Not feeling yourself this Monday? Maybe it’s time for a reinvention. Calvin Locklear sold all his guitars to become a synth artist. Download his “Last Forever” now.
Some say that how we imagine ourselves, who we identify as “self,” the person we think we are, is all made up. As if, there is a screenwriter for the movie that is our lives, and we only play a character they invented.
If that’s actually the case, then we should be able to flip the script fairly easily. Don’t like how things are going, who you are? Well, fire the screenwriter and rewrite. Throw it all out and start over.
That’s exactly what Calvin Locklear did. By his own account, Locklear has been playing music for a long, long time. He has a collection of songs on that follow the usual verse-chorus-verse, guitar-drums-bass casual rock thing. Nothing wrong with that. The songs are well written, and the tracks are performed and produced worthy of merit.
But Locklear got terribly bored, and it kinda shows. So, unlike so many others, he sold all his guitars and equipment. And he bought a synth and drum machine to reinvent his style.
Truly, it’s a brave move. What he was doing deserved attention, whether or not it got it. So, why take something that has nothing wrong, really, and throw it away? Because if you don’t, you’re still at the mercy of the screenwriter.
For 2014, Calvin Locklear, as Cutlass, will release one track every month. The first, “Last Forever,” an electronic track that brings along the best of his previous work, yet is a synth track reminiscent of Depeche Mode, is available for download below. Check out his Soundcloud page for more tracks, as they are released.
The thing about flipping the script, and selling everything you have to reinvent yourself, is that the story never emerges fully formed. Reinventions, like regular inventions, require trial and error. This first track is not an error, but it shows an artist in progress, a new character emerging. And Locklear is reinvigorated with excitement for creating music, which is what matters most. This is ultimately a success story still being told.
Check out Cutlass at KTCL’s , a curator of Colorado music.
Please note that downloads offered via Steal This Track are intended to whet your appetite, and are NOT CD-quality recordings. If you want those, please support the artists by buying their music and/or seeing them live.
If you’re a band or musician ready to expose your fresh sounds to the readers of Reverb, email your tracks — along with any interesting facts about them, as well as a photo or album art — to Steal This Track for consideration.
Josh Johnson is a Denver freelance writer and Reverb contributor. He’s also a journeyman butcher. Seriously.
