Music: Rock & Metal Profs

THE ROCK & METAL PROFS

WITH MATT ALSCHBACH & DR. COURT LEWIS

Associate professors at Owensboro Community College and Pellissippi State Community College, respectively, Alschbach and Lewis host the popular podcast The Rock & Metal Profs: The History & Philosophy of Rock & Metal. Now they're bringing their keen insights to the pages of News 4U with a monthly deep dive into some of the best bands of the rock/metal genre and thoughts on music in general.

THE COMMODIFICATION OF ROCK & METAL

Iron Maiden ice chests. Judas Priest BBQ aprons. Metallica editions of Monopoly and Clue board games. Sound absurd? All of these items can be purchased on the websites of the bands listed above. Why, you might ask, do I need a Judas Priest branding iron? Does my newborn child really need Metallica socks? Am I safer if I use Anthrax’s “Stop Spreading the Disease” hand sanitizer? Would I lead a rocking afterlife if I were buried in a KISS Kasket? Do I need Slayer rolling papers?

The bands mentioned above are/were hugely successful - they made their fortunes when selling albums was profitable. They also have the purchasing power to stock and maintain their online shops with a multitude of items that fans may wish to purchase. Not so for the vast majority of bands. Most artists are limited to shirts, hats, and maybe a keychain. It’s a hard road being rock stars in 2022. Touring and merch account for the lion’s share of band earnings in the 21st century. Sure, the Rolling Stones do fine when they tour, but Killswitch Engage, Mastodon and Primus will make their money by touring and hocking overpriced merch that they hope fans will buy in support of them. Many will do just that. On more than one occasion Court and I purchased a t-shirt for 40 or 50 bucks simply because we know how tough it is for lessestablished bands.

Likewise, meet & greets are a new way for artists to generate revenue, no matter how awkward and uncomfortable those fan encounters might be. Sure, some artists love meeting the fans, but most probably find it an inconvenience at best. Take for example, former Poison vocalist Bret Michaels. On more than one occasion his fans were disappointed when an inebriated Bret made it clear that he was less than enthused about the idea of taking time out of his schedule to sign autographs and snap pictures. I recently watched a video of former KISS guitarist Vinnie Vincent interacting with fans, and it was truly painful. Vincent was doing his best to smile and get through it, when one male fan exclaimed, “I don’t care what people say about you, Vinnie, you are my favorite guitarist and member of KISS.” Vincent’s response was, “What are people saying about me?” Oh dear God, no. You could see the panic on fan-guy’s face as he stammered. Mercifully, the fellow and his wife were quickly escorted out of the room by a handler to prevent further suffering. Bottom line: support the artists you love, and if you do a meet & greet, maybe script what you intend to say ahead of time!

PICTURED LEFT TO RIGHT: MATT ALSCHBACH AND DR. COURT LEWIS

The Rock & Metal Profs podcast is available on iTunes, Google and Spotify.