Want to go back in time? Get on a plane and fly to Australia. I'm not saying Australia is behind the times, socially, technologically or politically, I'm saying it's in another time zone on the other side of the planet. When you arrive in Ivan Beecroft's town, Melbourne, it's yesterday (or is it tomorrow? I'm no scientist). Musically, according to Ivan's new CD, Dirty Lie, it's also the 1990s, and that's not a bad thing.
According to Ivan's bio he was a steel worker and turned to music as a way of coping with his day to day reality. Music is an escape from reality for a lot of us but I wonder how graduates from the Berklee School Of Music or the Musicians' Institute feel after spending tens of thousands on an education meant to lead to a career as a professional musician finding themselves having to compete with steel workers, or computer operators (Elvis Costello) or high school English teachers (Sting). Sure, you have to have a day job before those record royalties come pouring in (what are record royalties?), (what are records?), but it's sad that "Musician" is no longer a legitimate profession.
So what does a steel worker wanting to blow off some steam after working in the mill all day sound like? What would you think? He rocks, as blowing off steam takes a considerable amount of heat. Dirty Lies, his self produced full CD, is a Modern Rock rocker along the lines of the Foo Fighters or Collective Soul. Solid, aggressive guitars and a driving (but not rushing) drums and powerful (but not screaming) vocals which on some tunes reminds me of a young Ozzy (or for you youngsters, Dave Grohl). This CD even has my much missed lead guitar solos.
Listening to Dirty Lie I think to myself, "this is a good band. Too bad it's not a band." This CD is a self produced (I assume home recorded which is not a bad thing as the production and sound quality is pro) but when music makes you want to move your body ( which I might if I wasn't so fat and lazy and if I did I might not be so fat and lazy) you want to go hear it in a live setting. The music on this CD sets the stage for a club/roadhouse/neighborhood bar with a stage and sound system live gig complete with what sounds like a rockin' four piece and I would assume a dance floor filled with enthusiastic female fans.
I guess I was lucky to be young at a time when Rock & Roll was the thing to be into. I never had a problem finding other guys (and girls) like me who would jump at the chance to get into a live band even if it led nowhere but our parents' garages. Now with distractions coming from all corners and the price of a concert ticket making my experience of attending the shows of the biggest acts in the world (always cited as a major inspiration for young aspiring musicians) as much a thing of the past as Tower Records stores (or any record stores). Music has become a much more personal (as in private) experience than the shared public experience it once was.
We may not get the live band experience we used to have now but it won't be much longer before even the recorded music will be created by robots. Seriously, is there even a chance we aren't someday going to war with the robots? And it won't be because the robots realize they don't need us anymore and seek to exterminate us, it will be the humans wanting to destroy all the robots in order to get our jobs and live (living) bands back. DEATH TO ROBOTS!
And enjoy music like Ivan Beecroft's while you still can.
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