My First Day at Tommy Boy Records — And Getting Screamed at by Everlast

I said yes to Tommy Boy Records on a Monday morning in San Antonio Texas.

By Friday I was getting screamed at by Everlast from House of Pain in a corporate apartment in Manhattan.

Nobody told me this was part of the deal.

If you missed the first part of this story — how I flew to New York, walked into Tom Silverman's office, told him I didn't know if I wanted the job, and somehow got hired anyway — you can read it here. [link to June 6 post]

This is what happened next.

The Drive

After saying yes on the phone I had one week to pack up my life in San Antonio and drive to New York City.

I didn't fly.

I drove.

Houston to New York — with promotional stops in Chicago, Detroit, and DC along the way.

Tommy Boy put me to work before I even arrived. I was meeting radio mixshow DJs at every stop, building relationships, representing the label.

I hadn't even stepped foot in the office yet and I was already on the clock.

That told me everything I needed to know about what kind of company Tommy Boy was.

902 Broadway

I pulled up to 902 Broadway in Manhattan, parked my car, walked into the lobby and Victor Lee — the man who hired me — escorted me to my new office.

I was next to Mike Becce, one of the most legendary radio promotion executives in the industry. My office mate was Sean Thompson who handled Urban Mixshow promotions.

I sat down at my desk and looked around.

This was real. I was actually here.

Then I looked at what was waiting for me.

Boxes. Stacked on boxes. Of 12 inch vinyl records and CDs. All with mailing labels.

Coolio's "1-2-3-4." Amber's "This Is Your Night."

My job was to ship these to DJs and record pools across the country and start building relationships with hundreds of DJs by phone.

No email. No social media. No texting.

Just phone calls and fax machines.

This was the music industry in 1995.

I picked up the phone and got to work.

The Corporate Apartment

After a few hours they told me to drop my bags at the Tommy Boy corporate apartment two blocks away near Madison Square Park.

I grabbed my luggage, walked over, took the elevator up and opened the door.

Beautiful apartment. View of Madison Square Park. Broadway. The Flatiron Building right outside the window.

For a kid from Chicago who had been living in San Antonio Texas — this felt like a movie.

Then a half naked guy screamed at me from across the room.

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?"

I froze.

I told him — I'm Rich P. I work at Tommy Boy. I'm supposed to be staying here.

Then I realized who it was.

Everlast. From House of Pain.

He told me to get the hell out.

The apartment smelled exactly like you'd expect a House of Pain apartment to smell at 11am on a weekday.

I left. Went back to the Tommy Boy offices and told Victor Lee and Mike Becce what happened.

Apparently Everlast was supposed to have checked out that morning.

He had overslept.

They sorted it out. He eventually left.

I went back to my desk and kept making phone calls to DJs around the country like nothing happened.

Because that's what you do.

That First Night

That evening I returned to the apartment.

I slowly opened the door. Quietly asked if anyone was there.

Nobody.

Just me.

Alone in a beautiful apartment overlooking Madison Square Park.

On my first night in New York City.

At 25 years old.

One week removed from San Antonio Texas.

I sat down and looked out at the city lights and thought —

What did I just get myself into?

I had left my girlfriend, my friends, my family, a radio career I had built from nothing, and a life I completely understood — for a $28,000 a year job at a record label where I had already been screamed at by a rock star on day one.

Every logical reason had said don't do this.

And yet there I was.

What That Night Taught Me

Nobody tells you that betting on yourself looks like this up close.

From the outside a story like mine sounds glamorous. Tommy Boy Records. New York City. The music industry.

From the inside it was a 25 year old sitting alone in an empty apartment on his first night in a city he didn't know wondering if he made the right call.

The path is never what you imagined.

The glamour and the uncertainty arrive together. You don't get one without the other.

But here's what I know now that I didn't know then:

That feeling of uncertainty — that moment of sitting alone wondering what you got yourself into — that's not a sign you made the wrong decision.

That's what betting on yourself actually feels like from the inside.

You figure it out. You keep going.

And sometimes the apartment stops smelling like House of Pain.

Sometimes the most powerful thing you can bring to any room is exactly who you are — unpolished, uncertain, and honest.

Bet on yourself. Even when it's uncomfortable.

What's the most unexpected moment you've ever experienced on the first day of something new? Leave a comment below.