The 80's and "The Cure".
Picking members is a common practice in bands. Do you pick a member who has good set-skills? Would you go for "taste"? How about if they have their own equipment? Or just one of your friends who can't even play? Your guess is as good as mine. What? The last one? You're damn right! I've been in bands all my life and this is the usual rule of thumb. My first oficial band was in college it was 1989. My high school band didn't even take off but we did plan it but we ain't got our own equipment. Are two keyboards considered a band? In the 80's it was. I was never a fan of "new wave" when it hit the country. It was all a fad. Undercut hair, ambell jeans, Tretorn tennis shoes etc. etc. But at that time I was already listening to European rock and pop. (Communards, Arcadia, Frankie Goes to Hollywood). "RELAX" was a huge hit overseas but nobody listened to it in here. Good for me. Thompson Twins too. (No thanks to Adam Sandler for reviving their song). Howard Jones was my favorite piano player and even Joe Jackson. Everything changed when I got my first guitar and played my first song. Officially, "Boys Don't Cry" by The Cure is the first song I played but since it's with my on and off band I couldn't claim it. "I Melt With You by Modern English" was the next. There was dissension in the band since there was an unofficial band leader since we can only play what he can play. The song lineup got crappier and crappier. Well, I hated "The Dawn" at that time and all the "new wave" local bands. I tried to veer them to play "Gang of Four" and "The Clash" tunes for a one time only gig but was rejected by the "best friend of the band leader". "FUCK YOU, JOEL!!" FUCK YOU TOO, JAIME!! (Finally! That made me feel better!). Well they finally kicked me out. Good riddance. They play cover too much and they want to play in a bar (at that time, think bon jovi, scorpions ummmm deep purple songs.) To erase this from my memory I try to dig deeper to the 80's. The 80's were a blur. All i can remember was there aint no cable yet and my musical taste are dictated by a newly created MTV (Talking Heads, Thomas Dolby etc.) And "Thriller" was every where. The most hated song in the planet. Live Aid, Wembley was shown on TV. Good things did outweigh the bad in the 80's. Pros: Depeche Mode, Pet Shop Boys, Bronski Beat, Talking Heads, siouxie and the Banshees etc etc.. Cons: Bagets....fuck, never mind.
The Death Metal Years...and a bit of the 90's
The opening riff of "Master or Puppets" still rings an my ears. So soes the yowl of "Tom Araya" in "Angel of Death". It doesn't help that I got good at playing bass that I jammed those tunes with the "B-Balic Collective". Throw in Pantera's "Walk" and Helmet for good measure and we a have an intense "Metal" line-up. Well, metal really does include the lifestyle. It doesn't make sense that you dress in adidas kicks and clean trousers and play "Am I Evil". And the music dos work when you're loaded with "86 proof" fuel. And thnks to a motorcycle crash, I got uglier (as if I'm not already!)and that increased my metal cred. Ah, yes the metal years. It was like spontaneous combustion but as the fire got wayward it ran out of fuel. The "90's" are starting and most kids are starting a band and like most magazines say (no internet yet, kids) Nirvana killed Heavy Metal. You don't to learn scales or the blues to be a guitarist. Kurt Cobain even made to the list of guitarist in Rolling Stone Magazine. Ahead of Stevie Ray, Luke, Malmsteen, Gilbert or even Thayil. And this is where fashion over music started to creep in. ( I never wore a Dr. Marten boot). But I must admit I wore combat boots. (I'm a big "Clash" fan). So the band revolution wore on....and where was I? Well, the metal band crashed and burned. The guitar player went to play where he will get paid, (Japan!). And I'm stuck with players who just brag but got no balls to play. Do you eventually back down from the demands of the majority and play what they like? For a while, yes. But after a while fuck, no! The answer is create your own genre if rock, pop, or even metal disowns you. This is where my musical palates got even stranger, deeper or even weirder.....No not the Eraserheads, Jesus! Well, the respect for them would grow soon.....not! My mind was not here when the band thing in the 90's broke through. I didn't own an E-heads tape, or any thing local because they're all corny. And they rip off English bands' melody. And good lord, they only found out about it recently.
To be Concluded...
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