As you know I’m constantly banging on about how amazing all this new technology and progress is for those of us who fully adapt to it
At the same time warning of the dangers of NOT doing that
And pointing to great resources like SFM to help you make the transition (even if you are a technophobe)
But watching an interview with one of my Heroes Iain Anderson of Jethro Tull on Youtube yesterday I learned about something related that I’d never thought of ……
Iain was answering the question “Would you ever ask Martin Barre to rejoin the band?”
(Martin was the band’s guitarist for over 30 years)
Iain explained that it would be nearly impossible since Martin has never really taken to the Internet, and digital technology in general.
He went on to say that as the Jethro Tull’s manager (and singer, front man and songwriter) he hasn’t employed a tour manager for 20 years.
The band’s travel arrangements, flights, boarding passes, acomodation, set lists, musical arrangements and a host of other essentials have been web and cloud based for many years
They communicate between tours and rehearsals and recording dates by email and access everything they all need remotely
This requires them to learn a few specialist programmes and to know how to access files
Martin barre on the other hand hardly even used email or computers in general apparently which was one reason for his leaving in 2012.
So effectively he has made it impossible for himself to (supposing he wanted to ) to rejoin one of the most successful and long running band’s in the world.
Having been my own band’s version of Iain Anderson (on a very much smaller scale!) for years I was fascinated by this
As far back as 2002 I arranged tours in Denmark and Italy entirely by email and these days I collaborate on music recordings via the cloud.
I can think of a few musicians I know who although they are fabulous at what they do - would find themselves in the same boat as Martin Barre today.
It’s easy to see how the digital world is replacing lots of jobs, professions and industries but I must admit I hadn’t considered this one.
Anyway - just a thought
Enjoy the rest of your weekend
Dave
