Led Zeppelin vs. Rush, and Finding Your Voice

The very first Rush album sounds more like Led Zeppelin than Rush. In my opinion, Rush’s sound doesn’t “lock in” until 2112.

That album, by the way, was an act of total rebellion against the record label, who didn’t want no 20 minute songs. But they did it anyway. And on 2112 you really begin to hear the famous signature sounds – epic compositions, guitar delivering as much texture as melody, bass often carrying melody, tight interweaving of parts.

And even though their style would morph several times in the coming decades, they became instantly recognizable as themselves.

ALL journeys of mastery begin with imitation. They culminate in you finally sounding like your own unique self. Doesn’t matter whether you’re a singer, an instrumentalist, a writer or a painter. Or a CEO, amateur beer brewer, surgeon or software developer.

You start by hoping to emulate people you admire; you develop reasonable ability to look like, walk like, talk like or sound like them…

…and then as you continue to hone your craft, you finally stop sounding like them and start to sound uniquely like YOU. You become your own “Unique Selling Proposition.”

My drum teacher told me he could recognize the sound of jazz great Elvin Jones just by hearing him tap his ride cymbal. I can recognize Neil in two or three bars. Same with drummers Mike Portnoy and Gavin Harrison.

All have a signature style that’s unmistakable. In fact it permeates every project they play on. Even the way they tune their drums is distinctive. Alex and Geddy’s guitars, ditto.

THAT is the difference between an ordinary musician and a true artist.

Whatever it is you do, you can elevate it to an art form. I’ll never forget, I used to have a friend named Sam who was the Director of Taxes at Amoco. He was a Certified Public Accountant but he also had an artistic streak – in college he’d owned an art gallery and was friends with Iggy Pop.

I assumed that Accounting was the most boring profession in the world, and that dealing with the Internal Revenue Service on top of that would be a recipe for misery.

But Sam began explaining what he did. He described how he would buy and sell divisions of companies, intellectual property, finance arrangements, patents, payments, interest, debt and capital expenditures. He skillfully interconnected these elements like pieces of a vast puzzle, such that hundreds of millions of dollars of taxable income effectively disappeared.

Sam was so clever that I, a totally non-financial person, cannot explain his work to you any better than I just did. But I was totally inspired. Wow, even accounting can become an art form.

I would like to challenge YOU, in whatever you do, to develop your skill in that thing to such a degree that your colleagues can instantly recognize your work.

In particular, if you’re a marketer, the personality that you project for yourself or your company needs to be utterly clear and as instantly recognizable as Neil on the skins, as Alex’s guitar, as Geddy’s bass.

Starbucks is that way. Great copywriters like Gary Bencivenga, John Carlton, Dan Kennedy and the late Gary Halbert are that way. Architect Frank Lloyd Wright is like that and every product you buy from Apple has that signature elegant simplicity. The funky mail order catalog J. Peterman is instantly recognizable.

Such art requires relentless, obsessive attention to certain details. All great artists insist on maintaining strict control over their work.

Always remember that perfectionism and excellence are not the same thing. Perfectionism is excellence done out of fear. Yes, to be excellent sometimes means demanding perfection. But excellence is driven by passion, joy and inspiration, not insecurity or paranoia. Perfectionism is weakness. Excellence is strength.

Perry Marshall

Today’s Rush Video: Do these guys at all remind you of….
Led Zeppelin?

 
Tomorrow: When the Guru Smacks You on the Head, Take it Like a Man