record-industry types gave some advice that seemed to contradict the
way the industry works. They said not to imitate what’s big now, just
be yourself.
Any
musician who has ever followed this advice has also received plenty of
very nice rejection calls, letters and e-mails to the effect of “You
guys sound great, you’re just not what’s in right now.”
So why
were all these people reminding us not to imitate? Because they were
talking about greatness, not flash-in-the-pan success.
We’ve all
known the local band that has overhauled its look, sound and stage show
three times in the past three years. Those guys aren’t going anywhere,
because they have no idea who they are anymore. They’re not making
their own art, they’re just imitating what they think people might
like. People can see right through that — not necessarily right away,
but eventually they do. Imitator bands do get signed overnight. They
get shelved and dropped overnight too.
When you think of your
musical heroes — your true influences and muses — you’ll probably
find that they were either the first to do what they do, or the best at
doing what they did, and they didn’t bend to the will of popular
culture, or anything other than their own instincts. AC/DC never tried
to be anybody but AC/DC (thank God), and neither should you.
John
Zaremba is the guitarist, tour manager and booking agent for Say When,
a Boston rock band that has been touring the country independently
since August of 2007. He can be reached at john.zaremba@gmail.com