64
Saturday, June 7th, 1986, 11:56 A.M.
For the rest of the ride over to the compound, Charlotte had no further interest in listening to any more tunes.
She was feeling a little deflated.
Now that Larry Wilcox had dampened her spirits with his effusive appraisal of two other members of the Go-Go’s, Charlotte was left with those burning questions that haunt all entertainers from time to time:
Am I not popular anymore?
Am I not good enough?
Do people not like me anymore?
In all fairness, it is a legitimate concern for anyone in show business that stands in front of the camera. Let’s face it, you rarely see unattractive people sitting at anchor desks or hosting news programs or talk shows. And you never see ugly people on soap operas. It just doesn’t happen. But, Charlotte’s anxieties were genuinely negligible. She was 32 years old and in the prime of her life. She was just feeling sorry for herself and knew she had to snap out of it. It wasn’t simply a matter of questioning whether or not she had the “goods” anymore. It was a matter of understanding the one, glaring aspect of show business that everyone gets taught right from the beginning—
“You ain’t gonna please everybody, baby.”
“Maybe Officer Dillweed was a Jethro Tull fan?” Charlotte thought to herself. “Lord knows those snobby, Prog enthusiasts would never be a Go-Go’s fan.”
No, wait…
“A dork like that could never be a Tull fan,” thought Charlotte.
Forget it! Forget it, people! We’re getting off the subject here!
The point is… Charlotte was well aware that not everyone was a Go-Go’s fan.
There— does that clarify things?
And she was reminded of that aspect every time her memory harkened back to the time when a certain preppy, spoiled brat from U.C.L.A. pulled up next to the girls in his B.M.W. and yelled out—
THE GO-GO’S SUCK!!
See… now… a comment like that is enough to sting anyone in the nard-sack… Even a girl.
Besides, Gina got that punk’s license plate number and, well, needless to say, the kid never finished college.
Anyway, back to our story.
Charlotte was now traveling along Whitewater Canyon Road, gazing over at the magnificent stone wall that surrounded the entire estate, and finally starting to feel a sense of relaxation. She figured on inviting the cast and crew over the following Saturday for their annual end-of-the-season bash, only hoping that putting someone else in charge of the invites might not have been a big mistake. She was also worried that she hadn’t thought of it sooner. A week’s notice might not be enough.
Charlotte turned into the entranceway and pulled up to the security guard sitting in the guard shack.
“Hello, Miss Caffey, nice to see you,” he greeted.
“Hi, Tom… You cool enough in there?” asked Charlotte, referring to the oppressive heat.
“Oh, yeah, I got my little air conditioner going,” he answered back.
“Good. Anybody else here?” she asked.
“Jane and Gina are here. They got here around nine o’clock last night,” he informed her.
“Last night, huh?” Charlotte questioned.
“Yes, ma’am,” he answered.
“Well, okay… You have a nice day now… Try and stay cool,” suggested Charlotte.
“Thank you, Miss Caffey, you too… Have fun!” said Tom.
“Okay,” laughed Charlotte.
Tom hit the buzzer which caused the wrought iron gate to swing open. The gate had the title Go-Go’s spelled out over the top, and when it swung open, it split the name down the middle into two parts. Charlotte now proceeded down the driveway. She took her time, slowly trolling down the drive, admiring the beautifully landscaped bushes on both sides, while listening to the sounds of the sprinklers going off all around her. She passed by the square, neon sign that said “Welcome,” with the Go-Go’s logo in the middle and their name spelled out at the bottom. It was illuminated at nighttime, and while Charlotte thought it was a bit pretentious, it did sort of match well with the flood lights on the ground that lined the drive. At the very least, it was kind of “show-bizzy.” It made people feel like they were going to a premiere.
The official Go-Go’s logo consisted of these five items: their name followed by an exclamation point, a tilted martini glass, two streamers, some confetti, and a toy horn with the soundwaves coming out of it. I’m sure you know what I’m talking about— one of those obnoxious sounding horns that people blow on New Year’s Eve?
The concept was created by a longtime, graphic-designer friend of Jane’s, whom she thought would be perfect for the job. With her coaching right alongside of him, the two of them sat down and hashed it out in just a couple of days.
The original drawing, however, had Jane and her buddy calling for a trumpet instead of the toy horn. After looking at the drawing from every angle, Jane decided to nix the trumpet, but not because of the artwork itself.
It occurred to her that the trumpet might give people the impression that brass instruments would be coming up frequently in their songs. After careful consideration, the trumpet was switched to the horn and Jane loved it. The logo symbolized everything she thought a pop band and the Go-Go’s themselves stood for— A good time.
Also, being the co-founder of the group, she thought that it was only fitting that she should come up with the idea.