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The Making and Demise of The PerfectRecording/Part 2

The Behind-The-Scenes Story of My Work WithFreedy Johnston and the Making ofCan You Fly

Can You Fly was the album that put Freedy Johnston on the map and it set the tone for his futurerecordings. It was well received and made several critics Best Of list that year. Robert Christgau of The

Village Voice called it a perfect record. In a way, I think Freedy attempted to return to the quality and

mood of Can You Fly on his subsequent works, while trying to demonstrate his independence from it.

Pay No Attention To The Man Behind The Curtain!

Mark Zoltak was the man with a plan. He saw the big picture and had extensive musical knowledge. When

listening to a demo, hed hear its final mix instead. He preached Freedys work like Billy Graham cited

scripture. Mark talked at a heart palpitating, mile-a-minute pace with motivational energy. His mind was

five steps ahead of yours in a conversation. When we were airborne en route to Holland, he remembered

that he left his car double parked, flashers blinking on a busy Hoboken street. That was just like him, as hispassions sometimes rendered him absent-minded. He had an absolute panic attack on board the plane!

Mark was consumed by Freedys career and was the perfect manager. In the not too distant future, Freedy

would fire Mark.

Heres The Real Deal. Mark was the kind of guy that, on first glance, few took seriously. Soon,

however, he demonstrated qualities that few can only aspire to. He spoke his mind freely and often. He waspolitically incorrect. Hed say things with serious intent, but in a way that would generate laughter instead.The bottom line is that Mark knew his stuff and knew it better than anyone. The problem with Mark wasnt

his problem, but it was one of outside perception. Its that he just said and did things in a manner that oftendid not command authority. He didnt have much of a track record in the music business, nor did he play

any instrument. At times he was personally volatile and unprofessional. So, its important you know this

because Mark was not properly credited on the first edition ofCan You Fly. This was ironic because Mark

had been the behind the scenes Executive Producer, Producer, Arranger, Manager and Caterer. In truth,

Mark was the one who had a clear vision of Freedys songs and single-handedly made this recording come

to life. Yes, others (including Freedy of course) played an important role in the success of the project, butMark laid out Freedys career, handing it to him. I believe that this realization may have tortured Freedy

over time.How can the artist freely admit that someone else is responsible for realizing his work, perhapsbetter than he can, while solely accepting the credit for its brilliance? Later on, Mark had to kick and

scream to get an Executive Producer credit, for which he duly deserved.

Rehearsals and Sessions/Round 1

The recording of the basic tracks for Can You Fly took place in two chunks, each separated by a year. We

began in the fall of 1990 at the old Water Music in Hoboken on Grand Street. I have fond memories of this

studio as I recorded there quite a bit including Helen Hookes Versability, The SilosHasta La Victoria,

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Kevin Salems Unreleasedand MadderosesBring It Down. I also produced Ms. LumsAirport Love Song

there. The first batch of songs includedResponsible, California Thing, Tearing Down This Place andWheels. The band line-up was me on drums, Freedy, Jared Nickerson on bass and Jimmy Lee. Graham

Maby produced this batch of tunes and played some guitar too. These sessions were fun, easy and light-

hearted. The overall mood was fine and Freedys songs were so good that they seemed to play themselves.

I remember feeling immense satisfaction after these sessions, and knew that we created something special.I listened to the basic tracks ofResponsible and some other out takes endlessly in my car and at home formonths afterward. I would have been a fan even if I hadnt worked on these songs. Freedy was the most

unique and original artist I had worked with. I was sure hed be as notorious as Neil Young, Leonard

Cohen, Wilco or the like.

Rehearsals and Sessions/Round 2

The next round occurred a year later, around Thanksgiving of 1991 under the direction of Mark Zoltak andproducer Knut Bohn. There was a big difference in Knuts approach to recording. He had specific ideas

about kick drum patterns and muted my cymbals with tape. You can really hear the dry cymbals all over

the recording and especially at the end ofTryin To Tell You I Dont Know. Overall, it seemed he wanted tominimize the role of the drummer in the band and didnt want parts to stand out, whereas Graham had a

go-for-it approach.

I worked with (or around) Knut by relying on the nuances and subtleties of my performances. For example,In The New Sunshine has fewer fills but a more intricate groove. The fact that The Lucky One hasabsolutely no fills actually highlights the groove and the song. Because my drum fills with Knut were more

sparse and less active, it was a challenge to keep them interesting and effective. Admittedly, some of my

drum fills ended up sounding a bit Charley Watts-esque, which (I believe) secretly drove Freedy and Knut

crazy. Although they never confronted me about it, they would communicate with not-so-subtle glances or

expressions during the playback of the drum tracks. However, in spite of their disrespect and attempts to

minimize my contributions, the musical choices I made and performed for Can You Fly were unparalleled.

Heres The Real Deal. This was no small task. I had to work within Knuts confines while executingwhat Freedy was hearing. He wasnt the greatest musical communicator. To compound matters, Freedy

insisted on bringing in his old drummer, Alan Bezozi, to play percussion on the record. By Freedys

design, the guy had to shake a tambourine or hit a bell over every god-damned drum track. Freedy was

taken by Bezozis percussion playing as if he had just witnessed pure musical genius. The subtext was,

Now, ifthatguy (instead of Brian Doherty) had played drums on my record, then wed have a

masterpiece on our hands! Trust me, Im not a sensitive victim making this shit up. It really happened,

and it was laughable. It was passive aggressive behavior for reasons unknown to me. Alan Bezozi wasFreedys drummer before me and played drums on The Trouble Tree. As a drummer, Alan was a groove-

buster and had trouble getting to the heart of the musical matter. It didnt go unnoticed by others, butFreedy would still rely on Bezozi as his go-to guy. Bezozi had approached me once saying, No offense,but your tracks on Can You Fly sound like they should be on a Bob Seger record. I pointed out that

drummer Roger Hawkins (of Muscle Schoals fame) played on many Seger tracks and thanked him for the

generous compliment.

Months later, I went to a Freedy show in NYC on the Can You Fly tour and was not shocked to hearBezozis musical road blocks during the set. I felt a tug at my sleeve and turned to face Michael Azerrad,

musician andRolling Stone journalist standing next to me. Why the hell arent you up there playingdrums? he asked. This drummer is killing these songs! I shared his view. Let me wrap this section up

by telling you that in 2007 I got an email from Freedy, after not hearing from him for many years. He was

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planning a 15-year anniversary gig, commemorating the release ofCan You Fly. He explained the situation

and told me he was rounding up the crew that had worked on the record. He also told me that he hadalready secured the commitment of Alan Bezozi for the gig. It occurred to me that it might be two-

drummer affair, although I was the only drummer on the recording. I dont know how the gig turned out

because I was not there.

If Jared Nickerson was the definition of cool, then Kevin Salem was the demonstration of dishevelled. A

Cat Stevens look alike, Kevin would stroll into rehearsals reeking of cat piss. His jeans were torn from the

crotch straight down to the ankle. The entire pant leg was one big rip. The only thing that protected him

from an indecent exposure charge were the yellowing long johns he wore underneath. Hed open his guitar

cases and the stink of cat piss would almost knock you over. At dinner, the guy would eye the food on your

plate like Steve Guttenburgs character in that movieDiner. On the Holland Tour, Kevin booked me to

play drums on his upcoming recording (for which I would never see a dime), and he would later ask Mark

Zoltak to help finance it (Im not sure Mark ever saw his money again either).

Can You Fly was released in early 1992. Shortly afterward, I went to Europe with The Silos for a five-week

tour. Before I left, I got a call from Mark Zoltak asking me to work with Freedy in Belgium for a week orso. Miraculously, Freedys dates began a day or two after the last Silos date. It was perfect. I was then

informed that Freedy had no money to pay me and was asked if I would do it for the cost of expenses and

meals. I told Mark that Id think about it. In the interim, I got a call from Kevin Salem who was livid about

the situation. I shared his feelings and we agreed that we would both turn the offer down. In a phone call, I

told Mark how I felt and that I wouldnt be making the trip to Belgium. A week or so after I returned from

The Silos tour, I called Kevin Salem to catch up and chat. He informed me that he had just returned

from Belgium where he worked with Freedy.

From Freedy to TMBG

In later years, Freedy and I saw each other on only a few occasions. There was a gig in Woodstock.Once, he was a guest at my home in Stone Ridge, NY and there was a recording session with Freedy and

Marshall Crenshaw, produced by John Flansburgh of They Might Be Giants. My drum tracks on Can YouFly are some of my best ever. I was 28 years old and I felt I had made musical progress. It was the bridge

that carried me away from The Silos and on to many other bands. Today, after having played in bands and

on sessions for 30 years, I can tell you that it can sometimes be an absolute chore to work on music. Often,

its futile. The songs ofCan You Fly, however, were a breeze in comparison. Thats because they were well

written songs, straight from the heart. Later, my drum tracks would attract the attention ofThey Might Be

Giants, with whom I would work for the next several years.

After the release of the record, Freedy fired Mark Zoltak and hired the manager of They Might Be Giants.

Mark would later explain it to me saying, I was worried about Freedys music and now he wants to cash-in on t-shirt sales just like They Might Be Giants do!

Brian Doherty is best known as a drummer for groups like They Might Be Giants, XTC, M2M, Freedy

Johnston, and Ben Folds. He grew up in Randolph, NJ and earned a Master of Music degree from the

Manhattan School of Music. Brian also holds a Master of Teaching degree from The City College of New

York. He is currently a music teacher in the Bronx and remains professionally active in the NYC area.Read my story, see rare video, pics and more on my website www.briandoherty.net