Some guys grew up fantasizing about the car they wanted, someday.
For others, it was the gun, the girl, the guitar.
I did all of those, naturally (’67 Mustang, HK91, Marisa Tomei, 1959 Les Paul Standard).
But above all? When I was a kid – and not so much a kid – I used to fantasize about the band I’d have someday.
Usually, the dream focused on some combination of two guitars, keyboards, bass and drums. Nice and flexible, allows for all sorts of combinations of guitar sounds. Sorta like Tom Petty and the classic Heartbreakers (here with an added sax player and background singer, which I’d also dig):
Of course, through much of the eighties – and (koff) the nineties, I thought it’d be fun to have something a little bigger, less garage-y, frighteningly tight, and danceable.
Like INXS:
Although that’d mean recruiting someone else to sing. And lead singers are a pain.
At various times, I’ve thought “screw it – I’m gonna go full Stax/Volt”:
And truth be told, that’s where I’m at right now; a band that is something like the classic Asbury Jukes lineup, complete with the horn section.
But then I remember all the crap that goes into keeping all the personalities in even a four piece band together, and I think “screw it; I’ll do a power trio”:
Of course, as always, I’ll stick with “whatever I can find”.
Er, when I start another band…
Thomas Dolby had it right. Him, his electronic doodads, and a drummer.
http://www.thecurrent.org/feature/2012/04/12/thomas-dolby
Netflix has a new season of Lillyhammer debuting tonight. Van Zandt took time from touring to film it.
The key is to find great musicians without huge egos (difficult). That’s what has made the Heatbreakers last this long. Tench and Campbell are great, but have allowed Petty to run the show, even to the extent of playing on his “solo” albums. So Mitch, when you start the band, make sure yours is the only huge ego.
I long felt the same way about the Heartbreakers. Good solid well-played rock music with all the effort put into the music with little drama or offstage foolishness. Also not too much in the looks department. Some of the earlier Southern rock groups were like that, too, with the exception of the Allman Brothers who probably got more pop media attention than they wanted.
My only claim to musical fame is that I did literally play in a garage band in the mid-60’s. Never made it beyond Glen’s dad’s garage or played for an audience, and I eventually figured out that the other members were more interested in my modest guitar and amp than they were in having me play them. Still, I did play in a garage band back when the genre was in the process of being defined.
Still have the same circa 1966 Kalamazoo Model Two (with tremolo) amp and Harmony electric guitar (disassembled, stripped, but never refinished and reassembled, of course). Still love guitars and amps but just can’t seem to play them well and would never do so in front of anyone. Still, they please me immensely when alone. Musical Onanism, I guess … thanks
Mitch, are you sure that’s not just Howie on back-up vocals?
And, TP & the HB’s were the best band in concert I ever saw, just sounded so perfect.
Kinlaw,
Not sure what your question is. Epstein was a great backup singer (and Stan Lynch and Benmont Tench weren’t chopped liver, either).
Great, great band.
Mitch, I meant that you mentioned and extra back up singer, and it sounds to me like I only hear Howie singing, which he does so well.
Which was a major reason Tom wanted to bring him onto the band.
Ah, OK. I get it. Yeah, hard to tell if the girl sings, or if she’s buried in the mix. But Howie was quite the singer. I looked at some pre-1980 Heartbreakers vids; Stan Lynch and Benmont Tench did a good job, but they were both a little more raggedy than Howie.
It was a real smack when he died.