Show 444 - John Platania

Sometimes, WoodSongs is fun.

Don't get me wrong, it's always a great time. But after 444 shows, the routine becomes evident and you sort of go into "auto-pilot." Which of course, is the life of an artist. Musicians and songwriters must cultivate a very high tolerance for repetition in order to survive.

Think about it: they write a song. Practice the song. Rehearse the song. Record the song. Make a music video of the song. Release the song. Radio plays the song. They perform the song. It becomes a hit and they play the darn thing every night for the rest of their career.

I had a conversation over breakfast one morning a few years ago with songwriter Don McLean. He described that, as much as he love's American Pie and all that it gives him, it can be a bit of a struggle at times to stay interested in it. Especially after so many years. Then he said something that really stuck with me:

"It must be horrible being Chuck Berry."

And he's right. Of course, please remember that we are speaking in the context of repetition. Poor Chuck has so many 2 1/2 minute hits, written in the same key of E with the same 1/4/5 chord structure, and his audience and the promoters expect to hear every last one of those hits on stage that night. If he ever left out Johnny Be Good he would be boo'd off the stage. Poor guy.

"Massive hits" deprived Chuck Berry of being the artist he could have been. Or wanted to be. That almost happened to Don. American Pie was such a global monster that it almost swallowed up the artist who gave birth to it.

That's why WoodSongs can be fun. John Platania (pictured here) was on the show this past Monday. He is a brilliant and in-demand musician who toured with everyone from Van Morrison to Bonnie Raitt ... and he was with Don for almost 15 years. He stood onstage every time Don launched into that same song, night after night, all over the world and heard the explosion of applause each time the words rang out into the concert hall: "A long, long time ago ..."

Now John has his own CD out. He's gone from side-man to front-man. And the sense of the repetition is different. It is no longer is someone else's burden. Now, he is singing his own songs. Every night. Every concert. Every performance.

And, god help you if it becomes a Chevy commercial.
Let's hope, for his sake, he doesn't have a big hit :-)

Michael