1968 Conqueror of American Rock - Chapter 134



Only Noblemtl

134. Three things to do

After a moment to remember Jimmy, we ended the show with ‘We Are Sparkling Ripple’. But the audience already knew the Woodstock story too well. When they asked us to do ’21st Century Hippie Girl’ one more time as an encore, we poured all our remaining energy into it.

The first Pilton Festival was a success. The day after the festival, a thousand people stayed on the site to collect all the rubbish. Most of them were wearing the black T-shirts we sold.

Of the roughly ten thousand people, a thousand remained, a surprising number, nearly one-tenth.

The news made the front page of the local paper the next day and was featured in various music weeklies.

Mr. Robert Smith filmed every scene from rehearsal through the last day, and also filmed an interview with Mr. Michael Eavis before returning to California.

London Smog went to LA with the members as soon as they completed departure procedures.

I had three things to do while I was still in London.

* * *

I got a ride from Alex Baldwin to Rockfield Studios. It was the same place I had been to for a long time. It was quiet and peaceful, but somehow it felt lonely.

“Come on in, James. Hahaha.”

Mr. Kingsley Ward greeted us warmly and led us into the reception room.

“James, the scene where they paid tribute to Jimi Hendrix at this festival really impressed me.”

“Thank you for coming to see me.”

“Of course. It’s my friend’s farm. Look over there.”

The place he pointed to had the t-shirts we sold hanging there.

“We all bought it together. It felt like we got ten years younger after wearing it for the first time in a while, haha. But how did you come up with this idea?”

“That was Annie’s idea, not mine.”

“Annie Yang? That’s amazing. It’s a shame that there aren’t enough of them. I think a lot of people who couldn’t buy them were disappointed.”

“So when we return to the US, we plan to mass produce it.”

“Oh, it’s coming to England too?”

“Yes, of course.”

I took a sip of tea and got back to the main point.

“Mr. Ward, if you don’t mind, could you give me a rough estimate of how much it cost to furnish this studio?”

“Oh, you said you were going to build a studio at Bethel Farm? My brother and I personally did the soundproofing and soundproofing work here. We tore down walls and built partitions where necessary. People who live in the countryside usually do that themselves. So the only expenses for the construction itself were the material costs.”

“Then most of it would be the cost of the instrument.”

“you’re right.”

I also knew the price of the instrument well.

“Then is there anything I should be careful about?”

“It rains a lot here, so we had a hard time with the humidity. You really have to pay a lot of attention to the electrical work.”

“Oh, I see. Humidity is not only a problem in terms of short circuits and electric shocks, but it is also fatal to instruments and changes the spatiality of the sound.”

“James, you know very well. That’s right. The texture of the sound also changes. When considering the condition of the singer’s throat, humidity control is really important. It can’t be too dry, and it can’t be too humid.”

Mr. Ward told us about the ventilation system and natural materials that help control humidity. You can see how much he studied to design the studio. For the electrical part, you can ask ‘Garage Brew’ for help.

“The recording booth has instruments and vocals, so it should be at medium humidity, and the control room should be a little drier than that.”

“Wow, you already know everything so I don’t have anything more to say, haha.”

“No, it was a great help. I know a little about musical instruments, but I didn’t know much about sound absorption, soundproofing, natural materials, etc.”

“We changed it several times through trial and error, and I’ll write you a final estimate. This is the know-how that my brother and I worked hard to figure out, so only James’ studio should know about it, haha.”

“Thank you. Thank you so much!”

First thing’s first.

* * *

The next day, I took a train from London Euston Station and arrived at Birmingham New Street Station after about two hours. It rained outside the window the whole way, but luckily when I arrived, the rain had stopped and the sun was peeking out through the clouds.

As expected from Birmingham, one of the UK’s three largest cities along with London and Manchester, the station was bustling with vibrant people. Compared to London, people of Indian and Pakistani descent were more noticeable.

Well, this is where Black Sabbath and Judas Priest started.

“James!”

The Judas Priest trio were waiting at the station to greet us.

“This is my first time in Birmingham, but it’s just as good as London.”

“Of course. Birmingham is the second largest city in England after London, haha.”

Ian said proudly.

I took a bus with them and arrived at a practice room about 30 minutes away. Like most underground band practice rooms, it was small and dirty.

“Come in. James from Sparkling Ripple is coming to our practice room. This is truly a historic moment.”

As I opened the door and went in, a man with long hair and a moustache was playing the guitar. He looked at me, suddenly stopped playing, and dropped the pick on the ground.

“Oh, it’s really James······.”

“Hello, nice to meet you. My name is James Choi.”

“Uh······ I, I’m Glen Tipton.”

He was Glenn Tipton, who would go on to create the legend of twin guitars in Judas Priest with KK Downing. The trio asked him to join the band, but he said he was hesitating to make a decision.

“Wow······ I thought these guys were lying. I would have gone to the Pilton Festival if it weren’t for Saturday······.”

Glenn Tipton began his musical career by learning piano from his mother. His classical guitar solo lines are directly influenced by the classical music he learned from his mother as a child.

He said he couldn’t come to the festival because he still plays accompaniment in the church choir every Saturday.

“So is it true that you’re going to teach me that heavy guitar tone?”

Glenn’s eyes sparkled.

“Yeah. But it might be a little weak with the amp we have here.”

There was a Marshall vintage combo amp in the practice room. I connected my guitar and booster that I had brought to the amp.

Click.

– Left, right, left!

“Wow! I can really hear that sound!”

Glenn screamed in excitement.

“Glen, this is nothing. It’s just a ridiculous metallic sound that comes out when you plug it into the amp that James modified.”

Kenneth, who had experienced the sound of my amp firsthand, crossed his arms, shrugged, and smiled.

I played Glenn Tipton a guitar solo that was a masterful display of techniques that had not yet been discovered in this world. He looked as if he could not believe it, even though he was watching it with his own eyes.

And I added that I will actively support Judas Priest in the future.

“I’ll join your band!”

Now Judas Priest has gone from a trio to a quartet.

This also solved the second problem.

* * *

Today is the last and most important day of the three things I have to do in London.

I made a reservation at the hotel restaurant and invited the guardians of the London smog. I arrived first with Peter, an accounting staff member from the company, and checked the documents once more.

Jacqui’s parents, Thomas’ father, and the director of the orphanage all came together. It seemed like the director had brought the others in her car.

“Come in. Please sit over here.”

I stood up, greeted them, and introduced Peter, a company employee.

It was my first time meeting Jacqui’s father. I wondered who his tall and handsome appearance resembled, and it turned out that he looked exactly like his father.

The course meal that we had reserved in advance started to come out.

“Isn’t this place too expensive?”

Thomas’ father asked.

“It’s okay, father. Today’s event is being hosted by our company to commemorate our contract with London Smog.”

Peter handed out the envelopes he had prepared to each person.

“What is this?”

Jacqui’s mother asked.

“This is a portion of the exclusive contract fee for London Smog. It will take some time as there is an international remittance process.”

“Exclusive contract fee? Why are you giving that to us······.”

“Because the children are still minors.”

“But if it’s an international remittance, the fees will be quite high. Wouldn’t it be better for the children to just open an account in the US?”

Thomas’ father knew a lot about international money transfers.

“Let me explain this. Once I resolve the issue of the children’s permanent residency, I will open a separate account in the United States. I am giving this money as a favor to the children.”

“No, this much money?”

Jacqui’s mother was shocked when she saw the amount written on the document.

“The kids will go to America and make a lot more money. You saw the audience reaction at this festival. It’s possible.”

“Please give this money back to my son. What did we do to deserve this money?”

“honey······.”

Father’s eyes wavered at Mother Jacquip’s blunt, direct remark.

“Mother, Jacques told me he won’t come back to England until he buys his parents a house in London. You know what he’s like? When he says he’s going to do something, he’ll do it no matter what.”

Parents will know their child’s personality better than anyone else.

“Surely our Thomas wouldn’t have said something like that?”

No way.

“Thomas said he wouldn’t set foot on British soil until his sister sent him a photo of herself smiling with her mum and dad.”

The moment he heard me, Father Thomas’s pupils shook anxiously.

“How······that······.”

Thomas never talked about his family except for his father. Whenever I visited his house, his father was always alone, and there was not a single family photo hanging in the house. I thought he had some personal story, so I deliberately did not ask him.

Thomas’ younger sister was born with a cross-eyed eye. After entering school, she was teased by her friends and her bright personality became increasingly timid and even depressed. Eventually, she went down to her grandmother’s house in the countryside with her mother and was homeschooled. She could have been cured with surgery, but the cost of the surgery was so high that she couldn’t afford it.

‘Brother James, I’m willing to live in poverty for the rest of my life, just to see my sister smile brightly again. I want my family to be together again and live in one house. I will truly repay you with my life.’

‘Don’t worry. I’ll take care of everything. When you get to America, just focus on music with your friends.’

The envelope I gave to Thomas’ father contained a larger sum of money. It was not company money, but my personal donation. It was a lot of money, but it was nothing compared to the revenue that London Smog would earn in the future when it was fully operational.

“If I say it like this, my father will understand.”

Thomas’ father bowed his head and sobbed, his shoulders shaking. The director next to him patted his shoulder.

“But I’m not a parent, so why are you doing this to me······.”

“Joseph said that the director was his father. I bet Joseph would be really upset if he heard that.”

“No, that’s not it. I also think of Joseph as a son. It’s just that, legally······.”

“Haha, I’m just kidding. I think I made the mood too heavy. Well, let’s eat now.”

After a while, the parents, who had calmed down, had a good time talking about their children’s childhood with swollen eyes.

So I finished all three things.