Is this it?: Why must we all go solo?
I understand that if a band ever
takes a hiatus or breaks up, sure,
musicians need to eat too. I just
wish it wasn't so predictable. Noel
Gallagher is set to start his solo
project after disbanding from
Oasis (I'm still not over that), Kele
Oereke of Bloc Party is devoting
his life to dance music for the next
few years. Even Trent Reznor of
Nine Inch Nails had some solo
work... impressive, considering
he's a one-man-band to begin with.
The list goes on; Maynard James
Keenan (Tool), Patrick Stump (Fall
Out Boy), Raine Maida (Our Lady
Peace), John Frusciante (Red Hot
Chili Peppers). Hey, remember
that time Nicole Scherzinger tried
a solo career but it flopped so hard
that she ran back to the group?
Good times.
Why can't we just be happy as a
group? When you form a band,
why can't you just stick with that
route for a decade or two? Forty
years ago, bands didn't take
“breaks,” they were either making
music, or broken up or dead. I
understand musicians have feelings
too, and they have their own
music to express said feelings, I
just don't see why there has to be a
press conference every time one of
them wants to record something.
Your fame came from being in a
band. Let's not forget this. So why
do you have to assault the devotion
of every fan by saying, “Enough of
that, I was the lead singer, this will
also be awesome, except without
people mooching off my success.”
I'm not incorrect, a majority of the
time it's the vocalist who breaks
off. I'm willing to bet the ratio of
drummer to vocalist solo albums is
a bit dramatic.