The tour kicked off in Cincinatti today, pardon me if the syntax and grammar are a little off on account of the post-show party and theatrics and whatnot.
I have to admit, I had a bit of a vision when the band started. I mean, my thought was always to stay true to the music. Thin Lizzy had a vision and there was no reason we couldn’t have one either. I was always about having big riffs, singable chorus lines, and themes that any teenager could relate to. I guess the problem these days is I don’t think our intended audience is getting a hold of our music, much less getting the meaning behind what I, I mean WE, do.
There is something primal and resonant about Thin Lizzy. I mean, the way they sing about teenage rebellion and getting into trouble and how the “boys are back in town.” I mean, that’s something any sixteen year old from any given suburb of Detroit can relate to. I just… I don’t think the original message of the band is being conveyed in what we are doing right now.
I’ll grant you that focusing the musical efforts of the group on 8-Bit NSF programming was my idea. It was my original thought to turn all the guitar parts into multi-layered, precisely-crafted triangle waves that would harmonize like a dream on ice. That was all me. It was Jeff’s idea to add the original lyrics on top of that. I didn’t think it was necessary. I mean, Lizzy had such a powerful message that you could understand what they meant beyond the power of words. They were, a-lingual, if you will. The point is: somewhere on the line what was meant to be a faithful tribute to a great and accessible band using free plugins for ACID turned into a (and I shudder to use the word) hipster-bait nostalgia-thon for drunk teenagers. I mean, is it even possible to feel nostalgia in a 23-year old audience when the music in question hasn’t been popular since 1981? It seems unfair, and frankly, against the band’s original vision (which was of course to raise awareness for the plight of inner city white boys who were in need of become “lady killers” rather than “killed by ladies”).
Look, no one in the band reads this journal, and I think it’s pretty safe to say that we’ve jumped the shark before we’ve even jumped the garbage pails. I’ve only done both of the harmonizing guitar parts on “Jailbreak” twice now and it already feels like I’ve betrayed the artistic concience which originally inspired this great music. If you dig around youtube for Thin MIDDy I’m sure you’ll see the performance and understand what I mean. It’s not fair. It’s not fair to Thin Lizzy, and it’s not fair to Leonard Braunheart.
I’m going to have a heart to heart with the band tomorrow night. This madness and debauchery has got to stop.
-LB
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