For the Love of Music

What would you do? Seriously, if music was your whole life. Not just one genre, not just going to gigs and concerts, not just playing or performing… but music itself, in its purest form… was the one thing that made any sense.

There are millions of people across the globe that day and night are fighting to be a part of the craziest, hardest to crack, but most rewarding industry out there. The artists, the managers, the labels, the sound guys, writers, composers, musicians, hell even the tour bus driver. Some of the sickest talent, goes undiscovered because there are just so many people out there trying to have their five minutes of fame. The most upsetting part, the real ‘artists’ get overlooked- A LOT- because there are those that are willing to do anything for a quick buck, or to get their face on the front of a magazine… the people that actually care about the music and the impact it has on the people that consume it, they end up performing to a showerhead audience or maybe 100 people in 50 shitty dive bars on the same circuit for 20 years before they give up and go into construction or store work. It really is soul destroying. BUT, sometimes there are one or two that make it through the gap and they make music so pure, so simple and yet soul touching that hearing it can change your life. There is something seriously wrong with the industry, when these are not the artists that are being turned out every day… instead of that prepopulated, over-processed, auto-tuned to within an inch of its life SHIT, that will quite frankly last five minutes if its lucky.

Those, those are the musicians I live for. I’m going to be honest here, I’m a (late) 20 something and I was most definitely born far too late. I am one of those who lives for music, real music, at its finest. I drown night after night in the best music of the last century (mostly on vinyl) and yes, I know I am not the only person in the world to do this, but my question has always been ‘why is there no one in the industry today, looking for real music?’ I mean come on, has music consumption really changed that much? Are there really more people out there that are more bothered about some ‘dush dush dush’ sounding crap, not even made with real instruments, that just has some spotty, pre-tween dubbing pointless and repetitive lyrics over the top of it?! FYI that they can’t perform live! Are you really telling me that this is what the majority of consumers want? I appreciate that most in ‘the biz’ now have gotten into it to make money, but the corporate run machine that churns out all of this crap, really has ruined it for the real talent. They are left with a teeny tiny little pigeon hole for their work and if they are lucky enough to strike a little deal, with one of the smaller (corp giant eaten) labels that still believe in real music, they have to hope and pray and work their asses off to even make a scratch on the industry. Let alone make their mark. These guys though, they end up with underground, cult like followings. They might not make it to commercial radio, or the TV, or be advertising underwear for Calvin Klein while pasted on a 50-foot billboard in Times Square… but they are innovators. They keep the hope alive, that as a culture, we haven’t fallen so far from the realistic tree.

We (I use this term as a VERY broad one) are living in a digital age of selfie taking, self- obsessed, instafamous nitiwits. To put it bluntly. A life ‘lived’ so falsely, through the lens of a camera at the end of ones’ own arm? What have we become? People are more interested in living life from one ‘like’ to the next and are fuelled by the validation of total bloody strangers! What is that all about?! Yes, I use social media. No, I do not strive for attention or confirmation of myself, from strangers. I share photographs that mean something to me. I will share something, if I have something out of the ordinary to share. For that matter, most of my social media output is gig/concert photos and videos. Or revolve around a trip I went on and turned my bloody phone off for the most part… pictures taken on an actual camera, can you imagine? How retro!

Anyway, the point I am trying to make here, is that the people described above are generally the ones that are ending up on the airwaves or the T.V and I have spent so long trying to figure out why. I really don’t understand what is going on with the world. I thought terrorism was bad, then I looked at the state of the music industry and the world in general… honestly, we’ve all gone mad.

So, what would I do for the love of music? Well, music has powered my entire life and I mean the good stuff- Springsteen, Johnny Cash, Fats Domino, Billy Joel, Sam Cooke, Tom Petty, Pearl Jam, Bob Seger, Dylan, Hendrix, Jim Morrison- I could go on forever, but you get the gist? These guys and so many others inspired me to want to make a difference and shift the paradigm of the industry back to that of music with feeling, made by those who had experienced what they had written about. I decided that giving up a life I wasn’t happy in and focussing on making my way into the industry, was the only way I was ever going to get the chance to even try and make that happen. It’s been a hard slog and I’m damn sure it’s only going to get harder. These last few weeks, I have questioned my decision and with every fibre of my being, had to fight to stay the course I have set out for myself. I might make it and achieve what I have set out to do. I also might not and that’s okay. But, if I don’t try I’m not only letting myself down, I’m letting all of the musicians down that I could be helping. I’m letting the people that feel something from real music down, I’m letting down those that inspired me and those that already believe in me. I believe in myself and that I think is the hardest part. Self-doubt is so easy to get pulled into, but its pushing past that and believing you can… that will make sure you do.

Wish me luck… but I’m focussed on making my own.