The Widetrack Chronicles 24: Specific Meaning
Zach and I had a pivotal conversation last week...
He was telling me about his audition/consultation at School of Rock... He felt that he'd played poorly... He said he really wanted to impress the instructor, which led him to trying too hard, and so he choked...
This carried into a conversation about musicians' need to stay humble and keep our egos in check...
I told him that it's perfectly normal for musicians to want to impress others with their skills, but eventually they need to realize that the only competition they should be engaged in is against themselves…
He confided that he was still searching for his path… I told him that, from where I stood, I saw a young musician who has immersed himself in rock history to a degree far beyond that of the average musician from this generation…
"But the most important thing for us to always keep in mind," I said, "Is that we need to be doing this for something bigger than ourselves... an ideal...."
From there, we had a wonderful discussion about the bands we love, and, more specifically, why we love them...
Of course, with each and every one of these bands, it was their amazing MUSIC which first drew us to them...
But as we became deeper lovers of that music, we began identifying with certain traits and messages of those bands...
For example...
With TOOL, it was their reaching for higher consciousness, thinking for oneself and questioning authority...
With Radiohead, it was about how they are the epitome of "Progressive Rock"... Always evolving...
With Rush, it was about their being the ideal example of how a band should operate...
With The Beatles, it was about doing the work and holding oneself to the standard of writing the best songs one can possibly write...
And so on...
To us, the thing these and many other bands like them have in common, is that they're the real deal... They are reverent followers of the greats that came before them... History's gifts to all of us, if we just take the time to investigate... (Insert your all-time favorite legendary figures here)...
I believe we are at a crossroads in this ongoing history of rock music...
When bands such as Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath, etc. came on the scene, originality and musical risk-taking was highly valued... The '60s and '70s produced arguably the most ground-breaking, innovative and imaginative rock music of all time...
But once the era of MTV replaced the age of radio, and the music business became increasingly corporate-controlled, being a "risky" type of band became a liability... And though the '80s, '90s and '00s brought us some absolutely fantastic music, the stuff of legend became increasingly shorter in supply and more a reaction to the norm than the norm itself, as more and more, record labels have come to demand "the sure thing"... and this means bands which sound similar to other bands that have proven track records of financial success...
And, as a result, much of what gets marketed to the record-buying public by the big labels anymore is risk-free, easy-to-digest, derivative, disposable, "commercials between commercials" music...
(In our opinion)...
But the upside to all this is, now that the Internet has freed artists to connect directly with their fans, the record labels are not so much a necessity anymore...
This finds us in the early stages of a musical revolution at this specific point in time, and many bands are taking full advantage of it...
A rising number of the bigger bands who have been on major labels for most of their careers are now opting out of renewing their contracts, knowing that the dinosaur model of record label control has seen its day, since they can now release their music directly to their fans...
And for independent bands like Widetrack, the age of the Musicpreneur has begun... We do everything ourselves... We live and die by our own blood, sweat and tears...
The artistic freedom of this is absolutely exhilarating.
But make no mistake, the labels are pushing their brand of "music" harder than ever... They want the world to believe that their paradigm is what's most real... They put millions and millions of dollars into backing the idea that what's generic is what rises to the top...
But it's all b.s.... They have little interest in the artistry of unique self-expression; they just want to make money...
They reinforce their model with supporting glorified Karaoke game shows like The Voice, American Idol, X-Factor, etc., (shows that our idols would never be caught dead on), perpetuating the myth that this is what music's really about...
Personally speaking, there is absolutely nothing bands like us connect with this type of thing... On the contrary, we are more inclined to agree with rockers like Mr. Grohl on this point (except the Internet part, of course... lol):
Or the legendary Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden...
When I see Zach immersing himself in figuring out complex instrumental passages of bands like TOOL, Rush, Queens Of The Stone Age, Yes, etc., etc., my faith in this regard is restored... It is where all of us in the band see eye-to-eye: we are in this for the love of continual musical and artistic development.... It's never been about money or fame for us; we just want this to be what we do with the majority of our all-too-brief time here on this earth...
And so, Zach is now focusing on just being the best musician he can be, while raising awareness to all these amazing bands he's discovering, lest they be forgotten in time...
And so, as our conversation came to a close, we realized that we just need to keep working on what we do, and everything will work out for the best...
It is my hope that the idea of this will provide you with some inspiration to let go of living up to others' expectations at the expense of following your own bliss, and to believe in the path you feel most strongly drawn towards...
Believe in that voice you hear deep inside, the voice of your own unique artistry... it will never steer you wrong... People will try to silence it... Some intentionally; some because they believe they know what's best for you... But only you know what your soul needs to feel truly alive...
Always love hearing from you! Feel free to respond: Ron@widetrackmusic.com
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