Rocked by rumours
The Kenyan rock scene was rocked with allegations that people getting into the genre were a members of a secret society of devil worshippers with cultic rituals. We walked from Moi Avenue to Choices Pub dressed in dark attire and black make-up, you can understand the futility of our attempts to fit into the stereotype of rock stars. ILLUSTRATION | NATION
What you need to know:
- The relationships gone south are probably the most intriguing. Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love’s epic love story comes to mind; epic because of its destructiveness, if nothing else.
- The Kenyan rock scene has had its fair share of rumours and scandals. Right from the onset in 2007 or thereabouts, there were allegations that people getting into the genre were a members of a secret society of devil worshippers with cultic rituals.
- We fed these myths like we were being paid to do it. Then came the scandals. Rumoured relationships, flings and casual one-night stands between friends, friends of friends and people who only heard of each other. In retrospect, this last one was probably accurate.
There are stories that have rocked our genre that are too good to forget.
In 1966, for instance, Beatles front man Paul McCartney was rumoured to have died in a car accident.
But decades later, we still see him shredding tunes. And remember when we heard that Gene Simmons had a tongue transplant from a cow?
Then it turned out the Kiss legend was blessed with a long tongue and there was nothing to that story.
Rumours about Rock and Roll artistes have evolved with time, and truth be told, they helped make the formative years of rock music very interesting.
The relationships gone south are probably the most intriguing. Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love’s epic love story comes to mind; epic because of its destructiveness, if nothing else.
Isn’t it droll how two people can love each other so much and yet destroy each other in the process?
Conversely, it is no wonder that after everything that happened between the two, many people blamed poor old Courtney when Kurt was found dead in their home. That belief is yet to be debunked even as we head for the twenty-first anniversary of his death.
Meanwhile, Avril Lavigne and Chad Kroeger were whispered to be heading for divorce just 90 days after their secret wedding in France.
They personally had to set the record straight in several interviews and during live performances.
CULT OF ROCK
These rumours extend to all spheres. Heavy metal is the subject of the worst rumours.
It has been said that when heavy metal artistes’ perform at concerts, they and their fans get overcome by aggressive spirits and lose their humanity.
This is obviously one belief that will remain for a number of years because there certainly are some demonic metal bands.
However, there are also many inspirational bands playing heavy metal nowadays and more specifically, Christian metal bands spreading the Gospel.
The Kenyan rock scene has had its fair share of rumours and scandals. Right from the onset in 2007 or thereabouts, there were allegations that people getting into the genre were a members of a secret society of devil worshippers with cultic rituals.
This could be attributed to the senseless aggression we used to show.
If you remember March from the Underground back in 2010, when we walked from Moi Avenue to Choices Pub dressed in dark attire and black make-up, you can understand the futility of our attempts to fit into the stereotype of rock stars.
We fed these myths like we were being paid to do it. Then came the scandals. Rumoured relationships, flings and casual one-night stands between friends, friends of friends and people who only heard of each other.
In retrospect, this last one was probably accurate.
It is safe to say that the rumours surrounding rock and roll, its artistes, and fans only serve to make it a more appealing genre of music, and one that we should be proud of.
