deep thoughts...NOT

Yesterday I edited an interview I'd done last week with sci-fi novelist William Gibson. This is the guy who coined the term cyberspace (from his debut novel that's won every award known to man called Neuromancer) . He single handedly (for the most part) created the cyberpunk genre and the generation that follows. I knew his book but I didn't know him.

When the interview was going down I really liked him and liked what he was saying. During the editing, I understood more of why I liked him - he brought me out as much as I brought him out. It wasn't his job; his job was to talk, not listen. Now, as the throngs of you who read this rush to listen to our exchange, I'll warn that you'll be disappointed. I took out my 20 minute diatribe on the evils of the music business. So, I've cheated you (or spared, depending) but, for me, it was cathartic somehow. Here was a guy who is a sponge - that's part of how he writes these incredibly accurate (scary accurate) stories - who was genuinely interested in my career, my take on the business and just how nasty it can be.

The more I talked, the madder I got. 15-20 years out of the major leagues and it still pisses me off. I think it's fair to say that I'll go to my grave pissed off at Clive Davis and his mafioso cronies for wrecking a perfectly good opportunity. I see him now and just wanna puke, especially when he's being hailed as some kind of rock-n-roll savior - he's a smarmy businessman, but nobody wants to talk about that part. For every star he's found, there are thousands of careers he's wrecked along the way (One of the guys from Milli Vanilli - another Clive debacle - killed himself, for example). That's not an exaggeration - I was actually one of the lucky ones - my record got made and put on the market - there were 20+ bands under his purview that same year that never got out of the studio.

Despite the ruffled feathers, the good thing is this: Now I play because I love music - which is why I started playing in the first place more than 30 years ago. The business can wreck that for ya, at least, it did for me for a while. Today, I have more gratification playing for the Girl Scouts than I ever had being on MTV or playing the Hoosier Dome. (and, yes, that's a summer gig I have; playing at Girl Scout camp for little rockers - easily the most appreciative audience on the planet).

In the end, I reckon it was worth it if for no other reason than to appreciate where I am right now.