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Home::Music
Music Is Only Music After All
Author : Dennis Walsh
What happens when young people discover their identity is
nothing short of apocalyptic and reason enough to change. Like
it or not, as the spirit rises, the soul collides with the mind
and all that is known is challenged. Every generation grows up
with a vision of how they want their world to be. They fix what
needs fixing and change what needs changing.
America was living in a bubble in the 1950's. Everyone in the
world knew that : everyone, that is, except Americans. It should
have come as no surprise when young people started questioning
the absolute authority of adults living in an unforgiving world.
No matter what people say, no one can live in a bubble anymore
than an artist can create in a vacuum. We are all influenced by
the work of our peers as much as by the culture around us.
I once sang in a crazy gospel, jazz and blues group called
Celebration. The designated writer for the group, I'd always
written inspired love songs and gospel-style messages but
Celebration was different. We weren't the average rock band.
Like the Grateful Dead, a group synonymous with the San
Francisco acid rock scene whose music was a hybrid of improvised
rock, blues and R&B, we had a cult following.
At that time, The Beatles Sergeant Peppers Lonely Hearts Club
Band was revolutionizing rock. Their lyrics were creative, the
album concept and design were innovative, and the advanced
studio technology was unheard of. They were the first rock
musicians to experiment with blending orchestral instruments
with unusual ones. They took chances. It all worked to produce
an escapist album based on a surreal world that didn't exist.
Sergeant Pepper portrayed the lives of average people whose wild
fantasies broke up the monotony of their humdrum, work-a-day
life. The Beatles changed rock music forever.
Sergeant Pepper was the beginning of a new era for the Beatles.
It had a huge influence on my writing. Sergeant Pepper sounded
like something I should be writing. So, I imagined a theatrical
experience for Celebration, introduced by a song welcoming the
audience we knew all too well. The song was a fantasy greeting
to old friends. The lead singer acted like a master of
ceremonies in a three ring circus. Like Sergeant Pepper, more
songs followed and from then on our concerts were never the
same. Nothing less than theater.
I had discovered a new identity. In the weeks ahead, we
introduced every theatrical element imaginable, jazz dancers,
multi-media, beat poetry, you name it. The circus got out of
hand. We lost our focus in the midst of spectacle. The message
was lost. In the end, I had a severe ego attack. On my last
night with the band, I dressed in a full length robe and let
loose a barrage of quasi-rock star poses. It was hard to tell
where the reality ended and the fantasy began. That's when I
knew it was time to go. My conscience caught me just in time. I
quit the band and joined a theater company to satisfy the urge
to act.
The song writers and the songs they create are the basis for the
music industries existence. But, when the songs and the persona
overwhelm you and the music takes over your life. It's time to
stop. Music is only music after all.
Dennis Walsh progressofmusic@hotmail.com
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