To go for it, is a choice. The most deliberate choice a band can make.
There are very few failures of this method, cause I think you really have to think it out for a long time. So most people shy away from it.
I, of course mean, Band – Album – Song. Having a song that is the name of your band on a self-titled record. I am a fan of this line of decision making.
Having a song that is about your band doesn’t count. Doing 2 out of 3 doesn’t count. You have to fucking commit.
It takes fucking balls to do it. Cause you are basically creating a mission statement. Like this is who we are and this is what we are about.
It sets the tone for every record to follow. Now you have to fucking live up to that thing you did.
To me, it means you care. You care to actually do something that insane. And you have the ego to back it up. The id.
I feel like you also establish a sound. When they think of your band from now on, they are going to think of that sound. So you gotta be comfortable living in that sound.
Sure you can leave it for a bit, but you always come back. Can’t go folk. You have to stay in weapons range of that Band – Album – Song.
It’s a font of strength. You have to play it almost every time you play it live. I saw Sabbath on the last tour. Guess what they opened with. You know it.
Sure you get tired of it. You may even get sick of it. But you committed. This is your world, we are all just living in it.
I think I love this concept for the same reason I love the insane double album. Go big or go home. What’s the point of making music if you aren’t going whole hog. We aren’t out here to hear 50,000 Michael Jackson clones. We are out here to do something interesting.
So, future bands, I say unto you, spend a bit more time crafting what you do. Think about it. Come out with a statement.
Even if you flame out, no one can say you didn’t have some shit to say. At the bare minimum, I will be there to listen to it.
Be confident. Be choosy. Be insane enough to make a song that checks all three boxes.