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In 1979, he was the singer in an obscure new wave band that put out only one studio album. In 1989, he was a mover and a shaker, the president of one of the largest record labels in Hollywood, rubbing elbows with the rich and famous. In 2008, he was a washed up ex-meth junkie headed to prison. And today, he is an acclaimed author.
There are few stories from the world of pop music more astonishing than that of Bob Pfeifer.
You probably won't recognize the name unless, like Craven, you were a fan of the critically acclaimed (but seldom heard) Human Switchboard, the band Pfeifer formed in his native Cleveland with fellow Syracuse University student Myrna Marcarian. Their one studio LP, “Who's Landing in My Hangar?,” was a herky-jerky jangle of romantic jealousy served up on a musical bed that sounded like what some musical Dr. Moreau might spawn if he combined the DNA of the Velvet Underground with the Sir Douglas Quintet.
The album made a lot of “best of” lists at the end of 1980, but didn't sell much, and while they soldiered on awhile longer, by 1985, the Human Switchboard had disbanded.
After cutting a solo album (1987's “After Words”), Pfeifer landed a job as an A&R executive with Epic Records, where he signed successful alternative bands like the Screaming Trees. He also established a friendship with Alice Cooper while shepherding the latter back to stardom with the album, “Poison.” A few years later, he was named president of Disney's Hollywood Records.
Then fell Pfeifer.
By the mid-'90s, Pfeifer was working as an executive for the videogame developer, Z-Axis Ltd., which had recently scored a major hit when it developed “John Madden NFL Football ‘96” for the SEGA Genesis.
Pfeifer was also smoking a lot of methamphetamine; he would later claim to have been using the narcotic for years. Around this time, he enlisted the services of a prostitute named Erin Finn, who was almost half his age, and began to date her. But when Z-Axis fired Pfeifer soon thereafter for his drug use, Finn ended up testifying that she had seen Pfeifer use meth in her presence, which enraged the former record executive.
He enlisted infamous private eye Anthony Pellicano to bug Finn's phone and hack her computer, and Pellicano enthusiastically undertook the mission. (“She won't be able to use a roll of toilet paper without me knowing,” he told Pfeifer, giving you a tiny clue into the sort of classy character Pellicano was.) Pfeifer would eventually pay more than half a million dollars to Pellicano for the latter to wiretap, harass and ruin Finn.
In 2008, Pfeifer finally admitted his role in the affair and was sentenced to time served and community service. Now, he has returned to the public eye as the author of a new roman a clef based on the Amanda Knox murder investigation titled “University of Strangers,” which has received enthusiastic reviews. He's also formed a new band, Tabby Chinos.
But perhaps the best ending to this amazing tale is that “Who's Landing in My Hangar?” was recently reissued, with plenty of other Human Switchboard songs appended as well. It's a groovy record and you should check it out — but if you do, give pause while listening, to ruminate on the stunning turns a life can take in the world of American pop culture.
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Notes is supported by the Gay and Lesbian Fund, supporting nonprofits that work to alleviate hunger in Colorado.
Craven Lovelace produces Notes, a daily cultural history of popular music, for KAFM 88.1 Community Radio, kafmradio.org. You can visit cravenlovelace.com for more of his musings on the world of popular culture.
There are few stories from the world of pop music more astonishing than that of Bob Pfeifer.
You probably won't recognize the name unless, like Craven, you were a fan of the critically acclaimed (but seldom heard) Human Switchboard, the band Pfeifer formed in his native Cleveland with fellow Syracuse University student Myrna Marcarian. Their one studio LP, “Who's Landing in My Hangar?,” was a herky-jerky jangle of romantic jealousy served up on a musical bed that sounded like what some musical Dr. Moreau might spawn if he combined the DNA of the Velvet Underground with the Sir Douglas Quintet.
The album made a lot of “best of” lists at the end of 1980, but didn't sell much, and while they soldiered on awhile longer, by 1985, the Human Switchboard had disbanded.
After cutting a solo album (1987's “After Words”), Pfeifer landed a job as an A&R executive with Epic Records, where he signed successful alternative bands like the Screaming Trees. He also established a friendship with Alice Cooper while shepherding the latter back to stardom with the album, “Poison.” A few years later, he was named president of Disney's Hollywood Records.
Then fell Pfeifer.
By the mid-'90s, Pfeifer was working as an executive for the videogame developer, Z-Axis Ltd., which had recently scored a major hit when it developed “John Madden NFL Football ‘96” for the SEGA Genesis.
Pfeifer was also smoking a lot of methamphetamine; he would later claim to have been using the narcotic for years. Around this time, he enlisted the services of a prostitute named Erin Finn, who was almost half his age, and began to date her. But when Z-Axis fired Pfeifer soon thereafter for his drug use, Finn ended up testifying that she had seen Pfeifer use meth in her presence, which enraged the former record executive.
He enlisted infamous private eye Anthony Pellicano to bug Finn's phone and hack her computer, and Pellicano enthusiastically undertook the mission. (“She won't be able to use a roll of toilet paper without me knowing,” he told Pfeifer, giving you a tiny clue into the sort of classy character Pellicano was.) Pfeifer would eventually pay more than half a million dollars to Pellicano for the latter to wiretap, harass and ruin Finn.
In 2008, Pfeifer finally admitted his role in the affair and was sentenced to time served and community service. Now, he has returned to the public eye as the author of a new roman a clef based on the Amanda Knox murder investigation titled “University of Strangers,” which has received enthusiastic reviews. He's also formed a new band, Tabby Chinos.
But perhaps the best ending to this amazing tale is that “Who's Landing in My Hangar?” was recently reissued, with plenty of other Human Switchboard songs appended as well. It's a groovy record and you should check it out — but if you do, give pause while listening, to ruminate on the stunning turns a life can take in the world of American pop culture.
-------------------------
Notes is supported by the Gay and Lesbian Fund, supporting nonprofits that work to alleviate hunger in Colorado.
Craven Lovelace produces Notes, a daily cultural history of popular music, for KAFM 88.1 Community Radio, kafmradio.org. You can visit cravenlovelace.com for more of his musings on the world of popular culture.
