "This goes in the anti-Irene fund!...Oh, Jesus, I better call the office and Charlie Rangel! We're going to have to pay him off, too, but his debt with me is now settled." Danny and Kathy went off to make the calls but before he reached for the phone, he ran out onto the deck, threw off his jacket and jumped into the pool screaming like a banshee. Kathy was standing at the side laughing at him and he jumped out, chased her down, threw her into the pool and jumped in again. We all stood around laughing. Even Santo, Marion and Orson sensed our elation and they jumped around, too.

"I am suddenly so exhausted. It's like a huge weight is lifted. I'm so blown away. I BEAT THOSE FUCKERS!"

"And, you will be very happy to know that we went down to check the bus and everything is on schedule and perfect. Wait until you see what Elon has done! It will blow your mind. He's going to call us tomorrow to drop it off and then, guess what, baby...it's you me and Santo...on the road again!"

"She's not kidding," added Mark. "You think that bus was cool before? What until you check out the guitar and mic inputs...and mixer!...plugged into the outside storage bin."

"Don't tell him anymore, Mark," Amy admonished, "you'll ruin the surprises!"