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THE BAND - GOODBYE PUNK ROCK, HELLO GODS!
II. Bittersweet
Their groundwork notwithstanding, it was their sense of melody that landed The Flowers their first record contract with Bittersweet
Records. Bittersweet was a punk rock subsidiary of the important dance label Strictly Rhythm in 1996. According to Ed, "the people at Bittersweet had
gotten a hold of a few of our comps and called us and were convinced that they could make us the next big thing and at the time, we
were naive enough to buy into that."
Unfortunately, the band soon learned that the sky high expectations for the songs they were now writing would be as much of a curse as
they were flattering. "The folks at Bittersweet were really great at first. They got us featured showcases at CBGBs, the Continental and
the old Pyramid club, but there was also a point where we began to feel the pressure," as John stated in a 2001 interview. "We went looking
for studios with the head of the New York Strictly Rhythm, who was a millionaire, and he took us to the Hit Factory where we walked
in to huge Platinum Michael Jackson records hanging in the lobby. We tried out the studio that John Lennon recorded his last record and we
even met (maybe accosted is a better word) John Cougar Melloncamp, who was there at the same time on one of the walk-throughs." Joe
Guerrero added, "We went out to the bar that night and we all knew that something was weird. I think that in some way we felt obligated
to start writing some hits right away to live up to what was being done for us, and ultimately it led to our break-up."
Indeed, by the year's end, the pressure and creative differences had led to Joe's departure from the band, and shortly thereafter John
and Ed had been dropped by Bittersweet. As Ed recalled, "By Thanksgiving, we were threatened with a lawsuit by Bittersweet to recover
the money they'd spent on us and then the label itself went under and we never heard from them again."
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