第2-9章：仪式 - Rite of Passage

hitchcock

Russell and Barry backstage before a show during the early days of our career.
Right: Russell, Barry and me, 2015 backstage of the orleans Hotel before a show.

Rite of Passage

      In 1981 we had a very successful year. "Lost in Love" was the most played song on American radio and was voted Song of the Year. Russell and I were finally seeing some rewards for our years of hard work. We both liked Mercedes sedan cars and both bought one from the same dealership in Sydney. We had the money, so we paid cash. We weren't used to having money and, believe it or not, we had no financial representation. We were new to how things worked in the United States.

      We did have a lawyer who recommended several financial firms, as we needed to do something with the money that we were going to receive over the next weeks and months. We didn't know anything about tax consequences but were made aware that we must get our house in order. Our young and very eager lawyer was Peter Paterno, whom we really liked, and he recommended several firms to us who could potentially help our financial situation. We were still living in Australia, and so we had to speak to several such companies on the phone.  They all sounded interested, especially since we were a hot band at that time. I was sitting in my lounge room in the modest but lovely house I had just bought in Avoca Beach on the Central Coast in Sydney when someone knock at my door. It was a man with a beard and briefcase. He said,"Hi. I'm Barry Siegel. You don't know me, but I've flown from Los Angeles to meet with you. Can I come in?"

      Barry thought the best plan was to come to the source, so he flew to Sydney to meet with Russell and me, hoping we would be around. Barry was about to form his own business representation company and said we would be one of his first clients, assuring us his credentials were top notch.

      We hit it off quickly. The fact that he flew all that way to meet with us went a long way. We decided to go into Sydney so the three of us could sit down. I think we had lunch and from there had a few glasses of wine that Russell and I were partial to. Barry was certainly not used to tasting as much Australian wine as we were, especially after such a long flight.

      We went over a lot of business plans, tax havens, windmills and spreadsheets, while still sipping on wine. By this time, Barry was well indoctrinated into the Australian art of drinking, and I remember he could hardly get papers out of his briefcase when he threw in the towel and asked to be put in the direction of his hotel. Russell and I had already decided we were going to go with Barry and his company for business representation, way before lunch. I remember feeling secure knowing that all our business affairs were going to be taken care of by someone with the utmost integrity. That was a very big sigh of relief for us. We had already been victims of a couple of shady people that we wanted to avoid in the future. Barry formed his own company a few weeks after our initial meeting, and we have been with that company and Barry for almost 34 years. For the last 25 years or so, Barry has also been our personal manager. He's also been one of our closest friends all this time.

中文译文：
      1981年这年我们非常成功。 "Lost in Love" 是全美电台播放率最高的歌曲，并且被提名评为年度最佳歌曲。Russell和我最终因为我们一整年的辛苦工作而得到了一些奖。我们两个都非常喜欢奔驰Sedan轿车，我们2个都从同一个悉尼的经销商这里购买了一辆车。我们有钱，所以付了现金。我们两个过去都没什么钱，不管你相不相信，我们都没财务代理人。我们在美国属于新手，渐渐地才能了解一切是如何运作的。


      我们的律师推荐了我们几家经济公司，由于我们的确需要在财务上做些事。我们并不知道税务的影响力，但是我们知道我们拥有一栋房子。我们非常喜欢的年轻和渴望成就的律师Peter Paterno，他给我们推荐了一些经济公司，能够潜在的帮助解决我们的财政窘境。那时我们依旧住在澳大利亚，所以我们不得不在电话里和很多公司进行了沟通。他们听起来都很感兴趣，特别是因为那时我们是热门乐队。我坐在我的那刚刚在悉尼中部海岸Avoca Beach购买的可爱的屋子的休息室里，有人突然敲门。是一个留着胡子拿着公文包的男人。他说，"你好， 我是Barry Siegel。你不认识我，但我从洛杉矶飞来为了见你，我能进来吗？"

      Barry认为最佳方案就是去源头，所以他飞到悉尼来见Russell和我，希望能够成功。Barry正准备组建他的经纪公司，他说我们将会成为他的第一个客户，他向我们保证他的资质是一流的。

      我们一见如故。他飞来飞去和我们见面的事实还走了很长一段路。我们决定去悉尼，这样我们3个能够坐下来好好谈谈。我们一起吃了午饭，开了几瓶酒，Russell和我更喜欢一些。Barry和我们过去一样当然喝不惯澳大利亚酒，特别是长距离的飞行之后。

      我们一边喝着小酒，一边重温了很多商业计划，避税天堂，风车和电子表格。到这个时候，Barry已经被灌许多澳大利亚酒，我记得他几乎没法从他的公文包里拿纸出来了，他投降了，祈求者把他放在去他酒店的方向上。其实早在午饭前Russell和我已经决定去Barry的公司作商业代理。我记得，当我知道我们的一切业务都将由最正直的人来处理，我就感到特别的放心。这对我们来说真是松了口气。我们已经成为了一些阴暗的人的受害者，而我们也希望在未来能够极力避免。Barry在我们的会议之后的几星期里正式成立了他的公司，而我们与Barry和他的公司一起合作了34年。而最近的25年里，Barry也成为了我们的个人经纪人。他也成为了我们最亲密的朋友之一。

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