When it comes to being a rebel, many young teenagers want to take on the role of defying the system and simply doing their own thing, making their own life choices without the guidance of a parent, guardian or elder. Musicians tend to fall into this category of the rebel lifestyle. They normally want to be viewed as rebels, names that come to mind are Elvis, who popularized rock and roll, which was previously an entirely Black genre; Bob Dylan, who’s music can be viewed as entirely countercultural; Bruce Springsteen, who is notoriously known for expressing everyday problems through his music; Alanis Morissette, who uses music to express her entire life, and what she experiences; Metallica, who’s thrash metal artistry takes the stage of musical experimentation; and there are of course, many more. All those named have a specific lifestyle they have lived or are living and have had many hardships, many ups and downs, and many stories to tell about their life on the road.
That being said, I bet you are wondering what exactly I mean by rebel?! Well this can be viewed in many different lights, one could view this as a person who completely breaks all the so called rules of our organized society, one could view this as a person who simply takes their life into their own hands without listening to anyone and makes their own choices according to their personal selfish nature whether it be to get tattooed, do drugs, drink a lot, and simply just live a life of pure pleasure without thinking of the consequences, or one could take into notion the complicated, difficult and busy non stop lifestyle of a musician and all that comes with that life choice. I have spoken to many a musician about their life on the road, and what it means to be a rebel, and have found that while some are rebelling against the norm of the 9-5 job, others are simply out to live a life that they know they will never get bored of, and will always have something new and exciting to look forward too.
 | The band members of the Speakeasies mentioned that they are simply just doing their thing, enjoying life. They stated that “while there is a bit of rebellion involved because we are near 30 year olds toying around and acting like we are 18, at the same time we are professionals who go in to a venue to do a job and we don’t jerk off and destroy that venue just because we are musicians and are being paid to be there.” This is not the job they are paid to do, destroy a bar and make the audience pay attention to that, they are paid to perform, and entertain an audience, just like any hired band. While musicians, rock and roll and the so called rebel vibe all can go hand in hand, a musician is not paid to be a rebel, they are paid to entertain. The Speakeasies further mentioned, “A lot of people that put on that show are just pretending to be something when you just should really do your own thing. You don’t have to be crazy to be good, but when you are on tour you drink more so things get a bit crazy.” |
| I spoke to Brad Germain of the Spirits and Marble Index about this topic and he mentioned “GG Allin is the only true rock and roll rebel; he is the man that made me rethink the term rock and roll rebel. Everyone else is boring they might do a little drugs and sleep with a few girls but really, he’s insane!” GG Allin is a punk rock legend who during his career preformed and recorded with many groups and is known as one of the most insanely rebellious performers of our time. Wikipedia mentions that Allin is remembered for his intense and notorious live performances that featured shocking acts such as Allin urinating on stage, rolling in feces and sometimes even consuming it, commiting self injury, performing naked, taunting the audience and many more unheard of acts that many would find both disturbing and just plain rude. Allin had and still has a small cult following because of his notorious performances, but as for his recorded music, it was often amateur and poorly recorded. He was more of an insane entertainer than a musician. Ace Piva drummer of the bran new upcoming Hamilton hardcore stoner metal band Saint Mission’s feels that with rock and roll rebellion does play a key role. He mentioned “I think ‘rebel life and rock and roll’ style can go with any type of music it all depends on persons out look. Even a jazz band will have rebellious moments.” Piva further stated “I think living on the road gives you the sense of rebellion, because it’s different from your everyday lifestyle. You’re living out of a van, club and peoples homes, you are almost homeless and in some cases the band is homeless. Its not your average lifestyle. After a while, some people, loss their friends and family to the road, to the excitement of travelling and being somewhere new and never knowing what’s going to happen next.” What an exciting and exhilarating way of viewing life on the road and being a rebellious musician, in this sense it’s almost like a backpacker or traveller. |  |
 | Overall, when it comes to musicians, really any musician can be categorized as a bit of a rebel. Just read the lyrics of what musicians write, they are basically poets that put their poetry to music. They tell stories in each song they write, whether it be a story about a past love that broke their heart, politics’ or rules that they disagree with, places they have lived, people they have encountered in life, and so much more, musicians have a job to tell stories about life and each story told touches someone’s life and becomes part of it. Music has always tended to have some type of resistance tied in with it. People can use music as a form of expression in any way they want to because music is a form of expression and gives a freedom that can not be grasped in any other way that will not get one into trouble. |