Rock 'n' Roll!

Maybe Joe Biden needs to start a rock band

When my younger son was in high school, he played the drums. Mostly self-taught. He took a few lessons, but he never was a “lesson guy.” He was the kid who every teacher said was smart, witty, empathetic, great in class discussions but never handed in a single stitch of homework. That story is for another day. For now, the point is he played the drums, a full-set, and it came to him organically. I guess music came to me that way, too. And back in the day, he and I would jam in the basement, the crash of cymbals and the guitar’s tone distortion turned up to 11.

He was 16, I was 50.

I’ve played the guitar and piano most of my life. Not in a professional way, necessarily, but music was always around me. I took lessons as a teenager, but I guess I was never a “lesson guy” either, opting to teach myself how to make my way around the guitar, and build on a year or two of piano lessons to the point where I could accompany the singer in a band. Reading music was a chore but listening to a song and figuring out its chord progression came naturally. It still does. And music remains in my blood as I enter my late 60s, both performing and listening. You may have read here at The Abundance about my recent time in a music studio putting together songs I’d written. Or maybe you have read my book October Song. The story of how I unexpectedly found myself on stage at a music venue in Virginia playing an original song that had made the finals in a nationwide songwriting contest at the age of 57.

Too old to rock?

The song that made the finals was not what you would call rock ‘n’ roll. None of my compositions come from the Led Zeppelin family. I’m more of a CSN&Y guy. James Taylor, maybe. More recent influences from Iron & Wine or Jason Isbell. Mostly because I’m not good enough to be in the Jimmy Page category. Not even close. But in my head, in my car all alone, I’m rockin’ out. Believe me. There are times I pull the car into the driveway with the volume up high, windows rattling. My wife simply smiles and shakes her head. She says she doesn’t want me to be “that guy,” the one who lives in the rock ‘n’ roll past. I get it. Still, when The Who’s power chords are pounding, I have no choice.

And now this new study out of Finland.

In Finland there are more residents over the age of 65 than most other countries in the world. Some 21% are between 71 and 81. The U.N. considers it a “super aging country.” And with that in mind, Finland’s innovative education system has been shifting its focus from what we might regard as the typical leisure activities for the aging and adding rock music. Not just listening to or appreciation of, but a very strong performance element. Old people are rocking out, playing fast and loud. They’re taking guitar lessons and forming rock bands. Educators see it as a way for older people to reconstruct their identity, stimulate their senses, and maybe most importantly, help bridge the generation gap.

It’s really not that remarkable when you consider today’s 75-year-old grew up on Jimi Hendrix.

What is remarkable is that rock ‘n’ roll is playing a significant part in an older person’s purpose in life. It is giving the aging mind a surge of creativity and production and helping with cognitive as well as physical dexterity. Playing and performing rock music is the new Pilates.

So, I have a suggestion.

Let’s strap a couple of Fender Stratocasters on Joe Biden and Donald Trump. We’ll get a solid bass player and drummer behind them and see who can shred the best. See who can play the dirtiest riff, who can best work that wah-wah pedal, who can rip off the heaviest vibe. From the crowd we could call out songs or band names and see which one of these geezers has the best stuff. Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, even some Jeff Beck. Let them have at it. These are the bands and artists of their generation. Let’s really see who has their wits about them and allow rock ‘n’ roll to do the talking on issue of age. We could turn one of the presidential debates into a jam session. Hold it at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Joe could wear his sunglasses. Donald could let his hair down, let his freak flag fly!

Who knows, this might put a lid on all the age talk, right? If not, it certainly could be the most entertaining moment of the election season.

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David W. Berner is the author of several books of fiction and memoir. His book Daylight Saving Time: The Power of Growing Older is now available for pre-order.