The Bobby Rock Newsletter #56 (4-30-2022) - It Takes a (Hell of a) Village
The Bobby Rock Newsletter #56 (4-30-2022) - It Takes a (Hell of a) Village
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Hello Everybody -
Great to have you all back for another round this week. Shit is happening! Let's rock it:
+ + + + + + +  Always thought this was an interesting photo, courtesy of Joe Schaeffer. Hitting tonight at the Medina Entertainment Center.
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In This Moment: Quick Update  I'm in a hotel room near Minneapolis, enjoying my morning hit of Dragon Dirt (always a three-scoop serving for me, FYI), and about to jump into all of the pre-show rituals for a Lita Ford show tonight. If I haven't mentioned this lately, show days are at least as special to me now as they have ever been, and actually playing shows is at least as joyous of an experience as it has ever been. Just saying it out loud. Tomorrow is a travel day back to LA. And then on Monday, a 10-day sabbatical begins: Headed to Italy... to unwind. reset, decompress, experience, and enjoy. Don't recall ever taking this amount of "downtime" before. It is The Great Unknown, but I'm ready to turn myself over to it. Of course, I'm thinking I'll still train every day, and I'll have my laptop handy for a little writing, and I'll be back next week for another Newsletter, and I'll get in a little maintenance practice pad work to keep the hands in shape... but still. This is some real downtime. Tuscany... the Amalfi Coast... exploring those Rennaisance roots, and freely traversing those oil-painted landscapes on foot, without an impending evening gig to think about! Lots of stellar moments await, I have no doubt. But first, let's get ready to hit! _______________ It Takes a (Hell of a) Village: The Collective Genius of True Collaboration A couple issues back (#54), I had just started reading Snakes! Guillotines! Electric Chairs!: My Adventures in the Alice Cooper Group, by Alice's original bassist, Dennis Dunaway, and shared an interesting bit of creativity wisdom that jumped out at me from the first chapter. I ended up knocking out the rest of the book that week and have been attempting to digest the deeper implications of it ever since.  Back of the Killer cover... one of the greatest rock band shots ever! You gotta understand: as I’ve talked/written about extensively, the Alice Cooper madness of the early 70s is what got me into this crazy business. The Killer album was among the first—and definitely most impressionable—rock albums I ever really saw. Just from devouring the cutting-edge visuals of the packaging, I knew I had to be part of that world somehow. And then the School’s Out album was the first record I ever bought. (Still have the original vinyl!) The point is, I had quite an emotional interest in, and intellectual fascination with, the behind-the-scenes inner workings of that band through those early years. This book really illuminated a lot for me from that perspective. "The whole is greater than the sum of its parts." Aristotle I know this old Aristotle chestnut is a bit cliche by now, but once again, here we have a band situation that perfectly exemplifies its wisdom. Dunaway describes, in great detail, how this often-disliked, experimental shock-rock band from Phoenix evolved into an innovative, international phenomenon. And while I always presumed that it was never just about Alice, or the brilliant management of Shep Gordon, it was fascinating to see how many “minor" things the band guys—and key folks in their entourage—threw into the stew. A few quick examples off the top of my head:
And, oh yes, the unit. Dunaway gave constant examples of how each guy in the band had their unique and invaluable parts to play in the process. Take one member out, and then the sum would change and the whole would suffer. As a lifelong fan of those records and that music, it was fascinating to hear about these particulars, then watch how this scrappy assortment of misfits collectively evolved into one of the rock world's most acclaimed recording and touring acts. Awesome shit!  15 here… with an Alice Cooper poster on prominent display in my bedroom,
just behind the kit! Of course, this concept is the norm for most any great band. There is a very specific role that each member plays, almost like the synergy of a combination lock. For the lock to open, each number along the way has to be just right. Take one number out of the equation, and it doesn’t matter how right the others were, the damn thing just won’t open. And here is where I was reminded of every successful project I've ever worked on. Everyone involved had their role to play, even if some roles seemed more important than others. Sure, the key songwriter for a tune probably carries the biggest weight. But, many times the drummer’s contribution to a song, or the way the singer altered the melody or lyrics, or even the bass line or a production subtlety… can be the exact thing that “opens the lock.” My takeaway? Reverence for the Whole. Understanding that it takes a village, indeed, and that successful collaboration is virtually unavoidable in birthing anything great into the world. And as much as we humans love to take all the credit for our genius work, let’s not forget how lucky we are to fall into the “ordained” combination of the right collaborators to make it all work. And if something is not working in a particular project or collaboration, ask yourself: somewhere in the mix, do you have the right person entering the wrong number? Or is it the wrong person, unable to enter the right number? Something to think about. PS. If it’s been a minute, check out what I call the “Big Five" when you can: Love It To Death, Killer, School’s Out, Billion Dollar Babies, and Muscle of Love. Damn. Even a half-century later, this is some scary-original “lightning," captured in a bottle by a band who knew what they had… at least for awhile. _______________ Take a Moment, My Friends… To see a World in a grain of sand, And a Heaven in a wild flower,
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand,
And Eternity in an hour.
William Blake  These are crazy times right now, we would all agree. And yet, there is beauty and wonder all around us, always… particularly in the “micro-universes” of nature that we walk by daily, often without noticing. I try to notice. It’s part of my daily practice. I don’t always succeed, believe me. But in the case of the above pic, I did… in noticing a couple tiny birds near a hummingbird feeder, in a gorgeous tree that was bursting with life and vibrancy. This was a completely candid shot that I didn’t even know was being taken. It was texted to me later that evening, to my utter surprise. But I like it because it reminds me to keep practicing. Every day.
Keep noticing.
All is okay…
and as it should be.
In This Moment.
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