THIS BUSINESS OF MUSIC…

Ask any musician who inspired them to want to pick up a guitar/bass, a pair of sticks, a microphone, whatever…and undoubtedly you’ll hear the answer “The Beatles on Ed Sullivan”. But ask anyone who made them dream of being rock stars, and you’ll hear “Kiss”, “Led Zeppelin”, “Aerosmith”…

If I knew then what I know now…

This book was gifted me recently and since I was dealing with my back going out (it goes out more than me!), it was prime time to thumb through the chapters. THEY JUST SEEM A LITTLE WEIRD by Doug Brod mentions four bands that “remade rock and roll”: Kiss, Aerosmith, Cheap Trick and Starz. I was a fan of the first three bands in the 70s; Starz was nowhere on my radar until years later when I met Richie Ranno at a music store where I worked. I had heard of them though. Anyway…

I am not one to spoil things for people. I found this book very entertaining, definitely eye-opening with some wild stories (it was the 70s, man). All four bands were intertwined in some way, and the competition was fierce! Never mind the bands, the managers/promoters/agents were as cut-throat…YIKES! But if you want to swim with the sharks, better wear your chain mail. And this industry is nothing but sharks.

If I knew then what I know now…

As a teenager with very lofty aspirations of making it in music, I definitely ruffled many feathers with family, friends, you name it. I was not going to let anything stop me, and I mean ANYTHING. But I wasn’t willing to do anything or ALMOST anything. After reading these stories (and hearing of others that were not written on these pages), it’s easy to see why I was never cut out for this. The word “business” is longer than “music” for a reason.

As of this writing, Aerosmith are “no more no more.” Kiss retired too. Cheap Trick are still going strong. Starz reunites here and there for local gigs. But all these bands have war stories for decades. If you want to know how dirty and nasty this business is, start with this book. As a friend told me recently, “You never made it because you’re not totally narcissistic like some artists.” That may be true but I gave it a fighting chance, didn’t I?

I wish this book came out years earlier. I would have saved myself the aggravation (and aggravating others) of trying to make it.

If I knew then what I know now…