Regrets

Have you ever thought about "What if..."? What if I went into another line of work? What if I had majored in another subject in college? What if I had met that person at that time? What if I had been born to other parents? What if I had lived in that other place? What if...? When I graduated from college, some folks wanted me to go to New York or Los Angeles and become a professional actor, but I didn't want to. I wanted to teach. That didn't happen either. Some doors closed and others opened. "Regrets, I've had a few, but then again, too few to mention." In life, one must learn from the past and go forward. Too many people look backward about what was and forget that time is gone. The future is coming. It must be better than what was. I bring this up because of something going on. The Cobbwebs is in jeopardy of breaking up again. Why? Because our new music doesn't seem to be in the same style as that we did 10 years ago. At least, not in one person's mind. We have matured and so has our sound. I think our sound is more commercial, and isn't that why a band releases music? To make money? I don't like to compare our music to other bands, but forgive me for this. Look at The Beatles. In 1962, they were playing R&B covers and simple songs. When they hit the US in 1964, their music was almost entirely love songs. Why? Because they sold. As the decade went on, their music progressed. It became more experimental by 60's standards. It was almost entirely different than that from the beginning. But, their sales skyrocketed. In some ways, they were pioneers in the music world. In other ways, they were reacting to the styles of other artists during that time. In the world of Beatles music, there are fans who just like the early stuff. There are others who just like the later stuff. There are still others who like everything. I am in that third group. When we went to Beatlefest in Chicago, there was a great debate as to which was the best Beatles music. I said everything. So, I bring it back to The Cobbwebs. We have had music that started as covers of other songs. The covers were almost exact mirrors of the original artists. Then, we began writing our own music. It was influenced from a variety of artists: The Beatles, The Monkees, The Byrds, The Hollies, Yes, The Rolling Stones, Electric Light Orchestra, and many more. But, the music was our own. I was excited that the music I had written for many years was finally being recorded. We did a cd and released it. It seems that some folks were knocked out by our style. They thought it was exciting. We even made the top ten in Portugal. Then, we fought. We disagreed on how to proceed. The Cobbwebs stopped recording, although we still wrote and produced without being called "The Cobbwebs". Then, we decided to do another cd 7 years later. We had matured. We were listening to other music. We were having other influences. It wasn't quite the same. Recording was a little more sophisticated. It wasn't that raw band from before. We had grown. The music was more commercial. Isn't that what you record stuff for? To make money? But, there are questions about why it isn't exactly like it was in the old days. I fear we are going to break up again, because someone heard opinions from some who thought it didn't sound the same. If The Beatles had listened to those who just liked the 1964 music, then there would have been no "Yesterday", "Hey Jude" or "Revolution". If The Rolling Stones had listened to their early fans, there would have been no "Gimme Shelter", "I Know It's Only Rock N Roll", or "Paint It Black". The list is endless. So, the music will go on. We will continue to be creative in one form or another. But, it would be a shame if the music isn't heard, whether by us or by others. If we don't, it will be one more regret. It would be a tragedy. Can't we all just get along?