Hey Jazzyvee,
Thanks for asking and I apologize for the lengthy reply, but happy to tell what I remember.
It was a dark and stormy night...
My first exposure to Allan was the Tony Williams "Believe It" record. As I've said before, I think Allan is one of the rarest of musicians; obviously a technical master but also extremely musical and with
no discernible history. You cannot tell what his influences were. It's as if he came from another planet and invented his own way of playing the instrument which nobody has ever heard. Know what I mean? He is a one-off.
My understanding is that he relocated to the US around 1980 with his entire I.O.U band which was Paul Carmichael (b), Gary Husband (d) and Paul Williams (vocal). The music was ... unique ... It was melodic and
had lyrics but was harmonically and rhythmically complex. A true fusion of things which of course wasn't able to find a mainstream audience over here.
So that band couldn't be sustained and Carmichael and Husband went back to the UK leaving only Allan and Paul the singer in Southern California This is when Chad Wackerman and Jeff Berlin joined the band. I believe the Chad connection may have been made through Allan knowing Frank Zappa (??). I don't know how Allan hooked up with Jeff.
Then came the Eddie Van Halen arranged record deal with Warner Bros. The story of "Road Games" is worthy of its own book! Quite an amazing tale.
I don't know exactly why Jeff and Allan parted company but they were looking for a replacement around '84 / '85.
One thing I will interject here - this was clearly a jazz gig and money was always sketchy to non-existant. The Holdsworth accounting system could also be a book. So Jeff may have left in an effort
to save money for all I know... Ha!
So,
to answer your first question (finally), I had played with Chad a few times since arriving in LA about 5 years earlier and so my name was thrown into the hat when they were looking for somebody.
Chad could probably fill in the details but I remember scribbling out a couple cheat sheets for tunes off the I.O.U record (there were never any official charts for this band), loading up my 2x12, 2x15 stereo rig, and driving down to the Charvel Guitar factory to play with Allan & Chad. I don't remember if Paul W was there that day but I think it was just the trio with no PA.
I had never played any music quite like that (!!) so despite the questionable business side of things I happily signed on. Soon after we recorded the Metal Fatigue album and got out to play some gigs.
On my first tour there were several "where's Jeff??!!" calls from the audience, which I admit was a bit crushing. But I couldn't blame them, Jeff is an insane player and a wonder to hear and see play. I was sorry to disappoint his fans but just dug in and did my best to support Allan and his mind-blowing music and soloing.
There's a lot to tell but I'll stop here. The main answer to your question is; right time, right place, who you know, who you have played with, willingness to put in the effort. My actor friends are always surprised when I explain we don't have "agents". They ask "how do you get work?" It's word of mouth and reputation as a player that connects us all. That's also why I always recommend playing EVERY possible gig that comes your way because you never know what it could lead to.
Best to everybody!
Jimmy J
