hairband, or typical 80's -90's song it almost goes viral. What has become of our rock and roll heritage that listeners really have become this jaded?
8/1/12
I gotta wonder... what do new rockers envision themselves as when they want to start a "new band" in a garage these days. Back in my day as a keyboardist, I was Rick Wakeman, of YES, or Jon Lord, of Deep Purple, even memorizing the beginning of Jethro Tull's Locomotive Breath turned heads at parties. I wonder what kids aspire to around the world to make that new "Rock" sound. How can anyone compare to Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, The Who... etc..THE BEATLES.. !! To come up with a new sound after all these years of legend has to be a tremendous feat for any aspiring rocker. How can you compete with the guitar licks that have been already made, the sounds, the possible lawsuits and big record label censoring? Back in "the day" we could play what we wanted as our own sound without "infringing" on other name bands. These days most "riffs" and "sounds" are incorporated and licensed. You can't touch them, ergo..you can't make a song that even sounds like a classic rock song. How many bands out there today emerging sound like Led Zeppelin etc ??
As an old Rocker I challenge new aspiring "garage bands" to think back to simplicity. Learn Smoke on the Water, Learn Stairway to Heaven.. learn the SOUL of how it is played.. then move on.
Maybe I'm an opinionated old fart, but I think since the 90's (there was no real rock in the 80's..LOL) ..the 90's at least had a new emergence of grunge, which was really cool.. since then rock bands have no sound, no soul..and are basically one hit wonders.. IF they are lucky.
What ever happened to bands like The Ramones who made like a gazillion one hit wonders? Use some imagination people and inspire the world! Don't listen to what you think people will like.. go back to basics.. invite Major Tom into your living room and rock the freaking pictures off the wall!
I love a great garage band!! If you have a good one that can rock ~Mike send me a video! If I like it I'll post it worldwide for you. If it's simple dumbass death rock.. you have no chance.. ;) Inspire yourselves.. inspire the world! Let's here ya! ROCK ON AND PASS IT ON!! WRWR..
7/14/12
I remember
my 1st concert. It was Rush. 2112 tour. My mom took us all and dropped us off
in her her Ford Torino. We were all around 14-15 yrs old. We stood in line like
good kids.
Then the boda bags, "paraphernalia" and bottles started going up and down the line. We were maybe 50 yrds from the entrance and it was 45 min before the doors opened. We were stuck in a line with ropes and "security" walking the lines. The bottles, bags and smoke was non-stop even before we got into the War Memorial. Then a whistle blew and everyone rushed the front entrance.. we were pushed from behind and quickly realized it was dog eat dog..get in and find your seat. Well at that age.. and the stuff they were passing around
made it a little hard to navigate. We finally settled in top our designated seats. Lights were fully on as we saw everyone filing in. After maybe a half hour the whole area started filling with smoke. Above me, below me on the floor and by the time the 1st band came on the entire area
was filled with smoke. 3 bands played before Rush. I forget who they were.. Someone made an announcement that Ted Nugent was coming to town, and I was "enjoying" the smoke so much that
I thought said Ted is on next.. LOL.. We all hooted and hollered. Ted never showed... Several firecrakers exploded in the seats near me. Arena then went black. Then after 10 min, and my head spinning, I hear bells.. drums.. then heavy bass guitar.. the lights like, blew up and exploded into the rafters and Rush came out into the already made smoke from the fans and then blew more smoke on the stage and Didn't say a word. They went right into the Overture and played for almost an hour straight before Getty
said a word to the audience. Was an amazing experience and one I will never forget. And for $7 to see the initial 2112 tour, become "personal" with your neighbors, makes me think something has been lost over the years. The rock friendships, and bonding once you are in isn't the same anymore. At ticket prices starting at over $100
doesn't make it worth seeing them anymore. The REAL experience is lost and its all commercial now. I'd love to see the bands I grew up with again, but at today's ticket prices
unfortunately those days are gone. Given a chance to see these classic bands again that we promote would be awesome. It's too bad it's all about the money and not about the music.
If you have a concert memory feel free to share the good 'ol days ;) ~Mike
Then the boda bags, "paraphernalia" and bottles started going up and down the line. We were maybe 50 yrds from the entrance and it was 45 min before the doors opened. We were stuck in a line with ropes and "security" walking the lines. The bottles, bags and smoke was non-stop even before we got into the War Memorial. Then a whistle blew and everyone rushed the front entrance.. we were pushed from behind and quickly realized it was dog eat dog..get in and find your seat. Well at that age.. and the stuff they were passing around
made it a little hard to navigate. We finally settled in top our designated seats. Lights were fully on as we saw everyone filing in. After maybe a half hour the whole area started filling with smoke. Above me, below me on the floor and by the time the 1st band came on the entire area
was filled with smoke. 3 bands played before Rush. I forget who they were.. Someone made an announcement that Ted Nugent was coming to town, and I was "enjoying" the smoke so much that
I thought said Ted is on next.. LOL.. We all hooted and hollered. Ted never showed... Several firecrakers exploded in the seats near me. Arena then went black. Then after 10 min, and my head spinning, I hear bells.. drums.. then heavy bass guitar.. the lights like, blew up and exploded into the rafters and Rush came out into the already made smoke from the fans and then blew more smoke on the stage and Didn't say a word. They went right into the Overture and played for almost an hour straight before Getty
said a word to the audience. Was an amazing experience and one I will never forget. And for $7 to see the initial 2112 tour, become "personal" with your neighbors, makes me think something has been lost over the years. The rock friendships, and bonding once you are in isn't the same anymore. At ticket prices starting at over $100
doesn't make it worth seeing them anymore. The REAL experience is lost and its all commercial now. I'd love to see the bands I grew up with again, but at today's ticket prices
unfortunately those days are gone. Given a chance to see these classic bands again that we promote would be awesome. It's too bad it's all about the money and not about the music.
If you have a concert memory feel free to share the good 'ol days ;) ~Mike
7/12/12
Thinking back at all the concerts I've seen, all the bands I've heard in 50 yrs I have got to say I still love the ingenuity, compensation, and plain hard work, hunger, sweat and tears our rock forefathers went though. They invented and wired their instruments to make the sound that they wanted to hear. They wouldn't listen to their "producers", or cave in to what the Radio wanted to hear.. they play rock from the heart.
This is what is missing from today's version of "Rock" There is no reason to have any creativity because it's all digital now. You can copy, paste, riffs, sounds, fake another artist's music and incorporate it into your background music.. it's all computerized and fake. America's Rock has gone American Idol and has no depth whatsoever. It's all about a quick buck and get out.
If there is anything I would like to pass on with this site is to encourage young rock groups to go back to the basics, don't rely on computers and gizmos to make "your sound" Get together, find your sound, and play it! Not for TV, or your sponsors, or producers.. Play it because you believe in your music and for the rock!!
Rock on!
Lawrence Mintz wrote:
ReplyDeleteAUG 15 1969 A radio announcer’s voice echoed in the factory. The New York State Thruway closed… too much flower power clogging the arteries. I wasn’t worried. I didn’t need no stinkin’ New York State Thruway. We were using the Connecticut Turnpike. I left work, ran home packed a bag went outside. The van pulled up. I got in. We hit the road. Everyone simultaneously lit joints popped pills snorted coke. We giggled we sang we cried I peed out a window. We zigged ,we zagged across the state. Woodstock here we come. Traffic was light. We crossed a bridge to New York. Traffic was no longer light. We pulled on Route 17, the world’s biggest parking lot. A thirty five mile long line of cars standing still purring pungent reefer smoke pouring out in every direction half naked hippies girls with painted faces flowers long hair dancing across narrow streams of consciousness chased by half naked boys painted faces flowers even longer hair begging for their love. Acid heads floating across the backdrop, a magical mystery tour. The sky ominous dark storm clouds gathered lightening flashing primordial and apocalyptic, the dawn of time, the age of Aquarius. Oh yeah baby right up my alley.
Some hour floated by we exited Seventeen, snaked a winding country road looking for a place to hide in plain sight. We found an abandoned and broke house just down the road from a tiny grocery store, Kaplan’s, in the middle of nowhere three miles from the center of the universe. The store became my salvation, saved me from starvation. Exhausted I grabbed a box spring in an open air bedroom of the closed down house rolled out my bag laid down looked up dozed off awoke in someone else’s dream where it reeked of déjà vu went back to sleep slid into my own dream water skiing under a frozen lake.
Saturday August 15th got up early, hit the store for a Yankee Doodle dandy, popped a barrel of orange sunshine began my trek to the promise land. White Lake usually a summer retreat for the Jewish mafia and schmata peddlers now invaded by this mass of counter culturalists. Yin and Yang . I started down the rode acid pumping in my veins primitive images in my mind. I was really in it now. The road was jammed full of innocents banging bongos chanting songs of redemption. Jewish mothers on the sideline serving chicken soup holding up signs that read “Don’t take the brown acid.” I got closer. It was dense like New Year’s Eve at Times Square. John Sebastian basking on a breeze singing “Darling Be Home Soon.” I was close. I could smell it. The back of the stage, too many people stuck, sweating sweltering bodies pushed along by a wave of insanity. “Come let’s talk about the things we’ve done today “ I loved John Sebastian. I loved the song. I loved the crowd. I needed to take a shit. I saw some cows. I jumped into their pasture, squatted not knowing not caring. I was one with the universe man. Moo!!! So this is what it was like to be a cow.
I pulled up my pants and reentered the fray saw the light, the crowd, the infinite beauty, I entered at my own risk sat listening swaying hallucinating praying . The sun set.. The crowd grew. A voice called out. I looked up. Harry my roommate and Edith his girlfriend standing above me with a carton of Park Lane’s. Edith’s brother from Vietnam shipped her these factory packaged Asian mind bending sticks . A single hit could lift the lids off six seasoned smokers. Canned Heat lit up the sky acid still pulling my strings. One poke on the Park Lane I was toast. I couldn’t stand. So I fell. Help me Harry! Help me! I was exploding, too much pleasure. The Casbah had been rocked. Harry and Edith left. I didn’t care. The sky turned dark. Sly and The Family Stone tried to take me higher. Nothing could take me higher. Three A.M. wasted I trekked back to my box spring dangling on the edge. I could have lived there forever.