Taylor meets Wolfgang.
A new project idea.
First off, I want to make this abundantly clear that this is a "story", not reality. It's just something I've been thinking about for a long time. Other than the actual theoretical math, I know very little about the music of Taylor Swift. I know that she is very good at what she does as an entertainer. Her music has touched hundreds of millions of adoring fans. Her success has made her a billionaire. She has access to incredible amounts of influence and power in the mainstream media/entertainment arena. Then there’s Wolfgang Van Halen, the son of rock and roll royalty. In an effort to find his own voice away from the hype of his father, Eddie Van Halen, he has created his own music. Some say there is a deep influence of Eddie in Wolfgang's music. You can hear it in the guitar solo's he does in his songs.
The music world has been missing the rock guitar solo in music, for more years than I want to count. Rock guitars have been missing from almost every genre of music - and I mean real rock guitars. The scattered remnants of a music industry that remains, has given the world garbage music, cheap music, low level, meaningless, effortless, cookie-cutter producer music. So much of this goes all the way back to the digital revolution around the end of the millennium. Shortly after a decade of grunge music, everyone disappeared. Every real musician on the planet witnessed the end of the music industry as a whole.
There are no real rock guitar heroes anymore. Why? There are no real guitar solos in any pop, rock or country music anymore. Why? It seems that being a real musician, a real trained instrumentalist, a real creative artist who actually who exceeds at playing a real instrument - just isn't what the social media generations want to hear. Why?
I have an idea that just might fix this.
Let’s say - one afternoon, Taylor Swift has her people call Wolfgang's people to set up a casual meeting. Taylor and Wolfgang meet at an undisclosed location.
Taylor says to Wolfgang,
"I am looking for a new direction to take my music. I want to go edgier and harder with rock guitars and solos. Can you help me?"
Wolfgang answers,
"Do you want to put rock guitars into the kind of music you do now?"
Taylor answers,
"Yes, my music, but all new, and different music with real musicians who can play, like you, or like your dad."
Wolfgang says,
"I like it. So, are you thinking about bringing back the rock guitar solos in music?"
Taylor answers,
"I see no other direction to go that will work for my audience. I'm growing older, they're growing older. They're going to want more contemporary adult music that reflects their lives as adults, not who they were as children."
Okay, so imagine these two people start co-writing brand new songs with rock guitars and guitar solos. Wolfgang having his own rock band points out that it would be best if they auditioned guitarists for this new project. The word goes out. Auditions will be held for an entire month somewhere in Los Angeles. Taylor's fans are curious to hear more about the new direction she is taking her music. Rock guitarists from all over the world descend on L.A. in hopes of having a chance to audition for the new project.
After three weeks of auditioning, the list of musicians who have passed the first initial auditions is staggering. Taylor and Wolfgang are both equally stunned by the amount of incredibly talented young musicians who have come to try out for only a few spots in the new project. Twenty-three guitarists ranging from ages 19 to 32 have passed the first audition. Ironically, there are more females than males in this group. More than half of them are studied musicians who can sight-read. The twenty-three individuals are all given three demo songs that have been recorded by Wolfgang's band with Taylor singing vocals. Each individual has five days to study each song and come up with parts that will fit the songs, including guitar solos, riffs, etc. Whoever comes up with the best ideas will move on to the third and final audition.
The second auditions begin. The first is a 23 year sold female from Sacramento, California. Her audition is flawless. She plays every chord, every passage correctly, but unfortunately, her guitar solo is less than what the project needs. The next is a 28 year old male from Nashville who has been playing in bands and clubs throughout the south since he was 15 years old. He plays incredible blues solos over two of the songs and a melodic passage on the third song. Taylor and Wolfgang love what they have just heard.
Wolfgang says,
"I really like that guy. You can tell he has a lot of experience."
Taylor replies,
"...and that's exactly what we need for this project."
The auditions are held for two days. Each individual gets two shots at moving on to the third audition. After everyone has taken their turn. The total has been broken down to three individuals who will move on to the last audition.
Now, imagine something like this actually happening. Imagine Taylor Swift has enough confidence in the music she has written with Wolfgang Van Halen to incorporate rock guitar solos into all of their new music. They have a plan to revolutionize the music industry and bring back real rock and roll music to the masses.
All three individuals are then told that they have all three passed the final auditions. This means there won't just be one guitarist. These three individuals (one female and two males), will be working together as the new band for Taylor Swift. Each guitarist will have solos on different songs.
One month later, work begins in the studio. All three individuals are in the studio with Taylor and Wolfgang. The first song sounds like a vintage "Heart" song. The second song sounds like a Pat Benatar song. The third song sounds like another vintage Heart song. The fourth song has a Fleetwood Mac thing going on in it. Then, the comes the fifth song. This might actually be the first single off the album. Wolfgang wrote it in honor of his dad. He wanted to see if anyone could emulate Eddie Van Halen without it playing just like something Eddie would do. All three guitarists come up with three different parts for the song. Each part has the EVH sounds, but unique in the ways they are all played. There is an almost vintage Van Halen meets Joan Jett feel to the song. The remaining songs are recorded, mixed and mastered. The album is released nine months later, with two singles that go straight to the top of the charts.
Every Taylor Swift fan is taken completely by surprise by the new music. Swift creates a brand new tour and sells out every arena all over the world. The immense success of the tour and the new music, has music lovers everywhere rethinking the idea of music with rock guitars.
Everyone wants to learn how to play the guitar. Rock bands are forming everywhere in hopes of riding the wave of this new revolution in music. Taylor Swifts production company starts a brand new label that includes A&R managers, talent scouts and investment groups who intend to bring back the old ways of making great rock music.
The project becomes a roaring success and makes hundreds of millions of dollars in the first six months of sale alone. Suddenly, it is cool to hear rock guitar solos in pop, rock and country music again. The music of the 1960's, 70's, 80's and 90's has come back. Real musicians are making real money and living good lives again for the first time in nearly thirty years. Music stores are popping up everywhere to sell guitars and gear. Guitar teachers everywhere have packed full rosters of students with waiting lists of people wanting to learn how to play the guitar. Schools and colleges begin a new curriculum of music classes to draw in more students to learn the art of music and becoming a musician.
Could a scenario like this ever really happen? It's difficult to say. The music that was created before the digital revolution can never come back the same as it was, because of digital technology, and of course, artificial intelligence (A.I.). However, real instrumentalists and musicians can still be created again. Art is a human concept that can only be created by humans on a level of appreciation known only to humans. The world desperately needs much more human art and creativity and much less artificial anything. Art is the expression of the human emotions of the soul and the creativity of the mind through the heart. We need it to come back.