Of course I relate to all of the above. OF COURSE I DO. One additional aspect I think you will likely agree with: at 58, and having fallen into teaching (a lot), and being required to sing more than ever, I find I am actually a better player now than when I was in my teens/20s/30s, and a better singer.
I'm reminded of seeing the Pistols' Filthy Lucre reunion tour at Roseland in '96. A fellow attendee had seen them back in the day and remarked: well now they're much better players. (Matlock of course being the glue.) The notion that rockers - or musicians in general - could get better with age is not so crazy as it once was.
The Dear Boys tracks sound great, too. Crisp and edgy, but tuneful AF (as the kids say). Looking forward to more - music and wordsmithing. KEEP ROCKIN' GEEZER.
Thanks for the feedback Robert (puns are usually intended). I have noticed how much better so many people get with age, I've been especially aware when seeing bands that were fun but shabby in their youth. Whether they broke up for a while or have stayed around, watching them play circa age 50, you realize just how much better they are - at least as musicians. Pistiols are an interesting example in that musicianship was not exactly their selling point back in 76/77 but it was always there.
For me, at age 18, my band was fortunate enough to go into the studio 5 times in a year and to go on tour with The Jam. We got tight and i may have been in some ways sharper then in certain ways as I don't have the most extensive playing schedule. But I have been very aware that my playing has become technically improved, I do things i would not have done back then as a guitar player especially. I would like to believe I'm more subtle and maybe supple too. And when it comes to singing, I only had one direction to go: better! I demo'd a Dear Boys song (next release) and got to say, I was very happy with it. So I do agree with you.
And thanks for the compliment. We are dead happy with Blink of An I. Cheers!
I am impressed that your friend has 20,000 listeners, in Nashville no less. Does he know how that happened? I don't care (much) about the money, I expect nothing from Spotify, but finding listeners sound really good.
Hi David, thanks for stopping in to comment. I think what Steve was saying was that one of his songs on Soundcloud found an audience in Nashville, after which he realized that streaming seriously (i.e. on platforms like Spotify) made sense. He is actually on 20,000 plays a year, not listeners, but it's still nothing to be sneezed at - unlike the income he gets for that! I know Steve gigs in the UK but beyond that, we'd have to ask him any further secrets. Not sure how Alexander Meadows found their Scandinavian audience either. Maybe Paul will comment on that? Cheers!
Right on, Tony! Welcome to the Substack waters, and thanks mucho for the Corinthian Columns props. We all have to do what we can with the limited time we have left, and no one could possibly accuse you of wasting yours!
Fab stuff!
Of course I relate to all of the above. OF COURSE I DO. One additional aspect I think you will likely agree with: at 58, and having fallen into teaching (a lot), and being required to sing more than ever, I find I am actually a better player now than when I was in my teens/20s/30s, and a better singer.
I'm reminded of seeing the Pistols' Filthy Lucre reunion tour at Roseland in '96. A fellow attendee had seen them back in the day and remarked: well now they're much better players. (Matlock of course being the glue.) The notion that rockers - or musicians in general - could get better with age is not so crazy as it once was.
The Dear Boys tracks sound great, too. Crisp and edgy, but tuneful AF (as the kids say). Looking forward to more - music and wordsmithing. KEEP ROCKIN' GEEZER.
Thanks for the feedback Robert (puns are usually intended). I have noticed how much better so many people get with age, I've been especially aware when seeing bands that were fun but shabby in their youth. Whether they broke up for a while or have stayed around, watching them play circa age 50, you realize just how much better they are - at least as musicians. Pistiols are an interesting example in that musicianship was not exactly their selling point back in 76/77 but it was always there.
For me, at age 18, my band was fortunate enough to go into the studio 5 times in a year and to go on tour with The Jam. We got tight and i may have been in some ways sharper then in certain ways as I don't have the most extensive playing schedule. But I have been very aware that my playing has become technically improved, I do things i would not have done back then as a guitar player especially. I would like to believe I'm more subtle and maybe supple too. And when it comes to singing, I only had one direction to go: better! I demo'd a Dear Boys song (next release) and got to say, I was very happy with it. So I do agree with you.
And thanks for the compliment. We are dead happy with Blink of An I. Cheers!
I am impressed that your friend has 20,000 listeners, in Nashville no less. Does he know how that happened? I don't care (much) about the money, I expect nothing from Spotify, but finding listeners sound really good.
Hi David, thanks for stopping in to comment. I think what Steve was saying was that one of his songs on Soundcloud found an audience in Nashville, after which he realized that streaming seriously (i.e. on platforms like Spotify) made sense. He is actually on 20,000 plays a year, not listeners, but it's still nothing to be sneezed at - unlike the income he gets for that! I know Steve gigs in the UK but beyond that, we'd have to ask him any further secrets. Not sure how Alexander Meadows found their Scandinavian audience either. Maybe Paul will comment on that? Cheers!
Right on, Tony! Welcome to the Substack waters, and thanks mucho for the Corinthian Columns props. We all have to do what we can with the limited time we have left, and no one could possibly accuse you of wasting yours!