Road Rage

I call this photo "Road Rage." It's a self portrait, shot in traffic, that just happens to capture my old skull and crossbones rear view mirror air freshener.

Alas, the air freshener died finally. It took about a month for the smell to finally die out so I could just enjoy the artistic value of it. It's an old homage to one of my favorite movies of all time, Alex Cox's "Repo Man." The line is: "There's one in every car. You'll see..." I quote this movie every day of my life, just like i do "This Is Spinal Tap." But to be accurate, in "Repo Man" they're referring to a standard green pine tree air freshener, not the skull & crossbones. So there, I've really revealed something very personal to you about my life. Don't judge me.....

But that's not what I'm enraged about. I'm mad as hell. And I'm not going to take it any more! OK, I'm not really that mad. I just couldn't resist another movie quote. What I am concerned about, however, is road work, as in touring, as in life on the bus, as in "Hello, Cleveland!" (see above).

As I've mentioned, I have an upcoming, impending, imminent CD release coming down the pipeline. Any day now, really. It's all stuff I managed to get recorded in between other gigs and travels. It's a trio effort, myself, Jim Dower on keys, and Joe Goretti on drums. These are guys whom I consider my "road buddies."

We travel. We play. We back up soul legends like Sam Moore, The Temptations, and recent special guests of Sam's like Elvis Costello, Sting, Wynonna, Travis Tritt, etc, etc.

But here's my concern. And I'm not sure if this is just a semantic problem or not. We never ever get on a bus, each person to a bunk, and hit the highway. As much as we would like to, that's just not the reality of the music business these days. Every gig is a one-off. Every show is a weekend out and back. The day after we play with one of these lovely superstars, we're unemployed again.

There's no touring. Tours don't exist for us in the way that people perceive. I'm constantly asked: "so are you around town these days?" The answer is: "yes, I'm around!" Call me for your gig! I'm not on a plane to Bali. I'm in Brooklyn! Last year I spent 50 nights on the road. And by "on the road" I mean away from home. The longest kip was a week in Tokyo with Sam Moore. I assume that could be considered a "tour." But we played only one town, Tokyo. Out & back. No bus. No itinerary.

That means I spent 316 nights at home. (Last year was a leap year, wasn't it?) Don't get me wrong. I did 214 gigs last year. I was busy! Working! But "touring?" Not so much. I think there's a mis-perception about what we do and how we do it.

Even the big "touring" bands tend to go out for a month in the summer only. I've got one buddy who's currently on a superstar tour, as big as tours ever get. And he's home every week or so unless they're overseas. So while I'm happy to perpetuate the myth, the legend, the mystique of what it means to be a "Rock Star," I'm leery about letting the perception remain among people who actually know me and know what I do for a living.

I know another person who is actively trying to develop a "rock star" career. It's kind of funny to see what this person goes through and what this person is actually aspiring to. By that definition of "rock star," that's exactly what I am and what I do. And while Bill Wyman's solo 45 from 1981 was called "Je Suis Un Rock Star," I'm not sure that's what I really am.

So here's the topic of discussion: Do I perpetuate the mystique for the public? Do I save the real deal for clinics and classes? I'm not trashing hotel rooms, demanding only green M&M's, doing drugs or hanging out with groupies. I WORK for a living. But I do enjoy my work.

Your thoughts?

Ivan Bodley
Brooklyn, NY

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