A to Z of Making It, Music, My Stories, Piracy

“Why Do You Do What You Do?” And Guess What! “Rock Is Not Dead”

Gene Simmons from KISS declared that “Rock is finally dead” which stirred up a lot of debate in the music industry. Dee Snider was one of the first to post a rebuttal. Then came Dave Grohl’s rebuttal and recently it was a diplomatic Slash. Basically everything that he said I more or less agree with.

“The music business itself is not catering to rock ‘n’ roll at all. And if you’re aspiring to be a guitarist or a drummer or a singer in a rock band and trying to make your way up the ladder, the obstacles are much bigger than they were when I first started.”

The music business does cater to rock’n’roll however it is the recording business that doesn’t cater that much to it. The majority of the labels monies are focused on the pop stars singing Max Martin songs.

“The rock ‘n’ roll audience is rabid. It’s huge and just as alive and kicking as it ever was.”

That’s god damn right. The audience for rock music is there. Also with so much rock music coming out right now, that is the evidence right there to prove that rock is very much alive and kicking.

And that is a biggy.

With so much rock music being released every day, how is the rabid rock audience going to find it and hear it. Apply simple supply and demand economics to the equation. When the record labels controlled the distribution, the music that was released and when it was release, the actual supply to the fans was limited even though demand was high. Now with all of those barriers of entry torn down, the supply of new music is constant. And even though demand is still high, our time is limited.

Another big difference is that the way we consume music. It is still a very fragmented marketplace. Think about it for a second.

There are the usual CD sales. Amazon is still a big player in this regard along with the record labels and the unique limited deluxe editions they offer. In addition the brick and mortar stores still exist that cater in sales. Then there is the sales of MP3’s. Apple is the big player here, while Amazon offers AutoRip features on CD’s sold.

Then there is streaming. You have Spotify type streaming and the radio style streaming of Pandora. Terrestrial Radio is still there as well. So as an artist it is a confusing time. Hell, even the cashed up labels are confused as to what needs to be done as they still rely on the nuclear bomb style of marketing to push new acts or new music from established artists.

“If you’re really passionate about the kind of music you wanna do and you’re not looking at it from a dollars and cents point of view, but you just want to create new music and somehow go out there and play live and get it out there, that passion has to be honed in and it has to be real.”

So what is your view of success?

Do you have a short-term view on measuring success or a long-term view? Is success your main motivator for creating music because if it is, there are risks in a short-term view of measuring success and there are risks in having success as your main motivator?

It comes down to the “Golden Circle” idea from Simon Sinek. “How” is in the centre, surrounded by the “Why” which is then surrounded by a larger circle called the “What”.

Apply those principles to a musician. A musician knows that what they do is to write and perform music. A musician knows how to write and perform music but do they know WHY they do it. If a musician’s “WHY” is solely to make money then they need to be reminded that their “WHY” is a “RESULT” of “WHAT” they do.

As Sinek explained, people don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it. And if you don’t’ know why you do what you do, then how will you ever get someone to buy into it, and be loyal, or want to be a part of what it is that you do.

A perfect example of a simply WHY can be found in Zakk Wylde and Black Label Society. The WHY is to get dressed in your BLS Chapter colours, get together at the show and drink a lot of god damn beers. And guess what. People responded to that WHY in the thousands. They want to let their hair or goatees or beards down and down a few brewskis.

Protest The Hero focused on the WHY on their fan funding campaign for the “Volition” album. They told their fan base that their time with record labels has resulted in the labels telling the band that they have no fan base and that they are not a viable option for a label to support. The fans wanted to show that is not the case. And the best way was for the fans to be a part of what Protest The Hero wanted to do, which was to record an album, promote it and tour on the back of it. The fans didn’t care how they did it because we bought into the WHY they were doing it.

Claude Sanchez’s WHY for Coheed and Cambria is to tell the Amory Wars story and guess what, thousands upon thousands of people bought into it. Comics, Albums, Novels, T-Shirts, Deluxe Packages, Live Shows and Vinyl Re-Issues. You name it, we have supported it.

So ask yourself, why do you want to be  a musician?

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Classic Songs to Be Discovered, Music, My Stories, Unsung Heroes

Take These Ten Rockmandments

Anyone seen Mel Brook’s “History Of The World” movie and that scene of Moses descending down the mountain yelling, ” Lord, take these fifteen commandments” and then one block of stone drops and then he starts to yell “Lord, take these Ten, Ten Commandments.”

Classic cinema. So as on ode to that movie, I have been listening to some tunes on the iPod. Each of these songs has a lyrical line that should be a new commandment.

1. THOU SHALT LIVE AND NEVER LIVE JUST TO KILL TIME.

City Limits

The band is “I Am Giant” and it is from the album, “The Horrifying Truth” released in 2011, however the song goes back a few years more as it came out on an EP.

“These city limits keep on getting bigger
Just when you thought you had made it out”

Anyone had that feeling before. Just when you thought that you had made it, the city limits are suddenly greater than what you thought they would be. Like that small town boy and girl in “Dont Stop Believin” or like those tramps in “Born To Run”.

“Are we living or merely killing time”

A brilliant lyric line, one of the best. It’s that good, it is self explanatory.

2. THOU SHALT MAKE THEIR ENEMIES INTO FADED MEMORIES.

Dearly Departed

From the 2014 “Men Of Honor” album by Adrenaline Mob. I love the mob. Russell Allen and Mike Orlando really do justice to this project. This song connects on all levels because we have all known someone like the person they sing about.

“And now your my enemy, soon to be a memory”

No one likes to be around people who drag them down. Enemies hang around if you let them. The best response to an enemy is to make them a memory.

“We were the best of friends, thought it would never end
I curse the day when they said you were selling me out”

There is a pretty good chance that the people you hang with right now are not the ones that you grew up with or spent a lot of time with.

3. THOU SHALT NOT FIGHT SOLO. THERE IS A STRENGTH IN NUMBERS.

Draw The Line

From the album, “O God Save Us All”. Disciple is like an enigma to me. They range from pop rock to heavy rock. This song connects on so many levels.

“Another crash, another fall
Another failure
Another choice i don’t want to remember
I been here too many times”

Who hasn’t been in a situation like this. Some more so than others. Me personally, I have been in a lot of situations like this. Choices I made that even know when I look back, i don’t want to remember.

“This is where I draw the line
This is where the old me dies
Light a match let it burn kiss it goodbye”

In a hospital room in 2010. That is where I drawed the line.

“Another battle I lost fighting solo”

It should be a commandment. Nothing is achieved in a vacuum. Ask for help and count on your loved ones.

4. THOU SHALT NOT WAKE ALONE. LOVE YOURSELF AND YOUR FAMILY. BE MERCIFUL.

Angel Of Mercy

The mighty Zakk Wylde and Black Label Society. What can I say about this song that I havent said already. It is a masterpiece and that lead break gives me goosebumps.

“I woke alone today
For all the birds have flown”

“No Angel Of Mercy
Is gonna hear my call”

It’s that vocal melody and the tone of the voice that makes it work. When you take into account the recent blood clot saga it just ups the emotional stakes a little bit more.

5. THOU SHALT NEVER CHANGE WHO THEY ARE. DON’T LET OTHERS DICTATE WHO YOU SHOULD BE AND WHAT YOU SHOULD DO.

It’s Time

Imagine Dragons and their mega selling “Night Visions” album. I can’t say I am a fan of the whole album but this song just stuck with me. Maybe because the vocal melody in the Chorus is identical to an instrumental song I wrote back in 1998 called “Moonlight Tango” which I used as one of my wedding waltz songs.

I am just the same as i was
Now don’t you understand that
I am never-changing who I am

6. THOU SHALT NOT BE ABLE TO GO BACK TO THE WAY IT USED TO BE. TIME MOVES ON. CHANGE IS CONSTANT. EVOLUTION IS ALL ABOUT CHANGE. EMBRACE CHANGE AND MOVE FORWARD.

Used To Be

From the band “Arrows To Athens” and their 2007 album “Kings And Thieves”. It is a David Hodges project. Yes, the same David Hodges that co-wrote the majority of the “Fallen” album by Evanescence with Ben Moody and Amy Lee.

“Take a breath
Take a long look around
Before you step
Because the tide is coming
Swallowing the ground
And there is no way to tell
If we will drown tonight”

It’s almost biblical with references to a tide that is coming and the uncertainty that the tide brings.

“We cannot go back to the way it used to be”

The commandment right there.

7. THOU SHALT NOT FAIL EVEN THOUGH FAILURE EXISTS.

Moth

From the new 2014 Hellyeah album “Blood For Blood” produced by the great man Kevin Churko. It could have come from a Mudvayne album. It was one of the first pieces of music that vocalist Chad Gray gravitated too for lyrics. And he goes to town on it.

“Treated like an animal since the day I was born”

A person born with a silver spoon will never relate however millions upon millions of others will.

“Like a moth to a flame
My wings burn away”
“Failure is not an option
But the option exists”

What a fucking line! What more can be said.

8. CHERISH WHAT YOU HAVE BECAUSE ONCE IT IS GONE, IT IS GONE FOREVER. 

Until It’s Gone

From the new Linkin Park album “The Hunting Party”.

“You don’t know what you got (x3)
Until its gone”

Pause.

Then BANG. The song groove kicks in again. Linkin Park are masters of the heavy pop rock song and Chester Bennington has the voice for it. Without him, Linkin Park would be just another band trying to make it. Chester is the X FACTOR.

9. DO NOT DWELL ON THOSE THAT NO LONGER CARE

Denial Waits

From Ashes Divide only album released in 2008, “Keep Telling Myself It’s Alright.”

“If I saw you right now
I’m embarrassed to say
I’d take you back
And we could just pretend you never went away”

It’s pathetic how we continue to dwell on someone who no longer cares for us in the vain hope that maybe they’ll come around and realize what they’ve left behind.

10. THERE IS NOTHING TO LOSE WHEN YOU ARE DOWN TO A POCKET FULL OF CHANGE

End Of My Rope

From Asphalt Ballet and their excellent debut album released in 1991.

Well it’s a ruthless world with a painted face
Ain’t nothing’ gonna change but the time and place

That’s the “History Of The World” in a nutshell.

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Copyright, Music, My Stories, Piracy, Stupidity, Treating Fans Like Shit

Attention, Affluence, Dominance and The Artist Is Somewhere There In Between. BUT WHY.

It irks me when a person that you are having an email conversation with CC’s in other people who really don’t need to be CC’d. Instead of coming back to the person they are originally communicating with on the email they reply back and CC a few more extra people in. It is like they are broadcasting something to someone. Maybe they want to CC in a Manager to show how great they are and how terrible I am. Maybe they just want to make me look bad. I do it as well however when I do CC in an extra person I tell the person that I am responding to why I am CC in that extra person in. I also tell the person that I is CC’d in why they are included with a question that seeks their point of view.

Maybe we all just want some attention. It seems we are all fighting for attention these days.

Guess how many people know who Kim Dotcom is?

According to the MPAA and the RIAA, he is the greatest money launderer the world has ever seen. They convinced the police force to send their SWAT teams to break down his door and arrest him in the early hours. And the funny thing is that he is virtually unknown to ordinary people. Even his companies MegaUpload and Mega are not known brands to a large portion of people. So how can this great criminal mastermind remain undetected to most ordinary people. Hell, I was in Eastern Europe and all the people who I spoke to didn’t even know who Kim Dotcom was.

This goes to show how the entertainment industries like the MPAA and the RIAA have used affluence to hijack proper due process in the courts. And that affluence doesn’t stop there. It is used to hijack many debates especially when it comes to legislation around copyright. It is unfortunate that the music industry as a whole seems to be interested in protecting their business models, dominance and control.

The biggest issue today is attention.

The record labels still believe that their affluence and their publicity campaigns will get people’s attention. But that is old school thinking. Real attention grows over time.

And attention is just part of the equation.

How do we compensate the artist themselves or the songwriters that wrote the song once they have received our attention. The Copyrights of the artists are held by the labels. The labels purchase these copyrights for a value that is far less than what they are worth. And that is a big problem between artist and label. Because the record label is using the copyrights that they have amassed over 80 years of dominance as bargaining chips in licensing deals.

Spotify pays the labels a license so that Spotify can have their music on the service. In addition Spotify also pays the labels when songs are streamed. Plus Spotify pays any profits it makes to its part owners. In the case of the US market, Spotify is partly owned by the labels. And all of this was possible because the labels amassed an arsenal of songs from the artists they signed. Did the artists receive any compensation in these corporate deals?

The environment that musicians operate in is changing all the time, and with that comes a requirement to be flexible and forward-thinking in their approach. In addition the expectations of musical fans about how they access music and how they wish to be serviced has changed dramatically over the past fifteen years. And the ones that are investing in innovation are the technological companies. The Record Labels did nothing except litigate. The artists just waited to see what transpired instead of thinking and planning their own innovation.

If you want to grow and prosper as an artist you need to be thinking ahead all the time. Not only do you need to keep pace with your fans’ expectations, but you also need to position yourself to identify and make the most of the opportunities when they arise.

Focus on “WHY” you create music rather than simply focusing on ‘WHAT’ music you deliver. This is an important message. The why is the message that your fans would connect with and follow. It is your vision. Your belief.

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Copyright, Music, My Stories, Piracy

Who Made APRA/AMCOS Gods On Piracy?

What kind of world do we live in where a royalties collection agency that has a business model based on copyright thinks that it has a right to have a say about what kind of legislation should be written. Talk about business model protectionism. Talk about a conflict of interest.

APRA/AMCOS which is a royalties collection agency in Australia is asking the government for harsher and stricter laws for people who download music. And they asked sent emails out to artists that have songs registered with them asking us to make sure our voice is heard. Basically it was a call to arms to toe the same line as them. Well, I don’t want people who download music to be litigated. I don’t want the government to write laws to protect crap business models. Because the truth of the matter is this. The APRA/AMCOS business model is based on copyright.

Now with streaming winning on all fronts and the purchases of MP3’s and CD’s drying up, APRA/AMCOS is financially challenged. And they don’t know what to do. So they hijack the Copyright debate. Copyright was always about getting works into the public domain after a reasonable period of time. And organisations like APRA/AMCOS have twisted the debate to make it all about money.

If the music world embraced what Napster offered back in 1999 well, a different conversation would be happening right now. But they didn’t and music piracy just kept on growing.

But online music piracy is declining. The war is over. Streaming has won. Each year more and more people take up legal streaming services. The money pie to split up will only get bigger as the services get bigger. It’s simple economics. But the corporations of old don’t look towards the future. They look towards RIGHT NOW. How do they get paid right now?

Spotify says music piracy in Australia is on the way down. The corporations that have business models based on copyright say the opposite. What is known is that hard-core pirates will always remain. And that is nothing new. They have always remained. Even in the pre-Napster days people pirated.

Artists say that Spotify and Pandora don’t give them a fair share of money. Spotify says they do pay the rightsholders. In 99% of cases the rightsholders are the record labels and the publishing corporations. And it those entities that are not filtering the money back to the artists.

Seen any record label scream up and down that Spotify is not paying.

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Music, My Stories, Unsung Heroes

Protest The Hero at The Manning Bar

I got back from Eastern Europe last Thursday morning and by Friday night I was at the Manning Bar in Sydney Uni watching Protest The Hero. The ticket for the night was $45 Australian plus booking fee of about $6. Compared to some of the prices I have paid for tickets, this was a good deal.

Clarity

A perfect way to kick off the show with the opener from “Volition”. Guitarist Luke Hoskin was shredding while co-guitarist Tim Millar was rock solid. Also impressive was Mike Ieradi on drums who comes from another favourite band of mine called “The Kindred” or otherwise known as “Today I Caught the Plague”. Touring bassist and producer Cam McLellan was also very comfortable on the bass guitar.

“Affluence permitting a mutual annihilation”

I love that lyric. Money and power permits people to rewrite history to suit their point of view. What do you think the corporations that got rich from buying the copyright of the creators are doing right now.

Bone Marrow

From 2008’s “Fortress” album. Rody Walker rocked. In between songs he gave us some stories and laughter. He was comfortable on stage and well seasoned. It was like a rock comedy.

“And there he sat like a stone
With promises broke like a bone”

Power and wealth corrupts the soul. How many times have our leaders or our employers promised us something and then broken that promise all in the name of keeping the numbers on their bank accounts ticking forward.

Underbite

Anyone seen the fantastic puppet clip for this song? Another song from the “Volition” album.

“So is everyone having a good time tonight?
Good, I’m glad (I couldn’t actually care less)”

Some of our musical heroes came to this level. They couldn’t care less. It was all take and no give back.

“Now you comprehend our complex relationship—consumer/consumed.
You’re just some stupid kid and I’m a megalomaniac”

Sounds like Gene Simmons to me right there.

Hair-Trigger

From the excellent “Scurrilous” album released in 2011.

“I wrote a Goddamn love song to praise everything I hate”

There are some funny lyrics in the catalog of Protest The Hero. Rody Walker doesn’t mind having some fun and he doesn’t take himself too seriously. This is what music and the live show are meant to be. FUN.

Bloodmeat

Also from 2008’s “Fortress” album.

Mist

If Gene Simmons believes that rock is dead then he should have been at this show. Although the venue is a small one, it still didn’t stop the floor from erupting. By now we had a few more stories from Rody and an audience member did a back flip on stage that everyone thought was going to end bad. “Mist” is by far the most catchiest and hectic song in the Protest The Hero catalog. Especially the whole outro sing-a-long section.

“You’re as deep as the grave, and you’re marching to the heartbeat of the land”

Bury The Hatchet

They went back to the full length debut, 2005’s “Kezia” album.

“Well place your justice in my palm
And then I’ll make a fist
And punch your grimaced face”

How many times have you said, “that’s not fair” or “they can’t do that” in your life? I bet a lot. And people still get away with shit. These lyrics sum up my feelings about people who get away with crimes both civil and criminal just because they had the capacity to pay for justice to be tweaked and argued from a certain point of view.

The Dissentience

Another song from 2008’s “Fortress” album.

C’est La Vie

From the “Scurrilous” album released in 2011.

“Stepped off a building to find concrete evidence,
Concrete evidence that he’d ever make an impact
Fiction splattered into fact
And his fiction splattered into another sidewalk painting on display”

Again the comical overtones about stepping off a building and splattering your brains and blood all over the sidewalk.

Sex Tapes

Also from the “Scurrilous” album released in 2011

All the editors are hard, all the journalists are wet
All the boys are jerking off in private on the internet

The world needed Rody Walker to tell it like it is.

Everyone’s naked!
Somewhere out there in-ter-net
Somewhere out there in-ter-net

So true on that. Forget about piracy on the web. Nudity and sex still rules the search engines.

Reflected, directed, by one simple fact
Be careful what you’re looking at because it might be looking back

With all of the Celebrity Cloud hacks that happened, private photos now have over a million other eyes looking right back at them.

Get if off, get it off online
Get it off get if off get it off online

Again some of the most funniest shit i have heard. Getting off, online. What a classic.

Plato’s Tripartite

Oh how the system fails you completely
when monstrous children get treated so sweetly.
The violence is praised, the decision cemented
(they seem like nice kids)
Crimes go committed, but never lamented
(that doesn’t change what they did)

When PTH go all serious to get a message of injustice across they do it pretty good.

No one is innocent if they go free

How good is that lyric! Just because a guilty person was set free it does not mean that they are innocent.

Blindfolds Aside

From 2005’s “Kezia” album.

We woke up as men but tonight we’ll sleep as killers
Five soldiers forever sedated with the, “No one’s responsible”
psychological drama of our social justice dribble, dribble, dribble

Again they deal with the injustices of life. In this case people have to carry out the duties of their job. The lyric line of “a sin that paid his debts”.

Sequoia Throne

The closer for the show came from 2008’s “Fortress” album.

They’re not the ones who cause us harm – we are!

And in the end that is how the funny and intellectual show ended. We are the ones responsible for our lot in life.

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Copyright, Music, My Stories, Piracy

Eastern Europe

News in relation to piracy crackdown measures has been down the rounds a fair bit. In Australia, the Government is looking at a range of measures that range from cracking down on individuals to a graduated response scheme. Meanwhile the ACCC (which is a consumer advocacy group) believes that the government should do more to do away with the Australian Tax that leads to price discrimination.

Then you have the Expendables 3 leak way before it’s box office debut. And the results are in after its box office takings and they are not good. Is piracy to blame for these takings? One side of the debate will say yes while another will say no.

Then you have the Russian Government taking down sites that it deems breaks the laws without any due process and the majority of US studios taking to court the Russian version of Facebook for piracy.

I am doing the rounds of Eastern Europe at the moment and I can tell you first hand that piracy is king. Each street stall or shop deals with pirated goods. I walked into a CD shop and all of the CDs and DVDs were copies made from illegal downloads. I walk into any clothing shop and I am greeted with gear from Adidas, Nike, Puma or any other reputable product. And while the owner tells me they are the real deal you don’t have to be a scientist to work out that they are forgeries.

But in all of this piracy, 40,000 people turned up to watch a Serbian singer name Ceca in Ohrid on 1st August. In all of this piracy, Metallica constantly tours Eastern Europe, selling thousands upon thousands of concert tickets in areas where actual sales of recorded music is non-existent. Iron Maiden is another band that is king of Eastern Europe.

Then you notice that each house has cable TV and that a lot of the people don’t even pay for it. Yep, most of them are cord cutting into a legit box and running a cable into their apartment, unit or house. And while Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead are kings in English-speaking countries, they do not even rate a mention in Eastern Europe. They are just not part of the conversation.

Yet with all of this piracy going on in Eastern Europe it still hasn’t dented the people’s will to create new product. Movies, music and TV shows are still being made at a high rate. There are so many good and talented artists doing the rounds in Eastern Europe and they do it because they love to create and perform. The aspect of being rich and famous doesn’t even come into the conversation.

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My Stories

Holidays

Its been a crazy week.

It all started with the MH17 disaster. Waking up on Friday morning, I was in shock along with the rest of the world at the loss of innocent lives. And I was concerned.

I was concerned because I was flying from Australia to Europe the next day (Saturday afternoon) at 4pm. So I asked my wife to call the travel agent and see if anything has changed for our flight.

Of course, our flight got changed to 10am. I was like WTF.

And I had questions.

Like when was the travel agent going to call and tell us that the flight changed. Of course the travel agent put the onus back on us. She said that they advise all of their customers to call and check 24 hours before they depart in case something changes. I have no problem with calling, however when I booked the flights back in January, she did not mention nothing of the sort.

Anyway, it got changed, it got changed. What else could I do except roll with the new schedule. So I asked if our connecting flight at Bangkok got changed as well.

The answer was NO. I was not happy right now. So instead of having a 2 hour stop over at Bangkok, we now had a 8 hour stop over. With three kids aged 9, 7 and 2, I did my best to book a flight that had hardly any waiting time. And now it was coming all undone.

And it had nothing to do with MH17. It was just airline politics. But if it wasn’t for the M17 disaster I would have missed my flight because I had no intention of calling the travel agent.

So on Saturday morning at 4am we got up, left home at 5am and drove to Sydney airport. We checked in at 7am, had some brekkie and then boarded a Thai Airways plane to Bangkok. 9 hours later we arrived in Bangkok.

The Bangkok eight-hour wait was a killer. And the following lyrical line from the song “City Limits” just kept on repeating in my head;

ARE WE LIVING OR ARE WE MERELY KILLING TIME.

While we walked the airport to kill time, the Thai workers just kept on saying “how cute” to my little guy. And they always reached out to touch him.

Now my little guy is not a strangers person, so he always moved his head or body away to avoid their touch. And then, a few hours before our midnight flight, he avoided another strangers touch and this time in his tiredness his chin hit the ground and he split his lip. He screamed and screamed and screamed until he fell asleep on my shoulder.

And to top it off, the Austrian airplane we caught was even worse. While the Thai Airways plane had a decent amount of leg room and space, the Austrian airplane had neither. 10 hours later we arrived in Vienna.

And we had a four-hour wait before we caught our final plane to Skopje. This wait was okay and bearable. However it was not without hiccup. Austrian Air had overbooked the flight, so they asked people if anyone wanted to surrender their ticket and they would be compensated 260 Euro and given a flight six hours later.

After two flights totalling 19 hours and two waiting periods totalling 12 hours, I was not giving anything up.

So as is the norm, hundreds of people stormed the boarding gate.

As I had kids, I had priority to board first and thank god for that. We caught our plane and 1 hour and 30 minutes later we touched down in Skopje and prepared ourselves for a three-hour drive to our destination of Struga.

And holidaying is meant to be relaxing and easy.

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A to Z of Making It, Music, My Stories

Technique x (Emotion + Feel) = Angel Of Mercy from Black Label Society

I just finished doing some hard late nights and early mornings watching the FIFA World Cup tournament for the last four weeks.

As a football youth coach, it was great to see a positive attacking mindset employed by the teams. And football coaching is getting better all the time as the modern-day managers and their coaches try to find a balance between technique and understanding the game. I have seen coaches spend a lot of time on technique that the players train in isolation for such long periods that they get lost when it comes to a game.

The problem is that too much focus on technique takes away time spent on the deeper aspects of the game. Players might be great at performing drills. But without understanding how the game is played, they can’t use their technique effectively. Sure, they can take on a player and beat them with incredible technique however soccer is a team game. While Brazil has Neymar and Argentina has Messi and Portugal has Cristiano Ronaldo, Germany has a team. And it was that team that won the FIFA World Cup.

Musicians are no different. There are millions of guitarists out there that have unbelievable technique. But how many of them are great songwriters. Because we all know someone with an amazing voice or great guitar talent. And maybe they should have made or could have made it. But they didn’t make it. Because the best and the brightest don’t make it the top on technical abilities alone. Music is a game and it needs to be played like one.

I just finished watching a YouTube view of Kelly Valleau playing an acoustic cover of “Fade To Black” from Metallica. The technique exhibited at pulling off the arrangement involved him combining the rhythms with the vocal lines and the lead breaks. It’s first class. All up the video has had 463,658 views on Youtube. Has anyone else heard of this phenomenal guitar player.

And the thing is, “Fade To Black” was written and arranged by James Hetfield who is the anti-hero of a technical player however his style of fast palm-muted down-picking ushered in a new style of rhythm playing. Look at any Metallica story out there and you will see that James more or less learned/mastered his craft in a band environment instead of spending countless days performing drills on his own. That’s not to say that if you woodshed you will not get far.

A favourite of mine is Zakk Wylde and he woodshedded from the age of fourteen, amassing an amazing technique. And no one can say that Zakk hasn’t created or being involved in creating some memorable songs. Just listen to “Angel Of Mercy” from the “Catacombs” album and you will see what I mean. It demonstrates unbelievable technique in the solo section while the verses and the chorus show the emotive side.

Hell, listen to his whole career and you will see what I mean. Same goes for a lot of other guitarists.

Great music must contain emotion. That is why “Angel Of Mercy” connected with me. It hits me emotionally and it makes me feel something. All the great songs do? And because I care for the song, I can’t stop sharing it and talking about it with people who want to listen. And when music is done right, it sells itself.

I am a great believer that technical abilities are a good tool to have in your arsenal as a musician, however it should be just one tool of many tools that are employed in the creation of your latest masterpiece. Don’t lose focus that a song has many moving parts and the vocal melodies along with the actual lyrics go a long way to making that connection with the audience as much as the riff.

Like the new Judas Priest album “Redeemer Of Souls”. A lot of the songs have some great musical moments and some cool riffs however the vocal melodies just missed the mark on the majority of the songs. “Halls Of Valhalla”, “Sword of Damocies”, “Secrets Of The Dead”, “Battle Cry” and “Beginning Of The End” are the exception, especially “Battle Cry”. And most of these songs are part of the deluxe edition.

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A to Z of Making It, Classic Songs to Be Discovered, Derivative Works, Influenced, Music, My Stories, Unsung Heroes

Compendium – Zakk Wylde

Before the Ozzy gig, Jeffrey Wielandt (aka Zakk Wylde) was just another guitarist among thousands of guitarists that worked day jobs, gave guitar lessons to make extra cash and spent their nights playing the local bar scene. In Zakk’s case, his night gig was a band called “Zyris”. And it was after a “Zyris” performance at a club in Sayreville, New Jersey that got the attention of a person called Dave Feld.

Feld asked Zakk to put together a demo tape with some press photos and he will try his best to get his friend Mark Weiss (fresh from just doing a Ozzy shoot), to hand it over to the Osbourne camp.

Eventually the tape found its way to the Osbourne camp and an audition was organised in L.A. Present at the audition were drummer Randy Castillo and bassist Phil Soussan.

In the end it came down to Wylde and one other candidate, a guitarist named Jimi Bell who had worked previously with Joan Jett. Bell would go on to play with Geezer Butler’s solo band and, more recently, design the Shredneck guitar practice tool.

Before the Ozzman audition, Zakk had already changed the spelling of his last name from Wielandt to Wylant as no one could ever pronounce the original. The Zack part came after his wife mentioned that it would be a cool name if they have a kid. The final piece of the name came after a drinking session with Ozzy, and hearing a song from Kim Wilde, the British Pop Singer.

“Miracle Man”

It’s 1987. Ozzy, Zakk, Phil Soussan and Randy Castillo had just begun writing songs for the “No Rest for the Wicked” album in Brighton, England. In the end, “Miracle Man” is credited to Zakk Wylde, Ozzy Osbourne and Bob Daisley.

The riff. A metal classic. Taking its cues from Jimi Hendrix’s “Foxy Lady”, Zakk did what any metal player would do. Add some fast F# pedal point 16th notes, give it some distortion, give it some attitude and the rest is history. Make sure that you pay attention to the Aeolian/Pentatonic lead break.

“Breaking All The Rules”

This is Zakk Wylde referencing a lot of Lynch’isms and Rhoads’isms. As a fan, it is a damn good listen.

“Devil’s Daughter”

It’s the chicken picking licks merged with the traditional pentatonic licks that shatter this song out of the stratosphere. The song works because it’s structure is not the usual pop format.

Coming into the “No More Tears” sessions Ozzy’s piece d’ resistance was still the “Blizzard Of Ozz” album and it was an album that came from a band firing on all cylinders. While the albums that came after still sold a million plus, it was purely because we liked a few songs. Until 1991’s “No More Tears”. I was blown away. There is no filler and each track is killer.

“No More Tears” gave Zakk Wylde a career and Ozzy another re-birth.

“Mr. Tinkertrain”

Musically, it is a great opener, from the Jewelry Box intro, to the groovy verses and the heaviness of the chorus. It’s like a Big Top, Step-Right-In Circus opener. And Ozzy’s voice was the ringmaster. Step right in if you are brave. And the drumming from the departed Castillo is just powerful.

It’s written by Ozzy Osbourne, Zakk Wylde and Randy Castillo with a sinister lyrical theme that borders on the uncomfortable. But hey, if anyone can get away with it, it’s Ozzy and maybe Alice Copper.

“I Don’t Want To Change The World”

It was the lead-off single and it more or less summed up what it was to be a metal head.

I don’t want to change the world
I don’t want the world to change me

Just leave us be. Don’t try to change us. The song is written by Ozzy Osbourne, Zakk Wylde, Randy Castillo and Lemmy Kilmister. And Lemmy delivered the killer lyrics;

Tell me I’m a sinner I got news for you
I spoke to God this morning and he don’t like you

Musically, the song takes its structure from the Randy Rhoads classic “I Don’t Know” even all the way down to the slow interlude. Zakk was very good at referencing Randy and he did it tastefully.

“Mama, I’m Coming Home”

Only Zakk Wylde could have written the music to this song. It has all of his trademarks over it. The Southern Rock intro, the pinch harmonics, pentatonic runs. You name it, this song has it. And yes, this song is way ahead of its time. Hell, all of those country artists that crossed over with Rock songs had a perfect template right here.

The song is written by Zakk Wylde, Lemmy Kilmister and Ozzy Osbourne. Legend has it that the term “Mama” is a nickname that Ozzy has for Sharon.

Times have changed and times are strange
Here I come, but I ain’t the same

“Desire”

It’s another metal head classic written by Zakk Wylde, Lemmy Kilmister, Ozzy Osbourne and Randy Castillo.

I always knew what I wanted to be
I knew for sure, I knew for sure

All we wanted was our music and we wanted it loud.

I gotta keep rocking cause it makes me crazy
It makes me crazy who needs to be cool

Being a metal head is all about being uncool. That is why so many genres started to appear. When metal became mainstream and cool, other more extreme genres started to appear so that people could be uncool again.

“No More Tears”

“No More Tears” has a song writer committee all over it. Listed on the credits are Zakk Wylde, Randy Castillo, Ozzy Osbourne, Mike Inez and producer John Purdell.

The bass intro just gets the groove happening and it sucks you in. Again another song that only Zakk Wylde could have written over one hell of a bass riff.

It’s got that Black Sabbath down tuned grunt. CHECK.
It’s got slide guitar. CHECK.
It’s got a descending chromatic riff in the Chorus. CHECK
It’s got a melodic lead break just before a wicked Pentatonic lead break. CHECK

And at seven minutes long, there is no filler. Every second counts.

The light in the window is a crack in the sky
Then the riff.
A stairway to darkness in the blink of an eye
Then the riff.
A levee of tears to learn she’ll never be coming back
Then the riff.

Brilliant.

“S.I.N”

The song is written by Ozzy Osbourne, Zakk Wylde and Randy Castillo. It’s the Randy Rhoads “Goodbye To Romance” reference that grabs me in the PRE-CHORUS.

And what about the chorus?

Whoa – Who turned off the lights ?
Whoa – A shadow in the night
Whoa – It wasn’t meant to be
I can’t take this alone
Don’t leave me on my own tonight

As popular as Ozzy is, the reason why we love him is because of his flaws. A tragic hero.

Shattered dreams lay next to broken glass
I wonder if tonight will be my last
I need an angel who can rescue me
To save me from my mental symphony

Yep, the morning after a rampage.

“Hellraiser”

Legend has it that Killerwatt bassist Terry Nails wrote the bass riff that kicks the song off. Nails was one of the bassists on the “No More Tears” sessions and he is uncredited for his role is shaping some of the songs on the album. In the end “Hellraiser” is listed as being written by Ozzy Osbourne, Zakk Wylde and Lemmy Kilmister.

With the song sitting at number 7 on the track list, only the real fans would have gone this deep in. And it is another great track. It shows just how good “No More Tears” is as an album.

I’m living on an endless road
Around the world for rock and roll

This is what every aspiring musician wanted to do. Travel around the world, playing the music that they created, getting up to mischief and just living the life. It was never about the money, but about the lifestyle.

Walking out on another stage
Another town, another place

Motorhead also did their own version, however you need to be fan of Lemmy’s voice to appreciate it.

People keep telling me it’s bad for my health
But kicking back don’t make it

Don’t know how people could have bought the stories of Ozzy’s retirement. He more or less states that he just can’t kick back.

“Time After Time”

A ballad. Not as good as “Road To Nowhere” or “Mama, I’m Coming Home”, but still a worthy addition. It is written by Zakk Wylde and Ozzy Osbourne.

Day after day
I watched love fade away
I wanted love to stay

Yep, what one desires in love doesn’t mean that the other desires the same.

“Zombie Stomp”

It is written by Ozzy Osbourne, Zakk Wylde and Randy Castillo.

I don’t need no doctor
But I need something to kill the pain
Don’t know what I’m after
But the pressure driving me insane

The life of an addict is summed up right there. Finding issues and fires were fires and issues do not exist.

“A.V.H”

It is another song written by Ozzy Osbourne, Zakk Wylde and Randy Castillo.

Never forsaking what a dreamer needs to know
Rules meant for breaking and the seeds I have to sow
Riding on a train that I can’t control
No one else to blame and I can’t let go

Don’t forget what you want to be, because if you do, you are going to be on a train that you can’t control. And there will be no one to blame.

“Road To Nowhere”

Another ballad and at song number 11, the quality is still there. It’s better than “Mama I’m Coming Home”. The song is written by Osbourne, Wylde and Castillo.

The wreckage of my past keeps haunting me
It just won’t leave me alone
I still find it all a mystery
Could it be a dream?

One part of the legacy of Ozz will be the drunkenness. The bat, the dove, the Alamo, the line of ants and the rest. In other words, the wreckage of the past just keeps on coming back. The other will the music.

“Pride And Glory” is Zakk’s most underrated work. The self-titled debut came out in 1994 and it was way ahead of its time. Hell, Kid Rock made the style of merging Country, Southern Rock and Metal into a multi-million dollar business. People said that Zakk Wylde was crazy to leave Ozzy. They said to him that he could have played arenas forever, instead he is going to be playing small clubs from now on. But those people just didn’t understand. Zakk Wylde is in the business to play the god damn guitar.

Pride and Glory’s musical equation was one for the mathematicians’. This is what happens when the Allman Brothers, Black Sabbath, Eagles, Led Zeppelin, Al DiMeola, Randy Rhoads, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Cream and the Marshall Tucker Band are all added and multiplied and divided together.

“Horse Called War”

The groove and that riff are heavy as hell and the title was perfect. The track could have been done on a Ozzy record, hell it could have appeared on a Metallica record as it’s got a real thrash rhythm.

And that solo was recorded all live. Yep, there is no backing rhythm guitar track. It’s just Zakk, James and Brian.

If the end be a comin’
I soon be a bummin’
All you Jesus freaks I hope you’re wrong
I’ve got so much left to live for

The humour.

“Harvester Of Pain”

Again, it’s got a killer groove and a great nod to some tasty southern rock in the verses and the chorus just rocks it out of the ballpark.

Every day’s a living hell
The reaper be weaving his spell
Sergeant take me aside
Tell me son, Peace ain’t what we’re here to sell…

War is not pretty, but you know what, neither is the six-o-clock news.

“The Chosen One”

It’s got that Dazed and Confused feel, and as is the norm with Zakk, he keeps the Southern Rock grooves rooted in Black Sabbath grooves. Checkout the strings from Paul Buckmaster in the Chorus. The song also pays tribute to Zakk’s father.

So glad I got to know you papa
I’m so glad I was the Chosen One

“Cry Me A River”

If Kings Of Leon recorded the song it would have been a hit. Hell the vocal line sounds like Kings Of Leon and it is almost 10 years before they broke through. It’s very Creedence and the solo starts out as a pedal steel lick that Zakk borrowed from Jerry Donahue of The Hellecasters. And then the song develops into a country metal tour de force. And it was the oldest song to be included on the album, written back in 1990.

Tell me now girl
Where have all the good times gone?

How many times have we said those same words throughout your life.

“Found A Friend”

Road To Nowhere Part II. A great song.

And no one said it was gonna be easy
I found out that ain’t no damn lie

Brilliant. You know when I was young my father kept on telling me that life is never easy. But back when I was young I was bullet proof. No one could tell me any different. Fast forward to now, I’m with a job, a mortgage and a family to support, I can tell you that life is not easy. It is beautiful, but never easy.

“Fadin Away”

A great piano ballad in remembrance of Zakk’s mother and a real testament to the talent of Zakk Wylde. He is a fantastic guitar player that has a great knack for riffing and soloing and he is also a very competent piano player. Check out his acoustic solo as well. Brilliant.

Ossmosis was next. It was a troubled album with a lot of changes. Ozzy was working with Steve Vai at one stage, then with other hit maker writers and then with Zakk Wylde back in the fold. Michael Wagener was first hired to produce.

“Perry Mason”, “See You on the Other Side”, “Tomorrow”, “Old LA Tonight”, “Aimee”, “Living with the Enemy” and “Slow Burn” got the Wagener treatment. Of these tracks, both “Aimee” and “Living with the Enemy” have been released as B-Side singles. The track “Slow Burn” has never been released. The label initially wanted the new album to sound exactly like “No More Tears” however they then changed their mind and they wanted the album to sound like “Soundgarden”. In came Michael Beinhorn.

“Perry Mason”

Musically, the song is brilliant. Lyrically it is terrible. It is credited to Zakk Wylde, John Purdell and Ozzy Osbourne. The song is packed with plenty of Zakkisms from the bends over the bass riff in the intro/chorus to that shredelicious lead break.

“See You on the Other Side”

Another gem that Zakk and Ozzy co-wrote with Lemmy Kilmister. How good is that simple syncopated bass drum/bass intro and then Zakk cuts in with a G to Em to C arpeggios.

“Thunder Underground”

This is the birth of Black Label Society right here. It’s heavy, it’s aggressive and its violent. And it’s written by Zakk Wylde, Geezer Butler and Ozzy Osbourne.

Your Appetite For Power
Subvert Your Every Hour
But Every Time The Mighty Fall

Lyrics that ring true today.

“Old L.A. Tonight”

Another world-class ballad. It is another Wylde, Purdell and Osbourne composition. The pentatonic lead breaks from Zakk kill it.

Tell Me Where We’re Going
I’m So Afraid ‘Cos I Don’t Know
What’s Going On With My Life

Yep, when you are young you don’t care about the future. As you get older you start to care.

“Throwin It All Away”

“Book Of Shadows” tried but it didn’t get out of second gear except for “Throwin It All Away” which is about the passing of Shannon Hood from Blind Melon.

“The Rose Petalled Garden”

1999 saw the release of “Sonic Brew” and the arrival of Black Label Society. It was one of the heaviest and most hostile record ever made. And it shredded, just when Nu-Metal made it even more uncool to shred.

“All For You”

A year later, “Stronger Than Death” came to be. It was a violent album and “All For You” got the violence started.

“Counterfeit God”

Also from the STD album.

We’ve washed your brain and cleansed your soul
Till’ nothing’s all you need to know
Hand over your will and then you’ll see
Now get on your knees and worship me

It looks like the Miracle Man or Metallica’s “Leper Messiah” got out of his cell and is back to his old tricks of getting

“Bleed for Me”

1919 Eternal came in 2002 and it is one of my favourite Black Label Society releases. And what a story behind the making of it. Like how some of the songs came from the “Down To Earth” sessions or how the original title of the album was Deathcore WarMachine Eternal. Or how the album is dedicated to Zakk’s father, who passed away before the release of the album. 1919 was the year his father was born and Zakk described his fathers credo of strength and determination as the basis for Black Label Society. Then there his fathers story of being raised in an orphanage, going off to fight in World War 2, coming back from war, getting married, raising a family and then outliving his wife.

By now the Black Label Society tours became campaigns. Recruitment drives. There was no such thing as fans as all of the fans became chapter members. When BLS went out on stage, the venue resembled a clubhouse. They made it their own.

The lyrics say it all. Zakk’s bleeding for you and you are bleeding for him.

“Lords of Destruction”

By track 2, it was clear that 1919 Eternal was a more pissed off and angrier album than the last two albums. Musically, it was a revolution against the Nu Metal movement led by Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park. “Lords Of Destruction” has two classic lyrical lines.

Peace is a word that no one cares of knowing
Death is the drug of choice amongst the masses

“Bridge to Cross”

Another Black Label motto that life is just another bridge to cross. You ask no questions. Whatever work it is you gotta do, you gotta do it.

Just think about the bridges Zakk needed to cross. He got dropped from Geffen. Then he tried to play nice, kiss ass and secure a deal with Interscope. They wanted him to drop the denim and leather, wear shorts and get a haircut. Just the fact that Black Label Society exists is a testament to the bridges that needed to be crossed.

And what about the emotive lead break.

“Berserkers”

It’s the Tool like groove that got me hooked. While other songs like “Mass Murder Machine”, “Genocide Junkies” and “Graveyard Disciples” had great intros or a great groove, “Beserkers” has it all.

Drinkin’, pukin’, pissin’, and fightin’
Startin’ all over again

It’s comedy. Like the fictitious band Bad News and their song, “Warrior”.

“Raping, rooting, looting and a shooting”

“Doomsday Jesus”

“The Blessed Hellride” came a year later in 2003 and it looked like Zakk went out riding that horse called war again.

Horsemen rolls, tomorrow’s fading fast
Make damn sure, aint nothings gonna last

“Stillborn”

It’s got Ozzy Osbourne guesting. Bet ya that you can’t differentiate between Zakk’s vocal style and Ozzy’s. And what a F#m groove that Zakk locks down.

“Fire It Up”

“Mafia” came in 2005 and it is one of the band’s most commercially successful releases. And what about this little beauty. It’s like Cream on peptides and steroids.

“In This River”

The track “In This River” was written before the death of Zakk Wylde’s friend and fellow guitarist Dimebag Darrell, but it has since been dedicated to him

“Concrete Jungle”

“Shot to Hell” is one hell of an underrated album. After the successful sales of “Mafia” a bigger label came knocking in Roadrunner Records. Coming out in 2006, it was the band’s first (and only) record to have been released by Roadrunner.

“Hell Is High”

This is the offspring of “Paranoid” and “No More Tears”.

“New Religion”

Great 2 minute piano intro and then it goes into a Tool like groove.

“Faith Is Blind”

Chaotic and heavy.

“Blood Is Thicker Than Water”

Beatles like vibe.

“Lead Me to Your Door”

Reminds me of Queen’s “The Show Must Go On”.

“Not Going Away”

By the time “Black Rain” came out in 2007, you can tell that Zakk’s style and abilities had far outgrown the Ozzman. Written by Zakk Wylde, Kevin Churko and Ozzy Osbourne. Again the BLS style swampy groove is prominent.

Get out of my way
There’s nothing you can do to change what I say

“I Don’t Wanna Stop”

Another song written by Zakk Wylde, Kevin Churko and Ozzy Osbourne.

All my life I’ve been over the top
I don’t know what I’m doing
All I know is I don’t wanna stop

What does the Chorus sound like?

“Countdown’s Begun”

The song is written by the normal trio of Osbourne, Wylde and Churko. It starts of like a Zakkified version of “Rock N Roll Aint Noise Pollution”. During the verse riffs, it sounds like the “Facing Hell” intro. Then the Chorus references the “No More Tears” chorus.

I see the death and the disaster
There is no happy ever after
The time has come
Countdown’s begun

“Godspeed Hellbound”

“Order of the Black” came out in 2010 and this should have been the opening track. Instead it was track number 8 on the album and it is one damn good album. The song is fast and groovy and how good is that ode to “Diary Of A Madman” that comes in at the 2.20 minute mark.

“War of Heaven”

It comes right after “Godspeed Hellbound”. It shows the depth of the album were some of the best tracks appear very late.

“Overlord”

It’s track 2. The song has Black Sabbath influences all over it. Hell, Zakk does Ozzy and Black Sabbath better than Ozzy and Black Sabbath. How good is that “Children of The Grave” section and lead break.

“Parade of the Dead”

It comes after “Overlord” and it has a violent bastard riff that reminds me of “Immigrant Song” from Led Zeppelin.

“Shallow Grave”

I always dig a piano style ballad from the Zakkster and man for some reason I can’t shake the Coldplay resemblance.

“My Dying Time”

“Catacombs of the Black Vatican” was written in 25 days. And “My Dying Time” sums up the 25 credo. It is groove heavy and very jam like. The lead breaks again take the song to a whole new level, from the calculated harmonies to the pure shred abandonment that comes in between. Plus the song sounds references the musical feel of “Stillborn”.

“Angel of Mercy”

It’s one of the best ballads Zakk has recorded and it’s the solo that takes it into the stratosphere. It is thematic, and it builds dramatically. Back in the Nineties, people looked down on artists who worked out their solos. Well they should listen to the worked out solo on “Angel Of Mercy”. The intro is like a “Stairway”-type thing with a bend, A minor pentatonics, and then some Al Di Meola scales. All of them are written. I can play any one of them for you note-for-note, back-to-back.

“Damn the Flood”

High energy blues boogie that breaks down into a half-time groove just before Wylde takes the best solo.

“Empty Promises”

The drum groove sets it up and Zakk starts to reference “Would” from Alice In Chains and then it goes into a “Heaven And Hell” style riff. Brilliant.

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If Game Of Thrones Was A Rock Band

Game Of Thrones is on everyone’s lips these days. In Australia, it is also one of the TV shows that a lot of Australian’s download via peer-to-peer networks. With such a high piracy rate of people obtaining their content for free, you wouldn’t expect people to spend a decent amount of money to travel large distances and queue outside a Game of Thrones exhibition in Sydney.

But that is exactly what happened. Even though the exhibition is for free, the fans of the show spent their hard-earned dollars to get to the venue and then spend their time waiting to get in.

On opening day, people waited for six hours to get in. See what happens when a TV show is available to all even though it is meant to be locked up behind paywalls. You get people queuing up for days on end just to see the Iron Throne. This is the world we live in today, where a TV show based on a cult novel is bigger than a rock star. It used to be that people queued in lines like this for their favourite act.

And in this case the term groupie involves everyone. Teenagers to the elderly and moms and dads and their obsession for the series is all at different levels. And super fans paid above $500 in travel related expenses to be at the exhibition. It’s like when your favourite band comes to town and you fork out your cash for Meet and Greets and VIP passes.

No one could have predicted that George R.R. Martin would have created a cultural phenomenon. However as good as the stories are from Martin, it is the visual aspect from the TV show that is overseen by the show runners that is causing the cultural impact. Plus the casting of Sean Bean in Season 1 as Eddard Stark was a master stroke.

And as much as the Corporations moan and complain about piracy taking away from the artists or the creators, what piracy is showing is that people from all over the world can access and be involved with a cultural phenomenon. Piracy leads to greater opportunities.

If Game Of Thrones was a rock band and the band had those levels of piracy, expect their shows to sell out in minutes.

If Game Of Thrones was a rock band and the band is doing a free show like the GOT exhibition then expect pandemonium to ensure.

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