I went to see one of my heroes Hugh Cornwell (ex-lead singer with English punk band The Stranglers) at The Cavern in Liverpool last weekend and he was fantastic, really good.
One of the best things for me liking artists who are apparently passed their sell by date is that you get to see them once again in really intimate venues. Last year we saw Hugh at a small venue in Chester and managed to spend an hour or so after the gig talking and drinking with the man himself (infact we spent so long with him the barman thought we were part of his tour gang and we got our drinks free for the rest of the night lol :P .
The best part about all that was that he was a spot on bloke, really down to Earth and seemed to enjoy talking to all of us.
So what I want to know is has anyone else met up with a hero of theirs and have they come up to expectations or did they disappoint.
I don't really have any 'living' heroes, most of mine are men such as Einstein, Plato, etc... So, I'd never be able to run into them...
I did however meet up with Sebastian Bach of Skid Row in a grungy little bit we call "The Back Alley", as well as Pantera, and a few other 'once-were's' that still are, but at a much decreased level.
My wish, level the playing field. I like what I like because I like it, not because everyone else likes it, or I'm told to like it. I don't feel sorry for such people who have 'fallen' from fame, they had much, much more than the majority of us did, and still do.
Whatever happens, they still have the advantage of having their name out there, even though it might be less than it used to be!
In meeting 'famous' folk, I've been more often disappointed than impressed. There is definately alot more shallow people in the major industry than any other.
W.
No-one was feeling sorry for the fella in falling from fame, not even Hugh himself who from what I could understand was really enjoying doing the small intimate circuits similar to when he first started doing it before he got any record deal.
Like you say I like what I like because I like it and the reason I liked The Stranglers was never because of who they were or are, but because of the music they produced. Just because they managed to get a record deal and achieve some sort of success (mainly in Europe) doesn't mean that the music wasn't as good as it would have been if they'd been an indie band. The fact was when these people began there was no internet and they got deals by working hard and making music that was worthwhile.
Nowadays I do know what you mean about leveling the playing field and i think the more the majors squeeze on putting all their money on the certified seller the more it will level out for everyone on the fringes, hopefully the indie artist aswell. Hopefully with people like your good self and places like NoWhere the artists of the coming generations won't need any record companies to gain success but will be able to control their own future.
Indeed, all that the indie needs is the tools that the majors have at their disposal, only at a much lesser expense... I'm doin my best to put them all together, but it's sure a time consuming task!