Maureen Droney, head of the Producers & Engineer’s wing of the Recording Academy and Jeff Greenberg of The Village Recorder threw an amazing party to kick off Grammy week. There was a lot of talk about heart and soul that night and it was purely evident in the room, as was the intention. The tribute to Chris Blackwell was so tastefully done, as it was an honor to finally meet him. I thanked him for signing Melissa Etheridge and sharing her with the rest of the world. I told him that I was the one who recorded her demos in an attempt to sign her to Capitol, when Carter, the staff A&R man at the tower had discovered her. As fate would have it, not all the brass at Capitol were into signing her and she would go on to sign Island, only for our paths to cross a dozen years later.