So Rick sends in a tape of two songs to this Yamaha competition he heard about because he likes to enter things. What the heck. Then one night before rehearsal gets started, Rick and Robert and Jean (Rick's beautiful wife) are talking in the kitchen at Homestead Road and the phone rings, Jean answers and hands the phone to Rick saying, "It's somebody named Doug Buttleman from Yamaha and he wants to talk to you". Hmm... "Hello", says Rick, having in that moment completely forgotten about sending any particular demo tape to anyone. It turns out Mr. Doug Buttleman has called with some great news for our heroes. Out of over 2000 band demos, they had been chosen as one of six finalists that would be flown to LA for a week of rehearsals culminating with the performance that would determine the winner of the competition.

The band on stage at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium.

But first a small formality. A+R reps Rovena Cardial and Bob Stabile flew up to listen to the band in its Homestead Road rehearsal space just to verify they were a real band that could actually play the songs on the tape. After "passing the audition" they were off to be treated like rock superstars for a week. Yamaha really pulled out all stops and created an event of the highest caliber, professional in every detail.

Limousines, separate rooms for each band member with unlimited room service, a feature put to the test by Playmation guitar tech, Rex Kropf. Stepping up to the door of a club with a long line and, with a word to the doorman from their Yamaha appointed "Road Manager", (Hoover) walking right in.

The night of the competition they played to a sold out Santa Monica Civic Auditorium with a Who's Who of rock luminaries in attendance. Quincy Jones, Phil Ramone, David Foster, Ira Jaffe, etc. were among the judges panel of industry super-heavyweights. Don Henley, Bruce Hornsby, David Paich and many others were performing just after them, headlining the show for Yamaha. Playmation did not win the competition. The inside skinny was that they came in second, a rumor supported by the fact that Robert, T.J., and Dolores walked off with 3 of the 5 best player awards, and Nate was robbed, it should have been four. But who cares, it was a BLAST!

They did make some good connections, got a very high quality video tape of the performance, and with all the publicity, club owners were calling THEM to play at their venues instead of the band having to beg to let them play. Now THAT was nice! They were interviewed in Downbeat Magazine and their exploits were chronicled in lots of other print media. They got to rub elbows with some of their idols. For instance at the after-show party Quincy Jones tapped T.J. on the shoulder and told him that he really liked his playing a lot. Is there a musician on the planet that wouldn't like to get a prop like that?

But the best thing it did was fuse them together into a band. Until this event and its modest success, there wasn't a very deep commitment from everyone. The Yamaha thing gave everyone more success and exposure than they had ever had from a musical endeavor. It gave them some real credibility in the local music scene and beyond.