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Pabstolutely festival returns to Royal Oaks
YOUNGSTOWN — BJ O’Malley moved to Nashville last year with a goal of making a great record.
Armed with her voice, her guitar and a pair of scissors, the country singer believes she has done just that.
O’Malley bartered her skills as a hair stylist for the services of producers and session musicians and has laid down what she calls her first real record.
“Everything up until now was just a demo,” said the Youngstown native.
O’Malley will play her first hometown show in more than 18 months — basically, since she left for Nashville — Saturday at the Pabstolutely Festival at the Royal Oaks bar. Copies of her new album will be available at the show. O’Malley will take the stage at 6 p.m., backed by a full band. “My mom is coming to sing harmony!,” she said.
Pabstolutely, now in its second year, is held in the street alongside the Royal Oaks, on the near East Side. A full stage and lighting will be located in the street. Vendors, including Touch the Moon Candy Saloon, will set up booths, and the Youngstown Little Steel Roller Derby girls will operate a dunk tank.
The free festival will run from noon to 1 a.m. and features 14 bands, including Youngstown’s Gil Mantera Party Dream, who will play at 10:15 p.m. Proceeds will benefit Iron and String Life Enhancement, an agency that assists the developmentally disabled.
O’Malley is the only nonrocker on the bill. The singer-songwriter is cut from the same old-school cloth as Loretta Lynn. Heartbreak and emotion ooze from her voice.
After moving to Music City, O’Malley immediately got to work making a record.
“I have had my pick of great talented players, most of whom have played for me in exchange for a haircut or a few slices of pizza,” she said. “I met a guy here that played steel guitar with Hank [Williams] Jr. for 12 years. He played on all of Junior’s big hits, and I convinced him to play on three songs on my record. He did it for almost nothing! A real nice guy. His name is ‘Cowboy’ Eddie Long.”
O’Malley bartered with studios to get recording time, offering haircuts, babysitting — even cleaning services.
“I used a studio called Creative Caffeine to do most of the vocals,” she said. “Every time I cleaned for three hours I got one hour singing into a vintage Telefunken 47 that probably cost about $10,000.” The studio normally charges $95 an hour.
She also recorded at Fry Pharmacy Studios, an all-analog house that was “like stepping into a time warp and beaming back to 1974.” The owner, Scott McCuen, wouldn’t barter but did offer a reduced rate.
O’Malley also got a super deal on a sound man. “The same guy that mixes all of Hank III’s records (Jim Lightman), mixed mine, and did it for about a third his normal rate,” she said. “After everything was mixed, I decided I needed one more song. Scott McCuen and I recorded an entire song from start to finish in one 10-hour day. He traded the entire day for one haircut. Then Jim Lightman mixed the extra song for no extra charge.
“Everyone here has been very friendly and helpful,” she continued. “Well, not everyone, but enough people for me to like it here.”
One unexpected boost came from someone she has never even met. “I received a $600 Paypal donation to help with mixing costs from a guy in Arkansas,” said O’Malley. “I never even talked to the guy! He just read my blog about needing mix money and sent me $600!”
But not all of her Nashville run-ins have been positive.
The strangest was her dealings with a renowned producer — which didn’t turn out quite like she’d hoped.
“A big-shot producer named Chuck Howard, who has worked with a lot of biggies ...he produced Leanne Rimes’ first six records and has made millions in this town with publishing... claimed to love my voice and wanted to help me,” she explained. “He mixed three of my songs and it was awful! I listened to the mixes and asked myself ‘Where is the steel guitar? What happened to the cool honky-tonk piano track? What has he done to my songs?’ By the time I listened to the third song I started crying! I didn’t think for one second ‘This guy can make me famous.’ I just thought, ‘This guy is going to ruin my record!’ I ran from him and never looked back.”
O’Malley’s next goal is to seek publishing and licensing opportunities. She has already had three songs placed in an independent movie and has drawn interest from a Los Angeles-based licensing firm.