The Music Business Has Sucked The Life Out Of Creativity

Robb Flynn of Machine Head speaks the truth

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"Robb Flynn of San Francisco Bay Area metallers MACHINE HEAD has posted the latest installment of his online blog, "The General Journals: Diary Of A Frontman... And Other Ramblings". It follows below in its entirety.

"I'm in a shitty mood.

"Not for the story I'm about to tell, but because of my thoughts afterward.

"I went out to San Francisco for my buddy Joe's birthday shenanigans. We went out for Moroccan food at a joint called El Mansour. The place had a great vibe, belly dancing, sword balancing, and amazing food! The lamb in particular was to-freakin'-die-for, slow roasted and covered in honey and cinnamon.

"On the way out there, Joe's buddy Tony picked me up from JingleTown [studio], since I didn't want to drive as I knew I'd be drinking. On the hour-long trip out (Saturday traffic to San Francisco), he was telling me some pretty awesome stories about growing up in the ''70s. You see, Tony was a teenager in 1975, and used to go the famous San Francisco venue Winterland. Winterland was before my time, but being part of the scene you heard the legend, the stories and the history.

"Tony is a big BLACK SABBATH fan, saw them back in '75 on the 'Sabotage' tour and said it was a life-changing experience. Him and his buddies used to go to Winterland, load up on LSD, cigarettes, and weed, and go watch pretty much the cream of the crop of classic rock bands. TED NUGENT, SABBATH, DEEP PURPLE, JOURNEY, MONTROSE, you name it, he went and saw it. The shows would start and if people loved the opening band (essentially cheering non-stop) they'd get to do encores. He was telling me about a show JOURNEY (the opener!), killed it, and they got 4 encores, the support band got 4 encores! Then the headliner, MONTROSE, got 5 ENCORES! MONTROSE didn't stop playing until 2:30 in the morning, everyone stayed, no one would even dare consider leaving and people experienced some of the best music of their lives.

"An opener getting encores, crazy…

"And the venue allowed things like this to happen. The venue just kept the bands rolling.

"Not only that, but all of the shows at Winterland were $4.50.

"4 dollars and 50 cents…..18 freakin' quarters!

"Wow…?!?

"All I could think of was 'what an amazing time for music.'

"People wonder why the 'classic rock' bands were so good. They were playing by their own rules, and they had a culture of venues and people around that were as crazy and fly-by-the-seat-of-their-pants as the bands themselves. The promoters around that time did anything to make the bands happy and if it meant playing all goddamn night? Let 'em!

"I tell you right now, though, there isn't a band out there who would play til 2:30 a.m. nowadays, let alone find a major venue that would even ALLOW such a thing.

"I remember when I first started going to /playing thrash shows, it was a very similar thing. It was no rules, no security, no safety, no curfews, and for the most part anything went!

Venues these days are mostly run with union workers. In most major cities, you have to take breaks during the day, where a band can't even sound check for an hour because the union workers need a 'break.' Nowadays if you play 1 minute past 11 p.m. at any of the large union venues, it costs the band $1,000 dollars a minute. When we were out with METALLICA playing arenas they regularly play 20 minutes past 11:00 p.m., and they regularly paid $20,000 to do so.

"I went and saw PEARL JAM about a month ago, and they played one of the best, most truly rock 'n' roll shows I've seen in eons. It was fucking magical, Eddie Vedder drank 3 bottles of wine, and about 2 hours into the set, he started getting a little sloppy, forgetting lyrics, missing cues, it looked like it was about to fall off the rails. The band then they took a quick break and he came back and played 'Black'.

"Let me tell you, it was magic! I'm getting goose bumps writing this, just remembering it. It was such a turn-around; it totally took the night to an even higher level. At this point they were already 45 minutes past 11. They played several more songs and eventually the Oakland Arena (currently called the Oracle Arena, until some different stupid corporate sponsor buys it and changes it to something ridiculous like Florida's 1-800-Ask Gary Amphitheater) turned on the house lights, signaling them to stop. PEARL JAM said 'fuck you!' and played 2 more songs with the house lights on! Eddie Vedder then brought the band back out onstage to do an extra-long goodbye to the crowd. I love their fucking attitude.

"In the end, they played 70 minutes over 'curfew' and I'd imagine left Oakland about $70,000 dollars lighter to do so. Of course PEARL JAM can afford it, and frankly it gave every single person there one of the best shows of their life. But this gesture to keep the 'room' in a good mood in conjunction with the Winterland conversation, it got me thinking.

"Shit has changed.

"On the one hand, I love PEARL JAM's 'fuck you, were doing it our way' attitude, and on the other hand, it angered and depressed me.

"Only the METALLICAs and PEARL JAMs can pull things like this. Bands that have sold millions of records, and they can afford it.

"If MACHINE HEAD tried playing an hour over curfew at say, the House Of Blues in Dallas, Texas, we'd be walking out of there with our entire guarantee eaten up. Even if the fans wanted it, some venue would do their best to shut it down, cut power, close curtain, whatever.

"The music business has sucked the life out of creativity. No one is encouraged to take risks, no one is encouraged to push the envelope, because it's all about first-week sales! It's about pointless radio play and how good your last tour went. How venues and promoters are squeezing the last drop of spontaneity out of your soul by not 'allowing' you to playing past curfew and not drawing outside the line.

"When we play that game, we essentially applaud mediocrity.

"There's nothing dangerous about music these days, there's nothing surprising about it either. There can't be. Other than PEARL JAM, the only 'band' that doesn't seem to really give a flying fuck and plays by their own rules isn't really a band at all, are they? Axl and the ROSES are known for bending the rules and telling the powers that be to 'fuck off,' but because their band is so confusing they come across as a joke. But people don't see this. People don't see any of this!

"And the reason you don't care is because it's too easy to get sucked into your phone, or your Facebook, or your Twitter, or your Tumblr, or your Instagram, or your games, or your TV shows.

"Music isn't important anymore. Say it is all you want, but the fact is, the 2 biggest rock records of last year only sold 400,000 copies, neither even went gold.

"Music is in the background of a game. Why go to a show when you can watch clips of it on YouTube and bitch about how it stinks live?

"And you know what, I miss music being important! I miss live shows being important. I miss feeling a part of something that was so high on my list I'd crawl through broken glass to get it.

"All this technology we have now that's supposed to make us 'connected?' It's making me feel more fucking disconnected than ever. I mean watching all the things that other people are doing that I'm not invited to or even a apart of? And yet at the same time completely disgusted by faux-self-importance it has given everyone, (here's my dog or cat for the millionth time, here's a selfie for the millionth time, here's my kids for the millionth time, here' the food I'm eating for the millionth time, here's what I'm doing and you're not). Don't you wish you were eating what I'm eating?
"Fuck you!

I've thought of tweeting or Facebooking something so many time and just went, 'who cares', why should anyone care about this, and you SHOULDN'T care.

"You're all my 'friends,' you've all 'liked' me, but really, you're not my friends, because we don't know each other. You took a photo of me, or you interviewed me, or we talked after a show. And after you get past the initial coolness, of re-connecting with someone from high school on Facebook or Twitter, you realize you truly have drifted apart.

"And fuckin' A, I'm glad we did.

"I don't want to be 'friends' with everyone; I don't want to be 'liked' by everyone. I want to feel connected to something. And nothing I look at in the music business does that. I don't get radio bands; I don't get any of these fucking 'scene bands.' I don't get bands singing about how great being American is, as if the geographic location you were born, (and had zero control over in any way shape or form), somehow makes us better than any other geographical place of birth!?

"I don't get why people don't want to see live music anymore, I don't get it. Did you see the clip of Hetfield talking about how America needs to start 'wanting' music again? This is James 'Fucking' Hetfield talking, people! Didn't those words do anything to anyone? Didn't what he said make you feel a bit disgusted? I'm a METALLICA fan and those words being spoken kind of stung a bit.

"You can bitch all you want that MACHINE HEAD only does festival tours and only plays for 30 minutes, but all those bands (including us) that play festival tours, can't draw squat when were not on festival tours. And even the big metal festivals are having troubles. Maybe the days of bands touring is coming to an end? Bands didn't always tour, you know, Mozart didn't hit the road for a year or 2 back in the day. Touring is really a phenomenon of the last 60 years or so. People didn't always buy records, or CDs, or files, or streams, that's also a phenomenon of the last 60 or 70 years.

"I don't get the political fucking correctness of music anymore.

"I don't get the narrow-mindedness of the world anymore.

"I don't get people asking me every week to try and write 'more like 'Burn My Eyes', please.'
"I don't get religious nutjobs who think that when they die they're going to 72 virgins when they get to heaven. ('You're guaranteed to get some pussy in the afterlife, boys,' so obviously written by a man!)

"I don't get religious fucking nutjobs who think that Jesus is coming back soon, wearing a white, blood-stained robe (stained with the blood of his enemies…whoever those are) and will be carrying a sword, and by 'sword,' the bible meant an AR-15!

"What did Napoleon say? 'Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich.'

"I don't get why we need to hear 'America The Beautiful' and 'thank a soldier' in a TV commercial, 22 and 14 times respectively during the Superbowl.

"I don't fucking get it.

"You don't care about music, and I don't care about music, and I sit here wondering if this feeling is a result of the business itself, or is the business a result of our own apathy towards music.

I feel lost.

"I feel alone.

"Something has to change.

"Someone has to stir the pot.

"Something needs to come along and wake us up out of the slumber."

Bob Lefsetz Words Of Wisdom, From House Of Cards

Kevin Spacey is quite the character on House Of Cards

Dive into all the writings and ramblings of Bob Lefsetz


"1. You Need A Partner

There's a reason why spouses get fifty percent in community property states, because you don't make that money alone, you depend on the counsel and soothing of your significant other. Furthermore, the inability to force one spouse to testify against the other in court speaks to the bond between the two.

In other words, there's a reason why the most powerful people are in relationships. It takes two. Someone you can trust, someone who's got your back, someone who will not scorn or question you but defend and understand you, and nudge you in the right direction if necessary.

We all need a sounding board. But we're all fearful that information can be used against us.

Your sounding board is at home.

Choose well.

Find someone who shares your hopes, dreams and desires. Someone who won't divorce you when the going gets rough. Someone who's willing to get down in the trenches and fight not for what's right, but you.

2. You Can't Worry What People Say About You

If you want to be liked, join a social club. But business, like politics, is for winners, not joiners. You're gonna make enemies. If for no reason other than some will become envious. You need a thick skin to play hardball. And the ability to ignore those without power who abhor you, and sidle up to those with power who hate you. Ever notice that everybody at the top of business knows each other? All the tech titans, all the record industry giants? It's because they rely on these relationships to get them what they want, and know it's only these people who can prevent them from reaching their goals.

3. Don't Be A Wimp

If you're not willing to stand up and give back, stay out of the arena. A powerful person runs right over sycophants, he or she only respects someone who stands their ground and pushes back when necessary. This is the signal you're a real player. Once again, it's not about being liked, those at the top are not concerned with this, rather it's about showing that you understand power and are willing to use it.

4. Know The Game

We're learning until we die. Every day you learn what you did not know before. If you're not willing to re-evaluate your choices and positions, you're going to find yourself left behind. With age and experience comes wisdom. If you think you know everything, you've got blind spots. And there's always something we don't know. Cultivate those with expertise outside your primary focus. Because you're going to call on them at some point in the future, you just don't know when. And choose enemies wisely. Having said that, power players respect other power players who are willing to burn bridges. Because although it's the primary move of the amateur, it's the ace in the hand of the professional. If someone is willing to cut you off, that means their agenda doesn't square with yours, and they might be trouble in the future.

5. Align Yourself With Winners

Few understand this. They're so busy worrying about who's nice and friendly, who they can trust, that they don't realize very few people control the back line of pieces on a chessboard. The pawns are up front, ready to be taken at will. But the King is protected, and the Queen has the ability to move in ways no other piece possesses, speaking to point number one above.

If you want to go all the way, you've got to play with the number one player, the survivor, the person who knows where all the bodies are buried.

6. Learn How To Say Yes

Anybody can say no. It takes you out of the game. But saying yes... Too many are afraid. Of the unknown. Of the consequences. But if a power player gives you your chance and you waffle or say no, you're passed over, forgotten. You're a pawn in the power player's game. Feel good that you've been chosen. If you believe you're being sacrificed, you aligned yourself with the wrong people. You're a soldier, pledging fealty. An underling who argues with a power player frequently finds himself in a cul-de-sac, his career stalled.

7. Success Is A Power Game

Can you get your e-mail returned? How fast?

That's the demonstration of your power, your reach. Sure, money helps. But power players rip off the rich on a regular basis. Because having cash does not mean you know how to play the game. True power is the ability to get your vision exercised. And this can only be done if you understand the game and what reactions will be, who you can trust and who you cannot.

8. Eat Or Be Eaten

You might not want to make it to the top, but that guy sitting next to you...he might feel otherwise, he might be hungry to move up the ladder. So be suspicious. Be on the lookout for agendas. It's show BUSINESS, not show FRIENDS!"

The Mainstream According To Bob Lefsetz

Van Halen brought arena rock to the masses

Read more into mind of Bob Lefsetz

"People hate when their record is not a hit. Or the one they're working. Or the one made by their favorite artist. And what's on the radio, what's successful, sucks.

I get it. You're frustrated. You wish the world were different.

But it's not.

Now I'm not saying everything that's popular is fantastic. But I am saying it's rare that that with little traction would be loved by everybody if it just got exposure.

In other words, records are hits for a reason.

Primarily because they're good.

And god forbid you do something good in this world. Oh, that's right, I've gone on record that good is not good enough. God forbid you do something great. Then the whole world is gonna rain down on you. Both positive and negative. You'll be in the center of an unforeseen maelstrom that almost no one can understand.

Kind of like Taylor Swift. She thought she wanted to be successful. She had no idea what came along with winning. Every move, every action is scrutinized. You think since you're posting on Facebook or Twitter everybody cares, but they don't. Hell, just look at the Twitter followings. You've got to get into the hundreds of thousands to get true traction, do you think it makes a difference what you say if you've only got double or triple digits?

But you keep doing it. Not for yourself, but to get ahead. Everybody's trying to get ahead. And criticizing those above them.

The guys who run the record labels! They're idiots!

I've known all of them. They're not. In fact, they're very smart. Rawly, and they know how to play the game. That's right, if you can't get along, you're never going to make it to the top.

And staying on top? That's a skill too.

Am I saying those ruling the world are the only ones who can do so?

No.

But I am saying stars are irreplaceable.

There was only one Steve Jobs. Apple hasn't been the same since. Could end up being something great according to Jony Ive's vision, but it won't be the same. The same way Sammy Hagar Van Halen wasn't the same as David Lee Roth Van Halen, and that's one of the only bands that replaced its lead singer and continued to have recording success.

It doesn't matter that you hate the stars. Doesn't matter that you think you can do better. Because most of the people don't agree with you. Most of the people are just fine with Rihanna and Katy Perry and the aforementioned Ms. Swift. One can argue Rihanna and Perry are niche compared to the stars of yore, but certainly not Ms. Swift. She can sell out stadiums, alone. No one else in the business can do that. Is it because she's tall and attractive and has a rich father?

NO!

IT'S BECAUSE OF THE SONGS!

She's speaking about her inner life. Certainly on the first two albums, before she went off the rails a bit. And people are drawn to that. That's a hit.

You wonder why your music is not a hit and somebody else's is?

It's the je ne sais quoi, that something different that's hard to define and articulate but resonates nonetheless.

Don't ask me to explain Alanis Morissette's "Hand In Pocket." All I know is when I listen to it I feel like I'm the only one, and I'm empowered, it squeezes all the b.s. out of my mind.

And yes, I know there are Beach Boys harmonies in AC/DC's "You Shook Me All Night Long," but that doesn't account for all the magic, it's the drums...it's the way it makes me feel!

Same deal with Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy."

That's music. It's hard to explain.

Can I tell you that my favorite track of the year is Katy Perry's "Wide Awake"?

Maybe it came out last year, I don't know. But the sound, the way it makes me feel. I don't care that it was written by committee, that Dr. Luke was involved, all I know is I want to hear it again and again and again. That I only had to hear it once.

Stuff is mainstream for a reason. BECAUSE MANY PEOPLE LIKE IT!

Decry that all you want, but now, more than ever, when something breaks through and sustains...

It deserves respect."

What Path Do You Choose?

Upon seeing the daily insight from Bob Lefsetz it's always a fun read and here is why:

FOLLOWERS

Finish college.

LEADERS

Drop out.

FOLLOWERS

Obey the rules.

LEADERS

Question authority.

FOLLOWERS

Believe it's about accolades.

LEADERS

Believe it's about relationships.

FOLLOWERS

Need external validation.

LEADERS

Have self-confidence.

FOLLOWERS

Have a backup plan.

LEADERS

Have no safety net.

FOLLOWERS

Will not take no for an answer. Since they're playing the game, they believe the rules and the courts will save them.

LEADERS

Hit a roadblock and change direction. They only fight battles they know they can win.

FOLLOWERS

Work for the corporation.

LEADERS

Start the corporation.

FOLLOWERS

Go to graduate school to gain a profession.

LEADERS

Hire professionals.

FOLLOWERS

Look at how everybody else does it, conformity is king.

LEADERS

Do it their own way, but are aware of how everybody else is doing it.

FOLLOWERS

Believe in vacation.

LEADERS

Never take a day off.

FOLLOWERS

Are students of what's in front of them.

LEADERS

Are students of the game.

FOLLOWERS

Stop learning after school.

LEADERS

Never stop learning. Whether it be from books, news or colleagues.

FOLLOWERS

Argue about their paycheck.

LEADERS

Money is secondary, and they believe there's enough if they succeed.

FOLLOWERS

Are afraid to lose.

LEADERS

Are willing to lose, because they believe they're destined to win.

FOLLOWERS

Say no. Pessimism reigns.

LEADERS

Say yes. But are not afraid to say no. Optimism rules.

FOLLOWERS

Plan.

LEADERS

Make it up as they go.

FOLLOWERS

Take direction.

LEADERS

Make up the direction.

FOLLOWERS

Believe it's all about the CV, what you can list on LinkedIn.

LEADERS

Social network because they've got so many ideas their heads will explode if they don't release them. They know the people who started the social networks. They're more interested in what made social networks successful than playing within them. They know building a resume only counts if you're looking to get hired, and they've created every job they've had since high school.

FOLLOWERS

Are afraid and sometimes evidence desperation.

LEADERS

Are never afraid and never desperate. They see the world as their plaything, not something that can hold them back or down.

FOLLOWERS

Have no vision.

LEADERS

Can see the future in 3-D.

FOLLOWERS

Work in established industries.

LEADERS

Establish industries. The greats are not afraid of being ahead of the times, they know the times will come to them.

FOLLOWERS

Think about themselves.

LEADERS

Think about others. Sure, many are narcissistic, but their fortunes are based on filling the needs of the public, not their boss.

FOLLOWERS

Adjust their personalities to get along.

LEADERS

Get to be themselves.

FOLLOWERS

Play the politics.

LEADERS

Are above the politics.

FOLLOWERS

Work in the world.

LEADERS

Run the world.

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