Tuesday, December 14, 2010

WHO I AM WRITING TO

Before I begin, I should state that I am not writing this for people looking to take the easy path. I admit that I never “made it” in rock and roll. So I won’t be able to tell you how to handle yourself on your Grammy award winning night. I can only tell you what I know. And what I know is if you work hard, avoid some pitfalls, and keep trying, there are a lot of great things you can enjoy in this hobby/vocation/addiction of music.

I believe in the musician who wants to play music every day. That person who needs rock like they need air. If you can take it or leave it, then this is not for you. If you are doing music as a bit of a hobby, I hope you find a lot of good tips in here. But if you are playing music because you have to play it or you would simply lose your love of life, then I am writing for you. Maybe some things written here will help you along the way. Maybe you will catch a break and make it huge.

I know there are people with less talent than I who have made a great living on rock, and people with more talent who have been less successful. Here’s hoping you find great success and enjoyment – however you define success.

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Working Band Operations Manual - Introduction

WHY I LOVE ROCK AND ROLL or MUST’VE HAD A TEENAGE LOBOTOMY

I love rock and roll. And by rock and roll, I am willing to include punk, pop, metal, soul, R&B, jazz, some forms of country, cover bands, all original, and a whole host of anything you might call music. What I love is not always the music being played, but the types of people involved. Not just being on stage with thousands (or a dozen) people in the crowd. It is the whole culture.

When I walk I to a concert venue, I feel at home. Could be a smoky dark club with candles on cocktail tables and a couple of guys in worn out tuxes on stage. It could be 40,000 seat arena with pre-teens to grandmothers in attendance. Anywhere there is live music being played, there is something about the atmosphere that I just want to dive into and wrap my arms around at the same time.

I love the stale smells of a well used touring van. I love the sights of dented stage monitors and broken spotlight cels. I love the feel of solid guitar. I love the sound of a musician pouring all he or she has into a performance. And I love the inside jokes, funny stories and friendships that come from being in a band with people you love. Those friendships can last your whole life because you have an invisible bond of music that can not be easily severed.

At my age, and living in suburbia, I run the risk of being perceived as a little immature by my neighbors and other parents at my kids’ private school. When I drive ten hours to play a $100 gig with buddies, those people must think I am odd. Yeah I might think their desire to drop a ton of money and five hours every Saturday on a round of golf is just as odd, but I don’t say anything. We all have things that we need in our lives. Mine is music.

There may be no way to fully explain my love of rock music culture. I want to be around radio stations, recording studios, in the back of band vans, on stage, in front of stage, and sometimes under a stage. My life as a rock and roll guy began when I was fifteen and I bought a bass guitar on my way to a band practice with my best friends. At the time I did not know how to play a note and had to fake my way through. That didn’t matter. What mattered was that I was with my best friends in a damp basement sharing laughs and stories. For the most part of my last 25+ years it is the dingy locations, friends, laughs and stories that have been making me feel at home no matter where I’ve been.

25+ years? That is a freaking lot. Quarter of a century. It occurs to me that I have made a ton of mistakes along the way. At the same time, I have probably learned a lot. There is something about rock and roll that has kept me believing that if I learn a little more, if I do things a little differently, if I get a little more luck, I could make it in this business.



But recently I was told in no uncertain terms that I will not make it. That I am too old. Here is the story:



A couple of years ago I received a series of e-mails from Chris Allen. I know of Chris as a good singer songwriter in my hometown. We’ve never spoken. So I found it a huge compliment when the e-mails included MP3s of songs. The MP3s were titled things like “Fallin Apart DRUM and Bass.mp3” and “Fallin Apart Drum only.mp3”. I was told to learn the bass line from the first one, then record a demo of me playing bass with the drum part in the second one. “Wow,” I thought. Chris wants me to record bass on his next record. Pretty cool. So we e-mail back and forth a bit and I come to realize he wants me to record the bass line live on video and upload to YouTube as my audition. But I only have a couple of days to do this.


Seriously, I could not wait to get this done. I learned the parts to the songs, recorded a video of me in my little studio playing along with them and uploaded it all to YouTube. I called Chris and told him the videos were available. But I found it strange to do an audition for a record this way. Then I found it stranger that Chris’ phone number is in L.A. when I thought he was in Cleveland. Chris calls back. We chat a bit and I ask him when we are recording the record, why he is in L.A. and if he is doing the record out there. He says, no this is for the tour and didn’t “so and so” from my management company give me the details? I tell him I don’t know “so and so” and what tour? He then explains that this is to play bass and roadie for the All American Rejects on their upcoming Australian tour with Fall Out Boy. That the AAR singer, who plays bass, wants to focus on singing for half the songs and have someone else play bass. I am blown away that I am auditioning for this kind of gig. I ask how he got hooked up with AAR. He tells me he is their A&R guy. I ask how he moved from singer songwriter to A&R guy. He asks what the heck am I talking about. Turns out he is Chris Allen, but not the singer/songwriter one I know. Then I ask how he got my information. He tells me from a management company in Chicago that recommended Tim Brennan, bassist under their employ, and they gave Chris my email address. So I am getting contacted by a Chris Allen I don’t know and he is contacting a Tim Brennan bassist who he did not mean to contact.



This is the oddest mistaken identity ever. But I can’t believe my fortune. After 25 years of playing I get that lucky break to do something extremely cool. I’m not a huge AAR fan, but playing on a major tour would be awesome. My wife even thinks this is a good idea (did she want me out of the house? Who knows). So I am 100% on board with this.



Then I make a fatal mistake. On one phone call with Chris, he hears my kids in the background. I tell him, yeah those are mine. He asks if I am married. I say yes. He asks if the wife is OK with this. Sure, I tell him, she knows I’ve been pursuing this for 25 years. 25 years? He asks. Yeah. How old are you? I tell him.



Silence.

More silence.

“Dude, this isn’t going to work,” is what I hear him say. I can almost hear his head shaking on the other end of the line. He may be laughing to himself too.

What, I look good on the video, but you’re afraid when the little girls get close they’ll wonder who the grandpa is? I ask.

Yeah, that’s about it.

Somehow I am not actually angry. It feels like I’ve known this all along and somebody finally opened my eyes to it. Still, I try to argue that I can teach these guys a thing or two and can probably drink them under the table while help keep them out of trouble. I’m making stuff up at this point.

My arguments are weak and I know it. This call came 20 years too late. Even ten years earlier and I could have taken the call. My chance to be a rock star – or even a minor version of a rock star – had passed a long time ago. There would be no Rolling Stone interview. No invite to the Grammys. No MTV softball game against my favorite artists.

We part ways on the phone in good terms. Friends tell me I should sue for age discrimination. Why? It is what it is and if they don’t want a 42 year old guy with tons of experience on their tour, then why do I want them?



I’ve got a great life with solid income, terrific family, and I get to play in local bands with my favorite friends. Sometimes we get paid and frequently we get discounts on beer. I still write and play music. So what else do I need?

Through Rock and Roll, I have enjoyed seeing a bunch of great cities and small towns, been on amazing stages, enjoyed meeting some real oddballs and some of the greatest souls in this world. We all share a love of music. Many people may think playing in bands is a childish thing and childish things should be left in childhood. Maybe they are right. But for me, by playing in bands, I have learned more about love, loss, people, business, myself and others than I could have ever learned in school.

And yet, the conversation with the wrong Chris Allen did make me realize I have these 25+ years of mistakes, successes, stories and friends. Maybe some fifteen year old kid on his way to his first gig can use some of what I know. In this bog, I hope to take on a topic at a time and provide my opinions and stories. Most will be derived from what I have experienced, read, or learned from others. This is just my viewpoint. So please, feel free to tell me where you disagree. Or tell me more stories. They may help another band. And even if they just make me laugh, I will love every bit of it.

Hey man, it’s only Rock and Roll…