YOUR QUESTION

11/24/2019 JC

When you look at a band like Metallica or the Chili Peppers, how exactly did they lose "it"? Once upon a time both bands had something interesting to say musically and the more successful they got, the worse the music got. Is it fame? Ego? Drugs? Money? Lack of motivation? All of the above? In your opinion, why do some bands stay true to themselves and why do others fall off a fucking cliff?

MY ANSWER

Hard for me to say, coming from the outside but I would say all of the above. Those things you list all seem to be tied together. Success and fame lead to more frivolous spending and partying and less time caring about what they used to care about which was how to make interesting music. But let’s compare those bands to someone like, say, David Bowie, who partied his ass off and continued to make incredible music until literally his dying days. Is part of that because he wasn’t American? I think certainly he was more of a true artist than those you mentioned. It probably boils down to a core integrity and motivation and those as you know are rare in artists or anyone for that matter.

Speaking from my own place on this planet, I know that partying and money have their place but neither will keep me from trying to achieve what I want to achieve and honor those that came before me, whom I would not exist without.