Patience, planning, and perseverance: to successfully negotiate the white rapids of the life artistic, one needs all three in spades (though a healthy dose of crazy comes in handy, too). Armed and loaded with all these qualities is the patriarch of the Resident Rock Star brand, the founder of the Metal Maidens, and scene screamer extraordinaire, Amy Asche. “More people should be inspired by themselves instead of some made-up idea of what they should be,” Amy says of her experience growing up as a Colorado kid whose supported live music and musicians for as long as she can remember. “I’ve accomplished so much with so little…honesty, dependability and a willingness to learn are all qualities you have to have to run with the Maidens.” Since founding Resident Rock Star over ten years ago, Amy has soldiered forth and further than most who have come before her in the name of all things scene, and it’s a knack for promotions and relations that Amy uses to develop her territory further and further.
It is unlike most people in the music scene to focus selflessly on others, and it’s a rare quality that Amy exudes in her work. Whether it’s with the grimy members of metal band after metal band that needs any love the locals can show, or the women of the Metal Maidens that Amy gives free work to, assisting in the promotion of their personality and brand, Amy drives forward in a considerably old school fashion that has set her compass to horizons she never dreamed when she started this whole circus. “We really don’t have a target demographic, I don’t believe in labeling it that way,” says Amy of her age-transcending ideas and concepts, “We’re all just people—and although our motto is ‘Massively Metal and more,’ we do cater to many different lifestyles.”
Why spend countless hours supporting a scene that can prove vacuous at most times, and completely thankless nearly all the time? “My motivation is simple: I wanted to help my family. My only goal is to and will always be to support the people and the music that have supported me.” She’s no stranger to the sheer volume of work that comprises the bulk of daily life as the head of all things scene and all things gleaming with the flare of inspiration that has kept her focused for many years now. “We have several mediums designed to help local artists: a quarterly magazine, monthly newsletters, annual contests and meetings for Metal Maidens and fans, and a 100+ girl street team in Colorado.” And what would a lady of the labors of love have to say to anyone coming up in the same market? “DON’T DO IT!!! Haha, but seriously, don’t do this unless you really love it.”
Love it is. A wise man once said, “All you need is love”, and, although true in the deepest sense of the word, we live in a very superficial world, and have to play within its turgid redundancies, such as our bullshit monetary system. “Sadly, our biggest challenge is money,” Amy shares of her all-to-common green paper woes, “We’re starving artists as some would say, but that just isn’t important to those involved and those who volunteer.” “The more sponsors we get, the more supplies and equipment we are able to purchase that will help in assisting band members and artists.” To summarize the generalities of our generation’s economic turmoil, Amy adds, “as long as the bills are paid and people are making music, we are happy!”
So what does the life plan of a madly manic Madam of the Maidens look like? “Take over the world?” Although this has proven disastrous for those alike in the conquering mind, such as the case of Pinky and the Brain, a more realistic approach to world dominance is paramount in her travels down kick-yer-ass road, “We have lots of large scale plans for the future, most of which are still in the starting stage.” Any specific goals? She adds, “Our own tour bus and a possible studio one day.”
You gotta be patient, you gotta plan, and you gotta persevere. This is life fantastic to those who can find that road leading into El Dorado, and the rewards are great. However, the jungle is dense and the path can disappear from time to time. We all choose the weapons we walk through this jungle with, and while the most modern of our species would assume the bagged contents of a Ritalin prescription and a few Twizzlers would do the trick, Amy is old school, and her weapons of machete, fire and ferocity are primed in recoil to strike down and disrupt the vines that strangle all weary souls who brave these unforgiving lands. “We’re very busy and happy. I can’t wait for the next great challenge or opportunity that comes our way!” Challenges there will be, challenges there always are, but there’s nothing in this life worth having that isn’t earned, and when it comes down to the pirate family that Resident Rock Star so genuinely loves, Amy challenges anyone to take up the call and get your ass out there! We’re born dying and time doesn’t forgive, so before you look in the mirror and realize you never stood for anything of value? GET YOUR ASS OUT THERE AND SUPPORT THE FUCKING ARTS!!!!!! Or die trying.
Per Angusta Ad Augusta. Now, go live.
By Kyle Meis
