When it comes to learning about how the music industry has changed, it’s often a good idea to talk to someone that’s lived it a long time. And in the world of heavy metal, there are few people that have been around longer than the legendary drummer Dave Lombardo. With more than four decades of experience under his belt, the man’s seen a thing or two about how shit’s changed over the years.
And while it would be easy for someone who got to witness a world in which musicians actually made a living to just shit on how things are done these days, Lombardo said during a recent interview with RRBG (as transcribed by Blabbermouth) that there’s a lot of good that the music industry now offers artists these days.
“We all know the negative part of it — obviously, the change we’ve had to witness But, hey, that’s evolution. That’s life. We’re gonna be viejitos [little old men] if we start complaining about it. It’s, like, ‘Oh, you know, back in my day,’ this and that. It’s, like, no — you have to go with the flow.
“I think there’s a lot of advantages in today’s industry. One, you could put music out — anybody could put music out and anybody could record it at home. And there are just so many advantages. The research that you can do online to clear up any questions, if you have an idea, if you have a problem. All those are brilliant advantages. And I think we should embrace those and use them to our benefit. I think also if we sit around and complain about things, you’re really missing the point. You’ve been given all these great tools, and I think it’s just better for us all around. Yes, I can go down the path and complain and nitpick all these little things, but, man, I don’t view life that way. If something’s holding it back, if you fall, get up, brush yourself off, keep moving forward. If something happens, ‘Fuck. That hurt. Well, let’s go. Come on. So that’s just my personality.”
Honestly, you gotta give it to Lombardo. That’s a pretty refreshing take on the state of the music industry these days. Is it hard? Yeah. Was it easier to make ends meet back in the day? For some, yes. But we’re also living in an unprecedented time where artists can immediately share their music with anyone in the world. That’s just wild.
Later on in the interview, Lombardo was asked about his thoughts on A.I. and its potential use to make music. While you all know our stance on the matter, the ex-Slayer drummer laid down a gauntlet for the tech: let’s see it perform live.
“Actually, I’d like to see A.I. perform it live. The human element, the feeling of having a Marshall stack being played in front of you and some subwoofer and low end from a drummer on a real drum set, there’s nothing like that. It could be possible that people will forget, something will come in and take its place and people will forget what that feels like, but hopefully not. That aspect, live music, I think people need that, people need to get out and see and experience that, a live performance, so I don’t see that going away. And A.I. definitely can’t replace that.”
Source: www.metalsucks.net
