Roadies Music

It’s All About Attitude.

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 18:33:04 +0000

Ah, the life of a roadie. It’s not all glitz and glamour you know, especially when so many of the bands that I work with seem to feature an ‘I’m something special’ singer. I don’t know, once they have got themselves a decent sized fan base, the whole thing will so often go completely to their heads. This is all well and good, but for the ‘ordinary’ folk that have to work alongside them, it can all get a little bit tedious. Oh the stories I could tell you; some of these would make your hair stand on end! After all, I have toured with some of the biggest groups in the world…

And you just wouldn’t believe how mardy some of these people can be. They will make the most stupid and unrealistic demands and then get really stroppy if they can’t have their own way. They have been so many times when I’ve been woken up at the most ridiculous hour to go and fetch something for a ‘big star'with a bizarre whim; vegeburgers, pizzas, sushi, tubs of ice cream… I’ve even been expected to sort out things like or dog insurance or nail supplies at two o’clock in the morning! And I can tell you for nothing; this is a bit much.

But not every rock star has got this same nauseating attitude so I don’t want to tar them all with the same brush. A lot of the famous faces I’ve worked with are genuinely nice people and you can have a really good laugh with them too! And to be honest, if it weren’t for this type of star, then I’d have jacked in this job ages back. You don’t really think I’d have stuck it out for this long if they were all irritating brats, do you?

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The Real Rock’n’Roll Lifestyle…

Wed, 04 Jan 2012 13:43:51 +0000

Working alongside some of the biggest names in the music business is certainly exciting at times… but it can also be a real drag. Tantrums over faulty flanger pedals, sherbet dip confiscated by suspicious police officers and arguments over which band member wrote the second verse of a song; believe me, I’ve seen it all! Take my word for it, being a roadie isn’t always ‘Rock’n’Roll’.

Now you may think that the pros will still outweigh the cons in my line of work, but I’m not so sure they do anymore… A typical working day for me will involve lugging gargantuan amps around the stage, keeping smokers away from the fuel storage area (!) and dealing with minor electrical faults. And let’s be honest here; none of those things are particularly interesting!

‘Ah’, I hear you say, ‘but you do get to hear loads of great bands playing live!'Well, yes and no. I may physically be there whilst they are playing their sets, but I am normally utterly exhausted by that point. And when you feel cream-crackered it kind of takes the edge off of things…

Sometimes I wonder why I’m actually in this line of work at all; I mean it’s loud, it’s sweaty and there is always plenty of back-biting going on. But when the venue finally opens and I see all the fans it does make me feel a little better… After all, they are in for a great night’s entertainment and I am partly responsible for making it all possible! They just don’t realise how lucky they are to see their favourite band without having to put in any of the hard graft.

Oh well, back to the grind stone. I’ve four generators to move, lighting to set up and then I have to fetch a job lot of vegeburgers for a certain overly-fussy, jumped-up little pop star…

Why music?

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 08:35:08 +0000

One of the questions I’ve asked myself a lot lately is where does a love of music come from? I’ve been taking a bit of a break from the scene and hadn’t been to see any bands or solo artists for ages – then on Saturday night I headed to the Barfly in Camden Town to see an old friend’s band do a headline set.
It was absolutely heaving in there. One of the hottest days of the year so far (in October! – I know every media outlet and blogger in the world has already mentioned this but still, it was pretty insane) and yet it was crammed with people, many of whom seemed to know all the words to all the songs by this random unsigned band.
Music – particularly loud rock and roll music – just seems to grab people. How does it do this?

As Chuck Berry once said, “It’s gotta be rock and roll musicAny old time you choose itIt’s got a fast beat you can’t lose itAny old time you choose it”
Not Shakespeare, maybe, but it gives us a pretty big clue. These days most of us spend our time working on human resource software or managing spreadsheets. We work with our brains (sometimes and if we’re lucky) not with our hands. So the opportunity to get out there and just feel that bit more alive seems to be a key part of the equation.

Look at these guys above – the Libertines. Are they even that great a band? Maybe not – they’re certainly no Beatles in terms of their musical range. But at the end of the day it’s the energy spilling off the stage, their sense of being alive, that makes them matter.
Long live rock and roll, I say. And it’s great to be going to gigs again!

The Big Chill: First Day – A Review

Thu, 25 Aug 2011 20:03:56 +0000

The Big Chill, the music festival in Herefordshire, kicked off on August 5 and went on until August 7. There was an impressive roster of performers, a lovely setting, and pleasant weather, for this beyond exciting event that should have sold out quickly.

However, it has suffered from dismal ticket sales this year, its seventeenth. The lower attendance translated to a blander atmosphere. Performances from usually electrifying acts consequently have an awkward vibe.

Take Haunted Graffiti. The edgy band, with its wacky costumes and antics, failed to connect with their audience. A lack of energy or motivation to engage was felt by the band and audience. It got so awkward the band stopped playing 15 minutes earlier than planned.

Wild Beasts, whose inventive and soulful sound should have been a knockout performance, also failed to garner enthusiasm. The lack of rapport with the audience dragged their performance.

There was more energy on the Revellers'Stage. Hercules & Love Affair was successful in getting their crowd to move with their dance-friendly sound and their flamboyant lead singer. It is reminiscent of the way art lovers respond to seeing a Sarah Jane Szikora artwork or print.

The day’s main draw, The Chemical Brothers, also didn’t disappoint. They had magnetic beats, an exciting stage show, and some cool, inventive musical styling. The crowd’s energy was at its peak here, but that energy faded away later, as evidenced by the anemic response to hip acts like Cooly G and Plastician at the late-night stages.

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RIP Amy

Thu, 28 Jul 2011 19:03:23 +0000

Seeing as there is only one topic dominating the news at the moment and I guess there’s only one person I could even possibly think about talking about in my blog today; Amy Winehouse.

A lot has been said in the media, and out of the media on social networking sites, about Amy, and not much of it has been about her music. Yes, she very successfully ruined her own life, and probably the lives of those who loved her, thanks to her selfish drug and alcohol problems. But that kind of attitude loses sight of the fact that the woman could really sing – and she wrote some of the most memorable pop tunes of the last ten years.

OK, her brand of pop was definitely on the dark side. About as far away from the saccharine-sweet world of painter Sarah Jane Szikora as you can get! But her music felt real to me, and I don’t doubt she meant every single word every single time she sang “Rehab”.

What is really weird about her death is that it came at the age of 27. Yet another talented and troubled musician to join the “27 Club” as some journalists have dubbed the macabre collection. It is strange how many great rock stars – Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, Kurt Cobain – only made it 27 before succumbing to drink, drugs, depression or, in some cases, all three. It says something for their talent that musicians who died so young are still remembered as among the greatest who ever lived. I’m sure Amy will be counted among that group as well – once the media hype about her life, and death, has calmed down.

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WHITESNAKE

Wed, 22 Jun 2011 20:04:59 +0000

Lately I’ve come to thinking that the 1970‘s founded rock band Whitesnake are kind of unappreciated in modern times, overshadowed by other bands of their era and genre like Led Zeppelin and Rainbow. Now don’t get me wrong, we can’t suggest that a band like Led Zeppelin unduly eclipsed many other rock bands – they are heavily recognised as the greatest rock band of all time. However Whitesnake themselves featured in VH1’s greatest 100 hard rock bands of all time, albeit at 85th place. Whitesnake are what I like to consider as fashion icons of their time, with long past the shoulder hair, often sporting a poodle curl, the sort of tresses that wouldn’t get you far in life if you wanted to pursue school management jobs or work on Wall Street. Whitesnake’s commercial success came early on in their careers, with their first album Trouble reaching position 50 on the UK album charts and their second album Lovehunter climbing to 29th. However their third studio album, released in 1980 named Ready an'Willing peaked at number 6 on the UK Album chart and featured two single-hits for the band that year: Fool for Your Loving and Ready an'Willing. Whitesnakes’s subsequent releases followed in successful vein, right up until their latest release Forevermore in 2011. Whitesnake remained an active band from their beginnings in 1977 right through to 1990 when a break was taken, they reformed and disbanded in year of 1994, then again in 1997, in 2002 Whitesnake was reformed for their upcoming 25th Anniversary year and are performing together still today. Listen to their back catalogue and see how their music has evolved, I can assure you, you won’t be disappointed.

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Roger Waters at The O2

Mon, 23 May 2011 15:34:23 +0000

The other day I was fortunate enough to be able to see Roger Waters playing The Wall at the O2. Pink Floyd is certainly the band of the musicians. It is easy to see why, the quality of the music is so unprecedented and complicated it’s everything the musician wishes they could not only play but also have the inspiration to come up with. But the interesting thing about Roger Waters and Pink Floyd is that they also touch the lives of so many other people who have nothing to do with the musician industry. I have been to many a party where I could be having a conversation with someone about something as interesting as red diesel and then one of us mentions Pink Floyd and we’ll be chatting away for hours with no need for anyone else to interject.

For the roadies out there most of us would give our eye teeth to be able to work on a Pink Floyd or Roger Waters concert. The extent of stuff happening on stage is enough to get us excited as a kid at a theme park.

This new tour of The Wall will not disappoint. The new images created by Gerald Scarfe will not only amaze you but also bring a whole new meaning to the album. Roger hasn’t lost anything in his performance and the supporting musicians are phenomenal.

They have managed to bring it up to date interpreting the themes of the original album in a new and almost terrifying way. It makes me think that this concert needs to be seen by many more who are still to discover Floyd for the first time.

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Gig etiquette

Fri, 29 Apr 2011 13:33:54 +0000

There has been lots of media coverage of the Royal wedding here in the UK – and lots of talk about the correct etiquette for those “lucky” enough to be attending the happy event. Things like don’t use your global sim card to call your relatives abroad from inside the church, don’t burp in front of the Queen and definitely don’t ask Kate if she fancies any of the rugby players in attendance…
It started me thinking about gig etiquette. OK, so attending a music gig is not quite the same kind of social occasion as a Royal wedding, but over the years I have seen some atrociously boorish behaviour at gigs. And have also seen how that behaviour can ruin a great night out for the others who are just there to watch their favourite band.
One of the worst, as far as I’m concerned, is the quite recent craze of throwing half-full pints of beer skywards, vaguely towards the stage, but the liquid usually just sprays all over other gig attendees! It’s not just annoying for people who get a pint of warm beer all over their head, it can be pretty dangerous too. One gig I was working at had a lot of keyboards, and one of those pints managed, somehow, to cover them in liquid, so they couldn’t then be used for the rest of the gig. These guys (The Killers) were true pros, and the show went on, but a lot of the songs had to be dropped or changed, so the paying customers didn’t get the show they deserved!
Another example of bad behaviour at gigs is talking. Why pay £30 to see a live band if you’re just going to chat to your mate all the way through songs? It’s just about forgiveable if you’re going to see a loud rock band, when a little chatter is just annoying, but I’ve been to see acoustic gigs where some of the crowd have been talking so loudly, I’m sure the guys on stage can hear them too! If you want to talk to your pals while you listen to music, please stay at home and put the CD on!!

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There’s Nothing Quite Like Seeing Your Favorite Band Live

Wed, 19 Jan 2011 23:01:19 +0000

Yes, after you read an excellent review of a band in a music magazine, or perhaps after you hear about it on a blog it is certainly true that going out and buying the album or simply sitting at your computer and downloading the album straight away is a good way to experience music. There is little better than to be able to hear the sound of musicians exactly as they intended it, delivered from the studio, directly to your listening device. It’s delivered exactly as they intended it and they know that whoever ends up listening to their CD or record will end up in scientific terms, having the same experience in general.

Live music is very different and you will find that the emotional response to the music comes in very different ways. With recorded music you will find that you can really get to know the songs, but hearing them performed in exactly the same way many times is an absolute joke. This is why hearing the bands live makes it such a better experience that allows you to enjoy anew all of these bands.

When you really know a band, their many albums, and their quirks, is an excellent time to see them play live, no matter than cost and expense of the live show. This is because the live show is where the very unexpected things happen and where you can really develop an emotional attachment to the band. After paying so much out of the money you earned with Galvan research and trading, you want to see a return on your investment every time. This is why live music works so well because if you know the band then you will be so unlikely to be disappointed. It’s nothing like the studio version because anything can happen, and you’ll probably enjoy it more.

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Music Blogs are an Excellent Way to Discover New Music

Sun, 02 Jan 2011 23:32:50 +0000

Music blogs are the modern way for the very discerning music fan to discover music and find new artists and bands that they might enjoy. It’s an excellent way for someone who is relying on their friends'music tastes or on the radio and magazines a little too much too provide everything that they need to know about music. Music blogs allow you to really diversify your tastes, all without spending any money for the service. Of course, you will more than likely be quite sure to spend much more money than you usually would on music, CDs, and concerts — more than you would have previously — but that’s part of the thrill.
The point is that music blogs will enrich your life, and you’ll find that you appreciate music much more by learning more about older artists, and being made more in-tune with the newer trend and genres that the kids are listening to today. Of course, there is absolutely no pressure to try to keep up with the relentless number of new bands that appear every day, and because you aren’t paying for the privilege you don’t need to feel guilty if you don’t keep up with them as much as you should.
But music blogs provide something essential that the magazines don’t: the ability to listen to the music right away. Instead of paying for a magazine every week you can then go to a concert every other week. There is really no point in wasting all that money that you earned while investing with the help Galvan Research and Trading. Instead, you should tune into music blogs with the help of music blog aggregators like elbo.ws. These web sites will help you find blogs that are relevant to the music that you enjoy and you will quickly find something to fall in love with.