Is rock n' roll in decline? While the genre may not have the same commercial success as in other eras, there are fantastic bands still active. The Smith/Kotzen is a great example: Adrian Smith , from Iron Maiden , and Richie Kotzen , formerly of Poison , The Winery Dogs , and Mr. Big , have joined forces to revive a classic rock sound.
With a debut album acclaimed by audiences, critics, and colleagues in the music industry, Kotzen spoke with Wikimetal about the birth of the project and plans to tour when it is possible and safe. When questioned by Nando Machado about the current music scene, the musician demonstrated balance and optimism.
“Well, some people talk about this situation, but I don’t know much about it. When Iron Maiden came to Los Angeles two years ago, they played in a baseball stadium, and it was packed, I was there, it was amazing, people loved it,” he began. “I did a tour in 2019 that was a success, we played at Hellfest to a huge audience, and it was great.”
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After analyzing the market for industry giants, Kotzen admitted that the challenges and advantages of today's world are completely different. “So what happens is that things change, technology kind of dictates the situations. One thing I always say is that the situation now is that people are making records today that they couldn't have made 40 years ago,” he observed. “Because 40 years ago you had to learn guitar, bass, keyboard for years. Now you have a computer, programs, where all you have to do is have good taste and you can put together something clever and play on the radio, and you're not even a musician.”
Even so, the artist considers the change positive and expected. “I’m not saying it’s bad, I think everyone has the right to be creative, I think that’s great. But you can’t expect things to be the same as before, things change, people change,” he concluded.
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