By T. Perry Bowers
At 46 years old I’m making my eleventh rock album. My band Silverseed is making our third full length record and we’ve been holed up in the studio for 6 days. We’re tracking twelve songs for our final product – a download card we’ll sell to our fans at our shows. The songs will also be available online for digital download. For the first time ever, we won’t be pressing any physical CDs. It’s a new era and I have too many unsold CDs on my basement shelves already.
Six years ago I was in Arizona and my cousin’s husband passed away, leaving behind seven guitars. I sold six of them for her and she gave me one in return. It was a Guild D-55 – a very nice guitar. It’s strange, but people have been giving me guitars my entire life. About twenty years ago, I got a Takamine from a French friend before he returned to France after graduating from college. Five years ago another friend gave me a 1975 Guild D-25 that had been sitting in his attic for years. When my cousin gifted me her late husband’s guitar it hit me: The Universe is telling me – I need to play the guitar.
Before that, I had fooled around a little bit. I knew a few songs, but in reality I was a complete hack. I had a deep desire to play, but I lacked discipline. When my cousin gave me the guitar I decided I would dedicate fifteen minutes per day to playing it. I learned about ten songs, by the Verve, Death Cab, Catherine Wheel, David Gray and Neil Young. Before long I was playing for at least half an hour per day. Now, I can’t put the thing down. I get so much joy from playing the guitar. It’s become a permanent fixture in my life. And now I’m inflicted with the disease known among guitar players as G.A.S. (guitar acquisition syndrome). I love guitars; I love playing guitars; and I have a deep need to acquire them. At 46 years old I love rock and roll more than I ever have in my life!
During the process of making an album, it’s easy to get carried away. You start thinking. “Wow, we are finally making an album; that can’t be ignored! We are going to be rock stars!” The reality is we make music because we have to. We have songs inside of us that must be heard; healing that needs to take place via our guitars, drums, voices and recording gear. We are obsessed. We are musicians who are obligated to write and record music.
With all that said, I would not be paying any regard to the theme of this blog if I ignored the business side of our little album project. So, I’ve been studying new ways to promote and sell music online. It’s the best way for us to sell our music as there aren’t many record companies out there looking to sign middle-aged men with guitars. So we are getting our plan together. We’ll play some regional shows and most likely we’ll break even. Maybe we’ll get lucky and sell a few thousand albums.
In the end though, it all comes from joy and an obsession with making music. Over the years I’ve seen many people give up and choose a cubicle over their dreams. They lack the discipline to keep trying to get better. It takes commitment. In many ways playing music is a bit like a marriage. There are ups and downs, but if you keep going, eventually, you create your magnum opus. Maybe you won’t do it until you’re old and grey, but if you foster your relationship with your art, you will make something of value. The truth is old guys rock.
I’ve seen so many things in this life. I’ve had my heart broken and broken my own bank account. I’ve lost people I love and I’ve learned how to love better. I’m lucky enough to have a family and I’ve travelled the world. I have experience! Why wouldn’t you want to listen to a record made by someone who has lived some life? Isn’t it time we started honoring experience and wisdom over youthful looks and unearned arrogance? No, rock isn’t dead. The love for guitars is too strong for it to ever really die. It’s just waiting out the bullshit for the right time to make a triumphant return.
