Category: Uncategorized
Rock stars – to the core
Went to the annual book-sale and bought “I am Ozzy“. I know it’s long overdue but I rarely have the time or energy for reading nowadays.
I love biographies, especially rock-bios. They can shed a new light on the artist’s music and make it even more interesting.
Suddenly, you get those subtle little things, you understand bits and pieces in a song that you only interpreted your own way before. When you get somebody’s background, and a clearer idea of their personality, it just kinda changes the interpretation of their music a bit. Well, that’s the way it works for me anyway.
One of the first rock’n’roll biographies I ever read was “And I Don’t Want to Live This Life“, about Nancy Spungen, Sid Vicious’ girlfriend. I read that book over and over again, it looked like shit after a while, it was all worn out. Not that she had anything to do with the actual music but she is a part of music history in a way, the more tragic part of it.
The second one I think was “No One Here Gets Out Alive“, about Jim Morrison. He was just… crazy. I’m not even sure I liked the person he was described as in that book, but I think I might have been too young when I read it. Some things are easier to understand when you get older and have a bit more experience… I might read that again someday.
The last book I read was Lemmy’s bio “White Line Fever“. It was funny, definitely different from most biographies and just very… Lemmy. He has a kind of arrogant sarcasm that you associate with the person he is known as, that cool rocker who personifies rock’n’roll. It was a lot more interesting to go back to old Motorhead albums after reading that book. Once you think you understand the person better, you also understand his music better.
A biography that really moved me was Nikki Sixx’ “Heroin Diaries“. It was so naked, so stripped down, so dirty and raw. It is extremely touching because you can clearly see the tormented soul behind all that rockstar-drug-addict-crap.
He was hiding nothing in Heroin Diaries. It must have taken a lot of guts to do it, and I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t have published that book if he hadn’t grown as a person, become more confident and more secure with who he is.
I was bawling my eyes out when I read it, cause a lot of it also reminded me a lot of someone I knew. That book actually helped that friend of mine and I’m eternally grateful to Nikki for writing it.
And now Ozzy. I’ve only just started reading it, but I already get an idea of who he is and the chaos he’s been dealing with his whole life.
He admits to insanity running in the family, but at the same time I can’t help wondering if his insanity is actually more sane in some strange way, than what we call “normal“…
He might be crazy, but there is a lot of logic in his perception of the world and his reality. Most of all, dispite all that madness that he has made his trademark over the years, he comes across as a very warm and caring person, in his own Ozzy-way.
[@ 2:45 approx…]
I immediately thought of a segment in one of the OzTV-episodes when he was praising Gus G for his playing, trying to encourage him to take his rightful place in history as a great guitarplayer in his own right. He is not just Zakk Wylde’s-successor – he is Gus fuckin’ G!
That part moved me to tears. Like a father-figure, Ozzy was trying to teach this young guy how to fly, how to spread his wings and go wherever he wants to go. It was a wonderful moment.
I can’t wait to finish the book.
I started reading Bruce Dickinson’s bio too but never finished it. Same with Rick Springfield’s “Late, late at night“. I will. I find it inspiring to read those books.
What I’m looking for is never the scandal stories, although you usually get those anyway, it kind of comes with the territory, but I’m looking for a portrait of the person behind the music. The person, when he’s stripped down to just being a PERSON instead of being a “rockstar“. That’s when it gets interesting. That’s when I can connect and relate, and understand. I admire those who have the balls to put themselves out there and open up to the whole world without fear.
I respect and admire those who can express their thoughts and emotions, without restrictions, without limits and most of all those who are brave enough to leave the image and the rockstar pesona that they created – or just somehow became victims of.
I would really like to write Gus G’s bio, because he is an interesting person. He is mysterious in the sense that he never talks about himself on a personal, deeper level, or maybe people are just too afraid to ask.
It feels like such a waste when the only thing people ever want to know when they’re interviewing Gus, is what strings, amps or pedals he uses. Of course they do, he’s a guitar hero. But he is exactly the kind of artist that I would want to know more about as a person.I was sitting there one day with tons of questions buzzing through my head. I wrote them down and next thing I knew, I had 3 pages with questions. The path from Thessaloniki, Greece to the world arenas with Ozzy... You tell me there’s not a damn interesting story there already!
Gus felt it was too soon for a bio, he was “just beginning” to build his career. “Maybe in ten years”.
I will be following his career with great interest, not only because he’s an amazing guitarplayer, but because he sticks out as the down-to-earth guy. I hope someday to be able to find out who the man behind the guitar really is.
Even if I don’t get the honor to write the story of his life, but someone else does, I hope it will reveal who this guitar-wiz truly is. That’s something that I’ll be looking forward to.
That might be a future project, to write biographies. It takes a lot of time and and patience to do all that background research and then put it together to something that people will enjoy reading – just the way I love to lose myself in these biographies.
But for now, I’ll leave the PC to go enjoy my copy of “I am Ozzy“….
The death of the record store
Was reading the morning paper, and it said that one of the last real record stores in town was going out of business.
Record stores everywhere are dying, you couldn’t even keep them alive with an iron lung.
I guess it’s a sign of the times.
Why pay for an overpriced CD because the store needs to pay their rent – when you can buy the same CD online for a fraction of the price? Or, which is more often the case, simply download what you want from iTunes or similar sites?
I haven’t bought a CD in a record store since I don’t know when. Last year I think, because I got a gift card for my birthday.
Record stores will remain a nice memory when I feel like getting sentimental.
There was something romantic about going to a record store to pick out That Very Special Record. Especially back in the day when there were vinyls.
Mp3’s are convenient, but I feel a little sorry for this generation for not getting that kick from FINDING something special, owning it as a collector’s item. I loved that.
Music now is just consumption. You get what you want to listen to- period. There’s no challenge, everything is available.
I knew every record store in town when I was a kid. I even still remember what they looked like and the atmosphere in there.
Those that were specialized in a certain genre, would have guys who were like walking reference books. This was way before Google, and it was hard to find information elsewhere.I remember once hearing a song in an old Gene Kelly-movie and I couldn’t get it out of my head. I didn’t know if it had even ever been released on a record, so I went to this record store that specialized in jazz, classical and film-music and explained what I was looking for. A few lines was all I had to sing to the guy, and he knew immediately what I was talking about.
There was another guy here in town, Casey, who worked at Record Heaven – which became my second home for many years. It was the hard rock/heavy metal record store in town. That’s where I bought my first Judas Priest record ever back in the early 80’s.
Record Heaven had black walls with cool picture vinyls on the walls and stuff. Very metal.
Casey knew everything. I could namedrop some obscure band that nobody had ever heard of, and you could bet your ass he knew who they were and everything they had, or hadn’t released! That’s why you went to those stores. For the info, for the knowledge. They could recommend stuff, based on your taste.
TODAY you Google a band and get the info you need, and then you get recommendations by Amazon or by other people who are into the same music as you.
Back in the day, you had to go to a record store, pick out an LP and go to the counter where you would need to put on huge headphones and listen to a record before you bought it.
NOW you just listen to it online, anywhere. MySpace, clips on Amazon, Spotify…
I collected Judas Priest and Skid Row records. I had to buy magazines like “Record Collector” and check the ads in metal mags and just basically subscribe to actual record catalogs all over the place. Record Heaven had an English guy who would travel all over the globe to buy albums, so I would give him a list of what I was looking for, and he always found it for me. I spent a FORTUNE in there.
Now, I can buy anything on eBay.
I love how easy it is building a music collection with mp3’s or streaming radio nowadays. I love how easy it is to share music (illegal, yes, but so was copying on cassettes and if it hadn’t been for that “illegal activity” I wouldn’t have discovered a bunch of bands, whose records I bought later on).
But I miss the challenge of finding and the feeling of having a REAL RECORD in my hands. I used to sit there and read the lyrics when there were LP’s. The lyrics were way too small on CD’s so I didn’t bother. I guess today I can Google and find any lyric in seconds if I want.
It’s a little sad that record stores are going out of business, but at the same time, who really goes there anymore? Some things are best just remembered…
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In the rearview mirror – GENE SIMMONS
[Short clip from “that” interview….]
I was drifting off into dreamland when the phone rang, shattering the silence. A quick glance at the digital alarm clock showed it was almost 2 AM
I closed my eyes and decided to ignore the ringing.
Then, I heard a quick squeak from the other bedroom, followed by footsteps heading to the kitchen. The ringing stopped. My mother’s voice mumbled something I couldn’t hear and then footsteps approached my door…. She knocked, and with a tired voice from the darkness said:
“It’s for you. It’s Gene Simmons…”.
Dammit. I was angry. Who did he think he was? I got up, marched to the kitchen with determined steps, and grabbed the handset. “Yes?” I snapped.
“Hello, Daniela, this is Gene Simmons…”, said the very professional voice on the other end. I wasn’t in the mood for diplomacy, so I blurted out:
“You were supposed to call three hours ago, I didn’t expect this call. You’ll have to wait a few minutes, I need to get my taperecorder…”
I didn’t wait for an answer. I just put the handset back where I found it and went back to get my stuff. I didn’t even care if he’d still be there when I came back. But he was and I finally got my interview. At frikkin’ two AM, when the whole house was sleeping.
A Kiss-loving friend of mine almost dropped dead when I told her what had happened. “You can’t be serious! You let Gene Simmons wait on the phone?! Are you NUTS?”
It didn’t even occur to me at the time that it was rude or that you shouldn’t handle a rockstar that way. As usual, I was driven by emotions and just pissed off that night. It was the third attempt for an interview with Gene.
Kiss had just released “Hot In The Shade” and Brita Jungberg from the record company PolyGram had offered me an interview with Gene. She said he would call me on a Tuesday at 8 PM Swedish time. I was well prepared and waited by the phone, excited to get a good interview with one of the greatest names in hard rock.
I waited. And waited…. And waited. He never called. No big deal, anything can happen, I was sure there was a good reason why didn’t. I called Brita the next day and told her that Gene hadn’t called, so she set up a new time for me.
Once again, I sat there in the kitchen, trying to keep the parakeets quiet, bored to death but I couldn’t imagine that he wouldn’t call again. But the phone was as dead that evening as it had been the first time.
I was getting pretty annoyed, cause my time is just as valuable as anybody else’s. I thought it showed a lack of respect to act that way. I didn’t feel like doing that darn interview cause I had lost the enthusiasm for it, but I decided to call Brita one last time and see what the hell was going on. She wasn’t sure but she thought it had something to do with bad weather and problems with the phone lines or something. Oh well. Whatever.
That evening, I sat staring at the phone for the third time, and it didn’t ring. I was absolutely furious when I went to bed that night. I cursed Gene Simmons and fuckin’ goddamn shitty Kiss, mumbling all kinds of things, with black smoke coming out of my ears. That’s how I fell asleep that night. Until my mother woke me up after answering the phone at 2 AM. And there he was – mister “fuckin’ goddamn shitty” Simmons.
Most people don’t get waked by the Demon himself in the middle of the night on a Wednesday.
But the interview turned out well. And it made a memory – at least until the next time I met him and he asked me (and a bunch of other blondes I’m sure) if I wanted to be the mother of his unborn child.
Hilarious. Well, at least he’s got a sense of humor! :D
In the rearview mirror – GEORGE MARTIN (Beatles producer)
The Beatles was the first band I really, really idolized. I knew everything about them. I had all their records, I read every book there was about them… Well, the story is too long and I need some sleep tonight.
But this autograph brings back another memory.
Beatles-producer George Martin came to Malmo back in 1993 to conduct the Malmo Symphony Orchestra for a Beatles-evening at the city concert call.
Of course, I had to go. I mean, it wasn’t a regular concert like the ones I was used to – this was a dress up-fancy sort of thing, but I like to do something different every now and then.
When he walked out on stage, I could not BELIEVE that I was actually breathing the same air as a Beatles-legend. He was the fifth Beatle for crying out loud! So elegant, so cool. :)
I loved the music, it was beautiful to hear the classic Beatles songs performed by a symphony orchestra, conducted by George Martin himself.
Then came the intermisson. Everybody left the concert hall to grab a drink, go to the WC, smoke a cigarette or whatever people do. But I stayed in the hall, because I had noticed that there was a door right next to the stage, and it wasn’t completely closed.
I have no idea what got into me, but I started walking towards that door. There was no security, nothing. I guess they didn’t think there would be any hysterical fans at a serious concert like that, so why bother.
When I got to the black door, I heard people talking in there. I stuck my nose in very slowly, very discreetly… and saw George Martin with his back turned, talking to someone.
In that moment I just thought it’s now or never, so I opened the door, as if I was supposed to be there, and figured that if nobody threw me out within the next five seconds, the coast was clear. Nobody did.
The person George was talking to noticed me and subtly nodded to make him aware of my presence.
George Martin turned around and saw me standing there (oh, there’s a Beatles-song – I Saw Her Standing There).
He was the sort of person who is just so… larger than life. His white hair and very polite, articulate british way was enough to make me speechless.
He smiled and waved as to show me to come in.
I tried to look confident as I handed over the program of the evening and asked if he could sign it for me. He did while he was trying to make conversation. Don’t ask me what he said or what I said (Oh, there’s another Beatles song! She said, she said) cause I have no idea.
After that,it’s all just a blur, I don’t remember anything. It was just unbelievable to me. This man…had been working with John, Paul, George and Ringo… He was a part of their music, he was a living legend and he was standing right in front of me! That was overwhelming.
I still can’t believe I just walked in like that, but I’m glad I did. Sometimes you’ve just got to take your chances and not think too much.
It’s an amazing feeling and I feel so privileged for having met the man who was a part of creating and changing music history. Maybe I should have used that time more wisely, but I guess I was only human for dropping my jaw.
IN THE REARVIEW MIRROR 