Wow, Tico doesn't even look like Tico.

Well, David is probably more essential to being at the musical rehearsels than to playing his parts for the live recording. If they release the recording, I guess it would be different. And I do think that - since it is his musical - it is more important. You could also argue that Jon did not force him to be there which is a good thing. In the end, we dont know and I would not make a big thing out of it.

No but that's apples to oranges. Covid has made everything shift so unpredictably and you're talking as if you know one or the other wasn't last-ish minute. No one knows how the dates shifted between the album's new release date and Diana's recording date.

Look, I don't like it either but being put in a situation where it's two big machines fighting for time, I don't know how people can look at it with a "David doesn't care" or "Jon should wait" glasses. The months of planning of promo materials went right out the window for both projects and I think people are being naive when they assume it's just a day's work they'd need to sort out, the rehearsals are the real time killer.

I don't think your analysis is correct though. If Dave was desparate to be there for a recording of his band's new album, I think he would make it happen. If Jon was desparate to have his keyboard player from his new album there, I think he would find a way to make it happen. COVID-19 is a cop out excuse. I appreciate it makes things more difficult but if this had happened in 2005, you can be sure that Dave would have been there.

I think it is okay though. I'm sure - and I would expect as much - that Dave values his broadway work moreso than he does his band duties. I am also sure that Jon values prep for his album moreso than having specific band members present. It isn't 2005 anymore.

Fair enough, it really falls into no one knowing literally anything about the scheduling and how the plans came about but I feel for an album coming out in just about a month and a broadway musical rehearsing and recording at the same time in the middle of a pandemic I don't feel AS bad that this happened. I think it's a little short-sighted to say Covid is a cop out excuse but meh, it is what it is! I'm still looking forward to both projects.

Don't forget too this isn't just about Dave. There are engineers, musicians, all the singers that would have been booked to record on this day, they would have kept their schedules free for this. To just cancel on them at a moments notice isn't really fair. Some sessions musicians may also have a cut off date for cancellations, so they may have even had to pay them if he had cancelled. Same with studio time.

I have no doubt that Jon would have known Dave was booked when he decided on this, so let's not just blame Dave saying that he isn't commited to the band. Every band of a certain level has to have some kind of shared calendar where they add in dates and times that they are booked with other work. You also have to remember that Dave is still builidng his repuation for this side of his career, letting people down because of his other job will not build confidence for him in the scene...and I'm sure that Jon understands all of this.

Is it really any different from when the started WAN without Richie because he was touring/promoting aftermath? A one off performace isn't even as important as making a new album....

PREEEEEEEEEETTY much, yeah.

Though the timelines of WAN are murky, I could swear someone, maybe Hugh, saying the album was done almost a full year before release and Richie started work on Aftermath just after WAN was completed but whooooo knows.

They started WAN without Richie? When?



Not exactly... Richie was working on Aftermath while he and Jon were writing for WAN. He was already in the studio when he started flying back and forth to write with Jon for the 'new' album.

WAN was released in Mar 2013. Shanks said they started working on it in Oct 2011 and it took "about a year". Richie's album came out in Sept 2012, so there's no way he could have started on Aftermath after WAN was completed. Unless Hugh was perhaps referring to the song, What About Now.

Gonna try and track down the interview I'm thinking of. This one isn't it but as of Jan 2012 Hugh claims Richie was just finishing up his solo album and the band hadn't gotten together yet to work on the new album so maybe I got it reversed? Gonna do more digging. I know it leaked in late spring of 2012 so with a few weeks of mixing and mastering Hugh would be right about this.

pr

I may be remembering things wrong, the old grey cells are not what they used to be haha. I'm probably mixing up the time lines, but in my mind, Richie always joined the recording (not neccessary the writing, as that could have been stared much earlier) for WAN late....I remember an interview with Richie saying that he got a call from Jon but told him he had to wait for him as he was busy with Aftermath being released. Maybe it was beginning the tour and not recording the album? I thought this was around the same time that Tico said he didn't want to come and work on the demos, but maybe not...