Forward, Ho!

Holy smokes! Over two years, without a post. Let’s see: excuses, excuses…  I think, in part, I got a little disheartened by a lack of response, or involvement. Y’know, I’m putting stuff out there that at least I think is interesting, and am trying to create interest in the band and what we’re all about. So, to be faced with so little feedback…well, I got sour on it for awhile. You don’t have to stroke my ego, but if you have a thought about what I’ve written, it’d be great if you’d let me know. Even just to know you’re out there.

The Summer of ’15 was also an incredibly busy one for the band. We were relentlessly recording, mixing, and mastering Don’t Fake It, a first-release process that was as exciting as it was daunting. (See earlier posts about doing it all yourself.) On top of that, we had (for us) a fairly hectic performance schedule, highlighted by an opening slot at that year’s Little Camille’s Music by the Bay festival, and culminating with a shortened October set that resulted in our Live at CMU DVD release.

The final complication was the dissolution of the band as it has been presented to you, and that’s what I’m really here to discuss, publicly, once and for all. The “we” I keep mentioning in relation to the band is – has always been – myself and Rebel. We are the ones who formed the band in 1982, we are the ones who wrote all the songs (back in the day, and now), and we are the ones who play all the instruments on the recorded tracks. When we first realized we were going to move forward professionally, around 2013, it quickly became apparent that two guys wasn’t much of a band. (More on this in a bit.) In trying to hold steady with the spirit of what we’re doing – middle-aged guys, a particular style of rock music – I quickly suggested my friends Mike and Drew to Rebel. I say “friends,” but these two guys are truly BROTHERS in every sense except the blood one. I’ve known them for 30 years. I’ve lived with both of them, shared life and love and sweat and tears with both of them…like I said: brothers. Go back and read the “We Are Family” post, if you need to get further caught up. Anyway: the suggestion worked. They were happy to come onboard, and I worked tirelessly to achieve a “we” that was now FOUR instead of TWO, moving forward.

Alas, it turned out not to be. In joining the ranks of musical units through the ages, I now have a much more detailed view of the term “creative differences.” Some of what Mike and Drew wanted from their experience in the band, I was more than willing to grant. You want to write songs? GREAT! That’s encouraged! And Mike especially stepped up, delivering live-show favorite “Statistical Odds,” which we performed throughout 2015. You want to be involved in the running of the band as a business? FABULOUS! That spreads the workload around. Here are some things you can do. Then, some of the things they wanted made me a little more squeamish, but in the spirit of brotherhood and band unity, I gave in. You wanna be the “barefoot guy” onstage? Well…I’d PREFER to see you in some sort of “rock & roll” shoes (boots, Chucks, what have you) instead of a Jimmy Buffett/Mark Knopfler type of role, but…okay. You wanna be included on decisions that pre-date your involvement? I’ll do what I can, but some things were put into play before you were asked to join, and we need to look at things as being “from THIS point, FORWARD.” I’ll even own up to waffling myself on some decisions. Both Mike and Drew felt strongly about doing cover songs, and I changed my mind about that regularly. One week “Yes,” let’s throw in a song that the crowd KNOWS, and keep their interest; the next week “No,” I want to create a market for the songs I write, and covering Bon Jovi or Bruce Springsteen dilutes that. I ultimately landed on the “No” side, mostly because the band has a large enough body of work to not NEED to do covers, from a time-on-stage perspective. Then, there were things that they felt strongly about, and I totally disagreed. At various times they asked about changing chord voicings, or progressions, or a particular bass line, in order to better reflect THEIR tastes, and that fell really flat with me. This is the song, the way it was written, and it needs to have THIS line, or THAT progression.

At the end of the day, the differences began to outweigh the common vision, and the united front and overall band concept that Rebel and I share gave us no choice but to continue as a duo. For all business, legal, and creative intents, “Iron Fist” the band consists of me and Rebel. We played all the instruments on all the studio recordings. We included Mike and Drew as background vocalists on Don’t Fake It, because the basic tracks were already cut by the time they came into the picture. Having them on the record is a treat for my ears: I love the mixture of voices we generated, from Drew’s low growl on “Viceville” to Mike’s higher harmonies on “Lovin’ You.” We took a band picture from a photo shoot early that summer and used it as the back cover, to sustain the concept of “foursome.” But, it’s not. It’s a twosome, and from this point forward, that’s what it will be.

The idea of a “two-man” group has gained a lot of traction. The Black Keys obviously come to mind, as do the White Stripes. Lesser-known outfits might be Fierce Heart, The Kills, and One-Eyed Doll. More and more, the old-school way of making music – here’s a 4- or 5-piece outfit – is falling away, giving rise to successful collaborations of DIY musicians who make music together, and perhaps (or not) hire additional musicians to perform live. Right now, IF is able to perform live, with backing tracks for rhythm guitar and bass. Rebel has already worked out arrangements that allow us to perform as a trio, hiring only a bassist. And, a coming post will detail the exciting plans we have for our 2017 appearances, as a FULL quartet. But to repeat: Iron Fist is a duo, in the mold of other highly-successful rock duos. And we’re happy with that.

I love my brothers. There were sore feelings to be sure. I’ve powwowed with both Mike and Drew, and wounds make take a while to heal over. They may leave scars; perhaps we’ll always bear the markings of this (ultimately) failed experiment. But they are still a regular part of my life, and we all went into this together secure enough in our relationships that we KNEW we could de-couple the band and still be brothers. I’m happy about that. And, I’m happy that, once again, the band is on the move. Forward, HO!