It’s The End Of The Week As We Know It: Part 8

Hey now! Its Friday once again and time for Part 8 of this splendid little blog series. Im still writing this from North Carolina. Although its been nice seeing the family the past few weeks, Im definitely itching to get back to California; the tame home setting seems to have put me in a creative funk, butfortunately Ive been in full-on writing mode for the past few weeks, which unfortunately means that Ive been practicing guitar less. Give and take. But I love writing this blog every week, so it all evens out.

While currently being in said professional writing mode, Im at a point where Im fully realizing what is in store for me financially if I decide to continue on as a writer and make writing my primary means of income. An imaginary scale has been in front of my eyes for the past week, attempting to weigh out whats the better outcome: am I better off going for a more financially-stable job so I can live more comfortably, or should I pursue my passions and interests in order to live a professionally satisfying life? Tough decision.

A lot of you guys may be aspiring professional guitarists or music students, hoping to turn your love of the guitar into a lifelong career. I think that if you are lucky enough to know what you want to do with your life, its up to you to figure out how to make it happen. If you have the chops and drive to be a pro guitarist, go for it! One thing Ive come to realize is that despite any level of skill or talent you may have at your craft, be it guitar, drums, stand-up comedy, writing, acting etc.the business is tough and you need to hustle. Talent alone isnt enough. If youre considering playing guitar or going into other “unconventional” professions for a living, imagine all that comes with it, and be prepared to work hard.

Some days, the times where money must be spent on living, the idea of having a steady salary plus benefits sounds really appealing. But Id rather do something that I enjoy and make less money than make more of it by working for an Initech and writing TPS reports.

Because of a relatively slow news week, this weeks Top 3 stories illustrate some challenging trends in todays music industry, especially for musicians in the rock realm; here we have some high profile (and not so high profile) musicians commenting on the current state of music and an apparent lack of pulse for rock and roll.

Top 3 Stories

Matt Heafy: No Place for Fakes

Trivium lynchpin, Matt Heafy, isnt too happy that many metal bands are using backing tracks during their live shows. Cheaters. Despite my relative apathy toward Trivium, Im in fundamental agreement with his disdain toward using live backing track enhancement. If they use them, it suggests that they arent as good musicians as youd think. Screw it, we dont need any more Milli Vanillis or Ashlee Simpsons disgracing the art of live performance by lip synching and not delivering truly live concerts! Its rock and roll dammit. Let the records be layered with 10 guitar tracks, but let the live shows be live. Some could say its cheating, but the reality is that because more and more bands are using instrumental enhancements, a band could be at a disadvantage if they decide not to use them.

Say your band was playing a show, and the band that performed before you used drum triggers, backing tracks, programmed cowbells and the like, and sounded HUGE because of them. Afterward, you get onstage, and although you had a tight performance, your sound seems thinner, less rounded and less heavy. The other band sounds better to the crowd by comparison, even though you didnt rely on any digital help.

Heafys point is sound at its core; he prefers bands to be pure in their live performances, that is, when bands stick to what is musically possible onstage with the instruments and players that appear before the audienceno third and fourth guitar parts filling out the mix when there are only two guitarists on stage. But I wouldnt go so far as to say bands that use backing tracks are fakes; theyre just bands working with what they have to get ahead in the competitive current music scene.To get that larger-than-life sound, metal bands need to use backing tracks to achieve such a big sound. Bands are adapting to technological possibilities to stay current. Plus, the majority of the crowd wont notice at all; they just want to be entertained.

So, would you rather see a band in their purest live form with possible sonic holes and mistakes, or see another band deliver a performance thats extremely close to what their record sounds like, complete with autotune and backing tracks? Would you rather spend the night with Mila Kunis without makeup, or some average-looking girl who is all dolled up? Of course, purists would much prefer the former due to the supreme quality, but to the average concertgoer who doesnt get out that much, if hes drunk enough, he wont mind the “7″.

Is Rock and Roll Dead? Lets Ask Queensrÿche

I dont know much about Queensrÿche. I know they have been around since the 80s and have that “Silent Lucitidy” song, but other than that, nothing about them screams DUDE, I gotta check these guys out! But Geoff Tate, their singer, recently commented on the current rock music scene, suggesting thatlike the Lenny Kravitz songrock and roll is dead. Now since I cant quite contextualize Queensrÿche in a musical sense (from what I have heard, they sound kind of cheesy) I can say that at face value, Geoff Tate seems pretty spot on when he says that rock isnt the music of the times anymore. Chart-wise, its definitely not. Rock isnt dead in the sense that there isnt great music coming out anymore because there are still talented musicians and bands out there, but rock bands just dont have mainstream appeal they used to have. The days when multiple bands could be both artistically and commercially successful seem over. Whats left is pop masked as hard rock.

Its like what happened with cinema: many films in the 70s were artistic and commercially viablehigh-quality movies that the masses actually bought tickets to see. Now, we have movies that are calculated to sell ticketsbig blockbusters with corny dialogue and convoluted plots, complete tons of 3D eye candy to please everyone. Explosion, CGI, explosion, hot chick, Michael Bay, fast car!!

The kind of rock that does chart well is this brain-dead rock that sounds heavy, but at its core its all well-constructed pop music. Obviously Im generalizing, but we can all relate to why being into non-pop music sucks; hard-working musicians who have taken the time to learn an instrument have difficulty becoming commercially successful because the industry and masses prefer simple, automated electronic music. You can spend all this time developing your chops and releasing your bands music, but inevitably there will always be people who prefer trite Top 40 tunes because they “have a good beat.”

But at least one pop star seems knows quality music when she hears it

Lady Gaga Digs Maiden

Oh, how we love our rock and roll, our metal, our punk, anything with guitars, bass and drums, music that requires musicians to actually play instruments. We arent as enamored with the world of pop. Case in point, Lady Gaga isnt a favorite artist on UG. She has some haters, sure, and us guitar players probably dont blast “Bad Romance” whenever we want to rock out, but her announced love for Iron Maiden and Ozzy Osbourne makes her go up a few cool points, wouldnt you say?

Although she is a pop star, she seems like the most credible out the current bunch. She has an interesting visual side to her performances and at least she writes her own music.

I view current pop music as typically shallow, commercial, formulaic and mindless, appealing to people who value image over substance, Lady Gaga isnt as bad compared to the Mileys and the Biebers and the Spice Women of the world. Shes setting new trends, and admirably gives credit to real musicians, recognizing the value of their craft and power of their music. Im not going to listen to her in my car, but I can respect her. If she promotes bands like Iron Maiden, maybe shell get some of her fans to listen to them. Then maybe they will be inspired to get into other similar bands? And then perhaps tweens and old biker dudes can both throw up their devil horns at a Maiden show in harmony.

Who knows, maybe one day there will be a pop musician who comes along who happens to shred guitar, writes brilliant songs and has a widespread appeal that pleases rockers, teeny boppers, metal nerds, Midwestern housewives and frat guys alike. Maybe quality music can be widely popular and consumers will stop buying crap. And maybe it all doesnt matter and we should just listen to what we like.

On the next Its the End of the Week as We Know It:

Justin Bieber admits to being a diehard and lifelong Mushroomhead fan.

Despite some religious opposition to an upcoming Incubus gig in the Philippines, confusingly, Slayer is welcomed to the country with open arms.

Matt Bellamy is quick to reveal the name of his future second child: Crosby

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