One of the first rock bands I ever became a fan of was Bon Jovi. As a kid of the 80’s, I played their cassettes over and over and over again, quickly memorizing the lyrics to songs like Living On A Prayer, You Give Love A Bad Name, Born to Be My Baby, Bad Medicine, and Bed of Roses.
Bon Jovi would grow into the 90’s and I would become a bigger fan of them still. But the music scene was beginning to shift into heavy forms of rap and grunge rock. By the end of that decade, Bon Jovi had become an also ran, playing second fiddle to the current bands of the time that had figured out the recipe for appealing to the new crowds.
When Bon Jovi returned in the early 2000’s, they adopted a new ideology of who they were and what their purpose was. Still banging out the old hits, they added a few new ones. But Jon, the lead singer, especially, had begun to talk – voicing his opinion of world affairs and becoming quite political. And their music began to reflect this change. They were growing older and their original fan base was growing older, too.
I still followed them, but my main gripe with them was: the more they talked, the less they sang. Suddenly, their famed lyrical offerings like:
With an ironclad fist, I wake up and French-Kiss the morning While some marching band keeps its own beating in my head while we’re talking Tonight, I won’t be alone but you know that don’t mean I’m not lonely I’ve got nothing to prove, for it’s you that I die to defend.Had been replaced with political activism.
They had the right to speak their minds and voice their opinions because, like the rest of us, they too, were one of many.
But despite what side of the political spectrum they now boldly stood on, they were able to do something that transcended generations. They had found a way to relate to present-day fans, ushering in a whole new generation of listeners while still retaining their old fan base … me being one of many of them.
The ability to touch more hearts than you will ever know or ever hope to meet is a feeling that is overwhelming. But it doesn’t make you conceited if you don’t allow it to, especially since you’ll never meet them all. So the reasoning you use isn’t that you want stardom or to be known. Instead, your reasoning is because you want to do what you do. And you’ve got that right.
On Saturday, March 8th, 2014, I received a very humbling birthday present. I watched my website cross over the 500,000th view. I immediately thought of the giants out there, like FetLife, Riley Kilo’s site, the Big Little Podcast, DailyDiapers and others. And I was proud to feel like the little brother of older siblings who had paved the way. I was truly one of many. And I hope to always remain as one of many.
For those people who were a part of the first 500,000 views of my website, I humbly offer you up a heartfelt thank you. Thank you for allowing me to be one of many. Blessings to each and every one of you. And here’s to the charge to 1,000,000 views … starting now.
Zorro Daddy
zorrodaddy.com 