Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Rock The Blog

Today was a business day.  It has led me here, to all of you, to catch you up on what I've been thinking.

First thing's first.  I imagine around half of you reading this have at least one tattoo.  The other half have "thought about it", but aren't so sure they could get used to having something emblazoned on their body permanently.  Rest assured, you can, it's not so hard as you might think. It's made especially easy if you find an artist you like that cares as much about their craft as they do about putting their indelible mark on your skin someplace.  When it comes time for your first, second, or whichever number it is, look no further.  Rich Verdino is the tattoo artist you want to go see. He is literally a brother in arms.  Both of mine have been illustrated rather ornately, and I couldn't be happier.  
This should say it all --->

I've also been thinking a lot about "influences" as they're described by most bands.  I find that these days there's something of a taboo against having modern or contemporary influences.  Every band on MySpace (including The Turn) cites The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and so on, as their influences. The fact is if you're playing music in 2009, you've been influenced by at least one, but more likely all three of those bands and a whole host of others from that generation that will go unnamed.  That doesn't bother anyone.  Then, yesterday at the gym when Fall Out Boy's America's Suitehearts came on, it occurred to me that they have been one of the bands Pat and I have done a lot of listening to over the years.  Don't look now, but they just released their fourth major label effort, and have been steadily touring for almost ten years.  The inclination among musicians to (consciously or otherwise) shun their modern/contemporary influences when discussing their own body of work is prevalent.  Why is that?  I suppose there is a fear of being lumped into a category or a "scene" as it were.  There's a fear of being accused of ripping off a band, but that's not necessarily reserved for your peers.  It's just a taboo that I can't exactly put a finger on, and am more than willing to let go of.  I'll gladly cite Kings Of Leon, Fall Out Boy, Keane, James Morrison and John Mayer all as artists I respect and to a certain degree, emulate.  In music, as in life, there is something to be learned from everyone around you.

That being said, an influence that I left out of the above segment in the interest of addressing them personally is The Police.  Their recent reunion made deserved international waves.  It had been something like 15 years since the last time they took the stage together for a touring effort, and what footage I caught of it on VH1 looked utterly insane.  I'll cop to not having any desire to spend upwards of $300 for a ticket, either way there's no love lost.  They're three musical geniuses whose work is worthy of timeless acclaim.  Though they only recorded together as a band for six years, they produced some of the most mind boggling music I've ever been privy to and I feel privileged to play it when the opportunity presents itself.  Take a few minutes and listen to Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic.  There are few musical compositions, or even compositions in general that elicit such a universally positive reaction when played in any form.  The elevator version of that song probably gets carts of people dancing and whistling to themselves.  Leastwise, that's what would happen if I was in that elevator.  I could go on listing their greatest hits, but everyone's favorites would stake a valid claim to "best".  So, in order to avoid confusion I tend to listen to their greatest hits records, and soak it all in at once.  This one has the singles, which makes it very easy to whittle down their catalog and find what you want to hear.

That's what's going on inside my head right now.  I'll be back.

Peace Love and Vocal Harmonies

B


No comments:

Post a Comment