NEEDS TO BE SAID…

I came across a video by a guy named James Michael, completely unaware that he was the singer in the band Sixx A.M. (Sorry but they never factored on my musical radar at all!) But his podcasts were a breadth of wisdom and insight that needed to be said.

Here’s one of his many videos: James Michael This one made me go down the cliched rabbit hole.

I won’t spoil anything for you, but just know that what he says are hard facts, cold truths, and it’s coming from someone who dug through the trenches of the con job that is the music industry.

Why am I talking about this? Because local bands need to hear these things! Chances are they won’t listen. I wouldn’t have been ready to listen either a few years ago. Just being honest there. But time and certain people have a funny way of waking your sorry ass up.

Mine was smacked hard.

Will I stop being creative? No. But will I lay down more boundaries when it comes to my vision? Absolutely. One thing James talks about in another video is the “dark side to songwriting”. I won’t go into detail there, you can scope the clip yourself if you wish. My take is this: nobody cares about your music unless they can worm their way in for even the tiniest credit. All about being seen and heard, no matter the cost. ‘I added that D note! I get a credit!”

Slow down there, Sparky.

These past five years for me have been some of the heaviest in terms of soul-searching, facing hard realities, learning sad truths, and really knowing what people (musicians or not) truly think of me. All of it was eye-opening and eye-watering. I can’t recall a time before 2020 when I was this hard-pressed to reach into my blackened soul and uncover things that laid dormant.

Solitude became my friend without me asking.

The point of this blog is that I hope at least one local musician checks the podcast out. They might shrug and say “Ah, Bello, you’re just bitter because you never got to be a guitar god.” Yeah you’re right but I’m also trying to save someone from the bitterness that I’ve acquired over time. I see a lot of clueless bands, acting like it’s still 1984 and they live in their mom’s garage. “Our band’s gonna MAKE IT, dude!”

You’re my age or older, dude!

I would never deter anyone from trying to get somewhere. Being a musician is hard enough, but the other external factors that compound things make it REALLY difficult to get ahead. It’s not the 80s where you had no internet, no Bandcamp or YouTube. You relied on word-of-mouth, and your band actually had to be GOOD to get attention. Now, forget it. Social media has made it damn near impossible for anyone to get noticed. You have to wade through a lot of dirt to find a diamond.

To put things in perspective: a bass player friend of mine in California said to me a while back that she clicked on my link for the MOOD SWINGS album. Told me that she didn’t expect much because “how good could this be?” but she was surprised that it was enjoyable. Her point was that local bands really don’t have much to offer in the way of anything remotely unique in the original world. Everyone are too busy copying and imitating. No wonder NJ has 2,435 cover bands in a ten-mile radius! But here’s another cold hard fact…

There are a ton of cover/tribute bands because at some point, every musician tried making it as an original artist. And realized “Wow this is tough” so they turn to covers. And guess what? People show up! People get drunk! You get paid! Everyone wins (just please don’t drink and drive…I am being serious here.) I help cover bands out because it is fun and can make a few bucks. For a brief period, I felt like I sold my soul. But since I’m still writing music, I am spared.

I’m not the wide-eyed dude who thinks his music will save the world anymore. I do hope to touch one person’s brain and heart with any song that I write. And to be fair, the local bands around here are doing better than I am as far as marketing, networking, writing familiar material, and all basically looking the same. Easier to digest. I’m the outlier, the black sheep, the one who is difficult to “get” at first. But then when someone does, their minds are torn wide open.

“I didn’t think you were that good, Bello.”

As Prince once said, “Chalk one up for the Kid…”