The Tao of Motley Crue

I Can Almost Remember / 16" x 9" / Wood blocks

Going Back to Re-Find the Way

This past summer was the most difficult time I can remember in the past two decades. My family, my wife and my work all needed my extra attention during extenuating circumstances, and I hit my breaking point. So last night when I had to drive across town for an appointment, the idea of sitting in LA traffic on the freeway alone for an hour was actually kind of appealing. A quiet respite from the chaos.
I decided to put on some music and let my mind drift. What to listen to? Hmmm….how about some old 80’s rock? I hadn’t listened to any of that in years. The elixir of my youth! Perfect.
The first band to cross my mind was Dokken. Then Ratt. If you don’t remember them, they both sold millions at the time, but have faded over the years. The music sounded pretty dated, but I smiled. So many memories growing up on the Sunset Strip seeing these bands before they became global superstars.
Then I put on Motley Crue. The first album. Too Fast for Love.
And it happened.

From the opening riff of of the first track, “Live Wire,” I was instantaneously transported back to 1982. It sounded just as fresh and raw as I remembered.
That specific and electric combination of angst and freedom only accessible to maladjusted 14 year olds shot through my veins. I remembered how it felt to say "f*@k it all." I was done playing by my parents’ rules. School’s rules. Everybody’s rules. Music was everything to me. My savior. Friend. Confidant. Hero.
Listening to that album last night not only reconnected me to that old sense of teenage discomfort, but my desires. My dreams. My ambition. I remembered that sense of having something to say that was so important to me, my life hinged on it. I knew there was something I had to do. I had a purpose.
That crazy "f*@k it all" energy came right back to me. It can be destructive, but there is also cosmic wisdom in it. Sometimes the best way to take a wall down is to blow it to smithereens (I know...the subject of walls is big in the news these days. Sometimes it's best to blow up a wall before it's even built).

It's good to get old.

Being an adult is great. I am bascially free. If I want to go somewhere, I go. I wouldn’t want to go back to childhood even if I could. But if we’re not careful, obligations and responsibilities can suffocate that soul fire. It has to be tended and looked after. It needs oxygen.
I fanned a few flames last night and it felt good. Really good. If there are any flames you can fan, I highly recommend it.