FEATURE:
Excess Denied
PHOTO CREDIT: Jakayla Toney/Pexels
Why Modern Artists Are Eschewing the Recklessness and Vices of the Past
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I do not think that we have…
PHOTO CREDIT: MART PRODUCTION/Pexels
completely eradicated and suppressed something that was seen as desired and cool a while ago. Definitely from the 1960s to the 1990s even, that sense that Rock & Roll was about sex and drugs. I am going to come to an article from The Guardian. I wouldn’t ever say that Rock music has lost its edge and dominance. It is still an inventive and hugely important genre. It has become more cross-pollinating and diverse in recent years, which has led many to assume that a perceived lack of explosion and resonance is due to a lack of talent or people not living up to gods and goddesses of the past. I think what they really mean is that we do not see those figures – mainly men – who were known for heavy drinking, drug-taking and escapades. Unfortunately, even in recent history, there have been cases of male artists having sex with some of their fans. Not quite the same as the groupie culture that was almost promulgated and seen as a cool thing, I know that (luckily) this is rare now – although some groups still ensure that this rather poisonous and toxic practice carries on. You only need to think for a brief moment about some of the bands famed for their excess and sleeping with fans to know that a lot of that sex was with underage girls. As quite a few artists have been put under the spotlight due to sexual assault/harassment and rape allegations, there has been this intense focus on the industry.
IN THIS PHOTO: Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin in Los Angeles in 1973/PHOTO CREDIT: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
It is a good thing that there is greater awareness and retaliation against artists that are accused. I do think that there is this small sector that longs for the days of a more excess-laden and destructive music scene. Whilst it was usually confined to certain genres, I think that this idea of being a Rock artist involved a certain degree of recklessness and unsettling behaviour. I was compelled by an article from The Guardian - where it seems like there is not the desire in most artists to party and risk the safety and health of fans and themselves. I am going to expand more on what they wrote and add some new directions and thoughts:
“For years, a concert tour was seen as the ultimate expression of the “rock’n’roll lifestyle”: a months-long bacchanal during which bands would sniff and swig their way across a continent, often leaving a trail of wreckage behind them. Oasis famously once split up on the road after Noel Gallagher went awol, the rest of the band having been supposedly supplied crystal meth by the Brian Jonestown Massacre; Led Zeppelin rampaged through groupies and hotel rooms on their infamous world tours, while In Bed With Madonna, the star’s wild 1991 tour documentary, culminates with a game of truth or dare in which she fellates a bottle and goads a dancer to show his penis.
In recent years – as conversations around substance abuse, consent and mental health have forced those in the music industry to consider the damaging nature of a lot of accepted rock tradition – that kind of touring-life debauchery has supposedly gone further and further out of fashion, replaced by a safer, more enlightened music culture. Which made it all the more shocking when, this month, Lizzo was sued by former dancers who alleged that, among other toxic workplace practices, the American singer encouraged them to dance with and touch naked strippers at a club while on tour in Amsterdam. (Lizzo denies all the accusations.) So has the culture really changed? Or has an ever-PR-driven industry just found better ways to hide all the shagging, drinking and drug-taking that still goes on behind the scenes?
IN THIS PHOTO: Bethany Cosentino/PHOTO CREDIT: Shervin Lainez
Best Coast singer Bethany Cosentino, who recently struck out as a solo artist under her own name, says that the election of Donald Trump in 2016, as well as the #MeToo movement, forced a lot of people she knew to “reckon with the idea that this machismo, toxic, masculine attitude has very much been applauded [in a way that let] men get away with anything”. When she first began touring with Best Coast at 23, she felt that touring culture was still very much geared towards the hard-partying lifestyle. “I’m from America, where our culture is very much like, you get wasted and you drink and you party,” she says. “There’s kind of a joke where people say like, ‘Every backstage is an open bar’, and it’s true – you get a rider and you get drink tickets and you can live this fantasy of what it would be like to be a quote-unquote rock star.”
She describes touring as “summer camp for adults”. “You play a show, and then you go out to bars and you hang out with fans and they buy you shots and you see where the night takes you, and then you wake up wildly hungover and do it all over again.” As she entered her early 30s, she began to take stock of the role drugs and alcohol had in her life, and realised that she didn’t really enjoy partying so hard any more. “I started to really acknowledge that maybe I did drink a little too much, maybe I was abusing my prescription medications – I wasn’t taking care of myself.”
In general, it would seem that sobriety is more common among touring musicians than it’s ever been, with indie stars such as Waxahatchee, Florence Welch and Cosentino herself all becoming drink and drug-free in the past few years. Lisa Larson, an American tour manager who works with bands such as Snail Mail, Bully and Boy Harsher, says that in the time she’s been touring she’s seen a lot of people “getting sober, going through some crazy shit in their lives that makes them rethink their choices and their nightlife behaviour”.
Maybe there was something about the time period and culture that saw artists party until late and engage in sex and drug-taking. Now that a lot of promotion and press is done on social media, they do not need to court the focus on the newspapers. It is going to be more damaging being perceived as a Rock rebel and hellraiser/caner than it is being responsible and measured. Some might find this more detox and adulty approach is a little boring and takes the spark and rebelliousness out of Rock. Whilst it is beneficial that artists are taking better care of themselves, that is not to say they cannot create excitement and be bold. It goes without saying that drugs and excessive drinking is something we do not need or want to see in music! With artists touring harder and longer than before, that endurance can only be achieved through self-discipline and sensible decisions. There is this problem with mental health too. Many artists have reported feeling drained and unable to continue. It has nothing to do with artists having less stamina than those in the past. It is a brutal game and routine of travelling between places and delivering these long sets. If artists before used to self-medicate and drink/take drugs to cover that tiredness or perk themselves up, a more holistic and self-preserving stance has come in. Of course, given the fact that there is still a problem where (mainly women) are subjected to sexual assault and harassment, we need to get out of our heads that the groupie lifestyle and artists inviting fans into their beds was ever cool or acceptable. It casts in quite a dark and negative light many bands we lionise and put on a pedestal.
PHOTO CREDIT: Radu Florin/Pexels
In a larger sense, I think that the music scene now is more defined by the music and not necessarily lifestyles and celebrity culture. If there are artists who still keep up that 24-7 routine of partying all night and never stopping, thankfully we are seeing less and less of it. One of the most disturbing and worrying elements of that culture of excess was the sex and drugs. Too deep and complex an issue to completely cover, but it is positive that artists right across the board are committing to a healthier and less cleaner (in all senses) way of living. That artists are saying that things are hard when sober. Touring and committing so much energy is gruelling. Alcohol and drugs makes that much harder and even more destructive. The seediness that was prevalent and almost expected of many bands has faded through the years. In a time when artists are being named for alleged assaults and abuses, that unsavoury and hugely irresponsible behaviour is almost gone – but, as I say, it exists still in some corners. It leaves me thinking about live music now. If it seemed like artists of the past had limitless energy and acts now seem to have less stamina and gas in the tank, I don’t think this is true. I feel even smaller and rising artists are touring and traveling as much as many famed bands from back in the day.
PHOTO CREDIT: Omnibus Press
There is a greater awareness and crisis of poor mental health. With artists knowing this and trying to maintain a healthier and more self-caring routine to try and keep going, I do feel questions need to be asked of the industry. Books like Touring and Mental Health: The Music Industry Manual are available for artists. I would thoroughly recommend anyone in the music industry to buy it:
“It’s encouraging to see mental health become part of the mainstream conversation across every industry, and it’s a priority to Live Nation to help create tools for artists and crew working in live entertainment. It’s so valuable to have a resource built by people who understand the industry and unique dynamics of touring, which is why we jumped at the opportunity to support what Tamsin was building with the Touring and Mental Health manual.” Michael Rapino, CEO & President, Live Nation
“[it’s] like having a therapist in your back pocket. It helped deepen my understanding of myself as a performer and how the demands of the music business can take a toll.” Siobhan Donaghy, Sugababes
“I wish this book had been around when I first started touring. Touring and Mental Health can really help us all navigate the darker moments and the bumps in the road out on tour. The insights, wisdom and strategies from the mental health and medical experts, the tour crew, and musicians in this book are invaluable. It should be the first thing we all pack when we head out on the road.” Philip Selway, Radiohead
Edited by psychotherapist and ex music booker Tamsin Embleton and published by Omnibus Press on 23rd March, Touring and Mental Health – The Music Industry Manual will help musicians and those working in live music to identify, process and manage the physical and psychological difficulties that can occur on the road or as a result of touring. Touring and Mental Health - The Music Industry Manual - is supported by Live Nation.
Covering topics including: emotional intelligence, depression, trauma, crisis management, anger, conflict, stress, addiction, eating disorders, anxiety, group dynamics, mindset, exercise, physical health, optimal performance, diversity and inclusion, romantic relationships, nutrition, sleep science, breathwork, meditation, mental capacity, psychological safety and post-tour recovery, Touring and Mental Health – The Music Industry Manual is written by health and performing arts medicine professionals to provide robust clinical advice, cutting edge research, practical strategies and resources. Each chapter is underpinned with personal recollections from artists and professionals including Nile Rodgers, Justin Hawkins, Philip Selway, Charles Thompson, Katie Melua, Kieran Hebden, Jake Berry, Tina Farris, Taylor Hanson, Trevor Williams, Lauren Mayberry, Pharoahe Monch, Jim Digby, Neil Barnes, Stephanie Phillips, Will Young, Erol Alkan, Angie Warner, Suzi Green, Debbie Taylor and Dale ‘Opie’ Skjerseth, among others.
Praise for Touring and Mental Health – The Music Industry Manual
“This book should be a compulsory purchase for anyone who spends time on the road (or sends others out there). It can add decades to a career, give wisdom to the most exhausted mind, and offer encouragement to every burdened heart.”
James Ainscough, CEO Help Musicians UK
“The perfect book at the perfect time.” Marty Hom, tour manager for Fleetwood Mac, Shakira, Beyoncé
“A remarkable encyclopaedia of wisdom... this impressive book needs to be read by every single artist and every single psychological worker as well.”
Professor Brett Kahr, Senior Fellow, Tavistock Institute of Medical Psychology
“An essential must-read for absolutely everyone involved with the music industry. At last, an honest and revelatory document that highlights the complexities with life on the road and existing as an artist in the public eye, capturing all the highs, lows and in-betweens.” Toby L, Founder Transgressive Records
IN THIS PHOTO: Tamsin Embleton
About the author:
Tamsin Embleton is an attachment-based psychoanalytic psychotherapist based in London. She trained at the Bowlby Centre, the Anna Freud Centre, Regent’s University and the Adult Attachment Institute and consults for a variety of entertainment companies and charities. Embleton is the founder of the Music Industry Therapist Collective (MITC), a global group of specialist health clinicians who combine their unique experience of working in the music business prior to retraining as health professionals. MITC have delivered workshops to Warner Music Group and Kobalt among others, and are hosting panels and workshops at SXSW and the International Live Music Conference later this year. Previously Embleton worked as a booker for the Mean Fiddler Group, Killer B Music, Standon Calling Festival and Metropolis Studios. She has also worked in artist and tour management and for the PRS Foundation as a grants advisor.
Connect here:
https://twitter.com/tamsinembleton
https://twitter.com/weareMITC”.
Long gone (let’s hope) of lionised bands immersed in a revered and seemingly idolised groupie culture. The fights, scandal, drugs and excessive drinking is less rampant for sure and glorified. As artists today have to face more pressures and have less disposable income – so they have to tour longer and further -, it is good that they are speaking and letting their fans know when they need a break. More needs to be done by the industry to ensure that artists can tour and play; that their mental and physical health and safety is paramount. Even if the music of the Rock heroes of the past was exceptional and legendary, when it comes to that lifestyle and its values, it is clear that we do not want to…
PHOTO CREDIT: Maria Pop/Pexels
GO back there…ever!