You are never too old to make rock music.
You are never too old to stop dreaming.
The kid in you never has to die.
Nor the rock god. Or the self-loathing, angst-ridden, cardigan-wearing anti-rock god, if you prefer.
Up there on stage, famous or not, you can still feel cool. You can still feel untouchable. You can still even feel sexy.
Rock music is in your soul. It is who you are. It defines you.
It is the you that your friends know and love.
That your spouse or partner wishes would grow up.
That your mum and dad tried to normalise but had no choice but to come to terms with.
You are not over-the-hill.
You do not have to start singing the blues or playing jazz.
You don’t have to sit down and play to be taken seriously.
You can continue to jump around as long as you physically can.
Who cares if some people think it’s undignified?
Who cares if they think you should grow up? Who cares what some people they think? You never used to.
If you get on the radio, you would naturally be delighted but that’s not what motivates you to keep rocking. What motivates you is the passion to make music - your own music.
That passion never has to die.
The fire never has to go out.
Your ‘old faithful’ beloved instrument doesn’t have to end up in the window display at Cash Convertors.
Rock is being trivialised and devalued by its over-use in television commercials, TV shows and movies and is being given away with Sunday newspapers. It is in danger of losing its edge. To continue to make it and perform it, is to keep it alive.
Take as an example, a band like Fugazi, who in their forties, still make progressive and experimental hardcore rock music supported by a punk ethos.
The angry young man may have matured into the grumpy old guy but now that the clouds of cannabis smoke have lifted and the mirror of your narcissistic youth has finally cracked, you can focus on the real enemies more clearly and articulate them more coherently.
It’s no longer simply a case of ‘us’ versus ‘them’.
It’s you versus the the vandals or the 'hoodies' or those people who stop you in the street for ‘just a couple of minutes of your time’.
It’s estate agents or mobile phone companies or South-East trains, Gordon Brown or Davina McCall or Roman Abramovich. These hate-lists, your gripes and grievances, moans and complaints can provide the inspiration for new songs and feed into the energy of your performance.
As you grow older, Rock is increasingly a release from the stresses and mundanity of work-life.
So keep practicing and you will become even better at your instrument.
Keep singing and your voice will get even stronger.
Keep drumming and your beats will get even harder.
Practice and rehearse.
Make it and play it.
Rock til you drop.
Toby Burton, Oct 2008
You are never too old to stop dreaming.
The kid in you never has to die.
Nor the rock god. Or the self-loathing, angst-ridden, cardigan-wearing anti-rock god, if you prefer.
Up there on stage, famous or not, you can still feel cool. You can still feel untouchable. You can still even feel sexy.
Rock music is in your soul. It is who you are. It defines you.
It is the you that your friends know and love.
That your spouse or partner wishes would grow up.
That your mum and dad tried to normalise but had no choice but to come to terms with.
You are not over-the-hill.
You do not have to start singing the blues or playing jazz.
You don’t have to sit down and play to be taken seriously.
You can continue to jump around as long as you physically can.
Who cares if some people think it’s undignified?
Who cares if they think you should grow up? Who cares what some people they think? You never used to.
If you get on the radio, you would naturally be delighted but that’s not what motivates you to keep rocking. What motivates you is the passion to make music - your own music.
That passion never has to die.
The fire never has to go out.
Your ‘old faithful’ beloved instrument doesn’t have to end up in the window display at Cash Convertors.
Rock is being trivialised and devalued by its over-use in television commercials, TV shows and movies and is being given away with Sunday newspapers. It is in danger of losing its edge. To continue to make it and perform it, is to keep it alive.
Take as an example, a band like Fugazi, who in their forties, still make progressive and experimental hardcore rock music supported by a punk ethos.
The angry young man may have matured into the grumpy old guy but now that the clouds of cannabis smoke have lifted and the mirror of your narcissistic youth has finally cracked, you can focus on the real enemies more clearly and articulate them more coherently.
It’s no longer simply a case of ‘us’ versus ‘them’.
It’s you versus the the vandals or the 'hoodies' or those people who stop you in the street for ‘just a couple of minutes of your time’.
It’s estate agents or mobile phone companies or South-East trains, Gordon Brown or Davina McCall or Roman Abramovich. These hate-lists, your gripes and grievances, moans and complaints can provide the inspiration for new songs and feed into the energy of your performance.
As you grow older, Rock is increasingly a release from the stresses and mundanity of work-life.
So keep practicing and you will become even better at your instrument.
Keep singing and your voice will get even stronger.
Keep drumming and your beats will get even harder.
Practice and rehearse.
Make it and play it.
Rock til you drop.
Toby Burton, Oct 2008
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