| In 1996 David started
recording his second CD. |
| A friendly lawyer liked
the initial recordings and decided to help him shop it to record companies. |
| A couple of companies
showed interest, David decided to go with Mercury because their A&R
guy had been a supporter of his music. |
| Negotiations with Mercury
took almost a year, and the company got ownership of everything David
had recorded up to that point. |
| Mercury wanted everything
remixed, and more songs. |
| The company wanted a new
producer for the new songs., It took a few months to find Jeffrey
Lesser. |
| Negotiations with the
original producer, Chris Cochrane, took another 6 months. |
| Almost 2 years after he'd
started it, David was finally working on the CD again. |
| When design and production
were finished, the 14 song CD was scheduled for a fall release. |
| Tower Records' online
magazine reviewed a prerelease copy of that CD, Hard Candy,
as "more compelling with every play." |
| Mercury got purchased
by Universal, there were mass firings, and the release of Hard
Candy was postponed indefinitely. |
| David's representative
at the company got fired. |
| More than 300 acts got
dropped from Mercury/Universal's roster in those first few months.
The company released a list of dropped acts almost weekly. Then those
lists started coming less frequently and a tentative sense of safety
settled over those folks who were still under contract. |
| David's contract with
Mercury got terminated about 7 months after Universal took control. |
| Lawyers in Universal's
newly downsized legal department didn't return calls. |
| A year of unreturned calls
later, it didn't look like there was any hope for David of getting
his recordings back. |
| David's lawyer changed
law firms, and the law firm he left sued David for thousands of dollars
they alleged they were owed. |
| David's Dad sat next to
a lawyer from Universal at a fundraising dinner in L.A.: there was
some talk of getting the recordings back. |
| Clement's
new lawyer began negotiating with Universal. |
| The lawsuit against David
was settled in his favor. |
| David's lawyer reported
being frustrated, saying that negotiations with Universal were very
difficult. |
| His lawyer informed David
that enough time had passed so that David had regained the legal right
to re-record the songs on his previous CD's. |
| Enter Alan Smithee, film
director, music producer, and dilettante. |
| Smithee heard Hard
Candy and enjoyed it so much that he dedicated himself to
meticulously recreating Jeffrey Lesser's productions note for note. |
|
Smithee
has mostly succeeded in his tireless effort and 6 years later we
can offer you new versions of 12 songs of the original 14 on the
ill-fated Hard Candy.
|
|
It's 2002,
and you can send your $12.00 (or more) donation toward David's future
recording in the form of check or money order made out to "David
Clement":
561 Hudson
St. suite #37
New York, NY 10014
as a thank
you, you'll receive the new 12 song CD.
|
| Be sure to
include your return address, so we can get your free gift to you. |
