An Open Letter To The Sheepdogs

You've achieved that great and iconic rock and roll rite of passage: your picture is on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine. But now is not the time to take the words - penned so cleverly by Shel Silverstein and made famous by Dr. Hook - in this song literally:



This song was meant ironically, lampooning the rock and roll lifestyle admired by so many as just so much stuff and nonsense.

So how do you go about maintaining your credibility, your homespun charm and your winning personalities in an industry still dominated by egoism and greed (even in a very lean time for those traits)? Good question. And it's not one I can answer based on my own personal experience. But you get a bit of know-how from the world of music if you just pay attention. Here are some tips:

1) Don't spend all your time with each other: There are some great bands that have imploded because of personal differences. Think of the Beatles. Other bands might have done the same, except for their ability to separate from each other when not on tour. Think of a band often called the "Canadian Beatles"-- Sloan. These 4 guys have been together for 20 years and counting even though they often have disagreements and creative differences. They also started their careers with a large amount of publicity and hype, being signed to the venerable Sub Pop record label during the grunge gold rush of the early 90's.

2) As Public Enemy said, about an altogether different topic, don't believe the hype. You're a talented group of guys, and you've got a lot going for you musically, but the amount of fans your appearances in Rolling Stone have garnered are the kind of short-attention-span band-wagoneering that's all too common in this day and age. Crank out some new tunes, and right quick, or you won't be getting Twitter mentions from the Prime Minister again any time soon.

3) Keep it real. People say that all too often, and usually to no effect, but I mean it. If you want to live the rest of your musical lives with your dignity intact, you've got to stay connected to what it's all about: the music. Luckily, we seem to be slowly getting past the era of the hedonistic rock band holed up in an expensive studio in an exotic location bent on crafting that concept album that ultimately nobody will understand. We know that's not going to happen. It's still important that you remember to connect the dots between where you've been, where you are, and where you want to go. And take us along with you, eh?

You're at the point now where you've got to decide what to do next all on your own. Really, there's nothing I can say to you to answer that one. All I can really tell you is "I Don't Know".