Tag Archives: connections
A to Z of Making It, Music, My Stories, Piracy, Stupidity
The Music Word As I See It
October 23, 2014 destroyerofharmonyconnections, culture, Dolalrs, fiction, Hype, importance, information, niches, Tastemakers Leave a comment
Just because one person knows it, it doesn't mean that everybody also knows it. Nothing could be further from the truth. Is anybody talking about the new In Flames or Flying Colors album this week? Of course not, that is last week's story. The hard-core fans would now of it but the rest. Not so much.
Despite all the hype, most people don't pay attention. We live in a worldwide economy and all that we're interested in today, is the fantastic. If you're going to hype it then let me buy it. The true mark of a great record is that we have to hear it again and again. No hype can never make that happen.
Today we don't want to be left out. We all have/want a broadband connection and a smart phone.
This is a huge problem in music especially in metal and rock circles. Suddenly it is uncool to like Meshuggah, Children of Bodom and Black Veil Brides. Suddenly it is uncool to like Five Finger Death Punch, Shinedown and Bon Jovi. Back in the Eighties when metal and rock was a commercial force to be reckoned with, the fans of say Motley Crue, Twisted Sister and Ratt were also fans of Metallica, Megadeth and Slayer.
Tastemaker publications are irrelevant. They still operate on an old business model. The believe that if they act as gatekeepers, they can control which band breaks through or doesn't. If an artist wants something to last then they need to infect the fans with quality. The fans are the tastemakers, not the media establishment. The fans make the songs hits and more importantly the fans sustain the songs for years after that.
We live in a society where we consume different cultures. So there's no focus. Almost nothing lasts. And those in charge believe if they yell louder, they will get more traction, not realizing most people aren't paying attention and never will. Fans of metal music in general still don't know that Machine Head has a new album coming out.
What is important to you is probably not to someone else. Just because you are on TV it doesn't mean that people saw you. We grew up with three channels. Now we have five hundred.
Dollars are more important than music in today's society. U2 got a $100 million from Apple, it doesn't matter whether anybody listened to the music. "Reporters" are paid by the clicks. The iPhone moved 30 million units in its first month.
Tons Of Information
So here we are in with tons of information and so little time. Where do we start? Remember the past where the gatekeepers screamed for a decade only to give birth to a few dominant artists. It used to be that we couldn't escape what was sitting at number one. Now we've got no idea what number one is or what it means.
A to Z of Making It, Classic Songs to Be Discovered, Derivative Works, Influenced, Music, My Stories, Unsung Heroes
May 13, 2014 destroyerofharmonyBill Liesegang, blues rock, Bruce Gowdy, Burn, connections, Craig Erickson, Cry Of The Brave, Crying For Love, David Coverdale, Deep Purple, Don Dokken, Eric Bojfeldt, Face The Truth, From Now On, George Lynch, Glenn Hughes, guitar riff, Guitarist, Heroes, history, Hughes/Thrall, In Your Eyes, John Norum, Lay My Body Down, Liesegang, Make My Day, Manfred Ehlert, Mel Galley, Mike Varney, music, No Strings Attached, Not Necessary Evil, NWOBHM, Pat Thrall, Paul Delph, Paul Kossoff, Phenomena, Phoenix Rising, primer, relationships, roots, Sacred Groove, Shrapnel Records, So Much Love To Give, songs, Still The Night, story, supergroup, Surrender, The Look In Your Eye, Thomas Larsson, Tom Galley, Tommy Bolin, underrated, When Love Finds A Fool, Xero, You Keep On Movin Leave a comment
Mention the name Glenn Hughes to a lot of people and you will get a different answer each time as to who he is. Some don't know of him, some mistake him with a sporting identity, some get it right and some just get it so wrong. However, if you are a fan of music, there is a pretty good chance that you would have come across the works of Glenn Hughes.
Especially the melodic AOR rock style of Glenn Hughes.
This primer course is based on showing a few of the big songs Glenn Hughes was involved in and then it moves over to that fertile Nineties post addiction period that was more or less ignored due to the musical landscape. However by no means is the list complete.
Released in 1974.
I found out about the "Burn" album by back tracking the origins of David Coverdale after the Whitesnake album from 1987 exploded. Yep, in 1987, I had no idea that David Coverdale was in Deep Purple. Actually the only Deep Purple song I knew at that stage was "Smoke On The Water" and that is because Triple M, the local rock radio station played it to death. For kids that grew up with Google, guess what it didn't exist back then.
So it was harder to find out information about our favourite artists. Not impossible, just harder.
This meant purchasing expensive U.S magazines and reading the interviews and the reviews. Or if I didn't have the money it meant grabbing the magazine at the newsagency and reading it there, much to the disgust of the newsagency owner.
He was a Portuguese fellow and he saw me that many times in his shop that he eventually started mentioning to me when the latest, "Hit Parader" or "Circus" or "Faces" or "Metal Mania" or "RIP" or "Metal Edge" was in.
Then he told me a little important secret about the newsagency business. That whatever doesn't sell for the month, he returns back to the publishers. So he said that he will give me the magazines that I like then albeit with the front cover desecrated.
"Burn" was also my first introduction to Glenn Hughes. It was an immediate hit for me.
The song is credited to Ritchie Blackmore, David Coverdale, Glenn Hughes, Jon Lord and Ian Paice and you can hear the jam ethos throughout it. The performances are all top notch and the song showcases all of the members' abilities.
There is also a version of Glenn Hughes singing it from start to finish that appeared on his solo album, "From Now On…" as a bonus track.
"When Love Finds a Fool"
It is a co-write between Glenn Hughes and Don Dokken and it was on the Don Dokken "Up From The Ashes" solo album that was released in 1990 on the Geffen label. There was a lot of money spent on that album by the Geffen company, however the interest in Don Dokken's career was already dwindling down to just the hard core fans only.
On the Don Dokken recorded version, Hughes provides backing vocals only. It was the first song I clicked play on when I got home due to the Glenn Hughes writing credit.
And I loved it. To paraphrase like Yoda "A ballad it was" however it was delivered with a passion that was undeniable.
"The Only One"
It's written by Glenn Hughes and Swedish guitarist Eric Bojfeldt and produced by Bruce Gowdy.
The song appeared on Hughes's solo album titled "From Now On…" released in 1994. The album is a favourite of mine and the album has a well-rounded, polished and melodic AOR sound. And what a backing band.
Hughes was supported by a band of Swedish musicians including Europe members John Levén, Mic Michaeli and Ian Haugland as well as guitarists Thomas Larsson and Eric Bojfeldt.
Let the Viking invasion begin. Max Martin might get all the press for his pop songs, however the Swedes always had great musicians and songwriters.
"Crying For Love"
A brilliant ballad that appeared on the 1996 album "No Strings Attached" by the band Liesegang. Actually Liesegang is guitarist Bill Liesegang and his roots go back to the early Eighties NWOBHM movement and the band Xero. Actually his roots go back even further, to 1969, when he was asked to join David Bowie's band.
Liesegang is renowned for being a guitarist that was doing all the guitar theatrics in the late Seventies that Steve Vai and Joe Satriani became famous for years later.
"Still The Night"
It's history goes back to 1982. Originally planned for the second Hughes/Thrall album, the song ended up appearing on several other releases. It was recorded by the super group "Phenomena" project in 1984.
The version that I like is the John Norum version that appeared on Norum's solo album, "Face The Truth" in 1992.
The song is written by Glenn Hughes, Pat Thrall and Paul Delph (RIP). Paul Delph was another talent who worked with an eclectic bunch of musicians before his death from HIV/AIDS complications.
"The Look In Your Eye"
It appeared on the "Hughes/Thrall" album released in 1982. The vocal is the starring element. How good is the pre chorus and then the falsetto melodies in the chorus.
"I don't need anybody else
To try to run my life
I don't need the way they try
To tell me what they think is right
We don't need anybody else
To take what's yours and mine
It's just a waste of time"
I didn't hear this album until a decade later. Because I didn't get into the whole Grunge and Alternative scene. What I did do is get into purchasing records from second-hand Record Shops and the Hughes/Thrall album was one such gem. It is definitely a hidden gem of melodic hard rock.
Pat Thrall is a very underrated guitarist. A craftsmen who understands what the song needs and plays to suit.
It appeared on the "Phenomena II – Dream Runner" album from 1987. Music and Lyrics came from Mel Galley. Actually Phenomena is a super group formed by record producer Tom Galley, Metal Hammer magazine founder Wilfried Rimensberger] and Tom's brother, ex-Whitesnake guitarist Mel Galley who played with Glenn Hughes in Trapeze and on Hughes's Seventies solo album.
What a super group line up for the recording of Surrender.
Vocals – Glenn Hughes
Guitars – Mel Galley
Keyboards – Leif Johansen
Bass – Neil Murray
Drums – Michael Sturgis
It is one of my favourite cuts.
"Face The Truth"
It's from John Norum's solo album of the same name released in 1992 and the he song is written by Glenn Hughes and John Norum. For those that don't know, John Norum was the original guitarist in the band "Europe" and played on their first three albums including the mega one, "The Final Countdown". He is also in the film clip? Then he was replaced by Kee Marcello for the tour, and the two follow-up albums that came in "Out Of This World" and "Prisoners In Paradise". He is back as the guitarist of Europe when they reformed back in 2004.
How good is that guitar riff?
It just rocks and rolls the song to glory. If you have listened to early Europe, you will hear that "Euro-Metal Sound" that John Norum is famous for.
The song is a melodic rock gem and it is post the excellent work that Norum did with Don Dokken on the "Up From The Ashes" solo project.
"You Keep On Movin"
It goes back to 1975 and the "Come Taste The Band" era of Deep Purple with another guitarist that departed way too young. Tommy Bolin. Now that was another talent that is no more. Tommy Bolin and Paul Kossoff are my two heroes. Guitarists that just wanted to jam and play.
The song is actually written by David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes. The version that I was listening to is from the 1994 solo album "From Now On….".
This is what we've lost in the transition from capturing spontaneous creations to capturing well thought out and analysed rewritten over and over again creations. That effortless feel in a song as it builds to a crescendo.
"So Much Love To Give"
Very Hendrix like and that is not surprising at all when you see that Hendrix devotee Craig Erickson is the guitarist and the songwriter.
It's up there in the blues rock vibe of "Mistreated" from the Coverdale/Hughes era of Deep Purple.
It's a Glenn Hughes and Craig Erickson composition.
Actually Craig Erickson is a very underrated guitarist in the blues rock genre.
The song was released on Hughes's first solo album titled "L.A. Blues Authority II: Glenn Hughes – Blues" after he kicked his drug habits in 1991 and it is another all-star line up of musician friends that assist in the album's creation. As Glenn once stated it was his first album since finding his higher power. And of course it was Mike Varney who got the project rolling. For those that don't know, Shrapnel Records was founded in 1980 by Mike Varney.
And Shrapnel was different from all of the other labels because it focused on bands featuring guitarists of extraordinary ability and it was the main label leading the neo-classical shred movement.
If it wasn't for Shrapnel Records artists like Yngwie Malmsteen, Marty Friedman, Jason Becker, Paul Gilbert, Tony MacAlpine and Vinnie Moore would have either not been identified or taken longer to identify.
"King Of The Western World"
It is the opening track on the 1996 Liesegang album "No Strings Attached" that also has the excellent "Crying For Love" that I mentioned above.
It's the GUITAR!
The Steve Stevens inspired "Atomic Playboys" riff that kicks it off. Talk about a riff!
Then it goes into a Journey style verse. For those that don't know Bill Liesegang, make sure you check him out. Another underrated musician and songwriter.
"Not Necessary Evil" and "Cry Of The Brave"
Both of these songs appear on "Sacred Groove" the first solo album from George Lynch released in 1993. As a fan of George Lynch, I really enjoyed these little gems.
Glenn Hughes came into the Lynch stratosphere back when Glenn Hughes was hired to sing on the demos that would become the self-titled Lynch Mob album, released in 1992. The album features the vocals of Robert Mason who legend has it, had Glenn Hughes teaching him how to sing the songs.
There are just so many connections and relationships in the career of Glenn Hughes. And really, that is what having a music career is all about.
Building connections and fostering relationships.
Just look at the body of work that I have mentioned so far and all the different musicians that have been involved with it. How many musicians in the last 10 years have achieved anything close to those relationships?
It's all about the band they are in and just that band. God forbid if someone tried to jam with another band. That would be cause for instant dismissal.
Mike Portnoy comes to mind as the only musician that is putting his name out there on different styles of music and with different musicians.
It's the opening track from the "Amen" album by Manfred Ehlert. Written and arranged by Ehlert it is Glenn's vocal performance that brings the song home.
There is a keyboard riff there that reminds me of "The Final Countdown" from Europe.
The song is written by Tom Galley, Richard Bailey and Mel Galley, but it is the vocal performance by Glenn Hughes that knocks it out of the ball park.
Mel Galley is another guitarist that deserves more attention for his work output. Maybe not having the look of a glam rocker hurt his career in the Eighties, but there is no denying the work that he did with Trapeze, Whitesnake and Phenomena.
This song appeared on the supergroup "Phenomena" project in 1984.
"Lay My Body Down"
It is written by Glenn Hughes and virtuoso guitarist Thomas Larsson.
Another musician from Sweden and the land of the midnight sun. It is a musical Viking conquest.
The song appeared on Hughes's solo album titled "From Now On…" released in 1994.
It is from the 1992 John Norum solo album "Face The Truth".
It is a song written by a super group committee. The writers are Glenn Hughes, John Norum and Peter Baltes from Accept fame, who along with John Norum just finished a stint with Don Dokken.
One thing that is clear is the many relationships that Glenn Hughes as formed. Music is a common language for all walks of life and there is no greater ambassador than Glenn Hughes.
Classic Songs to Be Discovered, Derivative Works, Influenced, Music, Unsung Heroes
High Wire – The Streets Cry Badlands, Till The Day That I Die
February 15, 2014 destroyerofharmonyBadlands, Black Sabbath, Classic Rock, connections, Eighties, Eric Singer, Greg Chaisson, Jake E Lee, John Kalodner, metal, music, Ozzy Osbourne, Paul O'Neill, Ray Gillen, relationship, riff, Savatage, Seventies, songwriting skills, Streets Cry Freedom 1 Comment
With Jake E Lee excommunicated from the Osbourne camp no one was sure what he would do next. In 1988, Badlands formed however the connections that made this happen go back to the years that Jake spent with Ozzy.
The original Badlands line up was Ray Gillen on vocals, Eric Singer on drums, Greg Chaisson on bass and of course Jake E Lee on guitar. And we will never be able to see the band that cut the self-titled debut album reunite. Ray Gillen has passed and Eric Singer said in an interview on the Daves on Tour website that his memories of Badlands aren't good ones.
"I saw a lot of potential with really talented people turn into a sad situation."
Eric Singer auditioned for Ozzy back in 1985 and he didn't get the gig. Greg Chaisson also auditioned for Ozzy around the same period and he also didn't get the gig. Both of them lost out to Randy Castillo and Phil Soussan. The outcome for both Singer and Chaisson was that they got to meet Jake E Lee and have a jam with him. That is the Jake E Lee connection.
Eric Singer also did a stint in Black Sabbath during the Glenn Hughes/Ray Gillen era. That is the Ray Gillen connection. Music is a relationship business and it was these relationships, albeit small ones once upon a time, that ended up getting together to create one hell of a debut album.
In an interview with Kerrang from May 1989, this is what Ray Gillen had to say on the bands beginnings;
"I was particularly keen on the project because I had to pick myself up off the floor after my involvement with the Blue Murder project had gone sour. I was basically asked to leave the band due to outside record company pressure. John Kalodner, one of the top people at Geffen Records, simply said that I couldn't sing!"
John Sykes's search for a singer for his post Whitesnake project was legendary and in the end it was John Kalodner who decided it.
By 1989, metal music needed a re-invention. The answer was a new breed of bands with guitar gods as their centrepiece. Enter, Badlands, along with Blue Murder, Mr Big and Lynch Mob.
Wearing their Seventies classic rock influences on their sleeves and very cleverly merging the minor key riff remnants of the mid-Eighties heavy metal sound, Badlands hit the target. Each song was unique. Engineer James A. Ball mentioned in a Guitar World interview from July 1989, that the album was recorded in about ten studios. Each studio brought its own sound to the songs and you can hear it.
This is what Jake E Lee had to say on the band in an interview with Guitar World from July 1989;
Badlands is purer because I didn't have to filter my ideas through Ozzy. Ozzy encouraged a flashier, trick-oriented style. Badlands is definitely more blues-based. When we got together we started by playing old Cream, Free, Led Zeppelin—the things we all grew up on. When we started writing songs, it carried over. I naturally went back to my pre-Ozzy approach. Our bassist, Greg Chaisson, says he's relieved. He used to see me in my club days when I was playing in Ratt and Rough Cutt, and said I was his favourite. When he heard "Bark At The Moon", he was disappointed.
Paul O'Neill was also the producer and was also their manager. He is well-known today with his work with Savatage and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. One thing that Paul O'Neill does not credit for, is his song writing skills. He didn't have mainstream hits like Desmond Child or Jim Vallance or Max Martin, however he was involved in writing some hard rock and heavy metal classics.
The standout song on the debut is "High Wire" and that song is a Jake E Lee and Ray Gillen composition. It cemented Jake's reputation. You can't keep a super star down and what a great way to open the album.
How good is that opening riff?
If anyone has heard the song "Transatlantic Blues" from The Night Flight Orchestra, you will hear this riff re-used. It is a hidden gem and a piece of kick ass hard rock. Adrenaline Mob also covered it last year on "Coverta" and paid tribute to the original in a damn good way.
The beauty of the song is the simplicity. It is a simple A to C, A to D riff, the cornerstone to all classic blues/classic rock songs.
"Winter's Call" is written by Jake E Lee, Ray Gillen and Alex Gonzalez. It is the most Zeppelinesque song on the album, especially in the verses, combining Middle Eastern drones with Celtic modes. It is also one of the oldest songs on the album, as the song's roots go back to 1983.
"Streets Cry Freedom" is the next gem and the song is written by Jake E Lee, Ray Gillen and Paul O'Neill. What a great way to close off side one. When vinyl was king, albums got sequenced by having a great opening track and a great closing track.
"Till the day that I die".
The comparisons to Led Zeppelin, Humble Pie and Bad Company are prevalent in this song. The song's verses are a typical 12 bars blues. Instead of playing it in the standard way, Jake E Lee shows his guitar smarts by arpeggiating the verses.
Again, the song sounds complex, however it is simple, especially the way it picks up towards the end.
"Seasons" is a gem on the second side. It is another song by the Jake E Lee, Ray Gillen and Paul O'Neill song writing team and man, it reminds me a lot of Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir".
This was 1989 and MTV ruled. Bands needed a hit to get recognition. So while "Dreams In The Dark" did the video rounds, as the record label decided it had the most "hit" potential, songs like "Winters Call", "Seasons" and "Streets Cry Freedom" slipped under the radar. This is Jake E Lee at his best. He soars on these songs, like a free bird. And Ray Gillen made John Kalodner eat his words.
Then there are the stories about how "Hard Driver" reminds me of "Death Alley Driver" from Rainbow. How Jake E Lee used a black Les Paul Custom originally owned by Carlos Santana for "Rumblin' Train" and how the song was written while Jake E Lee was tuning up his guitar.
The self titled album is brilliant. While other artists went with the one hit single per album and the rest as filler, Badlands delivered an album strong from start to finish. I sort of forgot about these albums and it was Jake's re-appearance last year that re-awakened all of these memories.
The Development Of Zoltan Bathory – Grit and Determination
November 27, 2013 destroyerofharmonyAccept, Annihilator, bass player, censored, Chris Kael, classic Euro Heavy Metal, communist, connections, country, death, Death Metal, determination, Five Finger Death Punch, gamble, Grit, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, Hungary, Ivan Moody, jason hook, Jeremy Spencer, music, mySpace, Possessed, Record Labels, risks, Slayer, style, thrash metal, U.P.O, underground, WASP, Wikipedia, Zoltan Bathory Leave a comment
Raw talent has to mature. So what we have is the artists that stick with music and mature themselves. All the other wannabes got out when they realised that there sole purpose of being involved in music was driven by money and fame. So when those artists that do stick around break through, guess what happens. The majors come knocking with big money.
It is interesting to hear or read about an artist's development and the things they did to get to where they are today.
If you look at the Wikipedia page for Zoltan Bathory, the earliest musical output you get is from 2004, where he played bass in the band "U.P.O". However his story begins a long time, in communist Hungary.
So he grows up in a country where the average person is making pennies. In dollars speak it was like a hundred dollars a month. It doesn't leave a lot of money lying around for guitars, amplifiers and record purchases. He wants to be a heavy metal guitarist, however that music is censored. He wants to be a heavy metal guitarist but he doesn't speak English. He is basically trying to succeed in a genre that doesn't technically have a voice in communist Hungary.
You can see already the grit and determination exhibited by Zoltan just to even get to America. Compared that with people who are cruising on sub-standard effort and constantly told that everything they do is great. You can see that an edge exists in Zoltan's corner.
Determination has been part of Zoltan's mindset since childhood. I remember reading an interview that his parents enrolled him in judo classes in an attempt to temper his schoolyard aggression and how that discipline has served him well as he got older.
So he puts together a band that would become Five Finger Death Punch. The band is his first thought in the morning and his last thought at night. He lived and breathed the band. Even the style of music that Five Finger Death Punch produce wasn't very popular at the time. It was Hard Rock, merged with Thrash Metal, merged with Death Metal and classic Euro Heavy Metal.
I have heard bands like Accept, W.A.S.P., Slayer, Cannibal Corpse, Death, Possessed and Annihilator mentioned as early influences.
It was all underground. They had no label but they had people connecting with them on MySpace in the thousands. The record labels started to take notice as this underground band where getting more views and plays than their major label artists.
The first album was recorded on their own. They produced it and paid for it. The version that we all got to hear was the Five Finger Death Punch version. The label at the time just picked it up and released it.
If you look at Five Finger Death Punch in 2013, every single member came from bands that had some level of recognition before. Jason Hook goes back to the late Eighties and early Nineties, with ties to hard rock bands, plus various session work and backing bands for pop stars.
Ivan Moody goes back to the mid Nineties before achieving some recognition with Motograter and his side project Ghost Machine.
Drummer Jeremy Spencer has a similar story to Jason Hook. Hard Rock bands are attached to their stories.
Bassist Chris Kael was doing the Las Vegas circuit with various bands and had made enough contacts to vouch for him when the Five Finger Death Punch bass auditions happened.
They took a risk on their music. They gambled. They didn't know it would resonate and connect with people the way it did. If the music is good, there's a ton of money to be made. Not all of that money would be on recorded music.
Five Finger Death Punch are winning because they DID THE WORK…
Five Finger Death Punch are winning because they kick ass…
Five Finger Death Punch are winning because they rock each place they visit…
That's the way rock and roll works.
Life is tough and no one is owed nothing.
People want bands to make a living because we all want to be involved in some way. It makes us feel good on helping artists by going to a show, buying some merchandise or by purchasing their recorded product.
Remember that all of the music that Five Finger Death Punch has released is available on line for free to either stream, view or illegally download. Yet, they still sell. Funny that.
A to Z of Making It, Influenced, Music, My Stories
House Of Gold And Bones – (CONNECTIONS, COLLABORATIONS and MAKING IT)
July 23, 2013 destroyerofharmonyAlex Da Kid, Alice Cooper, broken, Chris Kael, Collaboration, concept albums, connections, Corey Taylor, da kid, David Mustaine, Dee Snider, Desmond Child, Eminem, Facebook, FFDP, Five Finger Death Punch, gold money, House of Gold and Bones, Imagine Dragons, in debt, James Hetfield, jason hook, Jon Bon Jovi, kael, Livin On A Prayer, Love The Way You Lie, Making It, New Jersey, nikki sixx, People shine in so many ways, Richie Sambora, Robb Flynn, Slippery When Wet, wealth success, You Give Love A Bad Name Leave a comment
Corey Taylor wrote the story line around the recent Stone Sour concept albums, The House of Gold and Bones. By the end of the story line, the main character has made a decision but it is unclear what it is. The important thing is that the main character stood his ground, however Taylor wanted to leave it up to the listener to decide what choice the main character has made.
To me the house of gold and bones represents life. The Gold can be anything that you make it to be, like family, children, fun, good times, doing something that you love, wealth, success, standing up for what you believe in and love. The Bones represents hardships, doing it tough, climbing up hills with no end in sight, destitution, depression, sadness and death.
The issue with today's society is the worship of the GOLD (money) above everything else. It is the main motivator for the paths and actions we take. Seriously what is someone like Jon Bon Jovi or George Lucas going to do with all that money? Once upon a time, all of our heroes just wanted to create.
Chris Kael is the current bassist of Five Finger Death Punch. For those that don't know Kael joined at the tail end of the American Capitalist recording sessions. How did he get the gig? He heard FFDP were looking for a bass player and he contacted FFDP guitarist Jason Hook on Facebook. He didn't know any of the other FFDP guys. Hell, Kael was only know to a small Las Vegas circle of musicians. He asked Hook to check around with those musicians as he was sure he would get a good review and basically he got his foot in the door, he got the audition and then he got the gig. Connections however small they seem at the start all pay off in the end. Was Kael motivated by money? No. He was motivated by performing, by creating and by wanting to be in a band.
Imagine Dragons independently released three EPs and toured extensively before signing with Interscope. Then the band received an email from Alex Da Kid. He liked their music and wanted to write with them. If you know of Eminem's, "Love the Way You Lie" song, then you know of Alex Da Kid. So the collaboration initially was for other artists on Alex Da Kid's roster. It soon turned into the Imagine Dragons song writing effort. Were Imagine Dragons motivated by money when they started playing the Vegas casino circuit? No. They were motivated by the need to create and play live.
Connections leads to collaborations. For whatever purposes these collaborations begin with, they seem to take a life on their own. Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora initially started to work with Desmond Child so that they can write songs for other artists to sing. The first song they wrote was You Give Love A Bad Name. The next song was Living On A Prayer. In the end, Bon Jovi ended up releasing the songs. When Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora started their collaboration with Desmond Child, they were broke, still living at their parents' house and after two Bon Jovi albums, they were in debt to their record label by about half a million. Do you think that Jon and Richie cared about that? No. They wanted to create great music and with Slippery When Wet they did. With New Jersey, they tried real hard to rewrite Slippery When Wet and that is when greed comes into the picture.
People shine in so many ways and while society is spending it's time going all practical, the ones that shine become the new Alice Cooper, the new Nikki Sixx, the new James Hetfield, the new David Mustaine, the new Dee Snider, the new Robb Flynn and so on. Practical doesn't fit in the lives of our heroes. We all need to find our own house of gold and bones and live with the choices that we make.
A to Z of Making It, Music, My Stories
The old rock star is dead. Its time to create a new rock star that is a product of the times
July 12, 2013 destroyerofharmony46and2, AC/DC, Black Sabbath, blues, building a buzz, celebrities, Classic Rock, connections, cover songs, Crazy Train, cyber lockers, Dee Snider, Def Leppard, Different = success, Dio, doing it their own way, Dream Theater, entertainment, experience, falling into infinity, Glam Rock, Grunge, Hans Zimmer, Hard Rock, heard above the noise, Heartist, Helter Skelter, Holy Diver, Hysteria, influlences, inspiration, Internet, issues with the label, James Hetfield, jazz, Jon Bon Jovi, Judas Priest, Kick Start My Heart, Kiss, Led Zeppelin, Lick It Up, Love Bites, man of steel, Metallica, Motley Crue, Muse, music, Music Business, New Wave of British Heavy Metal, nikki sixx, Nirvana, One, Opinions, Ozzy Osbourne, Pearl Jam, pop songs, Product Of The Times, Pubk, Pull Me Under, real artist are true, relationships, Richie Sambora, Second Chance, Shinedown, Sign of the Times, sleeper hit, Smoking In The Boys Room, Soundgarden, soundtrack, Spotify, success is not instant, success. Standing out, the old rock star is dead, The Pirate Bay, The Unforgiven, Tool, Twisted Sister, Van Halen, visuals and music, Wanted Dead or Alive, We're Not Gonna Take It, When Dream and Day Unite, world war z, YouTube Leave a comment
Influences/Inspiration
Nobody exists in a vacuum. Inspiration comes from what you read, watch and experience. Inspiration is the merging of these experiences and influences into something new. When Metallica came on the scene they were inspired and influenced by the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. They were influenced by Punk. They were inspired and influenced by Classic Rock. They were excited and this made them nervous. Nerves made them play faster.
When Black Sabbath came on the scene they were originally influenced by the Blues. Just another blues band among the many blues bands doing the rounds at that time. Then they applied their gloomy industrial upbringing and the rest is history.
Inspiration doesn't take place in a vacuum. All day long you are experiencing.
Could Nikki Sixx have written Kick Start My Heart if he didn't experience death and life? Could James Hetfield have written The Unforgiven if he was brought up in a wealthy household that didn't have Christian Science beliefs? Could Richie Sambora and Jon Bon Jovi have written Wanted Dead Or Alive if they never toured? Could Dee Snider have written We're Not Gonna Take It, if he was rich?
If you think you can write a hit song with no prior experience, you're dreaming. Our whole life is information. Be ready to reference it. Trust your first initial feeling.
Don't get caught up in doing things in the old way. Today's medium is the Internet. No one wants to hear new music from their favourite artist every two years. We surf the net each day, looking for new music and information. If there is a demand for your music, you should create and distribute constantly.
The days when we used to have very little music are over. The days of saving up to buy an album and the playing the same album over and over again are also gone. Now, we've got the history of recorded music at our fingertips. YouTube has everything that you want, Spotify has almost everything that you could want and if all of that fails cyber lockers and The Pirate Bay fill the void.
Product Of The Times
The old rock star is dead. Its time to create a new rock star that is a product of the times. Keep innovating. Embrace the new reality that is being born. Stop playing by the rules of the Classic Rock artists.
Look at the band Heartist. When they formed, they decided that they would not play by the old rules of playing as many gigs as possible just to get noticed. They decided to not play by the old rules of guaranteeing promoters 50 presales for each gig (which more or less meant, the band either had to beg people to come to their show that didn't want to be there or they basically paid to play). They decided to write songs. They decided to keep on writing. They started posting demos on YouTube. They started building a buzz. The songs had quality. People started to spread them, share them, talk about them. They played ONE gig and got signed by Roadrunner and management.
What Does Music and Success Mean These Days?
Music is for the fans. Music is for the people. Music is not for a record executive to make billions so that they can compete with the Forbes 100 Rich List. If you want to be in the music business, you need to focus on what music means. Be inspired! Create! You have to practice, be original and wait for your moment, when you have to deliver.
Def Leppard's Hysteria was out for over a year before it exploded on the back of the Love Bites single. A sleeper hit that no one saw coming. If the song is really damn good it will get people's attention.
If you want success, you need to get people's attention. If you want success you need to work hard and don't plan for it. If you want success, practice and be ready to turn that inspiration into a product. If you want success, you need to know that you have no control over what spreads and what doesn't. Don't judge the success of your project straight away. Success is always ten steps behind. It takes a while for it to happen. Don't just the success of your project in dollar terms. Success is about laying a solid foundation and building on it.
Your music has to be accessible. It needs to make an instant impact. Fans do not have the time to spend on letting an album sink into our brain like the old ways. These days there are so many options and people don't endure that which is not pleasing to them, They move on. Repetition is not an artist's friend in the current times. The life span of a song is different these days.
Most of the time you get one shot for each new fan. It is that one time when people will hear what you have created. One time where you need to satisfy them, so that they can respond and share.
Today, you need to have that one unbelievable cut, that makes the people need to hear it over and over again. That one cut that makes the people want to go and find out more about you.
Whether it be Twisted Sister's "We're Not Gonna Take It", Dio's "Holy Diver", Ozzy Osbourne "Crazy Train", Kiss "Lick It Up", Shinedown's "Second Chance" or Metallica's' "One". It works in every genre of music.
Artists can go straight to their audience, there are no restrictions. Artists by now should know that their career depends on building a loyal relationship with as many fans as possible. In order to build relationships, you need to get people's attention. You need to find a way to be heard over all the noise.
Standing Out – Visuals and Music
You want to be remembered. You want to be talked about. How can you achieve that? Society is a visual culture. That is why we watch TV shows, movies, take pictures and film ourselves.
Why do you think, when you see a preview for a new movie coming out, the studio marketeers have music with it? Why do you think TV shows and movies have soundtracks? They are re-enforcing the visuals with music, as people take more notice when that happens. If people notice they will talk about.
Putting your music with visuals is a big step forward to getting people's attention. How many times have you walked out of a movie, thinking, what a tough score. I just watched World War Z and I loved the track that Muse did for it. Man Of Steel had an unbelievable score by Hans Zimmer, that captured the emotion in each scene. It was also inspiring and uplifting. I still remember the preview to the Captain America movie, where they had the music (46&2) from Tool playing and that was almost three years ago.
Standing Out – Opinions
No artist can please everyone. So don't try. All artists stand for something. If you write a song that is anti-(insert topic here), you will alienate some, and connect more with others. When people get fired up (via positive or negative feelings) they pay attention.
Standing Out – Different = Success
If you look at all of your heroes, they are there for a reason. They are different. When they came on the scene, they were different. Twisted Sister was different to all the other bands in the Eighties in how they dressed and looked. Their style was a combination of AC/DC style rock, mixed with Judas Priest metal, with a dose of punk chucked in. Metallica was different to all the metal and rock bands when they came onto the scene. Motley Crue was different to all the new wave music that was popular at the time. Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden were all different to the Eighties Glam Rock movement. Black Sabbath was different to all the hippie folk music at the time.
Different also includes doing cover versions of popular songs. Take jazz songs and turn them into rock songs. Take pop songs and make them into rock songs. The original artist's fans will be curious to hear these versions. Led Zeppelin did a lot of covers, Metallica the same. Van Halen had cover songs on their first five albums. Motley Crue did Smokin In The Boys Room and Helter Skelter.
What Does It Mean to be an Artist Today?
You don't want to be an artist that becomes who others want them to be. You don't want to be an artist that whores themselves out to make money. You don't want to be an artist that does what they have to do to keep the status quo.
It's okay to not be liked by everybody.
Real artists don't believe in conforming. Real artists stay true to who they are. Real artists play to their fans and allow the fans to talk about them. Do not change for all the new people that could tag along to your success train, that's death. You need to keep playing to the hard core fan base. A great artist is someone who leads us into the unknown who we can't help but follow.
Dream Theater is one artist that comes to mind, that did it their way or the hard way. Signed as a progressive band, they released When Dream and Day Unite, which the label ignored and then went on a long search for a vocalist. When Pull Me Under got traction on MTV and Radio, the band was then a commercial prospect for the label. So the label now wants more crossover songs, and this lead to the issues with the label around the Falling Into Infinity project. After that the band stayed true to who they are and they have grown with each album and are more successful now than ever.
A to Z of Making It, Music
Don't Waste Time Correcting All The Mistakes
April 18, 2013 destroyerofharmonyconnections, correcting mistakes, Making It, music, Our Niche Leave a comment
When we start out in life, we are always available. We are all nobodies trying to find our niche, a place to feel at home. We make friends with all comers. We hang with them, because we are thrilled that someone cares about what we do and what we are.
And then we become somebody. We start to judge others. We start to judge the people we knew. We start to close the doors on the people we once we knew, only letting in a select few. We surround ourselves with enables because we are somebody. We give people who we knew the cold shoulder and we start to feel alienated. To help with that feeling we turn to vices.
Don't let that be you. It's a different world today. We are all equal on line. It is a tidal wave of digital information. You need to keep those connections that you made at the start. Don't surround yourself with YES people. You need to hear other peoples' opinions. It is what keeps us grounded. That is the beauty of social media. There is always someone offering an opinion. It's okay to not respond to all of the Tweets and Facebook messages you get, however it is also important that you do not ignore them.
In the end, no one lives forever. You only have one chance in life. Don't waste time correcting all of the mistakes. The past cannot be undone, you need to move on.