"Union Scale"

Lyrics

FZ: The Whisky was the home base for Johnny Rivers. He was like a fixture there. And he played there every night and he was the big star. The other place that groups support was called The Trip. And that was for groups that already had record contracts or touring groups. I guess, that held about a thousand people. And, uh, also part of this three way circuit was this little club called The Action, which was on Santa Monica Blvd.
And that was kind of the entry level establishment. Their clientel was, uh, prostitutes, uhm, underworld figures and television actors. Mainly, who came in there. Aw, some movie people too.
And the only way you could work The Whisky, is if Johnny Rivers was going on a tour. And since he was, ah, the mainstay of their income there, he didn't really tour that much. For one day he decided he was gonna do a tour and they needed some band to slot into The Whisky and we got the job.
But they left his … the, the sign, was a plywood sign, it used to hang out in front of The Whisky, big letters, Johnny Rivers and they never took it down … to … make people think that he was still there, imagine the shock they got, when they came in and saw was playing.
Trouble Every Day and Who Are The Brain Police?, that kind of stuff.
Well, the audience wasn't anything to brag about, they're are a bunch of drunk people in Go-Go boots, but, the money was a lot better than at the broad side, because we, we're actually making UNION SCALE!

Players On This Song

FZ and Nigel Leigh

Records On Which This Song Has Appeared

The MOFO Project/Object (Deluxe Edition)

Notes About This Song

According to booklet: BBC Late Show interview with Nigel Leigh, UMRK, March 1993