The power of music

Finally decided to watch the Jason Becker “Not Dead Yet”-documentary last night. Maybe not a party type of film, and maybe not your natural choice for a New Years Eve party, but we don’t always have time to get together and watch something, so it was a time as good as any.

I’ve had it for a while and wanted to watch it several times – but much like with a new album that you’re excited about, you want to wait for the exact right moment – because it’s like with any other first experience, you only get one shot at leaving a good first impression. And with some albums or movies – you WANT it to be just perfect.

Anyway, unlike most, I didn’t think of the Jason Becker story as a sad one – not necessarily. For obvious reasons I suppose it is sad that he was robbed of a career, of a life as a rock star and in a way even his youth.

But the main thing that I got out of that movie, is that the love and lust for LIFE is not based on what most think makes life worthwhile. It goes way beyond the superficial.

When they told Jason that most people die from his disease he responded “Well, I’m not”. Asked the question “Do you want to live?” his answer was “Hell yeah!”. And with the love and support from his family and girlfriend, friends and people all over the world, he kept going. He was stuck in a wheelchair, unable to do anything without help, but he was not about to surrender to his disease.

But most of all, I think that what gives him the strength to want to be around, is his love for music. It’s a force stronger than anything, and I can so relate to that. When you’ve got something to live for, that you’re passionate about, that you love so much your whole heart is filled with it… it can move mountains, and in Jason’s case – it can even give death the middle finger and a big “FUCK OFF!”

I guess that’s why I’m drawn to people who share that passion, because “regular” people just don’t get it.

FANS will do anything for their music.

MUSICIANS will do anything for their music.

Musicians nowadays aren’t in it for the money, for the fame and glory – because all that has pretty much been stripped away. It was a thing of the 80’s, when rock stars were larger than life and made tons of money. That lifestyle is long gone. If that is the motivation for getting into the music business, well – forget it. You ain’t getting that NOW.

Now, musicians have to put up with long tours in stinky tour buses, bad food, small clubs, very little money compared to what they have to endure. You give everything and you get little in return.

At least if you’re only looking at the financial side of things. But there are so many other things that are far more important and inspiring than just money. Musicians get to travel a lot, and experience different countries, even if it’s just at the venue or at the gas station.
I envy them for that. Yes, I travel a lot too, but it would rock if somebody was paying me for it. :)

Fans will stand out in the rain for hours, they will freeze their asses off waiting to see a band, they will walk in mud up to their knees, get crushed against the barriers, or pass out in the heat in the summer…. ALL because they love the music.

We’re all in it for the same reason, we love music. Some love to create music, others love to listen to it. But the fire and the passion is pretty much the same.

I’ve had a fantastic life so far and I owe it all to music. I could get hit by a truck and die today, and have no regrets, I can easily say that I’ve loved my life and eventhough I always have new goals and dreams, it’s still all good. And feeling that way is worth more than anything.

In Jason’s case, the passion for music keeps him going, where most regular people would have given up because they wouldn’t have had anything to live for. Jason does.

I’ve chosen to dedicate my life to music and the only people who could possibly understand what that means, are those who feel the same way.

I’m not burnt out, I’m not bitter, I’m not living by anyone else’s rules or expectations, I’m not being who others think I “should” be. It makes a difference,

All I need is my fix of a good concert or a great album – and the freedom to go anywhere I want to go, at any time, for any reason. Even if it’s just to see a local gig or say hi to a friend.

Years and years ago, I drove for 10 hours straight in snow storm to see the band Bad Habit at a small pub in Stockholm, The Anchor. Their set was maybe 40-45 minutes. After that, I drove all the way home in the middle of the night. So, 20 hours for 45 minutes and I still think it was fucking worth it! A “normal” person would never understand that.

A musician can spend weeks, months, rehearsing for a show that will only last for an hour, but it’s easy when you truly love what you do. I noticed that recently when we were in the studio working on that one song… I forgot all about time and space. We were in there ALL DAY and it felt like we just got there. It’s that creative environment, the excitement – just seeing something grow from nothing to something you think is great, it’s a kick beyond belief!

It’s not like a regular office-job where people are out the door the minute the clock strikes five. When you’re in the middle of doing something you love doing, you forget all about time.

I think music is like a religion, if you have faith in it, if you love it, if you live it, it will work wonders, it will even trick death and fatal diseases.

Jason Becker’s strength is fantastic. I don’t think of him as a victim, I think of him as an extremely inspiring and strong person, with a will of steel. I have nothing but the utmost respect and admiration for him both as a person and a musician. He had no power over what was happening to him, but he did have the power to decide how he wanted to deal with it. And he’s proven that when you truly love something, nothing can stand in your way. Not even The Reaper.

Get the movie – just get the movie for gods sakes. :)

http://www.jasonbeckermovie.com/  

Happy New 2013! Blog moving.

Happy New Year 2013! I guess it’s just another day, but at the same time I’m very excited about everything that lies ahead this year! When I checked my calendar yesterday, it’s already filled with all kinds of things, so lots of stuff to look forward to 2013. :-)

One bad thing though, is that Posterous, where I’ve been hosting this blog for the past year and more, is about to close down. It’s been aquired by Twitter and now they are offering users a possibility to download and backup all their blogs – which kind of signals that this won’t be around much longer.

No date has been set as “the death of posterous” but I’m pretty sure it’s coming. So, not to be taken too much by surprise, I’ve moved to an easier URL, it’s pretty much the same – but without the “posterous”: www.lita77777.com 

The Firewind-blog will get its own new domain as well. If you like this blog and it just disappears one day, check my Twitter and Facebook-pages to get the latest updates, or just e-mail me:

TWITTER: http://twitter.com/lita77777

FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/intherearviewmirror

E-MAIL: intherearviewmirror@ymail.com

So, it’s business as usual but elsewhere. I will be using Posterous for as long as I can though, as it’s the best and easiest blog-interface I’ve ever used. I just wish somebody could steal it, rename it and just continue… No need for any video-embedding, it does that automatically, you just press a button and it creates a photo-gallery where you can quickly and easily rearrange everything…

All that WordPress crap is nowhere near as easy. Every other blog-interface has a million functions that takes forever to figure out. This has been a “plug and play” thing, absolutely brilliant.

It’s a pain in the ass when good stuff disappears and there’s nothing better offered to take its place. :-( I’m bummed about it, especially after spending so much time and effort marketing the blog and its location. But hey – it’s like the death of MySpace and we all survived that as well. :)

 

Anyway – I’ll be here for as long as I can, so see you soon and hope you all had a great New Years Eve. :)

 

MY YEAR IN ROCK – retrospect 2012 (part 3)

(continued from http://lita77777.posterous.com/my-year-in-rock-retrospect-2012-part-2 )

OZZY & FRIENDS IN DORTMUND, GERMANY

The Ozzy & friends gig in Dormund was a memorable experience for good reasons and bad. I got to know a new friend, Suuded, and we had a great time. Remember a fantastic dinner in a restaurant right behind the Westfalenhalle, but I also remember the sky just opening and it was pissing down all day! We were forced to stand out in the rain by a sadistic power-hungry security person who made sure nobody was under the long roof in front of the entrance (there would have been PLENTY of room there for a lot of people). Anyway, we got in the front row eventually. Both Steel Panther and Ozzy were well worth the wait and the rain!

The story can be found here: http://lita77777.posterous.com/ozzy-sweden-rock-festival-part-1

Photos from that are on my Facebook-page: www.facebook.com/intherearviewmirror

SWEDEN ROCK FESTIVAL….

Only two days later, it was time for the next annual event: Sweden Rock Festival.
This time I was joined by Vera, my Russian colleague that I got to know after bumping into her several times at press conferences at Sweden Rock. She was going to camp with her friends though (wild horses couldn’t get ME to do that camping-thing).

The first festival-evening was one of those slow ones, where you just “get in the zone”, pick up your passes and all that stuff. I only checked out H.E.A.T and Dynazty before drivng home that evening. It was freezing, I remember that much… But Satchel (Steel Panther) was going to turn up the heat the next day!

The full story: http://lita77777.posterous.com/sweden-rock-festival-2012-part-2

The next day I ran like crazy to make it to the first signing-session of the day, which was Satchel from Steel Panther. I had found this great tent where musicians hung out and various guitarists were doing signing sessions. But it didn’t seem like it had been widely announced anywhere, so thank god there weren’t those insanely long lines as to the “regular” signings.

When I walked in, it was still Andreas Kisser from Sepultura who was signing. I was first in line for Satchel, and I got my hoodie signed, and some pics. The message he left was of course very “Satchel-style”…! ;)

Vera and I also met a nice dude from Adrenaline Mob’s crew, who invited us to be his guests, so we spent the day hanging backstage and on various stages. That was perfect, if for no other reason than because it was raining all day, and we didn’t have to be out there getting soaked. Watched Ugly Kid Joe, Motorhead and Twisted Sister up on the stage for instance.

Press conferences I didn’t want to miss included Steel Panther and Sebastian Bach – but then I happened to walk in on a few more by coincidence. There is activity 24-7 at Sweden Rock, it’s nearly impossible to try to sum it all up. But check out the pics on the Facebook-page (URL mentioned somewhere above), that will give you a quick tour of what was going on on stage and back-stage at Sweden Rock Festival 2012!

Way too much to mention, I think I kept updating in real-time on Facebook because I wouldn’t have time to write an actual blog. Busy summer! :)

Next up was my other favorite festival: Graspop Metal Meeting in Belgium!

[to be continued….]

MY YEAR IN ROCK – retrospect 2012 (Part 1)

Every year when I look back on what I’ve been doing, it seems like it’s been longer than just a year. 2012 was no exception.

Even just the Firewind-tours were enough to fill a lot of space and bring back great memories – you’ll find those in this separate blog: http://firewindtour.posterous.com/firewind-tours-of-2012-recap 

But there have been plenty of other highlights that I thought I’d take a look back on, now when there are only a few more days left of this year…:-)

TONY IOMMI DIAGNOSED WITH CANCER – AND OZZY & FRIENDS….

The year started with bad news that shook the whole heavy metal community – one of the godfathers of metal, Tony Iommi, had been diagnosed with cancer. The Black Sabbath reunion with Ozzy that had been announced and that had been so highly anticipated, was off. However, not to disappoint the fans too much, Ozzy decided to do the scheduled dates as “Ozzy & Friends“, bringing Slash, Zakk Wylde and Geezer Butler on tour. And of course his own band, which made a lot of people happy – myself included, as “the new kid on the block”, Gus G, was with Oz on those dates. Otherwise, I probably wouldn’t have bothered.

FIREWIND IN ATHENS

Speaking of Gus, my first concert trip of 2012 took me to Athens, Greece where they kicked off their year at the Fuzz club, and also recorded a video for the single “Wall of Sound” that was released later in the spring. 

I remember Athens as easy to navigate with the metro going all through town. I was guided through some must-see’s, such as the Akropolis, by Jon, a good friend of Jon Oliva’s Pain (they were the ones who recommended him when I was looking for a contact in Athens – just in case). He’s also a singer in the band Need and we had lots to talk about, so it was a great guide! :) Always nice to get to know new people.

Jon:

As for the Firewind-show (which was on January 14th, by the way), it was one of the best or worst, depending on how you look at it – their Greek crowd is absolutely freaking NUTS! I must have lost ten pounds at least getting crushed against the barricades before and during the show. My god. But – as always – worth it, ten times over! :)

STEVE STEVENS & SEBASTIAN BACH AT THE IRIDIUM JAZZ-CLUB IN NEW YORK CITY

At the end of January, on the 27th, I left for New York City. This time it wasn’t a major arena-gig, quite the opposite. Steve Stevens, one of the coolest guitarists alive (known from Billy Idol, Michael Jackson, Vince Neil etc…) and Sebastian Bach were performing together at this small jazz-club somewhere on Broadway.

The whole idea seemed so bizarre that I had to see it. I had also scheduled an interview with Steve through his wife Josie. Josie rocks! People look at her and judge her by the way she looks, it’s way too easy to think she’s just some bimbo, but I loved that girl. She was very professional but at the same time also very friendly and open. She had never even met us, but greeted us with a hug and made sure that we felt welcome. I wish all interviews could be planned through people like Josie. 

Josie Stevens:

I got a great interview with Steve after the two sets at the Iridium (with a seated audience). My friend (and photographer) Beatrice and I were lucky to get absolute front row seats – right at the stage. I remember when Sebastian walked out on stage, he dropped his jaw and started doing sign language and grimacing kind of to ask “Did you fly over just for this?” 
He shouldn’t be surprised, after 23 years he should be used to seeing me anywhere in the world, so why not a jazz club in New York?

Anyway, the backstage story, the review, the interview, photos and all from that can be found here:

BLOG: http://lita77777.posterous.com/first-day-in-new-york-tomorrow-steve-stevens

REVIEW: http://lita77777.posterous.com/steve-sebastian-the-iridium-nyc

PHOTOS: http://lita77777.posterous.com/steve-stevens-sebastian-bach-photos-by-beatri

INTERVIEW: http://lita77777.posterous.com/the-guitar-sleeps-with-me-in-the-bed-steve-st 

 

WHITNEY HOUSTON PASSED

After the Stevens/Bach show at the Iridium, I took it easy during February. The music world was hit by more bad news, not specifically metal, but one of the great voices in modern music, had passed – Whitney Houston. It shocked a lot of people, including a lot of rockers. Whether or not you were into her music, I think most of us would agree that Whitney’s voice was one of a kind and it was a tragic fate. This was on February 11, 2012. R.I.P Whitney.

STEEL PANTHER INTERVIEW IN COPENHAGEN

Next on the schedule of 2012 was Steel Panther. I heard that they were coming to Copenhagen, and I actually hesitated whether or not I would request an interview with them. They are funny, but that’s exactly the thing – how do you interview a band like that?! It would certainly be…different.

It was actually my friend Kevin, from JOP, who talked me into it. “What’s the worst that could happen? If you don’t like the result of the interview, don’t post it!”  True enough. So, I contacted Universal in Copenhagen and set up an interview with these crazy guys.

It was a pleasant surprise. They were absolutely “normal” before the cameras went on, and especially Michael Starr who we met down in the lobby 30 minutes before the interview. But the minute the cameras were rolling, they became the out of control Steel Panther that we all know and love.

I had it all figured out, or so I thought. However, they wouldn’t let me finish a sentence, so they missed some of the jokes that I was hoping they would pick up on. But, I realized that the best way to deal with these dudes, was to just shut up and let them do the talking! :))

The interview has passed 24 300 views, that’s crazy. :))

BLOG: http://lita77777.posterous.com/getting-together-with-steel-panther-in-copenh

INTERVIEW…..

 

 

PART TWO OF MY YEAR IN ROCK COMING UP………..!

 

Buckle up, the ride continues!

Christmas is almost over and before you know it, we’ve rocketed ourselves into a brand new year, 2013. For many people it’s an absolute anti-climax to hit January. All the pre-Christmas activities and festivities, the decorations and the anticipation (or even just the stress) keeps people busy. Then in January – there’s not much to look forward to for many people, Everything kind of dies out for a few months.

I for one can’t wait for 2013 though, because there are already gigs planned, concert tickets bought, hotels booked, trips being planned…! And new tours being announced.

Yesterday Love/Hate announced a UK-tour in March/April. I certainly know what I’ll be doing in March/April then. It won’t be the same as in the 90’s, but the music is still great. I remember the first time I heard of Love/Hate, they were opening for Skid Row.

I liked their music, but honestly thought they were just another poser-band. There were tons of them back in those days. Nice to look at, sometimes they even had a decent song or two, but most of them were better at looking good than sounding good.

Then I did an interview with singer Jizzy Pearl in Copenhagen, and he totally blew me away. He was anything but some stupid rocker-idiot. His answers were well thought through, he was a very intelligent guy in many ways. I wish I knew where I had that interview, would have loved to listen to it again now.

That’s a whole other story, every interview I’ve ever done the past 20-something years, is on some old cassette here somewhere… But after I had used them for either an article or the radio, I just put them in a box somewhere, without as much as labelling the tape. Never thought I would need it again. You live and you learn. ;)

Then in May there’s the Whitesnake/Journey/Thunder tour that I’ll be attending (of COURSE!) and let’s not forget the summer festivals. Sweden Rock Festival – this year being visited by one of my absolute favorite live-acts Firewind among others. Or Graspop in Belgium, which unfortunately is a bit TOO good this year, as Iron Maiden and King Diamond will be playing right after eachother, on two different stages, so you have to choose which show you want to hang in the front row for… But then again, I’ll get to enjoy Iron Maiden – one of the best live bands in the world for sure – at the stadium in my home town Malmo.

And inbetween all those BIG BANDS, there will be all the smaller bands that I still love to see, that I admire for their passion. You really need to be passionate about what you’re doing when you’re in the music business nowadays, cause as we all know, people don’t get rich playing music anymore. Those who do, who sacrifice so much to play their music, definitely have that fire in them and I can relate to it as much as I respect and admire it.

The concert year of 2013 begins with a festival, mostly because a friend is part of the package and it’s nice to meet up with people you know. Might also go check out one of the dates of Visions of Atlantis in the spring. Their singer Maxi Nil guested Firewind at their anniversary shows in Greece recently, and she was also a cool chick to talk to, so I’m curious to hear more of their stuff. 

Basically, I’m excited to meet the new year. There’s already so much to look forward to and that’s the most important thing. So many people get depressed in Sweden in January and February because of the gloomy weather, the dark, and summer being so far away. But I think it’s all about a change of attitude. Why wait until summer to do something?! Start off your year right away – then keep the ball rolling!