THERE'S STILL SOME GAS IN THE TANK

Whether or not I like to admit it, and I don’t, I’m kind of starting to feel, shall I say, weathered.

When I was on the air in my 20's I was pretty fast in the studio - juggling songs, playing commercials, running contests, taking listener requests, recording traffic reports and lining it all up like so it sounded like radio magic.  Now, I’m a bit robotic. My memory used to be amazing but it isn’t now.  (My staff  loves to remind me.)  I used to be able to multitask like a fiend, now I can't. I used to be able to bench press....well... more than I can now. (Ok, enough of this brooding. I don’t like thinking about it.)

When I think about aging rock stars, it would seem their most creative work happened during their 20's.  Many songs from the 60's and 70's have become a fixture in our lives. Now, as those rock stars reach 50 or 60 years of age, they aren’t producing current hit songs.  And they aren't interested, either but their past glories keep their names in the media. I guess if an artist can still sell out the ACC without any new music, they still have great value.

Other rock stars have faded away. Or died. Sports celebrities reach their peak at 30 and then lose their athletic edge. Most Hollywood actors don’t get offered spicy roles later in life. Usually they play a secondary movie part, like a grandparent, although I bet Johnny Depp will never fade away.

There are a few exceptions. Like Stan Lee, the creator of Spiderman. Marvel Comics was his claim to fame, but at the age of 80 he got an unexpected winfall when the Spiderman movie franchise exploded. I think that’s cool. Good for him.

Last Wednesday, Anthem For Today, the young band I manage, won a Covenant Award for Modern Rock Song of the Year. Over the last nine months I’ve poured a lot of love and sweat and time and money into the band. I didn't realize what significance an award from the industry might mean.

Now I know.  The award tells me there's still some gas left in the tank.