The past several years have been milestones of a sort. 1999 was named after a Prince song. 2000 was… well, it was Y2K. In 2001, we could all talk about our big Odyssey we’re on at the beginning of the millennium blah, blah, blah. In contrast, 2002 seems to be the year we stopped thinking about what year we were in and got on with the new century.
And what did we see in 2002? Military escalation, economic scandal and instability, fear of terrorism. . . it’s shaping up to be quite an era. In fact, it’s probably safe to say that most of the retrospectives you’ll read on 2002 will probably be dire ones.
As everyone scrambles to put some sort of perspective on 2002 and tries to determine “what it all means,” we should try to remember that no matter what we hear now, we won’t know the full impact for decades. Instead of an era of suspicion, fear, and war, a decade or so from now 2002 may be seen as the time when we started to re-calibrate what we consider important.
Traditionally, during times like war or economic depression, when we’re told to tighten our belts and focus on the essentials, the marketplace for music remains relatively consistent. It’s something we see first hand at Sweetwater. Despite the list of ills we may hear about, people are still buying guitars, people are still buying sound equipment, people are still making – and listening to – music. In short, people have decided that one of the essentials is music. And why not? Music gives shape to seemingly disparate or conflicting feelings and emotions. It helps people cope and make sense of things. It serves as escape, and it can also heal and inspire us. Yes, it’s big business, but it succeeds and is beautiful in spite of that.
One of the great things about making music is that you don’t need the attention of the world in order to make an impact. Sure, it might be great to be Bono for a day, but music connects with people on a very immediate and intimate level, no matter what size the stage you’re playing on.
As musicians and people who love music, we’re in a unique position to help determine what kind of era this ultimately turns out to be. As we finally seem to get on with the 21st century, make it your mission to inspire and move people with your music. And we’re not asking you to compose an original symphony or aria, either. In fact, many of us find AC/DC cover bands to be just as inspiring. Whatever your gig, don’t underestimate the impact you can have on an individual basis. Integrity, in the end, will win out and is ultimately what will be remembered.
Happy New Year and thanks for reading inSync. We’ll be back here on the 2nd.