Ready to Rock

Here's the new band. As you can see, we have a new Drummer. We're rehearsing, gearing up for the new world tour. There are a few hitches, though. We're not sure when we're going to start because one of us isn't potty-trained yet. I'll let you decide which one. Our booking agent is up in arms and some of the venues are threatening to pull out if we don't give them a solid commitment. The way I see it, our fans won't let that happen. We discussed it as a band and their mom, I mean our manager, has agreed that we just can't risk an accident on stage. So we'll keep practicing and we'll let everyone know when we're ready to get on the road.
Oh, by the way, if anyone can think of a good name for us, we're all ears!

The Who?

I've never been really into the Who--even when I was hanging out with the mods in San Fernando Valley, CA back in 1985 with our thriftshop clothes and peace symbols. Certainly not the way I'm into Pink Floyd, the Beatles, John Mayer or Coldplay (really the only four acts that exist right now--and yes, the Beatles will always exist!). But when my 10-year-old, Dinky Jr., and I got 20th-row floor seats to their show last month, I became a convert. So did Dinky Jr., I think. He recognized "Who Are You" which is the theme song to C.S.I., possibly the worst show on network television right now.
People tell me that this concert was nothing like the last time they were here, well over 20 years ago, when they were strapping young (well, at least younger than they are now) lads who could jump around on stage without losing their breath, but all I have to say to that is, I'm glad I didn't see that show. This one far exceeded any expectations I had. It was a tad loud (even Daltry plugged his ears at one point) for my taste but Dinky Jr. had earplugs in so I wasn't worried about him.
We were told that the show was being filmed for a DVD and I saw some cameras trained on us, so we might show up in it. Dinky Jr. is pretty cute, after all, and for a 10-year-old, he was gettin' down, as they say.
The light show was pretty good and I loved the images that appeared in the flat screens behind the band. I loved the nostalgia of said images and was touched by the last song, which seemed to be a look back to all they had been and a lament on the fact that there's only two of them left.
They're old men, sure, but they can still rock. Pete, if anything, has gotten better on guitar. I did notice, though, that on the intro to "Pinball Wizard," rather than playing an accoustic, he played a Strat through an accoustic sim pedal. What that implies is that his fingers aren't as strong as they used to be but that probably isn't true. He probably just likes the Strat better. At any rate, it sounded fabulous, perfect, and it gives me hope that the technology is out there that makes great sounds easier to create.
It was a smart move getting Zak Starky on drums. I didn't realize who he was until Pete introduced him. As soon as I heard the name, Starky, I knew. I hate to say this but it's the truth: He rocks harder than his dad!
You can't ignore the age thing, though. As we were walking toward the arena before the show, I told Dinky Jr., "This band was popular when your Grandma was a teenager!" Imagine that.

A thought I had when I couldn't sleep...

Since its earliest conception rock & roll has been about one thing: Excess. How far can you push the volume, the tempo, and the envelope. Nigel Tufnel's volume knobs that go to eleven ring eerily (and hilariously) true. Rock lyrics have been a symbol for how much you can violate taboos, sexual, racial, religious, among others. Then life began imitating art with the artists living out the extremes represented by the music. There have been excesses of alcohol and drugs, overdoses, suicides and attempted suicides, insanity, and even a surprising number of murders. Styles of dress have gone from one extreme to the other: Drugs and Alcohol to Straight Edge; Hair ultra long and ultra short (and ultra pink); Clothing suffocatingly tight to so baggy you could drown. And it goes on. The music has even gotten so excessive and extreme at times that very few could tolerate it. So whether you listen to Extreme or INXS or any of the countless other line-crossers out there, if you're into rock music you're pushing the limit.