The Road to 'Success'
by Clare Bowditch
Posted: 30 Nov 2010
When I was a teenager, the road to ‘success’ was fairly well paved. You joined a band, rehearsed your guts out, started playing small gigs, recorded a couple of songs onto your four-track, burnt them onto CD, sent them to community radio stations, started playing slightly larger rooms, and then tried to convince your husband’s brother’s friend’s cousins lover who worked for a record company to come down to your show and sign your band. Then Molly played you on Countdown the same week your album was released, people bought your album, and you instantly became a rock star. Forever. All pretty straightforward, right?
Not that ‘we of the late 90s’ did it that way – not at all. The gig and recording parts were fine – I had that ‘down’ from 17. It was the “record company” bit that freaked me out. Record companies were full of bastards, who wanted to change me. Or if they didn’t want to change me, they certainly wouldn’t think I was thin enough. Not that I’d ever spoken to anyone from a record company. At all. I’d rather not think about it, and keep making music. That was my attitude.
(MUST READ -->)On the surface, this rapid change appears to threaten our very existence. In reality, doesn’t it just push us ever closer to the question of whether true creativity still exists. And if so, can we muster up a little? Ever heard the saying ‘Adapt or Die’? Worth keeping in mind, me thinks.
Read the rest: Clare Bowditch's Long Way to the Top - The Wheeler Centre: Books, Writing, Ideas
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http://www.clarebowditch.com/
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