Though he was fortunate not to get into too much trouble, he now admits drugs, drinking and chasing women took their toll on his career. That's the subject of "All Those Days (Bell Bottom Records), Burnin's new single and accompanying music video (below)!
With searing guitar riffs and a lightning-fast tempo reminiscent of a cocaine high, Keane sings of the struggle between maturity and misbehavior; the conflict between wicked excitement and a more responsible attitude that comes with age:
"Party favors at the Ritz, all the glamour and glitz
Shy sexy slim wild when the light dim
All those days I've left behind
I ain't wasting no more time."
"I was sitting at the Rainbow Room about four years ago, and somebody commented that none of the guys from Mötley Crüe hung out there any longer," Keane recalls. "I said it's because they're out on the road working instead of sitting here blasting their brains out! That was a huge epiphany for me."
Keane gave up drugs completely, and cut down on drinking, although he still enjoys a beer every now and then. But overall, he is more focused on writing and performing music these days, without being under the influence.
"When I was doing drugs and drinking, I'd have a hangover for a couple of days and had to sleep it off," he said. "I wasted a lot of time doing something stupid when I could have been more creative and focused."
Keane, who is based in Los Angeles, credits much of his creative drive to his uncle, the late Walter Keane, the painter portrayed by actor Christoph Waltz in the movie "Big Eyes." As a child and teenager, Keane spent a lot of time with Walter, who encouraged him to follow his dream of being a musician.
Keane takes issue with "Big Eyes," which portrays his uncle as a con artist who tricked the world into believing he had painted the famous paintings of children with big eyes, for which he became famous in the 1950s and 60s. In the movie, it was supposedly Walter's wife, Margaret, who really painted them.
"I think the filmmakers got it wrong," Keane said. "My mother used to describe seeing Walter paint, and I have seen 'Big Eyes' paintings and sketches he did before he ever met Margaret. Now she claims that she did them all. She might have done some of the later paintings, but Uncle Water came up with the concept and he taught her his technique."
Keane recently told his version of the "Big Eyes" history to the Los Angeles Times, the Fresno Bee and the TV program "Entertainment Tonight." He has written a song about his uncle and the controversy surrounding his paintings, titled "Big Eyes, Big Lies," which will be included on a forthcoming EP.
"It's good to be off drugs, because I'm clear-headed and focused on making music and doing what I can to help clear Uncle Walter's reputation," Keane said.
The music of Burnin' is available on iTunes, Amazon, CDBaby and at www.BurninMusic.com.
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