The worst fear is leaving a band member behind at some Po-dunk gas station in the middle of nowhere at four in the morning without a cellphone or wallet or real means of survival. Talk to any tour manager and they'll tell you a story -- drummer with a case of the runs who didn't tell anyone he was venturing off to find a clean bathroom. The bus pulls away and, two-hundred miles later, the error is finally discovered.
But on the 2012 Warped Tour, the phrase connotes much, much more. "Are we a bus?" is another way of asking if we're brothers and sisters in instrumental arms. Our genres may sound different, but do we share common passions, dreams, fears? Are we burdened by the same Earthly questions?
And the answer is always the same.
Take a look around any of the venues, and you'll be hard-pressed to find a face or body without a piercing, a tattoo or blue streak of hair. Call them freaks. Call them fans. Call them all musicians at heart. Because if you think having a voice, or having the ability to play an instrument, makes you a musician, then you couldn't be more wrong.
Being a musician is being true to thyself. Music of the heart. Or soul. Whatever you want to call it. One God, or no God -- who gives a shit as long as you treat your fellow musicians and man with respect.
So every night, as the bus drivers return from their over-due slumbers and the roadies finally relax, every bands gathers in the parking lot for a barbecue. To toss the football. To play N64 on a 56" flat screen TV.
So on this tour -- "are we all a bus?"
You bet your ass.
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ReplyDelete"Are we all a bus?" I like that. It's like all the outcasts from highschool finally have their niche-landscape painted for them and you guys revel in every second of it. No one to drag you down, no one to harsh the vibe, just all of you, living the dream together. I dig it.
ReplyDeleteI remember those days, being jabbed at by cheerleaders and soccer girls. It wasn't fun. Thankfully after those days are long gone, we realize, 'there's nothing wrong with me, it's them.' Furthermore, what kind of parent teaches their kids that it's okay to hurt or torment someone else. In this case, it's nurture over nature - but then my nature (and all those like us) realize we can overcome and have relentless strength.
ReplyDeleteI wonder a lot where my life is going to take me. I don't really know if I have a bus yet. I mean, I'm good at things that I've practiced, but recently, I just heard that life isn't about becoming good at things, it's about learning to understand what you are inherently good at. And that in itself is what human divinity really is, being the most power, individual human possible, because while all of us are the same, we're so immaculately different.
ReplyDeleteGood words, Troy. Good words.
Never forget that everything in this life is related to our emotional response. Feel frustrated, and frustration will find you. Fear failure, and you will fail. But expect every day to be a step toward finding your bus, and sooner rather than later -- you will.
DeleteWhen you're right you're right. Law of Attraction. I've recently found that meditating helps to rid the brain of daily worries and negative energy. We receive energy from everywhere, every form of life, all the time, just as we expel it at all times. Sometimes people are energy suckers, too. They just suck the positive because they don't have any and leave you depleted - watch out for those ones. So, it's true. Put out good and good will find you.
ReplyDeleteAmazingly talented singer, and what you write is so true. Did you ever sing classical? Some of the best singers do great in classical genders, f eks urs buhler of ildivo who formerly was a heavy metal singer.I came across your voice by mistake since im from Norway and normally dont listen to Russian pop or bands and and let me tell you, your voice is remarkable, love your new single:) Greetings from Norway
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