In the classic rock film This Is Spinal Tap, guitarist David St. Hubbins says that he believes virtually everything he reads. Now maybe I have a bit of the same problem but these days I find a wealth of interesting and sometimes useful information on the Cracked.com website.
Here is a recent Cracked article on 6 Reasons Good Bands Start To Suck.
This is an example of the sort of blog article that Rock & Roll Rehab should be writing, but unlike Cracked, Rock & Roll Rehab doesn't pay for its articles so the best I can do is to refer you to good ones I find elsewhere on the web.
I will however give my own 6 reasons why good bands start to suck.
1. They aren't the same band. Some bands change their band members the way I change my socks, occasionally. You may think getting a new drummer or bass player really wouldn't change a band's creative output very much but sometimes it's just one member's energy and enthusiasm (Keith Moon) that inspires the band.
2. The band's management changes. As soon as a band starts making money the band's manager starts to feel that it's time he got reimbursed for the many financial investments he made over the years getting the band started. Once he starts to pull some cash out the musicians start to feel he's ripping them off and they get the Big Time Manager they couldn't afford before. They often don't realize that the manager worked as an editor and critic and helped shape their music much more than anyone ever suspected (Brian Epstein) and once he's gone the first thing they do reflects this loss (Magical Mystery Tour).
3. Drugs and bitchy girlfriends / wives. It's hard to be great when your personal life sucks.
4. Getting older just makes everything harder and less and less enjoyable. How can you get the energy up to write and record yet another classic album when you don't have the energy to drag your aching body out of bed in the morning. Getting old makes everything suck, why not your band?
5. Show me the money. Where is your incentive to create great art when you've already got all the cash you'll ever need? Only artists and politicians keep going long after other folks retire. When are you suppose to get to enjoy all your success if you're writing, rehearsing, recording and touring all the time? What's the point of being successful if it means you're just a slave?
6. Why bother? You didn't get into a band "to be great" you did it to enjoy yourself (get laid). Who the hell joins a rock and roll band to work hard? You join a band to avoid working for a living. If your band happens to turn out some great music it's usually an accidental byproduct of the unique combination of personalities and the times in which they created. Ask anyone who was ever in a band and they'll tell you all they ever wanted when they started was to "get a deal (a recording contract)" and to "make a record (and get laid)". Greatness happens by accident.
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