Castles Made of Sand

When I started playing the guitar way back in 1977, like anyone my age and beyond, I had lofty aspirations of becoming a guitar hero in a rock band even then (I dreamt of playing guitar for Suzi Quatro....), then I found Van Halen and Led Zeppelin and these two bands honed my ambition to the point were it would be wrong if I didn't get the chance to be a rock star. To a certain degree I think I managed to slightly pop my name above the thousands of guitar players with the same aspirations, we can't all be Slash can we! Mr. So & So has been the vehicle that my playing has travelled in and I'm thoroughly enjoying it too, I have total freedom in the band, we all do and for that I'm honestly grateful.

So & So has been successful at winning people over when they get the chance to listen to our music but fresh opportunities these days are becoming increasingly rare. We have been blessed with help from the likes of Steve Rothery from Marillion who is a fan and friend of the band and helps us out a lot, getting this kind of help is priceless and has meant the band has more reason to exist than just our love of playing and writing music. Beyond that, it's difficult to get to support some bands just because of the money involved in logistics and in some cases like U2, Radiohead or equally big acts you have to buy onto the tour, it makes sense as its a great way for a support band to raise their profile and sell product but the fees are eye watering, certainly not within the reach of the bands I know personally. It would cost thousands to support say Alanis Morrisette in the UK for just three dates and that's before you've even considered transport, hotels, fuel, food etc.

I'm 41 now and as much as the musical career bus hasn't stopped running yet, it's a lot less regular now. It's Elbow who give me the greatest hope, similarly REM who we're given their break after years of doing what they do, I wrote a song a few years ago called 'Born 20 years to late' and the title sums it up.

I'll be honest though, despite the fact that I've never been able to make playing the guitar my primary income, it's never put me off. As I've grown older, realism has taken over and I think I'm now back to adoring playing rather than desperately trying to be in the biggest band in the world.

Today's listening: Elbow - Build a Rocket Boys!