Every week, we’ll be posting a new illustration by David Lester. The Mecca Normal guitarist is visually documenting people, places and events from his band’s 43-year run, with text by vocalist Jean Smith.
Are bands that aren’t “all business” really just hobbies? Are bands that have a lot of laughs and not much traditional success doing it “just for fun”? David and I were on the phone last night talking about the work we did in terms of touring and publicity, while other bands seemed allergic to that kind of thing, expecting their musical talent to be noticed by someone who would then do that work. Thing was, we liked the work and working together. That work made it possible to have all the adventures and fun, and we’re now very happy looking back at our main touring and recording years. Yet there was a sense (maybe only locally) that we somehow didn’t deserve what we accomplished because some other bands who were “better than us” didn’t get anywhere (because they didn’t do the work necessary). To which I say, your first love better be the music, but you have to love the work required almost as much.
“My First Love Song” from Calico Kills The Cat (K, 1988) (download):
