When Is It Time for a Band to Retire?
Tuesday, August 24, 2010 at 12:01AM I've been thinking about retirement a lot lately. I just turned 31 and with each passing birthday, I reflect on my past and future. My husband and I have some very aggressive, concrete goals for our future. Here's a hint: we don't plan on working until we're 80! In fact, we'd like to be done "working for the man" by 50 and if I can swing 45, great. This will take a lot of discipline on our part, but we're giving it a shot. All that said, I wonder if musicians ever really create a retirement plan?
This thought comes into my mind after watching the slow death of one of my favorite bands. Great White is a group of great musicians but singer Jack Russell is very ill and he just can't perform at the same level anymore. Lately, the band has been using guest vocalists to fulfill contract duties. Why not cancel the dates and reschedule when Jack is better? Obviously that's a short term solution - but what about the long-term?
The sad fact is that our favorites won't be able to tour endlessly for the next 20 or 30 years. At what point do bands hang it up? That's a hard thought for someone like me to handle. I find it comforting to know that Poison will be out on the road next year. That another Crue Fest is in the works. That Van Halen will likely tour again soon. But these bands are on a different level than the likes of Great White or Dokken.
How does a band like Great White bow out? There's a fan base there for sure. There's also the lasting stigma of the Station Nightclub fire. There's "Once Bitten, Twice Shy" and then there's painful YouTube clips of Jack clearly in agony at Rocklahoma '09, trying his hardest to perform. He gets my respect for fulfilling his duties and doing his job but it can't go on. At some point, it's degrading the legacy of the music.
Or maybe I'm wrong.
Maybe the band can keep on as they are, grabbing guest vocalists and waiting for Jack to heal. I really don't think so, though. I have to believe the other guys in the band want to retire like "normal" people someday. Sure, musicians choose a different path and generally shudder at desk jobs...but at some point, even performing for crowds of people night after night becomes work and the road wears even the most grisled guy down. Rest is rest.
Do I think Great White will hang it up anytime soon? No. But I do think we need to brace ourselves for a long list of retirements within the next five to ten years. As it should be.
Reader Comments (20)
Part of me thinks its "cool" and "rock n roll" that Jack and the band would perform no matter what but a bigger part of me was saddened by the whole scene. Great White needs to at least STOP PLAYING SHOWS right now until Jack is back to where he was. If Jack never is better than maybe find a permanent replacement.
Dee Snider said it best. The minute a band makes their audience feel old, not nostalgic, they need to go away. Old bands like The Rolling Stones still put on high energy shows. But Great White made me feel old. And I was perhaps the youngest person in the small crowd.
Get well Jack. We all love and respect you. But Great White and their management... Enough is enough!
But more than that, most of the people in bands that have been successful are dedicated & talented musicians who love playing music. And if you love doing something, why would you stop? As long as fans are coming to the shows and a living can be made, there is no point to stopping if they don't want to.
I don't mind a band running the name into the ground because it is their name. It's up to me if I want to go see a show or not, but if enough people still want to go...then it is still worth it to the band. To be honest though, I don't understand who is still going to see GW, Pretty Boy Floyd, Bang Tango, etc., but those bands just keep going. Whatever, I hope they are all successful and keep making money at what they do.
Chair ? Cane ? Doesn't matter to me.... I'm there for one thing...the music. I've been to acoustical shows, exclusive shows, etc... where the whole band sits down. I still have a great time. Do I feel old ? Sure I do, but I don't need a band to make me feel that. I'm going to enjoy it while I'm here and obviously by them touring I'm hoping they do to.
As far other bands from back in the day still touring...I love the fact that some of these bands I grew up with are still touring, however I do see the trend shifting to fly-in dates and limited summer tours. Whatever works to keep the bands playing works for me! I know there will come a day where they'll have to hang it up and I'm just not ready to accept that yet.
this is probably also a reason I tend to love the summer festivals when the bands all come together b/c I don't get a chance to see them play regularly.
Don Dokken needs to REST his vocal chords. He does so much damage to them by constantly touring. I don't understand it!
Seperation between instruments is crucial with the proper balance --- distortion rarely a little perhaps for special effect but crucial to be placed in the exact part of the song...and not all over the place - it distracts and cheapens the true real melody - why not place heavy there in the melody - wouldn't that give the great singer the chance to really sing it out and the guitarist too and the bass & drums to really play!
OK - NOW WHAT'S WRONG WITH GLAM???? I LOVE A GREAT PERFORMANCE...IT'S VISUAL...INTERESTING...ENTERTAINING
WHEN DONE RIGHT - IT'S MUSIC = FASHIONABLE.FUN AND INSPIRES AND FULL OF GREAT COLORFUL MUSICIANS - HEAVY!
LOOK AT COUNTRY MUSIC TODAY - CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?
LOOK AT RAP - DID YOU EVER EVEN IMAGINE IT WOULD BE A MUSIC CATEGORY - IT'S BIGGER THAN ROCK
NOW
TAKE GLAM - THINK ABOUT IT - AND - IT IS GOING TO REACH WHAT GROUP OF PEOPLE AND HOW AND IT'S GONNA CHANGE HOW...WANNA KNOW....I BELIEVE IT CAN & WILL!
That said, I agree there is a "painful" factor - a sadness at watching your heroes at half-mast. Whether it's Jack's mobility issues or Vince's inability to sing half his lyrics or hit the notes he used to (ditto for others like Don D, Mark S), it hits you like a punch in the gut when you experience it.
You become instantly, acutely, bittersweetly aware that times have changed. I'll never forget seeing Jack at Rock in America last month. He walked by me three times at the hotel and I had no idea it was him. Hunched over, hobbling with a cane, I was wondering who this dude was and kept waiting for "Jack" to get off the bus. When it dawned on me, I felt sad. Sad to see how far he'd fallen from the strong, energetic guy he once was. Sad to think of all the emotional and physical pain this guy has endured in recent years.
So as long as these guys are playing, I am likely one of those folks paying to see them. But it's definitely not the same.