The true example of those who can't ...teach.
One of my best friends who I don't talk to that much anymore calls me. That should be a good thing. He calls me to tell me he has a son. A newborn. Fine. Congratulations. Yet he has no intention of marriage . I don't think he's thought that out.
Now...everyone has dreams and goals and desires... And after many years, I believe I'm following the right path. A little slow, but the right one. Now of course I KNOW, it's not going to be easy. I know that there are a ton of other artists out there trying like squirrels to get a nut. I don't even think I want to be like some high profile singer...I, like Ozzy "just want to make music, that's all". I want to be what we as a species need: a voice. Music says nothing to us or for us these days. Decades ago it did. Nothing has any emotional staying power.
My friend tells me things like :"a record exec will ask ...'Does he have a look? Does he have any stage experience? Does he get stage fright? can he handle a crowd of thousands? Does he have a following? Does he play regularly?' What do you have to offer?' What are you going to say? 'Well...He has a WEBSITE!' Millions of people have websites these days! You say you have a book of songs in your head...but you need them on disc. That's like having a CD player and no CDs!"
Ok ...so... I have a website and a song. This weekend I expect to start on the next one. Yea... I'm a little slow on production, but the drive's there. I can't include the 10 year old project because it's dated.
Ok... I admit, I'm lazy and I procrastinate. Most of us are. YES! I should be working harder past the obstacles in my way...but sometimes they seem so overwhelming. Does that stop me? No.
Part of my funding is being divided to fix my car that was in an accident and the fucker that's at fault has Allstate. Those bastards never pay without a day in court, so I have to fix the car out of pocket to make it driveable again, then file with a court, hire a lawyer and sue like Sue was my middle name.
I digressed...anyway... My friend made a point to mention my alleged contacts and how they don't wait forever... Y'know, that's why you never go for the second level in the contact ladder until you have a product, press kit, marketing and demographic plan in hand. I KNOW they don't last forever. Missed opportunities are just that ...missed. So you make new ones. I'll contact the first tier to get to second tier when the time comes. I'm still young yet. I keep this all on a need to know basis.
He said that if I can't find a band, I should hire one. Tell me this...if you hire a band...what's to say that with the conflict in musical ideas, you'd get on CD, the exact product in your head?
When I recorded "Darkside" last year... I found ONE keyboardist who was amenable to the idea of creating this new sound. Now she wasn't that keen on most of my subject matter , but she was the closest to understanding my psyche behind it. What I would REALLY want is a Jim Steinman to my Meatloaf. A Twiggy to my Marilyn. A Garfunkle to my Simon. But like the old adage, we all say..."I just want to be at least for a brief moment in time... understood."
I have another keyboardist I was contemplating recording with...but his forte was singing about sex drugs and rock and roll...which these days is a little too 70's for me. He thought my themes were too dark and that I and even this website was a little creepy for him. HELL can he play though!! But still... What could I expect from a non-like minded individual? I think there may be added stress in the translation since I don't really PLAY anything.
I remember when I recorded a song about hate crimes called "The worst 4 letter word...Hate" 10 years ago... I was in the last hours of the mix, running out of money and I had my DJ friend come by the studio. His input was to "turn up the drums". Well by doing that, it turned a cool...almost industrial type song into a Latino Hip Hop sound that I hate listening to, lost affection for the song and abandoned finishing it.
Back to my friend who was scolding me, so to speak...he told me he was a manager once for about 3 groups. I asked him "Well where are they now?" Jokingly I said "Where's Tupac o' cigarettes now?" He said he didn't know nor did he care. Can I really listen to a man who failed to successfully manage 3 bands as an authority?
What my true goals and attack plan are...are just that. Mine. I'm not trying to reinvent the wheel... I just want to make it roll better. But a sportscar wheel is useless on an SUV, so my wheel may not be for EVERYBODY.
I have trust issues when it comes to this project. I Believe its' hot. I believe it will change the face of music...then again, so does every musician. So I guess we'll just sit back and see the next episodes as they come.
Here's a silly question... On American Idol...how many of those pop star wannabe's were ever on stage besides a High School play?
Can you tell I'm a little ticked by that conversation I had? Recommendations for future back seat managers: Get ALL the facts first before you spew.
PS: I told him I'd call him back as I was called away from the phone. He said "You won't call me for another year because you don't want to hear what I've got to say about this."
He may just end up on my "I must prove you wrong list".