would you sell your soul to become a rock star?

[gwEm]

i was discussing this with my drummer and our girlfriends over the weekend. if you think about what selling your soul means, its a very difficult question. my initial answer was yes, but i'm not so sure now.

[Twinfan]

I'd have to say no.  Your soul is your personality, and I wouldn't change mine as I'm happy as I am.

I'd love to be a rock star though  ;)

[Mr Ed]

Perhaps, depends on what you mean by sell your soul.

 

I would, however, work through incredible hardship, sacrifice (apart from my girlfriend and happiness) in order to become famous.

[Adam.M]

Not a bloody chance.

After having a short part in the music press world i can see what a friend once told me, being famous is not what it used to be, it's now just an utter pain in the ass!

If i could sell my soul and have it so i made rock star fame in the late 60's/70's/early 80's... then maybe!

[Fourth Feline]

I wouldn't sell anything to be percieved as a 'Star' .

My love is for the the music itself - and the pleasure that it brings on a daily basis.

It must be no co-incidence that many of my own 'heroes' are content to work as session musicians . People like Steve Cropper, Larry Carlton, Marc Ribot and Snowy White.

  There are also so many others known not by name, but by the aptness of what they contributed. Think of the guitar solos in Maria Muldhar's " Midnight At The Oasis" - The Carpenter's " Goodbye To Love" . Think of folk like  Tim Renwick who doubled up with Dave Gilmour during the 'Pulse' tour, Andy Fairthweather-Low who does the rounds with Roger Waters or Jennifer Batten who plays for Micheal Jackson.

To love the art in oneself, instead of one's self in the art.  :)

[Philly Q]

Wouldn't sell my soul under any circumstances.  Not that I actually believe in the concept of a soul, in the religious sense.

And from my old man perspective, I wouldn't want to be a rock star either.  The broken relationships.  The tedium of life on the road.  Success and status gradually slipping away while you desperately try to cling on to fading youth and past glories.... (look at the likes of Ratt and Warrant  :roll: )

But Adam.M makes a good point - if it was 1969 and I was 20 years old, then yes, I would love to be a rock star.  At the cost of my "soul"... maybe not.

(Note: I wasn't 20 years old in 1969.  I just think that would have been the best time to be around - at the right age.  Imagine being a contemporary of Jimmy Page, Ritchie Blackmore, Leslie West, Paul Kossoff...  :D )

[Philly Q]

There are also so many others known not by name, but by the aptness of what they contributed. Think of the guitar solos in Maria Muldhar's " Midnight At The Oasis" - The Carpenter's " Goodbye To Love" .

Amos Garrett and Tony Peluso respectively, I think?  I didn't bother to check, so hope those are right!  

Good point, Derek.  Being a jobbing muso rather than a rock star - a Tim Renwick (or Guy Pratt, perhaps) - has a lot of appeal.  You could have fun playing music and make a decent living but still have a relatively normal life - without the pressures of business or creative responsibilty, and without the negative aspects of being famous.

[Ratrod]

Where can I sign?

But if it means I have to play music I don't like there's no deal.

If it means I have a contract with a guy called Scratch and I have to challenge Steve Vai (with my talent given by the devil) to get my soul back; BRING IT ON!

[Kilby]

Good point, Derek.  Being a jobbing muso rather than a rock star - a Tim Renwick (or Guy Pratt, perhaps) - has a lot of appeal.  You could have fun playing music and make a decent living but still have a relatively normal life - without the pressures of business or creative responsibilty, and without the negative aspects of being famous.

From that statement I guess you havn't read Guy Pratts book

[Mr Ed]

I've always said, I'd be happy to live off money made from music - not as an uber famous rockstar - just at the point where I didn't need a "real job".

[FELINEGUITARS]

Not a bloody chance.

If i could sell my soul and have it so i made rock star fame in the late 60's/70's/early 80's... then maybe!

+1

20-35 years ago and with a good manager then maybe
These days no way - there doesn't even seem to be a career path in todays climate- maybe that will change in the next 10 years but I feel that music is going through a really rough time

Prediction : record labels & artists will go back to vinyl - harder to copy & download. (Glad I kept my record player!)

[Philly Q]

From that statement I guess you havn't read Guy Pratts book

No, I have - in fact I have a signed copy!  :)

It's true, he has had a rockstarish life, particularly the substance abuse and hanging out with celebrities.  But he was nearly always a hired hand, so he never had to worry about the financial risks, nor deal with the pressure of following up a successful album - which left him free to act like a big kid for 25 years, I suppose.

But he did it all without ever actually being famous, as such. And now that he's calmed down a bit he can walk down the street without being hassled or photographed.

[Kilby]

From that statement I guess you havn't read Guy Pratts book

No, I have - in fact I have a signed copy!  :)

It's true, he has had a rockstarish life, particularly the substance abuse and hanging out with celebrities.  But he was nearly always a hired hand, so he never had to worry about the financial risks, nor deal with the pressure of following up a successful album - which left him free to act like a big kid for 25 years, I suppose.

But he did it all without ever actually being famous, as such. And now that he's calmed down a bit he can walk down the street without being hassled or photographed.

Heh I suppose he did get all the fun bits, and that may have allowed him to calm down in recent years (dread to think what would have happened if he had been in Gilmours position  :roll: )

For the original question probably not though I may have sold somebody elses sould to be a 'successful artist' despite the lack of any evidence for the existance of the soul.

As an aside Tim Renwick was in quite a few bands that never quite made it, and also played guitar for Al Stewart for quite some time.

Most people may know him from the house band on Jonatan Ross show (channel 4 in the early 1990)

[Philly Q]

As an aside Tim Renwick was in quite a few bands that never quite made it, and also played guitar for Al Stewart for quite some time.

Most people may know him from the house band on Jonatan Ross show (channel 4 in the early 1990)

I always remember him for his Inca Silver Strats with colour-matched headstocks!  I've always thought rosewood-board Strats look better with painted headstocks (sunbursts excepted).

[Crazy_Joe]

Prediction : record labels & artists will go back to vinyl - harder to copy & download. (Glad I kept my record player!)

Hmmm, that's actually a good idea!