This ISN’T Spinal Tap…but just as good.

“A concert is not a live rendition of our album. It is a theatrical event” – Freddie Mercury ; lead singer of Queen

It always happens the same way. I fall in love with a song, search it out and add it to my Ipod. Rarely does the story end there. I’ll find out more about the artist, listen to their catalog and most times, become a fan. They become the most performed artist on my Ipod for the next several months. I passionately absorb music and film.  When the two marry and create a documentary, I’m guaranteed to go along for the ride.  It just happened again.

In the past two weeks, I’ve enjoyed the Foo Fighters “Back and Forth,” Ozzy Osbourne’s “God Bless Ozzy,” Cameron Crowe’s “Pearl Jam 20” and the BBC’s “Queen: Days of Our Lives.” As a DJ, I love all types of music but rock has always moved me more than anything else. Just the idea of a group of strangers that literally “band” together to create a cohesive song seems so magical, I think we take it for granted. After seeing these artists’ lifetime journeys, even in a brilliantly condensed 2 hours, I felt like I’d interviewed every one of them.

From "Ten" to "Twenty"

 The smallest details became origin stories for my favorite tracks. Learning that Eddie Vedder was from California and the story behind the lyrics to “Jeremy” gave new life to the now classic Ten album. Seeing Dave Grohl record the first Foo Fighters album in his home in Seattle, was a fun and ironic experience. He used the same method over a decade later to record my now favorite Foo album, in a bigger garage, “Wasting Light,” with a surprise guest musician. 

The fact that Ozzy has an ability to remember anything and still be alive after years of ingesting more drugs than a small neighborhood is a great tale. My first exposure to Queen was hearing “Bohemian Rhapsody” in the movie Wayne’s World.  I learned I’ve been listening to them before I ever knew who Freddie Mercury was.

Ozzy still teething at age 60

I won’t spoil any more of the details as these are all great things to watch, even if you enjoy only one song by any of these musicians. I guarantee you’ll find others and end up with 5 new albums to listen to easily. I’d love to discuss with someone the story behind “Bohemian Rhapsody,” the song we almost never heard. Or, what Dave Grohl secretly recorded on “The Colour and Shape” album in record time.

Explore the music you love. Watch a concert DVD if you can’t attend one. Woodstock was 11 years before I was born but I’ve seen Hendrix many times. Reconnect with your favorite artists. Those surround sound speakers are good for more than just explosions.  For guitars, “these amps  go to 11.”

The show must go on