Open Skyz – Nothing without You (audio)

It was the wrong band on the wrong label at the wrong time.

But the music goes through my brain on a regular basis, even twenty five years later.

Music used to be precious, to be on the mailing list was akin to nirvana, only equaled by having a free subscription to AOL when they charged by the minute, which I had too, ah the old perks of the music industry, when concert tickets were still free and music drove the culture, when it was a business but excess was part of the equation.

Used to be every three years a new sound would come and upend the previous one. That’s how hair band music was eclipsed by grunge. And, honestly, Open Skyz is more akin to Journey, in look and vocal timbre, but I always saw them as separate from the Steve Perry juggernaut.

Truly a faceless band, their image was not even on the album cover, which is the kiss of death, it smacks of corporate rock, of a studio creation, but Open Skyz was a band, previously known as Valentine, with a bit of MTV traction, but then they jumped from Warner Brothers to RCA and were told they needed a new moniker and this was the one they ended up with.

I guess what caught my eye was the production by Richie Zito. A guitarist with a flair behind the board, he’d done good work with Eddie Money, he knew how to wail.

And this was back before music was made for earbuds. Younger kids had portable CD players, but the oldsters, the thirtysomethings and boomers, had big rigs, the switch from vinyl/cassettes to CDs was complete, and everybody still had power and big speakers and sound quality was important and when you cranked it up and the whole room was awash in the sound…

You felt good.

Now the opening cut on the Open Skyz album is “None Of It Matters.” An upbeat explosion. The Stones taught us you hit ’em with your best shot right up front, especially in the CD era, when there was only one side, many people never made it to the end of the album, even fewer do now.

“None Of It Matters” is not a radio hit, it wasn’t for MTV, it was made for the owner, the fan, a private pleasure…

All of your gold, all of your toys
None of it matters

Music used to sell the other. It was for the alienated, those who just did not fit into society. They watched television and did not see themselves, they wanted to be understood, they put on a record…

She don’t want your diamond rings
But she wants to feel alive

Money can’t buy you love. Or can it? Especially today, when life is so damn hard. Funny how many actresses marry hedge funders. People want to be protected, they want a leg up, cash opens doors closed to so many others, and artistic achievements pale in comparison.

But this was not how it used to be.

The acts didn’t boast. Their goal was to connect. And if they did, then cash rained down, WHAT A CONCEPT!

The third cut was “Golden Years,” which started off quiet, as if from a distant galaxy, and then resonated with its message.

Happily ever after is more than enough

It most certainly is, but try selling that idea in an era where everybody’s looking over their shoulder, for something better.

And cut four is the title cut, “Open Skies,” which sounds at first like it’s an outtake from the second side of “Magical Mystery Tour,” and then locks in and has you nodding your head as it turns into an anthem.

And there’s a cover of Supertramp’s “Give A Little Bit,” and ballads looking to pull the heartstrings of women around the world that didn’t, but the piece de resistance is track two, “Nothing Without You.”

There’s a drum fill, and then ethereal instrumentation that immediately sets your mind free, has you hovering three feet above your bed.

Every day and every night I try to be so strong
Every inch of me cries out for you whenever you’re gone

Schmaltzy, I know, but if you heard the record…

Have you been dumped, have you been on the losing end of distance, have you played your hand wrong, have you been alone and unable to stop thinking about them…

Then this is the music you want to hear, it soothes you.

But it’s about the advent of a relationship, when nothing else matters, when you can’t stop thinking about…

Her.

When my heart beats now
It’s not the same somehow
There’s nothing I can do
‘Cause I’m nothing without you

But it’s the instrumentation and the vocal histrionics, the way Hugo works his way in and around the words, it’s like you’re in a slow motion amusement park, you can see where you’re going, can feel the twists and turns, other people may be on the ride, but you’re in your own bubble.

I know, I know, punk was a reaction to prog rock, to slickness, to calculation, metal too, they were raw and basic, but…

You don’t want to throw the baby out with the bathwater.

And everything Open Skyz represents is anathema today. Melody, production, now it’s all about beats, a jolt, it’s more physical than emotional, but “Nothing Without You” resonates on both levels, the sound is a warm bath and then the lyrics percolate and penetrate and even though you may be alone, you feel part of a club, a giant continuum, of people who believe music will not only set their souls free, but keep them warm at night.

And there’s nothing cool about Open Skyz. As a matter of fact, “Nothing Without You” was not written by the band, but Allee Willis, Franne Golde and Suzann Rye, there is calculation involved.

But the target was missed. Like I said, Pearl Jam was dominant, RCA was an also-ran and this music was already in the rearview mirror and still is.

And insiders hate this stuff. They want something more raw, more authentic. But to be unable to open your heart to different sounds is the mark of a closed mind with limited perspective.

And sometimes, when the progenitor has lost their way, the imitation well-done is so satisfying. And what was ersatz yesterday is iconic today, can you say Boston, can you say Karen Carpenter?

Music is personal. It plays in your brain.

I know, going to the show is a good time.

But I never went to party, I went to connect with the band on stage.

I connect with Open Skyz.

“None Of It Matters”

(The Open Skyz album is on no streaming service, therefore I can’t link to “Golden Years” or “Open Skies,” they’re not even on YouTube!)

If you want to learn about the music for “Love” in Vegas and remixing “Sgt. Pepper” and being the son of a legendary father, THIS IS THE PLACE!

Here’s a sample:

Giles Martin-This Week’s Podcast

 

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We finished it yesterday.

For those playing the home game, yesterday was my birthday. With its triple tradition of Langer’s pastrami, hot fudge sundae and a movie or two or three.

It didn’t quite work out that way.

Actually, I prefer to be skiing on my birthday, but the prednisone has my calf freaking out and every time I think I’m out of the woods I’m pushed back into rehab/frailty/recovery and it’s getting damn old. Somehow I missed the whole ski season, and I ain’t happy about it.

Anyway, Saturday I interviewed Moby for a podcast at the L.A. “Times” Festival of Books, and only one person left during the whole presentation, that may be a new record! You see Richard Melville Hall was riveting. He’s soft-spoken, but what he says… He defies the image of nonverbal musician, he’s smart, erudite, he’s thought about it and when he speaks…

He tried really hard to follow up “Play,” he wanted to continue to surf the fame/model continuum. But he couldn’t. And he’s adjusted in the wake, given up drugs and alcohol, happy to be blessed by the little things in life. We call that perspective, and few have it.

Then we moseyed over to a tent to hear the L.A. “Times” editorial board give its perspective. Which was pretty interesting. Because the paper has more power than any entity, just less power than ever before. I realized this at the “Alta” party the night previous. “Alta” is a new California magazine and they commissioned a story from me so I thought I’d better show up and meet the brass. I connected with “Alta”‘s owner William Randolph Hearst III, who I’d spoken with on the phone for an hour the month before, and I connected with the editor and his number two, but I was stunned how many people didn’t know who I was. Because fame ain’t what it’s cracked up to be anymore. I realized this when my inbox filled up with messages from people who’d never heard an Avicii song. I realized this when everybody at Coachella was raving about Beyonce’s performance and everybody who wasn’t there couldn’t care less. This is not a judgment on the art, although I’m willing to do that, are Beyonce’s songs as memorable as those of Prince, Aretha or Joni Mitchell, is that how far we’ve come, where performance trumps music? And the truth is you can’t say this, because she’s black and a woman, but it’s this same groupthink/silence that’s preventing progress. Unless we can hash these issues out, discuss them, include men in the #MeToo movement, as David Chappelle so eloquently said, we’re not gonna get to the destination.

And Saturday night I went to this charity function in Calabasas, way up in the hills, behind the gates, at the home of producer John Feldmann. There were a lot of players there. Jason Flom, John Alagia, ZZ Ward, Robby Krieger, and talking amongst ourselves it became clear…

It’s a business again.

It used to be the fame game, a way to make millions, now everybody’s hustling and struggling and to tell you the truth, the highlight was the charity component, these ex-military men at VETPAW

Veterans Empowered to Protect African Wildlife

saving the rhinos. But Greta Van Fleet performed and I can trumpet my inclusion but the truth is…

I enjoyed watching “Fauda” more.

That’s right, after sneaking away from the Festival of Books to get a #19 at Langer’s before they closed on Saturday, since they’re not open on Sunday, partaking of their pastrami chili cheese fries in addition

Langer’s pastrami chili cheese fries

we went to Brent’s for brunch on Sunday, where I loaded up on lox and whitefish, and then went off to the Holocaust Museum and finally to the couch, to finish “Fauda.

Arab/Israeli relations. We’ve got the biased, like the anti-Semitic Roger Waters, imploring people not to perform in Israel, and we’ve got Natalie Portman refusing to accept an award, which I think is more about her image than her politics, and the truth is…

I’m not in support of the settlements.

I’m not in agreement with Netanyahu on so much.

But the truth is Israel can only lose once and it’s done. All over. And that’s the goal of Hamas. No two state solution. No hashed-out agreement, just extinction. And I deplore the deaths of Arabs at the hands of Israelis at the border but you must read Bret Stephens from Saturday’s “New York Times” for perspective. This is the goal of Hamas, to gain sympathy, to get the world’s support for their position:

“Jewish Power at 70 Years”

But it’s not only that, the truth is anti-Semitism is rampant, and Stephens delineates this, and one of the head-spinning experiences at the Holocaust Museum is all the newspapers highlighting what was going on in Europe back in the thirties and we Americans did nothing. We’re always told we didn’t know, but there it is, we did.

And “Fauda” is a Netflix series about the Arab/Israeli conflict on the border.

I watched it because Cliff Burnstein recommended it. And I trust him, he’s one of the most intellectual people in the music business.

But the ratings are not as good as some other shows but we were a bit sick of whodunits, although the fourth season of “Bosch” is STUPENDOUS! You must watch it on Amazon Prime.

Anyway, “Fauda” is twelve episodes about an elite Israeli team trying to kill a supposedly already dead terrorist. And people are blown up and killed willy-nilly and you realize how precious life truly is. And the landscape is raw and in so many ways inhospitable, the most modern things are the cars.

But the people…

The Israelis focus on the mission more than their everyday lives.

And the Arabs…are willing to be martyrs.

And you wonder how there can ever be a solution.

And this is not American television, where everybody’s beautiful. But by time you watch a few episodes you fall in love with some of the characters. The lead, Doron…he’s fierce and driven, he’s not a hothead, but he will follow his own direction, he’s more of an American hero than anybody in our movies or government today. And Shirin, the Arab doctor, has one of the worst noses in film history. But you watch her long enough and you no longer see it, she too is beautiful, illustrating character trumps image.

And everybody else…

Is living on the edge.

Wanna feel really alive?

Be close to death.

And is the mission more important than humanity? Can you park your feelings at the door and just execute? And can anybody lose their life in a terrorist incident just that quickly? And…

You see modern warfare.

We hear so much about the NRA and guns and the Second Amendment that we fail to realize today’s combat is done via drones and technology. They know where you are, they can spy on you via satellites. And both teams know each other. That’s right, the Arabs and the Israelis interact constantly, trade secrets and prisoners and it’s hard to keep the characters straight and you watch long enough and you wonder what they’re fighting for.

And if the fighting can ever end.

So I’ve seen more watchable series. And if you don’t like to grimace and groan, this is not for you. But “Fauda” exposes you to truth that’s out there that we ignore, or are unaware exists.

And that’s what I did last night, finish the series, and eat some carrot cake and left over pastrami. After having a Carvel hot fudge sundae. After not going to the movies.

I looked, I tried. I could go see the horror movie “A Quiet Place” or the autism love story “Keep The Change” at the Laemmle, yet why go to see them or the poorly-reviewed Amy Schumer comedy when there’s so much entertainment at home and speaking of entertainment…

I like mine visceral, I like mine real, I like to feel like I’m being tested, brought to the edge. And I’m sure attendees at Coachella had a good time, but I didn’t see any envelope pushing, that’s no longer the point, it’s all about feeling good in a world where musicians have turned themselves into second class citizens, pawns in the game, believing if they’re getting paid then success is achieved, not knowing message is paramount, and that message must be in the record itself.

Maybe a change is coming, I certainly hope so. Hell, if you want to see zombies, just look at the walking dead who’ve been in the music business for thirty years, like my compatriots at the charity event, we’re shell-shocked.

And then I fire up Netflix and feel fully alive.

On my birthday.

I am the only one fucked up about this?

I was at a doctor’s appointment and when I got out my phone was blowing up. Put me in a bad mood, ruined my whole day.

Death is final. What about this do young people not understand?

I’m not sure what happened here. But I’m thinking it’s drugs, it’s always drugs, especially when it comes out of the blue. Sure, Avicii spoke of health problems before, they caused him to retire from the road, but what was he doing in Oman anyway.

But he’s gone now, we’ll get no answers, what went through his head, he’s just another casualty on the music road. But at 28? THAT’S CRIMINAL!

Now this is having the wrong tone. Funny how between your brain and your fingers your thoughts change.

But why does this have to happen? Why are drugs glorified by the music set? Is that what makes you a rebel, doing drugs?

And I know sometimes they’re used to deal with the lifestyle, but how come the handlers don’t acknowledge this. But the truth is musicians are like racehorses, run into the ground, shot when they’re broken, sometimes by themselves. They’re not seen as people.

Life is short, but in truth it’s really long. And it’s not a constant upward arc. Nobody’s on top forever. The key is to adjust and to live.

And sure, taking a break can sometimes mean you’re passed over.

But at least you get a chance to come back.

I always think about what Joe Walsh said, that the challenge is LIVING!

So it’s kinda like school shootings. Everyone laments the deceased’s passing, talks about what a wonderful person they were, how great their music was, and then it’s business as usual.

Meanwhile, what kind of outlaw ties up with corporations, doing sponsorships? If it’s about image, your credibility is immediately shot.

So we never get to hear another Avicii song. Oh, they’ll plumb the archives, come up with something, hell, Jimi Hendrix just made a new record. But imagine what Jimi Hendrix would be playing today.

Then again, the longer you live the less of a legend you are. You’re revealed to be normal, with foibles.

But ain’t that the truth, how we’re all equal under the skin, normal?

And I don’t want to stop typing, because I’ll be left with that creepy feeling again. The exact opposite of how I felt when I heard “Wake Me Up” come out of the speakers for the very first time. It’s hard to have a hit, but it’s even harder to create a track you only have to hear once to get, that you’ve got to hear incessantly, over and over again, until it’s so embedded in your brain you can play it to yourself. That’s what Avicii achieved.

And there will be more hits. Time marches on. That’s what the dead don’t realize, no one is that important, everyone is superseded, time doesn’t stop.

It’s bad enough when people are ill, get cancer…but when you mistreat yourself…

Like all the people still smoking. Why do you think you’re the exception? You’re gonna get old and wanna live but you won’t. And your spouse and your children will be so disappointed when you’re gone.

I didn’t even know Avicii and I’m disappointed when he’s gone.

And they must reveal the cause of death for all these people who die before their time, although it will come out, it almost always does. We demand it as human beings. Life is a struggle under the best of circumstances, we want answers, explanations, guidance, we don’t want to think we can just go along minding our business and have it all end.

But it can. In an automobile accident. Or maybe your time is up, like that woman sucked out of that Southwest plane.

Tom Petty O.D.’ed. As did Prince. And they might not have had hits recently, but if you saw them perform they were still at the top of their game.

And Bonzo killed Led Zeppelin with his death.

And I’m not saying everybody can stand up and fly straight.

But the truth is the body is quite resilient. It takes a lot to kill yourself.

Drugs are not cool. No matter what you say.

It’s uncool to say that, but all my best highs have been natural, when I’m fully aware and can experience the excellence.

I know, I know, I should be lauding Tim Bergling, talk about how wonderful he was.

But the truth is I’m still here and he’s not. And I’m off-kilter, I’ve got this horrible feeling inside.

AND I DON’T LIKE IT!