Monday, November 5, 2012

That's just, like, your opinion, man


I usually don't ask for autographs or pictures from artists. I'm supposed to give the illusion of cool, at least. But when I love a band, I fucking love a band. So last weekend with Rome, I felt like a fanatic. Sublime is one of my favorite bands of all time, and I think Rome's great. It blows my mind that he started playing with his heroes at such a young age. What a trip, right? Talk about living the dream.

But everyone I meet has an opinion on Rome. Strong opinions on whether the vocalist should ever be replaced if he/she passes away. A friend of mine had the nerve to say that Rome's fame isn't going to last and he'll be "singing in Latin dive bars by the end of next year". (I had 300 screaming fans on Sat who would disagree with that statement, and I was pretty surprised that he had the balls to say it.) We argued for a bit, and he was like, "Brad's the only OG. No one can ever replace him." Yeah, but Brad was also a junkie who put his own needs before the good of the band. Brad was selfish in that respect, so the whole band should have to suffer? The band has to stop making a living because the main dude stopped living?

Should a band die if the singer does? 

I can list more than a few famous bands who replaced singers, and others that chose not to. Sometimes they start side projects with other players but never use the name. While other times, they just throw them right in and hope for the best. For example, I saw Lynyrd Skynyrd live back in 1998. Everyone said, "oh well it's not the REAL Skynyrd. So have a ball with that." Of course it wasn't the real fucking Skynyrd, but I still cried when I heard FREEBIRD Live. It was one of the most epic moments in my concert-going career, and if Skynyrd stopped playing when Ronnie died, I would have never gotten that song. They still tour. Their families are still supported by the music. And I'm 100% sure Ronnie would have wanted it that way.

In my humble opinion, if the band agrees to allow those big shoes to be filled, then the fans should respect their decision and let the music continue.

As one of my other favorite bands once said, "It doesn't really matter, as long as the music goes on."

Everyone has something to say. Post your opinion on our Facebook and I'll hook you up with some tix. We have a rad lineup this weekend with Stepping Feet (Dave Mathews tribute) and Saint Motel (some indie rockers on the rise.) Tell me your thoughts. Get free shit.

Whether or not I agree with you, is irrelevant. I'm still going to assume I'm always right.

Love,

KT

1 comment:

Soul Man said...

The music must go on. Some bands will never be the same and attempts to recreate the former maybe a disrespectful move on some bands parts. ie The Beatles, The Stones losing Mick,probably a few more, but not many. Then there are bands that pull it off. Queen, Van Hagar, Journey, and more. It's just a shot in the dark that they will or won't pull it off. The fans make the ultimate decision. Nice post