It's hard to maintain a larger-than-life image because frankly, life as a mundane reality is far too pervasive.
This is the struggle with being in a rock band.
If you do it 'right,' you start out with a level of mystique, you iconize each member, you make sure your media is compelling; your pictures, your videos, your publicity all has to be patterned after this hyper-sexy-talented rockstar image.
You shop for the latest fashions, you get designer hair-cuts, you get photos that make you look like Gucci models or cartoon characters or something out of the movie Mad Max. Something other-wordly. Something not real.
You tour a lot. You spend a lot of time on stage. You are the artist, the talent, the musical event that people pay money to see. You try to be the hero they expect you to be, the person they aspire know, to understand, to follow.
Not many people know who you really are. They've come to understand the projected image of yourself. They know the brand you market. That's it.
Only you and those close to you know you are human. That you are no better than the fans. That you are not special. That you are an insecure, foolish, hypocritical mess like everyone else.
But you cannot be you. There are expectations now. The brand has a mission statement, a subtext if you will, that says you cannot be human, you have to be a god, or this whole thing falls apart.
Your brand is larger-than-life, it's bigger than you, but it expects you to behave bigger than yourself... which is stressful.
You carry the burden for awhile, but you start to buckle under the pressure to maintain this image, especially when your human side is becoming more human... You get married, you start having kids. You're a dad, you have a family, you don't identify as this idol anymore. It's hard to reconcile the brand with reality.
Eventually, you can't take it, and your band breaks up.
My goal over the last five years has been to avoid this.
There is no reason why the musical brands I've developed need to stop creating, especially if we can relieve this pressure, especially if we can change the subtext to implicate us as flawed, regular folks, who occasionally would like to create and release new music.
Have we lost some people during this change? Sure... but what we've gained are partners in our art, humans like us who enjoy what we create. We've lost a few fans who want the larger-than-life thing, the brand being marketed in your face thing, but we've exchanged them for friends and supporters. We don't need to be idolized, and frankly it makes us feel awkward when it happens.
We are normal dudes with families and jobs, just like you. That's what The Classic Crime as a band has morphed into, and that's how we'll survive and make music for years to come.
By God's grace I hope we can make it happen.
This is the struggle with being in a rock band.
If you do it 'right,' you start out with a level of mystique, you iconize each member, you make sure your media is compelling; your pictures, your videos, your publicity all has to be patterned after this hyper-sexy-talented rockstar image.
You shop for the latest fashions, you get designer hair-cuts, you get photos that make you look like Gucci models or cartoon characters or something out of the movie Mad Max. Something other-wordly. Something not real.
You tour a lot. You spend a lot of time on stage. You are the artist, the talent, the musical event that people pay money to see. You try to be the hero they expect you to be, the person they aspire know, to understand, to follow.
Not many people know who you really are. They've come to understand the projected image of yourself. They know the brand you market. That's it.
Only you and those close to you know you are human. That you are no better than the fans. That you are not special. That you are an insecure, foolish, hypocritical mess like everyone else.
But you cannot be you. There are expectations now. The brand has a mission statement, a subtext if you will, that says you cannot be human, you have to be a god, or this whole thing falls apart.
Your brand is larger-than-life, it's bigger than you, but it expects you to behave bigger than yourself... which is stressful.
You carry the burden for awhile, but you start to buckle under the pressure to maintain this image, especially when your human side is becoming more human... You get married, you start having kids. You're a dad, you have a family, you don't identify as this idol anymore. It's hard to reconcile the brand with reality.
Eventually, you can't take it, and your band breaks up.
My goal over the last five years has been to avoid this.
There is no reason why the musical brands I've developed need to stop creating, especially if we can relieve this pressure, especially if we can change the subtext to implicate us as flawed, regular folks, who occasionally would like to create and release new music.
Have we lost some people during this change? Sure... but what we've gained are partners in our art, humans like us who enjoy what we create. We've lost a few fans who want the larger-than-life thing, the brand being marketed in your face thing, but we've exchanged them for friends and supporters. We don't need to be idolized, and frankly it makes us feel awkward when it happens.
We are normal dudes with families and jobs, just like you. That's what The Classic Crime as a band has morphed into, and that's how we'll survive and make music for years to come.
By God's grace I hope we can make it happen.
And we hope you can make it happen as well. Rock on!
ReplyDeleteFor a minute you had me going there, thought you were telling us this was the end! Thank God it's not! It's sad when bands you really like or love, break up, but that's just a part of life! What I really love, is when they just keep on going! There are so many bands from back in the '60s and '70s that I grew up with, that are still making music and touring! They might have lost some members due to death, but they just keep plugging along! I think that their longevity is due to the fact that they are able to be real to themselves as well as their fans. I do hope you will continue to put out music with a message for as long as the Good Lord wills it! Looking forward to hearing more from you!
ReplyDeleteYou are real and that is one thing that has always made me drawn to your music. I think you are pretty cool humans just the way you are. I will always be there to support the music you create, no matter how you do it. :)
ReplyDelete