HW:Sonic Assassins book

[Jill Strobridge]

I've tried to write this dispassionately as if I knew nothing about
Hawkind but it rambles a bit.  Oh what the heck!

jill



Oh Brave New World that has such musicians in it.



A few years ago I was involved in a new-start business - it was
such an exciting time.    There was a director (formaliser,
actuater, realiser, forward thinker, pragmatist); a management team
(visionaries, creators, idealists); a workforce that included
short-term skilled employees; a business advisor and, of course,
clients who had to go away satisfied each time. The initial
start-up period was dynamic, full of uncertainty and a sharing of
ideals and hopes and fears - each person felt they contributed to
the entire whole and that what they did mattered as much as what
anyone else was doing.    Several years on the company is thriving
but things have formalised.   Management have closed ranks, the
business adviser has gone and the dynamism and interplay of
innovative problem-solving activities have been segregated out.
Everyone now has their job to do, but that job is bounded not by
what is possible but by the limitations imposed on it.   In other
words the company is a success.  This could, of course, break down
horribly - the visionary team might no longer trust the director's
view; or the director feel he can't rely on his team or both
director and team fail utterly to motivate the rest of the
workforce who steadily drift off elsewhere.   It might grow
overlarge and restructure, stagnate and lose its market, or simply
dwindle and fade away altogether.



So what has this to do with Ian Abrahams' book on the history of
Hawkwind?   Well everything!   Here is an intelligent, carefully
crafted, well thought out book written in an easy style that draws
you smoothly across the pages, through the chapters and down the
years from Ladbroke Grove to Acid House raves in Brixton Academy
and it demonstrates that - whether you are in a rock band or any
other business enterprise - commercial survival requires leadership
(by group or individual), forward thinking, a loyal workforce and
constant creativity.     For anyone who might still think that the
pure artistic principal alone - the desire to create something
perfect and beautiful - can transcend all things and all
personalities - think again gentle reader.     It is not
sufficient.



If you are expecting a book about the dynamic experience of
interacting on stage, the thrill of creating an energy of sound and
communicating it to a receptive audience you won't find it here.
But neither will you find sordid sensationalism or torrid
descriptions of wild drug-crazed out-of-control rock musicians.
Riots do get a mention as well as over-indulgent lifestyles and
out-of-control characters but the importance of Ian's book is that
it unfolds and illuminates an extraordinary cycle of artistically
talented people that have flowed through Hawkwind enabling the band
to flourish, transform, drift, evolve and keep starting anew
creatively.     It is an impressive achievement.    Crucial moments
of the band's career (high and low points) are selected, analysed
from both sides by quoted conversations and sometimes include a
reasoned comment from Ian taking his viewpoint as the public
fan-based audience member.     It would have been all too easy to
take a high-minded opinionated stand on one side or another of some
of the recent issues but Ian has avoided this by leaving
judgemental decisions and opinions largely to the reader.
Personal and private matters have been studiously avoided except
where they have already intruded into the public domain and
ultimately what comes across is the interplay of personalities of a
wide and varied group of gifted musicians across a period of some
25 years who have come into the band, contributed some of their
finest musical creativity under the leadership of Dave Brock,
stayed for a while and then moved on.



Ian's book is a salutary reminder that every Hawkwind track has
embedded within it a contribution from the people who have passed
through the band.    Each carries its own package of history and
every re-presentation wraps the shadows of the past more tightly
around it.    It must be a constant challenge to contrive a gig
that is more than just a stale repetition of classic tracks -
anyone can do that - and contain music that has been re-energised,
revitalised and renewed.   And this theme of renewal occurs many
times throughout the book, usually involving the introduction of
new members, but also new technology (as happened in the 90s) so
that tracks initially written in the 70s can stand today alongside
tracks written only a year or so ago.    It demonstrates the
quality of Brock's leadership and capability of the Hawkwind
musicians that they can merge the decades so fluently and craft a
timeless live show blending past and present together into
something stimulating and new.



If there is a weakness in the book it is the lack of creative
excitement.     Music-making is made to seem very mundane.    There
are remarkable insights from Richard Chadwick in the section on the
90s music which clearly demonstrate how much time and hard work has
to be done between gigs, in this case learning and coming to terms
with new technology as well as a new musical culture.   With
Richard's input Hawkwind met the rave culture head on and did so
successfully but somehow the feeling of excitement is nowhere
visible although one assumes it must be there otherwise the
musicians would not keep playing.    There are tales of bad gigs,
disastrous events and disappointed talents but few positives, joys
or high points.    Perhaps good gigs are like good holidays - it
was great - Why? - well it was just great, everything worked, the
vibe was good - what more is there to say?      Whereas disastrous
holidays - well there's always a good story to recount over and
over again in horror.



Is the business of creating successful music so mundane?     Only a
musician can answer that and I am not one.   But ultimately the
long term success of a band as in any other kind of business
depends on how much people care and what exactly they care about.
Motivation, man-management and personalities all come into it but
hopefully behind all the characters and the controversy there is
the music and if Hawkwind can still craft "lyrically provocative"
music forms for people out there to listen to then that's what
matters in the end.