The Widetrack Chronicles 27: An Alternative Mythology

The Widetrack Chronicles 27: An Alternative Mythology

"Many artists are addicts, and vice versa. Many are artists in one breath and addicts in another. What's the difference? The addict is the amateur; the artist is the professional. Both addict and artist are dealing with the same material, which is the pain of being human and the struggle against self-sabotage. But the addict/ amateur and the artist/ professional deal with these elements in fundamentally different ways." -Steven Pressfield ('Turning Pro')

Sex, drugs & rock and roll.... A timeless cliche, to be sure... Rock music was meant to be fun and rebellious... Dangerous, even... "Live fast, die young and leave a good-looking corpse"... The entertainment factor of this fantasy cannot be overstated or underestimated... 

The self-destructive, decadent rockstar is one of music history's most enduring archetypes... Jim Morrison... Keith Richards... John Bonham... Scott Weiland... Sid Vicious... Keith Moon... Bon Scott... The list goes on and on...  

To be sure, I was always attracted to such allures... The wreckless abandon of youthful exuberance... The unapologetic stance against repressive political correctness... The rebelliousness of sticking a middle finger up to "The Man"...

Indeed, there have been times when I took this mentality too far and had to learn the hard way... I've had my close calls and brushes with the law... I've bought into the mythology of rock a time or two...

We each exorcise our demons in our own ways... Some destructively, some constructively...

Personally speaking, what's been my salvation more than anything, is that I was always drawn by the allure of being a great player... I lived, ate and breathed artists like Rush, Led Zeppelin, Van Halen, Pink Floyd, AC/DC, Iron Maiden, etc... Bands that, yes, definitely had their gimmicks, controversies and over-the-top images… But first and foremost, the musicians in these groups were skilled craftsmen... 

To learn the drumming, guitar and vocal parts of my favorite songs was true empowerment... You want to feel cool as a teenager? Bust out the drum beat to Led Zeppelin's The Crunge, a blood-curdling Bon Scott scream, or any Geddy Lee bass line...

No feeling like it in the world... I was hopelessly hooked... And having this anchor steered me clear of a lot of trouble during my youth...

Years later, I found another productive outlet for immersing myself in the rockstar mythology by putting together various tribute bands to play in... This was tons of fun, and quite challenging... My friends and I would play an annual Halloween party where each year we'd perform a different tribute band for a rowdy crowd of screaming partiers... 

We kicked off the first one as KISS... 

The next year, we went as Black Sabbath...Then it was Van Halen... (no photos available, unfortunately...)



The last year we played, we went as AC/DC...

A couple years later, I saw that there was going to be a Led Zeppelin convention called "Zepfest", to be held in Niagara Falls, New York... I called the arranger of the event and he agreed to let my friends and I play the opening night... We went as "Electric Magic: A Tribute to the Music of Led Zeppelin"... We modeled the band after Jimmy Page's stint with the Black Crowes, going as a five-piece and opting to forgo the costumes... What a blast that weekend was...


During this time, I was living in Georgia and was also doing shows with the last tribute band I ever took part in... This one was the grandaddy of them all: KISSTORY...

KISSTORY made the earlier KISS cover band look like a joke... This was the real deal... a top-level production tribute band... We played all over the southwest, and even did a tour of Nova Scotia in 2005...

By mid-2005, I had grown weary of tribute bands and longed to write, record and perform my own music... But in hindsight, I see now that the time I had spent in all these different roles was well spent... It was a fantastic opportunity to learn the often difficult musical parts of some of rock's best...

It was also a great outlet to play the "rockstar" role with a healthier, less potentially tragic, approach... I could immerse myself in the dark fantasy of it all without the consequences that come with living that hard life in reality...

As much as ever, there seems to be an increasing number of rockers taking the sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll lifestyle far too seriously... The music has become secondary; practically an afterthought... It's almost as if a band isn't as valid if they aren't becoming liabilities to themselves and everyone else around them...

Is this the way rock and roll is supposed to be put out there? Some say yes...

But personally speaking, we reject this mentality...

To our band, this is not a race; it's a marathon... In our opinion, there is nothing romantic or cool about being burned out from addiction and hard living by the time you're 50... The truest, most vital musicians are able to keep their demons at bay and not become their own worst enemies...  

Paul McCartney is in his seventies and still rocking his ass off... He's always separated himself from the destructive extremes of "extracurricular rock activities"... He's maintained a reasonably healthy lifestyle... All throughout his illustrious career, the music always came first...

Bands like Rush, Yes, King Crimson, Radiohead, etc. had long, successful careers together, focused solely on their work... No drama... No breakups... No controversies... No tragedies or O.D.s... They consistently focused on writing, recording and performing their music...

Even Keith Richards himself said that when his addiction was at its worst, he realized it was compromising the Stones' music, and that would not do... So he cleaned up for the sake of his work...

The mythology is just that: a myth... Sure, it's fun and entertaining... but a true professional just can't be at his/her best living in the shadow of vices and addictions... 

There are far better ways to be a cool, vital artist, in my opinion...

Playing in this band with my 13 year-old son has presented me with the opportunity to make Widetrack about the work more than ever... And the energy that this has unlocked is attracting positive things... Everyone is energized by the excitement of what's possible with this team... There simply isn't room or the desire for self-destructive forces...

We've made a commitment to live out our rock fantasies through our creativity... It may not be the sexiest/coolest thing to some people, but it works for us...

And what better example to provide for my young son, who's just beginning his musical journey... Hopefully this work ethic will keep him on the straight and narrow path of fulfilling his destiny as a musician and avoiding the pitfalls which doom the potential of far too many developing artists... 

Anyway, these days we are busy working on our new album, but there has been talk of putting together some more tributes in the future; most notably, Rock Floyd: our rocked-out version of Pink Floyd songs in the vein of our Welcome to the Machine remake... 

We are looking forward to continue pursuing things which inspire us... Whether it be our own music, or paying tribute to our favorite artists, the work is its always own reward... 

Onward...


Always love hearing from you! Feel free to respond: Ron@widetrackmusic.com 

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