My last job in Acapulco trying to make sense of it all.

I worked at a restaurant called Baikal, it was the most odd experience I had in the music business. I am not sure I could call working there as the music business. Usually, when a person works as a professional a professional standard is expected, but not in Acapulco there were no standards.

This is really just a study on human behavior.  Yes I experienced all these things but never took it personal I just let it all hang out as they say.  This is my way of understanding the roots of a culture and what motivates them.  How do they deal with conflict, love, personal relationships, business, children, life style, education and etc.  It was very interesting in how they have double tribal personal feelings all acting on them at the same time.  From the owner to all the waiters to all the individual musicians and how they handled conflict. My conclusion was.  They get a c or c+.  They will never be a first class nation in the eyes of the world if they continue on this path.  The poor people look to the USA to solve their economic problems.  No confidence in their own government.  They look to their monopoly control to deal with competition therefore there is not open competition.  They lie to cover up their weaknesses.  They pretend in order to confuse you.  They work behind your back in groups in order to control you rather than talking to you and offering realistic options.  They think if they can steal from you and get over on you it is their right because you are not a native.

Even when I was trying to leave the airport in Mexico City I was attached by a bank teller trying to short change me on the money exchange.  There is not enough time and space to tell everything, but I hope you get the idea.

The standard was centered towards the worse musician in the band not the best. They called this equality. "We are all equal and we are not criticizing your ability." These were their exact words. They were exactly promoting low standards as not to hurt the trumpet players feelings. This was more important than the music. The management completely supported this idea and took all control away from me. Of course the musicians complained to them about me. They said I thought I was a musical genius and had no right to say so. I f I were a musical genius I would not be working with them. They really believed this too. I can only say in the words of Woody Allen, "I am a genius"

Well, after about six months they even went to immigration about this and the immigration department wanted to fine me for asking the musicians to work and be professional. Could anyone explain to me this type of thinking. I do not see anything productive about it? I refused to go to the meetings with immigration and walked out when I heard this.  They kept coming to my house and looking for me and even chased me on the street when I was in my car.  I just waved them off.  I could not accept this and this is when I decided to move back to the States with my younger daughter.

Some back-ground, I had been working for about 2 ½ years to get a job where I could set the standards. I thought I finally got this job where I could play with good musicians. But this turned out to be a big illusion on my part.

I told the owner Hector, that I did not want to work with any musicians from Acapulco, but that there were two musicians who lived in Acapulco who were from Mexico city and did not have the the mentality of the local union musicians. Was that an assumption that I was mistaken about!  Hector was a person who was well meaning but had no backbone when it came to standards.

Hector turned out to be the biggest liar I ever came across in my life. He promised me control of the band and I could set the musical standards. That was great, I found a piano player from Mexico City who liked Acapulco and wanted to work there because of his health. So we did an audition for Hector and he accepted the band and was happy about his decision.

However, Hector had a hard time keeping his word. He got the piano player so upset because he always was running from the money and the piano player did not want to move to Acapulco because he lost all respect for Hector. So I was out of a piano player. There were only two piano players that I knew of who could play this job the one I wanted said no. So I hired the only other piano player. His name was blank. You know I forgot his name and not without reason. He said he would hire thugs to beat me up because I could not agree with him and he thought he could make a better leader of the band.  I could not believe this too. 

Mean while, I was very happy I had a band that I thought I could control and working in the newest restaurant in Acapulco, Baikal. Control is a big word in Acapulco everybody once to control you but nobody wants to be controlled. It was interesting, I learned later that Hector had no control he was just a voice with no meaning. He let the band run all over him and I ended up without any control and quit. Because how could I run a band without control. I could not figure it out really. I quit that job three times. But the last time I quit they fired me the next night because I did not really quit I just asked them to place me in another restaurant.  I could not take it anymore. It was making me sick. This was too insulting for them so they planned on letting me go the next night without my knowledge. This way they could feel superior. I think this was what it was about they feeling superior to the American or Artist what ever you prefer. I said why don’t you cut off my balls too. Rubin laughed at that and I said, "why, do not you fire the band and not me I’ll perform with another band." He could not accept that. So I could not quit I had to be fired for their ego. I returned two weeks later to get my things and the band sounded so awful I could not believe it. I ask Rubin how can you listen to that? He had no answer and walked out.

To me that was like sticking your head in the sand. The musicians looked tired and depressed. The bass player, SoloMio, looked at me with the strangest look. I could not say anything to him because as far as I was concerned he brought these problems on me more than anybody. He looked harmless but dealing with him was only an illusion for he did not really respect me. I thought he cared about me. This was a big mistake on my part thinking I had confidence in him. It really hurt me that he betrayed me like he did because I gave him this job. He was my Judas in this situation. I will always think of him as the quiet unsuspecting Judas.  It was interesting how he betrayed me so quietly alone with the others.

They verbally abused me from every viewpoint that they could think of, looks, I smelled, my shoes smelled, I could not talk to the singer, She could do what ever She wanted, the drummer was the most experienced and professional person in the band, so he said so many times, what an ego, the piano player hated American music but he wanted to play this job. He did all he could to turn the job into a Latin job. What a comedy I thought. I thought to myself "can I get through this." This was the biggest challenge for me to work with these sick people as I saw it. But I said as little as possible. Just tried to set my standards which were always being under minded but their mental problems which I could only see as unique to this area.

The singer, what a mess, one day before the job began in December, Hector said he had a singer for the band. I said, "can She sing." He said, "he saw a tape and She could sing." What a nightmare for me having a singer in the band. You see, singers are such ego maniac’s. And She had all those problems plus her voice was very weak from not singing. She had two good qualities She had a great ear and rhythm, but did not know anything about music. She could not tell a good musician from a bad and it did not seem to matter. She just sang the way She sang no matter what was going on.   She did not know how to present herself to musicians so I taught her and She did OK after awhile.  She was hard working but did not know the word grateful. 

The biggest problem was She was sleeping with Hector sometimes and She was allowed to do almost anything She wanted. Therefore I had no control of her. Now, how can one run a band without control is my question? But that was not important to the owner. I was so sad because I learned that the owner was not interested in music it was just some kind of game he was playing.

She had many excellent qualities and the one I liked the most was that She chose songs and sang in a style I had a lot of respect for. It hurt me that Hector used her as a sexual object, that She agreed too, just to work and have control of the situation. She hated me over all this. We had some really big fights. She did listen to me some even though it was more of a war than agreement.

I think he, Hector, wanted to cut off the American’s balls if he could and it was some kind of macho thing with him. He tried so hard to cut off my balls; they all did. They were all in it together. Lets get the gringo. The singer thought it was a big joke. Everybody told me to go back to New York City why would I want to live here. So one day I took their advice and went home with a very sour taste in my mouth. Hector did try to keep me there but did not have the balls to do it. I could not understand his double dealing I guess sex was more important than a band for him. 

I am not sad for myself or Acapulco or the people in the band I am sad for music because for me there was none.  My reason for writing this is when will people ever have respect for music or know what it is.  I guess never.

The day my 'back was broken from this job' was a day when Hector came in and said he had a trumpet player for the band. I heard him play and quit on the spot. I said if he wanted him I had to go. I could not work with such a player. Now, this was the second time the owner put someone in the band without my approval. I never heard of such a thing the owner making decisions for the musical personal.  Hector told me one day Fuck You.

All of a sudden the band was a democracy and they voted on having this trumpet player in the band. They all voted for him to be in the band and I was the only one against. So Hector said find another saxophone player we do not need Greg. Anyway they looked for a saxophone player for over six weeks and could not find one. So they played the job without a saxophone player.

If there ever was a musical joke this was the biggest joke in the world. When Hector hired the original piano player that I had been trying to get into the band for months I called him up and ask him if I could return to work with him.

He said yes, so I returned to work. I ask Hector if we could have a meeting first to try to get things out in the open. Well, we had this meeting with the group and it was the most one sided meeting in the world. The conclusion was I had no voice in the group I was completely at the mercy of the piano player. So, I lost my standards for the band they were now in the hands of the piano player who had his own set of standards which changed with the level of the musician. He played one level for me. Another level of the trumpet player and he played differently for the singer. I thought the piano player was a wonderful player but he was not independent enough he followed the group mentality not the mentality of good music. It was amazing how he could change his style of music from real music to this terrible sound of death he had when he played especially when he played with the trumpet player. He really captured that level of nothingness. The other thing was that three of the musicians were upset I made more money than they did. This was also a big problem for them and they hated me for it because of it. They rather see me out of the band then to make more money.

It was not a band but just a group of individuals. I ask myself what ever happened to the band?

After awhile it made me physically sick and then I decided it was time for me to go I was getting sick. No job is worth getting sick over as I saw it.

This was my third and last time I left the band. In baseball three strikes and you are out. I certainly was out. I will never believe anything these people say or do. This was the third and final job in Acapulco I lost all desire to work with such people and situations. My experience with the jazz festival and the Princess Hotel were I ended up losing my own money for this effort really convinced me that Acapulco could never be won. Because corruption, ignorance and racism was the most important thing there not quality of production or humanity.

Musical Art is judged by the history of music and musicians with the experience and knowledge to make such decisions. The only person I could talk to on a professional level was the conductor of the symphony. He said, "it is not important music it is only about power".

I say real power is knowledge and is the only power, spiritual, physical, and social.

I hoped you enjoyed reading this essay about my last job. Greg Henry Waters Nov. 15, 2002

I must say after reading this I was a real fool to get into this situation. But even Artists try to earn a living.