After church this afternoon, over
lunch, a friend and I were talking about music and influences and the name Dave
Grohl came up. Now, if you know me, you
know that I’m a “Foo Fighters” fan.
Maybe not a “huge” fan, as the only albums I’ve bought are their first
album and their “Greatest Hits” album, but a fan none the less. I remember buying the “Foo Fighters” album in
’96 and subsequently reading the article about Dave’s time in the studio
recording every aspect of the album himself.
At the time, I thought “that’s pretty cool”, and listened to the CD over
and over again, but eventually it got shuffled in with all my other CDs and
they were just another part of my collection.
I kept track of the songs that made it onto mainstream radio, but never
really paid much attention to where the band otherwise.
Now I’ll
fast forward to a couple of years ago. I
began playing bass and guitar with a small worship band for a youth group at
our church. The guys that I was playing
with liked to throw some mainstream music in the mix to get the students pumped
up. One day, while we were just jamming
to warm up a little, the song “Everlong” came across our fingers. My admiration for the Foo Fighters
immediately took over. From that time
on, it seemed like we had to cover a Foo song just about every set.
Dave
Grohl’s name came up during our conversation about some of the greatest
influences in modern rock music. I
admire the fact that Dave has the ability to play any instrument with any
artist at any time. I’d really be
interested in seeing the list of great musicians that he’s participated in jam
sessions or recordings with. Just the
fact that he’s been an influence on one of the greatest influences in rock and
roll ever (McCartney) is something to look up to. It’s hard not to idolize the man. And that’s where I have trouble.
If you
could meet anyone in the world, who would you want to meet? Have you ever been asked this question? I’m pretty sure Dave Grohl would be at the
top of my list. His musical talent , his
experiences, his knowledge of the industry.
All things that I just think would be cool to sit down and soak up. Now, I’m not some teenage boy that is going
to get back stage passes in hopes to get a picture taken with the guy. I think I’m too old to even want to attend a
concert. But the thought of just hanging
out at a pub, or at a backyard bbq, jamming to some acoustic guitar sounds like
it would be fun. But then I
realize. He’s just a man. While he might be pretty talented... he’s
still just a man... He’s Ordinary. People today put way to much stock into how
successful a person is. If I would work
as hard at music as this man did... I could be that good, too. The thing that separates me from Dave Grohl,
as far as success goes, is that he knew what he wanted from a young age, and
went for it. Today, we spent way too
much time idolizing, and envying the people that are in the lime light, instead
of making our own futures. If there’s
something that you love to do... DO IT!!
The great musicians of today weren’t born with a gold record on their
crib. They had to earn it. They got up every morning like the rest of us
do. (OK, probably every afternoon).
It’s
healthy to have artists that influence the way you like to make and play
music. I think the problem comes when
you begin to idolize those influences and stop thinking for yourself. Now, I’m not a great musician by any
means... but I love doing what I
do. The reason I play music is to
express my mood. Sometimes that mood is
full of energy, sometimes it’s melancholy, sometimes it to worship my God. But it’s something that fills me up. It’s a gift... but you have to work at it. Be ordinary.
Side note... for the
longest time, I listened to the song “My Hero” thinking the lyrics read “There goes my hero... Sargent Mary” Still to this day, I have no idea who that
is.
