I Would Love To Rock The World

September 22, 2013, was the first draft recording with just the vocal melody.

On May 15, 2014, I recorded an acoustic version of the song with the chords and fingers tapping out a beat on the wood of the guitar. It was just verses and chorus. Albeit the wording on the verses was a bit different.

And I started recording the song in the studio in September 2019, however it was put on hold for “Promised Land” to be finished and brought back to the fore from November and finished on 30 December, 2019.

The interlude and solo sections are a product of working on it, in the studio.

It’s a fun song to play and I had heaps of life experiences for the lyrics to reference, about trying to get a deal. At one stage, the song became like a comedy skit, where I referenced the funny times.

And it’s hard to not escape Bon Scott’s (RIP) influence here. As good as the Young brothers were at crafting a riff, AC/DC wouldn’t have been AC/DC if it wasn’t for Bon Scott’s lyrics and of course, Bon and Angus’s live show antics.

Bon connected with people (and me) on all scales and on all levels. If you were finding it hard to get bye financially, he had a song. If you felt ripped off trying to make it, he had a song. If you had a good time with a lady, he had a song. If you just wanted to let your hair down and enjoy the rock and roll show, he had a song. If you wanted to know how the Earth was made, he had a song, called “Let There Be Rock”.

And I had the title for a while, the length of it was inspired by “I Was Made For Loving You” by Kiss.

A call to the promoters, trying to get a show
Messages left, are unanswered
Trying to give rock a go

I cannot even recall how many phone calls and emails didn’t even get a reply. All in the name of playing live. And then once we started to play live, it was okay, we would get shows. And then some were good and some not so good. Promoters always want to make money, so they wanted to guarantee it. Bands would be asked to sign agreements to “pay to play” or if the door takings didn’t make the promoter break even, then the bands payment would be withheld or reduced or not paid at all.

All just to give rock a go.

Shot down before I start
Rejected broke and scarred

In the majority of cases when you start out, you would spend more money to get to the show then what you would have made from the show. And when you include the gear you have, plus maintenance of the gear, strings, cables, etc., the costs add up.

Just one chance get my foot in
It’s easier said and harder to get done

You keep on working away just to get your foot in the imaginary door, because once that happened, you believed that you had a chance. But it never was that easy. Music is such a subjective and personal experience, but by the mid 80’s it also became a marketable business, based on looks as well. Blame MTV for that. While MTV turned artists into platinum superstars it also spelt the death knell for artists who didn’t look the part.

Hard work does not pay I feel like giving up
Contracts are extortion asking me to sign away
Who I am
What I do
The songs I write
The clothes I wear
For exchange a shot at the sky
No guarantee I could even fly

There is no safety net in music. No guarantee of a payday or even of getting paid. So when a record label deal would be offered, it would be considered, because it normally offered some form for payment, but the fine print showed that the payment and all future payments will need to be paid back forever.

I would love to rock the world

Who wouldn’t. It became a dream of many when MTV brought the superstars into our lounge rooms.

I’m told what to do
Every day and night
Rock and roll helps me through
To move from dark to light
Live to rock and rock to live
It’s all I need to survive
Never stop, it’s all I got
Rock it till I drop
Take me to the top

It’s the feeling that rock music game me when I was young and looking for answers.

The interlude and solo is a mix of so many musical styles I like, like syncopated grooves, classical, blues and hard rock.

I did my time with so many bands
With nothing to show
Such a fool that I am
I’d do it again if given the chance
When I was black and blue
Music helped me through

The madness of it all is, I would do it all again for rock and roll. Here are some of the notes from my journal;