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Finally Seen A7X Live | Dreams & Goals As a Musician

Josh Lachapelle

Free Bird Player
Nov 11, 2019
38
8
So, this post is semi off topic, but also sort of on topic (of being a musician that is). Bare with me, but I needed a place to rant to some fellow Musicians and A7X fans if I may.
You see, on January 21st of this year, I finally got to see my favourite band (Avenged Sevenfold) Live in Ottawa, Canada! Now you may wonder “if they’re you’re favourite band why didn’t you see them before?” Well, they hadn’t come to Ottawa since the City of Evil tour back in the day which I wasn’t able to attend, and all the cities close by I never had the means to travel to, which sucked for me haha.
Point is, it was probably one of the best nights of my life. I’m the type that tries not to fan out about things too hard in the sense that, we’re all people with different talents. So I try to look at big bands and musicians as fellow human beings, whom I have a deep respect and admiration for the talents they have and their creativity. But Avenged are a real special group, man. A group I have incredible respect for. As people (who I obviously don’t know on a personal level), they seem so down to earth and humble. I respect that. As musicians, they’re incredible talented and have created Music that means so much to a lot of people.
I went on a bit of a rabbit trail, but I promise there’s a point. Carrying on, after listening to Avenged for so long and watching countless amounts of videos of their live shows, it was the most surreal experience to see them live. The best part, is it was my son’s 1st show and he had the time of his life! The experience was unforgettable and I truly hope they come back around here soon!
BUT, it kind of slapped me with my own reality. That unfortunate reality, is that I (like so many) grew up since a very young age with this ambitious dream to make it somewhere with Music. Now, obviously I started playing Music for the love of it. That’s why I continue to play it. But because of my love for it, I wanted to create and play music for people all over the world. I was always so certain I could achieve it. Sometimes you just have this feeling that something is so possible, and you’re just so sure of it.
But things happened that acted as barriers to that dream. One of the closest chances I ever tasted was being offered a Management/Record deal with my old band. Being told they could get us on Warped Tour and the whole 9 yards, man. Was it true? It seemed legit. The thing is, my band mates didn’t share the same dreams I suppose and they quit the band. What a slap in the face that was.
To add to the backstory, I had been drumming and doing back vocals for a friends band for a while. Couple years after the other band quit (which I was Lead vocals and Rhythm Guitar for), the band I was drumming for opened up for an artist named Manafest to a sold out crowd of a few hundred people. 2 Weeks after that show I got hit with weird health issues. Unexplainable fatigue, weakness, random things like that. A year till they ruled out so many things it came down to a non specific diagnosis of Lupus (auto immune) and the possibility of Chronic Fatigue. 3 Years have past since, and I’m happily married with 3 kids at only 25! I still battle some level of fatigue and weird issues, but through exercising I’m capable of doing a lot more than 3 years ago.
Here’s where I’m at now. 3 years ago I gave up the possibility of ever pursuing anything big with Music because I thought my health couldn’t handle it. Now, even though my health is still crap and fatigue is a struggle, I feel like it’s very possible to get back on stage, though I haven’t yet. So after seeing A7X live, the next day I was flooded with emotions of wondering is it too late to try? Is it even possible at this point? Can I with my health? Am I getting “too old?” Is there even such thing as too old to have this dream!? Will I end up 50 still dreaming and it only be just that? Is it really a possibility for ME? I don’t even have a band, so where do I go? What do I do? How do I try? There’s not many local Musicians who share similar dreams AND styles of music who there’d be chemistry with. So there’s all these thoughts racing through my head, making emotions rush left and right, front and center.
But I suppose there’s 2 points to this post. 1 is to get all of this off my chest, because it weights heavy on me. I won’t lie, I still have a lot to figure out with this dream, and I get these dreams aren’t easily achieved, (and if anyone has some advice or encouragement it’d be greatly received!). But the 2nd point, is that success starts with dreams. The boys of A7X aren’t where they are by mistake. They loved playing music and they constantly had dreams to get to the next step, and the next step, and the next. Maybe they never realized they’d get so far, but I’m sure it all started with 1: A love for music and 2: a dream.
So even though I have no idea what to make of my dream and how to accomplish it, I want to leave this HUGE rant (sorry for that btw lol) with this. Maybe some say your head is stuck in the clouds and you need to come back to “reality.” I say, it’s those who can dream who are able to succeed. Is it easy? Never is. Is it impossible? Not at all. So as cliche as this might sound, don’t let others break your dreams and goals. Maybe you shouldn’t COUNT on anything, but also don’t give up on your goals and dreams either. Give it all you got, and when it feels like you got no more to give, push harder and give every last drop you got. At least you’ll know you tried everything and tried it as hard as you could! Maybe not every dream comes true, but dreams became someone else’s reality. They might just become yours too! So give it all.
Thanks for reading my wall of text and a special thanks to Syn & Papa Gates for creating this awesome Community.
– Josh L
 
G

Guest

Guest
Wow this really hit me hard I love this story. I want to be a musician you self and I’m young, and I say to myself is it worth it and should I do it I say to people I don’t want to make money from it and I just love it. Wow again this hit me hard, I would say never give up on your dream no matter how hard it gets, I know I’m young and I probably don’t know what I’m talking about but maybe I’m right. Hope this helped maybe a tiny bit, also sorry about your fugitive I don’t understand why that’s going on. So I want to leave you with don’t give up 🙂
 

Josh Lachapelle

Free Bird Player
Nov 11, 2019
38
8
Hey, Lachlan!
Thanks for the kind words 🙂 You may be young, but you have ambition it seems! I think you’re right to say never give up! Wayne Gretzky, one of the best Hockey Players ever, said “you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” You got to take the shot for there to be a chance! If you have the love and passion for it, give it all you have and just maybe your dream will become a reality! 🙂 But no dream is ever too big. Everyone started with a dream and an ambition to get where they got! So in the words of Aerosmith, “DREAM ON, DREAM UNTIL YOUR DREAMS COME TRUE!” 😉 Haha
 

Andres Pierce

Free Bird Player
Nov 11, 2019
14
0
Very inspiring Josh. I truly admire your passion, and i personally believe that the biggest asset someone could have is a drive, motivation, and passion. I was also at this concert and it was definitely one of the best nights of my life. To me seeing the band felt like i was watching fictional characters that ive always looked up to.
From a fellow poutine to another, and in the words of Adam Gontier…its never too late
 
Synner Endless Summer Collection

Josh Lachapelle

Free Bird Player
Nov 11, 2019
38
8
@andres Pierce What an incredibly small world haha I’m assuming you realize who I am right? or no? 😛 Haha
Anyways that aside, I appreciate that you have the same outlook, man! One thing that’s hard to find are people with a similar drive! It’s nice to find people who share those feelings and really gives you a sense of Community! That’s one thing I love about this place Syn & Papa Gates have created!
What an incredible show that was on Sunday, right!? You took what I was thinking, and put it into words saying “felt like I was watching fictional characters that I’ve always looked up to.” That’s EXACTLY how I felt as well, but didn’t think of phrasing it in such a way!
It’s Never Too Late. I appreciate that reference, bro! PS: I miss Adam Gontier! He was such a passionate musician! (Miss him being in 3DG that is, and hearing new material from him)
 

Andres Pierce

Free Bird Player
Nov 11, 2019
14
0
Yeah Josh, i was reading the forum and halfway through i was like “wait a second” and i couldnt believe it was you haha!
That show was AWESOME. It was my girlfriend’s first real concert and she was really anxious about being in GA and during BFMV’s set she was pretty nervous about all the people moshing around us; but by the end of ‘the stage’ she was in the pit with everyone around us. It was great, not sure where you were but on the (audience) right side of the stage – in my perspective – there was some points in the show where all around me people were just jumping, singing, and moshing. It was truly an amazing experience.
I’d low key try to pound the horns to syn while everyone around me was focusing on the center with Shadows and id always go back to thinking “wow…like is that really them??”
Very funny coincidence that i ran into you here lol, i think its safe to say if you want to learn more about leads you definitely came to the right place! 🙂
Also, i read your top 5 guitarists in another thread here very good choices!
 

Brian Haner Sr.

Papa
Staff member
Legend+
Fucking Legend
Nov 11, 2019
812
3
3,506
After chasing various dreams for 40 some years – I totally get it. I’ve played with some incredible musicians. I had a record deal, a gold record, and ended up up somehow being a somewhat famous comedian. Some of my dreams have come true – many have not. But I can promise you one thing – Greztky was right – the dreams I didn’t go after had no chance of coming true. It’s all about weighing out priorities and figuring out if it’s worth it to pursue some of your dreams. ALL dreams come with sacrifices. I backed off a few of my dreams in my late 20s all the way into my 40s to raise a family. If I could go back, I wouldn’t trade a day with my boys for another gold record or a major tour. And I know that’s easier for me to say because I did both. Had I never toured or had songs on the radio, maybe I would feel differently. (but I doubt it)
I CAN tell you that if a dream is strong enough – you will find a way to make it happen. Baby steps. Put a band together and play locally.
And one last thing – it’s never too late. I stepped on stage as a comedian for the very first time when I was 48. 2 years later I was part of the biggest selling comedy tour in history and ended up on Comedy Central & Showtime with my own show. Talk about surreal.
And I agree – there is no better feeling in the world than watching Avenged on stage.
 

Josh Lachapelle

Free Bird Player
Nov 11, 2019
38
8
@BrianHanerSR. (I have no idea how to actually directly respond to people on here haha)
Great point on how all dreams come with sacrifices. I can definitely see that having a family of my own. It’d suck being away from them for periods of times. At the same time, I’ve always had such a burning passion to play shows all over the world. On the flip side, that’s a lot easier said than done haha. I think a big issue I’ve found the past decade is finding solid Musicians who share similar interests/visions/goals/aspirations etc.. I still beat myself up over the fact my old band didn’t share said aspirations and turned down what seemed like a good opportunity! Then again, that probably didn’t mean anything would’ve happened for certain, but still something I wonder constantly!
I’m glad to hear you’ve achieved some of your dreams, while doing a solid job at raising a family! 🙂 It’s a weird feeling at 25 having a Wife and Kids but still having this dream burning heavy on my heart. But who knows if all the pieces will ever fall apart haha But like you said, if a dream is strong enough you WILL find a way to make it happen. Getting a band is always the hardest part it feels like haha.
I’m glad to hear that it’s never too late, cause I definitely feel like I’m running out of time haha You were 48 when you stepped on stage as a comedian? Wow, thought you were younger than that! I will say (from what I have seen of your comedy stuff) I really liked it! I remember you being Guitar Guy with Jeff way back when. Didn’t even realize you were Syn’s Dad at the time, when I found out my mind was blown! Haha! Anyways yeah, I bet that was surreal for sure! Must be a crazy experience! I can’t imagine.
I said it a few times but I’ll say it again, thank you & Syn so much for creating this Community. It’s a really special place!
PS: Must be an extra awesome feeling for you watching Avenged since you watched the boys start from the ground up! Plus having your own son in one of the biggest rock bands on the face of the earth! Bet that makes you feel like quite a proud Dad! But always think to yourself “PFFFT! I can do that!” Haha (I’m sure you get my reference 😉 )