Many of you here on the interwebs know that I’m pretty heavy into writing, zombies, and writing about zombies, but something you may not know about me: I’m a music fanatic. I’ve been DJing and emceeing for 12 years, I’ve worked at two different radio stations as an on-air personality, and I’ve even been to a Boys II Men concert. That’s right – envy me.
One thing I’ve always prided myself on is the fact that when I find a band who plays music I like enough to get their one of their albums, I do my best to actually become a “fan” of that band. See, there’s a huge difference between being a “fan” of a band versus just liking some of their music. When it comes to music, a “fan” is someone who owns albums of the artist in question, and has probably seen the artist live in concert if they ever had the chance. A fan is someone who knows intimate details of where the artist has been and the things that artist has been through. And – possibly most importantly – a fan is someone who listens to the artist’s music even after it might not be considered “cool” or “popular” music anymore.
A “fan” is NOT someone who doesn’t own an album by the artist in question, or someone who doesn’t know anything about the actual person or people who are actually making the music. A “fan” is NOT someone who simply hears an artist’s songs on the radio and thinks they sound nice. That is simply someone who likes a song or a few songs from the artist, someone who has a passing fancy to the artist as a listener of music, and nothing more.
As an example: I like The Beatles, but I would not consider myself a “fan.” I don’t own any of their albums, and (prior to reading and reviewing “Paul is Undead: The British Zombie Invasion” for The G.O.R.E. Score) I didn’t have a lot of in-depth background knowledge about the group or its members, other than what the “average” person might know. This Fall I went with my wife Bryrony to Las Vegas, where we saw The Beatle’s Cirque du Soleil show, “LOVE;” I enjoyed it because I was familiar with much of the music, but I definitely didn’t get the same rewarding experience out of the show than a true “fan” of The Beatles probably did.
On the flip side, I am most definitely a “fan” of the rock band Journey, owning almost all of their albums and having seen them live as recently as last Summer; on many days I feel that I could easily go raging “zombie” on all the misguided frat boys and other people who think they are “fans” of Journey simply because they know the words to the chorus of “Don’t Stop Believin’.”
SO. In an effort to share my “fan-ness” with you all, I’m going to be devoting some of my blog entries to talking about some of the bands that you may have found yourself listening to over the years, possibly even telling people that you were a “fan,” but have lost contact with for one reason or another – you’d be surprised how many bands that you used to listen to are still out there making sweet, sweet music. Fortunately for you, I haven’t lost contact with these bands; remember, I’m a “fan,” I’ve continued to listen and enjoy these band’s new stuff long after you’ve moved on to what radio stations and MTV tells you is “the next big thing.”
I’m looking forward to helping you remember which musical groups you’ve a-BAND-oned!
TonySchaab . com 