Stop and smell the roses...

For the past few months I have been silent about what has been going on with music on this rant. There seems to be a lull in the hard rock and metal scene from time to time. Acts are in the studio, not touring, or just taking a break, and usually that occurs in the summer.  It got me thinking; everyone needs a break, and sometimes the longer the better. 

I have seen some of my favorite artists multiple times over a short period and usually by the last show or venue I have had enough. It’s not that the sets aren’t different, or that the crowds are all the same, it is more or less just my psyche telling me I have had enough of this for a while.  

Concerts take energy; energy from the band to put on a good show; energy from the crowd to be into it. For fans there ere is excessive standing, overly drunk people to deal with, and in warmer climates with outside venues there are weather concerns. Bands deal with travel time, lack of sleep, possibly too much of one another and unhealthy living (take that however you want).  Don’t get me wrong I thrive on live music, it’s just sometimes I can see that we are all just not into it at this moment. Bands been on tour too long; you are gonna see it. Crowd been waiting too long in-between sets; you are gonna hear it. 

There are times where an album gets too much play, or an act for that matter on my iPod. I long for new music constantly but as every other music fan I still have my top 5 yet even those get to the point where I just have to stop playing them. But here is the good thing about a break from things; you know you are gonna come back to it. Your favorite band is going to put out a new album and then tour;  and you are going to run out an get that album and buy those tickets! Being a true fan of a particular act is something that never dies; it just goes to sleep. For me there is a strong sense of excitement for these upcoming months. Some of my top 5 acts are releasing albums and I can hardly wait. I know and hope that there will be a different sound and a verge from the typical musical direction of past albums, however I still hope that there is familiarity of the past records that drags me back in; makes me pull out the whole catalog and listen intently again. 

I am constantly reminded of one band and album that took a break for a significant amount of time and came back and just blew my hair back. That band is Buckcherry and that album is “15”. In my eyes possibly one of the most perfect modern day rock albums put out.  By end of this year they will have put out another one; and although the break from their last one wasn’t as long as it was the one they took for “15” I know it will hold some gems. 

So sit back and take a break from it all; you know you will be back.

It's a love / hate thing.

Welcome to summer. Time of sweltering heat; banner rainstorms that last less than 20 mins and love-bugs that will take the paint off your car quicker than it took for your x to find their next conquest. Don't forget it's also time for the non stop barrage of music festivals. Ahh the music festival. Was Woodstock the first? No it was not; that was a rhetorical question. However, I do believe that little festival sparked something that we be able to recapture; hence maybe not the first; but definitely set the standard.  Days of killer music in a seemingly surreal serene environment. Right? Let's be honest none of us were there so we are going off what we have read, were told, or have seen in pictures. What if it was not really all that peaceful? Possibly not even as much fun as we are lead to believe. Maybe people who were there thought it sucked!

I hate festivals yet at the same time I love them. I'm impartial and passionate all rolled into one when I think about them. See a bunch of bands that I like all in one shot? SURE! Hear only 30 min sets of bands that I might LOVE? NO! See a new band that I might be on the verge of liking and seeing that they kill it on stage? SURE! Hearing a band that I have followed for years not go into their deeper cuts to appease the masses? NO! I can go on like this all night folks; but I won't. Perhaps a list would be more suitable : too bad I am not in a list kind of mood.

98 Rockfest... Miss Lizzy Hale

When I was younger I loved going to Lollapalooza with friends and just tearing it up for an all day event. I was fortunate enough to see some really killer acts back when that festival still had some salt to it. As years wore on I found the acts that were being booked to be flat out horrid! OzzFest stepped it up and I went to that for a few years, but then saw that the same acts were being booked over and over. CrueFest; the first time around was so freaking amazing that I got blacked out drunk the first time I went to go see it; forcing me to go again sober (which was not a cheap ticket), but even after a second go around CrueFest has ceased to exist. Then there are a slew of festivals after that. Don't get me wrong not all bad, but most of them are pretty much the same.

A festival in a nutshell:

• Too many people
• Too short of set-lists
• Large venue
• Shitty acoustics 
• Too many people
• Did I mention too many people? 

Bottom line if asked again if I would go to another festival I would say yes; well wait who is playing? Is it outside? And numerous other questions before giving a non definite answer. I have said nothing in this post.. hence the rant...like I said it is a love / hate thing.

Unplugged

Recently I have been fascinated with hard rock artists stripping it down, and no I am not talking about losing their clothes; more like losing their amps. This is in part from the effect that the Corey Taylor show had on me a few months ago, but probably more because I am headed north to see Tesla do an all acoustic set. Now simply stating the fact that I am going to see Tesla is reason enough to be happy, however the fact that it will be an all acoustic set makes me all tingly inside. (oh and FYI Jeff Keith is one of the most underrated voices in the world)

1990 is the year, hair metal has made it's stain, grunge is approaching, however one little band from Sacramento does something vastly different on one of their newest albums. Not only is it a live album, it is all acoustic; this band is of course Tesla. I remember hearing this and thinking, why in the world would they do this? Why destroy the monster wall of amps and break it down to a granular level? It took a couple of listens however it finally hit me; stripping it down made it louder. You can feel this album; I mean you can really feel it; I dare you not to move to it. So where am I going with all this?

Rock and metal music has more heart than most give it credit for. It is filled with painful lyrics of failure and of love. However it is not until it gets stripped down that we can truly see it's soul. So much of the music I love is looked over by shitty awards shows and the public because 9 times out of 10 they can only hear the decibel of the amps. They don't take the time to strip it down to the granular level and really listen to the lyrics, the harmony, and the over all sound of it all. I think that Tesla's 1990 Five Man Acoustical Jam showed me that often more times than not we have to turn it down a notch to hear the real beauty of a song

Needless to say I am sure that some of you don't even know who Tesla is; however I encourage you to take a listen to that album.