Ongoing History of New Music

How old is rock’n’roll now?...if we use 1955 has some kind of abritary ground zero, rock is now eligible for all kinds of senior’s discounts…. That’s a long time…and the older rock gets, the more difficult it becomes to stick out, to find distinctive approaches and to be unique in an ocean of other acts… How many bands of the last, say, 20 years, can you name that has a sound so distinctive that you know exactly who they are within just the first couple of seconds? I have one: Queens of the Stone Age…there’s something about what they do that sonically sets them apart from everyone else… But it’s more than just guitar sounds, arrangements and lyrics…the elements required to create this uniqueness are complex and varied—and, I think, worthy of study…in fact. You can’t separate the sounds of Queens from their history—which is also very, very complex…let’s see if we can untangle everything… These are some secrets of Queens of the Stone Age, part 1….

Like a lot of music fans, I’m fascinated by what goes on in the kitchen…how is music made and recorded?...who is responsible for doing what?... You may have wondered what a producer does or what’s the difference between a producer and an engineer?...how have things changed over the decades when it comes to recording technology?...and what’s the difference between the attitude towards recording music back in the day vs. What’s happening now?... The only way to get proper answers to these questions is to call in an expert…I found Chris Birkett, a producer, engineer, musician, and songwriter who has seen things evolve over a number of decades… Let’s get into some studio stories…

Our memories are shaky constructs…we remember things wrong or forget things altogether…I’ve found—and other people agree with this—that if you want to dig through your brain to recover things that have gone missing is to just start talking…   The more you talk, the more will come back…and if you have a group of people with a shared history and they all start talking, it’s amazing what comes flooding back…it can be cathartic, therapeutic, nostalgic and just plain fun…hold that thought…   The longer a band exists, the more hazy the memories become…maybe it’s just age…maybe it’s because drugs and alcohol were involved…maybe some members die, taking their stories with them…   In far too many instances, we’re forced to piece together a group’s stories from second- and third-hand accounts: friends and associates, press coverage from back in the day, and various other imperfect recollections told either in person or documented online…but hey, it’s better than nothing, right?...   But what if you could get a band with a billion of these stories together in a studio and get them to talk things through?...what memories and feelings will emerge then?...   This is exactly what I did with The Headstones: Hugh Dillion, bass player Tim White and guitarist Trent Carr in the same place, talking about how they got there…this is The Headstones in their own words, part 2…

At one time, The Headstones were the scariest band in Canadian music…they scared audiences, scared record companies—hell, they scared themselves… There were other words to describe them…intense…self-destructive…but I think the word the group liked the most was “furious” But  that doesn’t been to tell the story of The Headstones…strap in…this is a good one… The Headstones In Their Own Words…Part 1…

Over the decades, drummers haven’t received a lot of respect…all the jokes…the running gag in “Spinal Tap”…the issues so many groups seem to have finding the right drummer… But there are also those who stand out and are not only admired but worshipped…and not just by music fans, not just by other drummers, not by just other musicians, but by everyone has a chance to hear them play…they’re that good, that special… I’ve been a drummer since I was in high school…I later played in bands and worked as a drum teacher to get my way through university…and I still play today…and you know why?...Neil Peart of Rush… My first exposure to him was a stereo salesman who was demonstrating a pair of speakers by playing “By-Tor and the Snow Dog” from Rush’s “Fly By Night” album…I was immediately sucked into it by Neil’s playing…and when the song gets to those three drum breaks, I was hooked for life… Later, someone played the “Overture” from “2112” for…and that’s when I decided I needed to learn how to play the drums…same thing for millions of other kids… For someone who played so hard and so loud, Neil was the quiet one, the introvert, the reluctant drumming institution…interviews with Neil were rare…meet’n’greets with fans were always handled by Alex and Geddy…it was just understood that Neil didn’t do these things… I’ve probably seen rush in concert more than any other artist…I’ve traveled to different countries to see them…I’ve worked on Rush projects for their record label and their management company…I know all the people behind scenes…I’ve hung out with Alex and worked with Geddy…but I never got a chance to meet Neil… I, like so many others, have unending respect for his abilities as a drummer, a lyricist, and a writer…he was a thinker, articulate, and extremely well-read…he also had a wicked sense of humour… Stay with me as we remember Neil Peart…