Without further digressing into a stroll down memory lane, I'll tell you why I bring this up: One of the required readings from my final class was a non-fiction work entitled So You Wanna be a Rockstar by Jacob Slichter.
Remember the song "Closing Time" from the late 90's? Of course you do - who could deny rocking out to the final few minutes of the song singing 'I know who I want to take me home!!/ Take me hoooooome' right along with the music. That song was written and recorded by the band Semisonic. Jacob Slichter played drums in Semisonic. So You Wanna be a Rockstar is his story.
I recommend the book to any music fan or musician out there reading this. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to go from an unknown guy writing songs in his basement, working the day-job, and dreaming of success to being a member of an internationally recognized, multi-platinum band complete with stylists, a road crew, and a tour bus? I always did, and Jake's book really opened my eyes. It's written in a funny, insightful, and self-deprecating tone that has a way of reminding readers that while the author may be a semi-famous rock drummer, he is still a normal guy from Illinois telling us all how the music business actually works. Some of the typical rock-star lifestyle stereotypes are true, most are not, and it's fascinating to get a dose of truth from a first-hand source without the 'rock-star ego' clouding the stories. To be blunt -go buy the book and read it. It's some of the best 'music biz non-fiction' I've ever read.
As mentioned earlier - I read the book in 2005, loved it, and then loaned it to my roommate (a musician like me). Years passed, I forgot about the music business as a viable career choice (gave up before trying, more accurately), and I forgot about this great little book. I met up with that same college roommate recently and he returned my copy along with apologies for keeping it 6+ years. He also said it was fantastic as he read it more than once. Isn't it funny how a person can totally forget about certain books, songs, poems, etc that meant a lot to them at a particular time only to have it re-surface later unexpectedly? It's like driving in the car and randomly hearing the song that was playing when you had your first kiss. You hadn't heard or even thought about that song since 1995, but as soon as it pours into your ears and finds its way to the 'reserved' section of your mind, you're instantly transported to middle school awkwardness. When I saw the book, it took me back to a time when a music career was all I wanted, all I thirsted for. Back when a music career was possible. Basically - back to that magic time just after graduation but before the harsh realities of the 'real world' came crashing in. Back before I knew what the hell a 401k was. You get my drift...
So, I began reading the book again this summer and enjoyed it twice as much the second time around. While reading I thought to myself "I wonder what ever happened to Semisonic? Their last album was released like 10 years ago, and it seems they just faded off..." After a quick check on the band's website (www.semisonic.com) I learned that they are keeping busy. So busy that plans to record another Semisonic album are on a back-burner as each member of the band is working on various projects. After browsing the site I found a link that said simply "email Jake" (the drummer and author of the book in question). I clicked, more out of curiosity than anything else, and lo and behold my Outlook popped up ready for me to type an email. Jake's email address was sitting innocently in my 'to:' field.
"Why the hell not?" I thought aloud. I love his book and have purchased all three Semisonic albums (they're really really good by the way). Might as well tell him how much I liked all that work he's done. So I wrote a short email to Jake explaining why I read the book, how much I enjoyed it, etc. I thought it might make it's way to him at some point and it would be a nice thing to randomly read 7 years after the book had been published. So I push 'send'.
An hour later I got a response.
Earlier in this post I made mention of 'rock-star ego'. What rock-star turned writer would pass up the chance to make himself look ultra-cool when regaling others with tales from the road? Not many, I believe. Jake is one of those 'not manys'. The response I received was personally written from Jake's own email account. It addressed me by name, thanked me for the kind words, added encouragement for my own musical goals, and even shared a story about Bloomington (my alma mater's location) since he'd visited there before. It was very, very cool.
Now, I know it's not an email from Paul McCartney but it still made me feel a little bigger. Bigger is not the best word to describe it, but 'important' and 'cosmopolitan' are worse fits, so I'm sticking with a 'little bigger'. I, of course, wrote back and shared another, related story. He was kind enough to respond again and again and before I knew it, I was having a cyber-conversation with a musician and writer that I really admired. I was a little bit floored to know that Jake was taking time out of his day to joke with me and swap stories, even though he had nary a clue who the hell I was. He was just a normal guy with impressive accomplishments that appreciated some genuine kind remarks. Like I said - no rock-star ego with him at all. It was very refreshing and solidified my positive opinion of Jake. The way he portrayed himself in his book matched the attitude I found in his emails. I don't think that's very common.
The last message I sent Jake said something along the lines of "thank you for corresponding with me, a total stranger, just because I like your book and found the 'email Jake' link". His reply summed up an attitude that I think is largely missing from the entertainers we admire.
"J.R.," he says, "I hope one day a complete stranger reaches out to you with such kind words. Then you will understand that all of this is zero-percent hassle and on hundred percent gratification."
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| Jake Slichter and his awesome scarf |
