084 Dreams of Stardom (Or: News from the Live-Circuit)

There was a time I used to play anything that sounded nice, just to impress myself and tickle people's ears.

I think my final break with any ideas and aspirations of possible future stardom set in after I saw one of my favorite bands I used to cover a lot, Del Amitri from Scotland, live in a little town in Switzerland called Herisau. It turned out that a substantial part of the audience had shown up for the opening act, some Swiss TV sopa opera star who now tried to become a pop star, too. As soon as Justin Currie (front man of Del Amitir and one of my heroes at that time) got on stage with his band and their antequated gear (the Swiss opening act had all the latest hi-tech gimmicks), some of the teenies in the first row actually turned around, away from the stage. They gave the band their backs. They couldn't handle any real music.

I was thankful that a little while later a halfway sufficient amount of decent music started coming out from the Christian Alternative and Independent scene to quench my appetite for new music, like Shane Barnard, Jeremy Camp, Caedmon's Call, etc., and I sold my entire CD collection on eBay.

I've reached a point where I don't see why I should be wasting my time listening to music that may sound very appealing to my personal taste but renders virtually zero nourishing value for my soul. I've come to appreciate my time as something too valuable for that. And the amazing thing is, there seems to be a certain percentage of the general public getting on the same wavelength.

While the vast majority may still be mainly interested in the art of busting brain cells in record time, a surprising amount want more out of live-music these days than mere entertainment. They're finding out that there is such a thing as quality music that feeds your soul, and they're thankful when there's an occasional musician or act around and available who can deliver that.

A certain brand of people are simply becoming tired of listening to nice music that has got virtually nothing to say, or advocates witchcraft or utters permanent laments about not-so-hot relationships. People are becoming aware that there's something fishy about this world and its current System, after all, like Jesus said, and they don't want to be caught with their pants down when the curtain hits the ground. And I believe that that's one reason why we're still in the business while other live artists in our region have disappeared and vanished.

With fuel prices that make you wonder whether you should take the bike to the mall, instead of the car, not everybody's in the mood for hiring a live act for their event, and if they do, they simply prefer to offer their guests something decent, instead of the usual humdrum.

Anyway, that's the news from the circuit, as I can see it. If you're dreaming about becoming a rock-star, I'm afraid you've picked the wrong time to be born, because I personally would be very surprised if things will keep going the way they are, substantially longer. And if you do decide to try and make a living off playing music, earnestly pursue to give people more than just hollow entertainment. In tough times, a little ray of hope and a comforting voice are much appreciated. Who knows, eventually the rest of those who don't have a clue what's going on might even wake up, too, and come and listen to you as well.

The world doesn't need another star, or - as I wrote in a recent song, "another pair of feet of clay," but they might slowly be getting ready for a new "furious voice for the truth"...

Oh, and if you have any choice between merely tickling people’s ears with nice music and popular songs, and actually giving them something to feed their soul, then I’d highly recommend avoid that tempting path of the least resistance. It may be a tougher road to really deliver something you have to say, especially when it comes to the truth about society at large, but as folks are finding out (and even I did), what really defines who you are and brings out the best in you is a little bit of struggle and some swimming against the current. Show the world who you really are, and don’t just settle for being another ear tickler. Take it from someone who found out the hard way.

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