An Eventual Goal
I was really hesitant to write this at first, because I wasn’t sure how it would sound. Also, I know if I write something like this, then there are gonna be those people that are really going to push and encourage me to do what I’m gonna write about in this post.
I’m just going to say this right off the bat: I want my life to involve music. I can’t see my life going in any other direction besides playing music in some capacity for a living. Ever since I was eight years old, I wanted to be the lead singer in a band (still don’t know how I went from that to playing bass) and, not trying to brag, but music has always been something I understood easily. Naturally, I pursued it more in grade school, learning as much as I could about the craft of making music and really learning how to listen to it. That’s when I really got hooked on the idea of being in a band; not some ever-changing weekend warrior cover group, but a “real” band that wrote its own music and chased after that romantic dream of “making it” in the music business. You know, that story played in countless movies and episodes of Behind The Music. Something about it attracted me. It wasn’t the money (although the lure of riches tempts something fierce), it was more about creating music that really connected with people. To quote Russel Hammond from Almost Famous (one of those really influential movies), it’s about making music that really turns people on.
So after numerous false starts and attempts to break into something that I wasn’t fully prepared for, I’ve decided to actually make an announcement and make it somewhat official. I’m going to start a band. I don’t know when or how this is going to happen, but it is gonna, preferably before too long. If there’s one thing that the good Lord’s been teaching me in all aspects of my life, it’s patience. I can’t rush something like this, but it is good for me to actually speak it so it can eventually come into existence.
Now this band would be meaningless if I didn’t write about something that really connected and united people. So I want to get real. I see a lot of artists writing fluff songs to please contracts and produce more of the paper-like green stuff. I don’t want to do that. I want my songs to be raw and edgy, stuff that makes people think and sing at the same time. I don’t want to focus on airy or intangible things, I did that before and now I see it as almost a colossal and unmitigated failure. I was thinking about how the songs I really connect with are heartfelt and sung straight from the thoracic cavity. I used to use my head too much in songwriting. No more.
And what of the sound of this band? Well going on the idea of having raw and edgy lyrics about real life and the struggles and triumph therein, I want the band to have that same kind of intensity and drive. Not the distortion-soaked madness that’s played on most “alternative” stations, but a truly lean and piercing sound that makes people move. A combination of indie rock, post punk, and even a little bit of old school soul to satisfy the Southern boy in me. Almost like early U2 meets Jimmy Eat World meets Kings of Leon meets Otis Redding.
Weird? Kinda. Doable? I think so.
So I need help getting this together. I need musicians who kinda feel the same way and want to collaboratively create something like this. I’ll actually be bold enough to state what instrumentation as well: lead guitar, bass, and drums (preferably one or all of those singing backup vocals). Like I said, I’m not in a rush but I don’t want to wait around too long either.
This isn’t me quitting Gloria Spillers’ band or Lifepoint, but this is me wanting to stretch myself and truly glorify my Lord by singing a new song. How will this end? I have no clue, but I’m willing to try and find out, even if it fails spectacularly.
