BUN Architects

With so much of our lives unfolding on the walls of Facebook, it's a wonder that more people haven't mastered the art of 'Blowing Up Notifications'. I feel blessed that quite a few of my friends, intentionally or otherwise, have become quite proficient at this art. I also can't help but feel accomplished knowing that these friends have learned by my example.

Blowing Up Notifications (hereafter referred to as BUN) is a term used to describe the efforts of one or many Facebook users who directly contribute to the popularity of a given post. These BUN architects make numerous comments on a post, thus catapulting the item into "Top News".

The most skilled BUN architect has a sidekick. A straight man. Someone to push the envelope. A team of BUN architects are able to infiltrate a Facebook Top News feed in a matter of minutes. The attack comes swiftly and without warning. At its best, the BUN architects may even hold a conversation completely unrelated to the post of origination, and do so over the course of numerous comments thereunder.

The effects of such a BUN architect, or team of BUN architects, are fleeting at best. Sure, the occasional photo album may fall victim to a BUN attack and, years later, someone completely unsuspecting comes along and is forced into awkward contemplation of Aztec pottery and suicide. These are the ties that bind. These are the fruit of a BUN architects labor. For, a BUN architect does not act only to satisfy the moment, but to color the memories for future generations.

And also for butterfly kisses at night.

DK

Friends In the Right Places

I'd really like to open the discussion about a very common problem in the workplace. I've had several jobs now, and in talking to friends and family, it seems that this issue is widespread and not exclusive to one professional field or area of expertise.


I am referring to when administrators, or other people in power, at a workplace hire folks who are their friends despite a lack of qualification or experience.

Of course, without an advocate on the "inside", securing employment can be a daunting process. I get it. It's something that has always been there. And it's not likely to ever go away. Also, I'd be lying if I said I never got a job with the help of a friend on the inside.

In fact, given the right potential and time to grow, an under-qualified new employee can often be pushed to work harder than the average candidate. They have more to prove. Sometimes this scenario can play out very well, so that both the employee and the employer benefit from taking the chance.

Other times, the risk is not appropriate to take. An example of one such scenario is the education system. Private and charter schools (especially charter schools) are becoming more and more popular across the country. The charter schools are held to many of the same regulations under the Department of Education, but do have some exceptions available that can be a recipe for disaster.

It's happening locally, and it is surely happening elsewhere. Our youth are being educated by under qualified, inexperienced teachers. These private and charter schools have regulatory boards that oversee the inner workings. If all is quiet, the state tends to fry bigger fish and the potential for danger is missed.

Some of these school administrators have hired department heads who are less competent than their underling staff. These "directors" hide behind a title and a convenient lack of classroom involvement. They are influencing the quality and direction of education for at-risk students and the parents are none the wiser. Nevertheless, your English Language Learner, your Special Education, and your otherwise special needs student is being disenfranchised by a system that has become more invested in the business of building resumes than it is about providing quality instruction and support.

It's a win-win scenario for all parties except the students. The school will now have someone who is deeply grateful for such an opportunity that they can be saddled with all kinds of tasks and responsibilities, appropriate to their skill set or not. The under-qualified employee is less likely to complain or speak out against unfair treatment because they are lucky to even be in that position. The school benefits by having a guaranteed workhorse at a rather dramatic cost savings, because they sure aren't going to offer compensation representative of the job title. They'll just offer ten percent more than the employee had been making previously, thus saving the school money that can now be used for other corrupt expenses.

It's happening. It's true. I wish I was just paranoid, but I know it to be true.

Schools are one of many situations that are at the mercy of similar back-door deals. It is infuriating that such corruption exists in our schools, and only ignorant to assume that this will not impact your child or the children of those you know. I urge anyone with school-age children to do their homework about the schools your children attend. Ask the uncomfortable questions about qualifications, degrees, experience. Your kids cannot advocate for themselves and trusting that the nice people at the local school have your child's best interest at heart may be an ill-advised stance.

There are many great schools and devoted educators. It is important to understand, though, that these devoted educators must play by the rules of their administration. Good intentions can only go so far when job security is such a real concern.

DK

An Acknowledgment of Hypocrisy

Something you'll never get out of Steve Dondley.

I guess this isn't over.......

So now a third party has entered what has become the most delusional and honest discussion to ever grace the internet this week. He hides behind the username Mikerios Zero. 'Rios, as I'm told he prefers, surely feels he has taken Western Mass by storm with his most recent blog post.

On the one hand, I must commend 'Rios for acknowledging a demand for additional perspectives on the local music scene of Western Mass. For some, this was a discussion that need not have ever occurred. If the pot's not black, don't fix it. But 'Rios is so adept, so in tune with the public outcry for squabble that he has decided to put himself in harms way just to satisfy the needs of the people.

It pains me to admit, for it is fault of my own I am admitting, but 'Rios is correct. Some of us don't denigrate the way we once did. Those were younger, more free-wheelin' days. In re-reading my blog posts, I found that I am guilty of this watered down denigration that 'Rios so eloquently addressed.

My blog posts were vague, cryptic and never named names. I should be ashamed of myself. Fortunately, Zero Fun John gave us a taste of the way things used to be, taking aim at me personally and even attempting to elicit an emotive reply by taking jabs at my self esteem and credibility.

I promise I will try harder next time, 'Rios. I promise.

The Hypocrisy That Divides

First, I'd like to thank those who reached out to me in response to my last post. It's encouraging to know that my feelings are shared by so many of you.

For some, my post was a response to misinterpreted or misunderstood information.

It is with my head held high that I stand by what I wrote yesterday. If anything, it's disheartening to witness talented and accomplished people project a sense of entitlement among peers. Especially peers in the local music scene.

I can't help but feel embarrassed for these people. Years behind them in the local music circuit, still ranting about how they have been disenfranchised in some way, by some one. And if not disenfranchised, they certainly feel under appreciated.

It's so sad because the reality is that no one cares.

Sure, there was a time when being outspoken and pretentious was a well-received part of the shtick for some bands. And there's something to be said for a new band to come charging out of the gate asserting the whole bad boy angle. It takes confidence and poise to pull it off, and some have made it their trademark.

This all becomes difficult to swallow when the rest of the equation is introduced. A number of years later- no measurable achievement, no record deal, no tour, and a revolving cast of characters. It stinks of syndicated television. The difference? We aren't seeing Dave Coulier demanding recognition and respect from new and upcoming actors.

People are not impressed by veteran local musicians who love to be hated. Quite frankly, people couldn't care less. Local bands should be kissing the feet of people who spend money to go to their shows. The fans a local band holds onto over the course of years are not interested in the jaded stance that the band projects. If people are still coming to your show after five or ten years, it's because they like your music, not your attitude or your image.

Even less attractive is to witness someone of talent and accomplishment attempt to unite a local music scene by speaking and acting in a manner that can only be described as divisive.
  
I remember the Western Mass local music scene when it was flourishing a few years back. My band was a part of it, and no one person or band created it.  No one person or band deliberately acted to fuel a renaissance of the local scene. It was a collective effort that took place without any of us knowing about it. Suggestions to the contrary are asinine.

No one can fault someone for forging ahead with a decent band that plays local shows earning a respectable turnout. And no one can fault such a band for having peaked years ago. It's local music, and it's bound to happen eventually. Internationally known artists experience the same phenomenon. There must come a time when these bands come to terms with what they have been able to achieve and either continue on as leaders, or bow out with whatever dignity remains.

DK

A Palpable Air of Narcissism: Local Music At It's Most Deplorable

Having played music for the better part of the last fifteen years, I've had the joy of getting to know a great number of local musicians. In meeting my amateur musician peers, it has always brought profound joy to witness those who have fallen head-over-heals for themselves and make no bones about notifying the entire human race of their superiority.

Naturally, I'm not speaking of any one particular person or band, as there have been many before whom I've knelt with humility.

You see, the local music scene in Western Massachusetts is no longer a living, breathing entity apart of which many artists contribute and grow. The scene in Western Massachusetts is a "pig in a cage on antibiotics"(thank you, Thom Yorke). It can be called smoldering at the very height of the current state. Tribute bands are drawing larger and more consistent crowds than any one local act.

This is not to dismiss the one or two original bands that are able to play locally and remind us all what selling out a club really looks like. These bands do exist in Western Mass, but they are a fine-tuned machine and a force to be reckoned with. These bands need not barrage the masses with their messages of self righteousness. The message is heard loud and clear as the line of people waiting to get into the club wraps around the building.

Unfortunately, some local bands just can't step off the Narcissism Express.

This is nothing new, nor is it anything worth blogging or reading about. Though if you're at all inclined to opine, please indulge me this.

There are many a band (and band member) in Western Massachusetts who have achieved some level of local recognition. Successful shows, recordings, loyal fan bases, articles, interviews, and tours. Some are so talented, in fact, that they have managed to experience a tour of shows without ever venturing out of New England.

All too often, these bands and band members of some measurable success take on a palpable air of narcissism. A projection that some widespread recognition is owed to them for the purportedly unmatched achievements they have made. An impression that, if the propaganda persists, we as an audience may be convinced of. And not only dare they gloat, but additionally expect that you share in their self-love. Lend a hand in the masturbating of their egos. No, you need not say anything. Just stand by and watch approvingly as they show you what a real band looks like, sounds like, and acts like. In fact, it's probably best if you don't participate. Your tawdry assertions of music are no match for the stage shredding that is about to ensue.

Many local bands over the last ten years have taken this route. Earning their stripes by announcing their greatness. Often times, those who take this approach have done so because the recognition has not met them in a more natural way. What is even more depressing to observe is someone of inarguable musical talent spouting about the internet in an overt attempt to assert his or her disapproval of other local bands homage to his or her own band.

Those who are experiencing success are not cluttering the internet with infantile complaints. There is no time to devote to such idiocy when true success is on the horizon.

I played for years in local bands. I've played in bands that have achieved some local success and recognition. I've played shows in Chicago for an audience of one, and I've played very lucrative nights in my hometown. My bands have been played on the radio, featured in local publications and recorded in Grammy-friendly studios. I and my bands have done all of this, but all the while never losing sight of how little it all truly is.

Being a local band in Western Massachusetts does not, in itself, garner any reverence. For the local band is just that- a local band. At it's best, the local band community stands together and supports one another as each band grows, changes, or inevitably dies. There's a camaraderie that comes from playing shows in run-down bars for few people and even fewer dollars. And there's a sense of pride watching friends perform their songs to a well-receiving crowd.

Nevertheless, those narcissistic local musicians can't seem to get beyond the praise that they feel is owed them.Why, when the ratio of success to years invested is less than inspiring, are some so determined to embody this vision of success. When will the embodiment of complacency be enough? Achieving complacency is not accepting defeat. Complacency, in this context, would mean the acceptance and acknowledgment of achievement sans narcissism and entitlement.

Every single one of us who has picked up an instrument has dreamed, however fleeting, of achieving fame and fortune by that end. Though, there must come a time when the dreams of success, and the posture that can follow closely behind, are replaced by another, more grounded, intent. Perpetuating these fantasies is not only futile, but surprisingly sad and evident to the onlooker. Those who have achieved success need not advertise their accolades. We will know you're successful when you no longer play local bars because you're now selling out theaters and arenas. Though your talents may be many, your mediocrity is not lost on the world. Give your audience a little more credit.

DK 

Something of substance.

I've literally got ten minutes before I meet with some good friends for coffee. Ten minutes. Nothing really to say.

Tonight's plans have deteriorated rather unexpectedly. Some friends and I were going to check out a local phenomenon at a nearby watering hole. Not a phenomenon like the John Travolta type. A real phenomenon. A group of fully grown (arguably over grown) men set out to entertain the locals with a catalog of songs so vast and grossly unrelated that the intent observer can't help but be stunned. It's real. It's real and it should be happening tonight.

And surely, this is happening tonight. Just not in our town.

Somewhere in the United States, this very phenomenon is unfolding. Rarely is something so grand, so entertaining, and so calculated and poised occurring in so many places, and with such varied artistry that the unassuming patron sleeps through a proverbial hydrogen bomb.

This is what I am missing tonight. Missing because it is not occurring, as I can assure you, these wondrous moments are not lost on me.

DK

Give me something to do. Please.

I know I shouldn't complain. I have many people in my life who truly care about me. I have a job where I feel accomplished and appreciated. I have my own home and I just bought my first car.

I just can't help but feel like something is missing. And I know just what it is.

I'm completely lacking a creative outlet. I don't have a band anymore. I haven't drawn or painted in at least ten years. And I haven't written a full song in almost five years. My guitars are locked away in their cases, and my amplifier is in disrepair.

Playing music is something I absolutely love to do, but I tend not to do it when I'm alone. For me, playing music is meant to be interactive. There's something incredible about the organic process of writing and not knowing where a song might go. When I play music by myself, I know exactly where it's going to end up. There's no surprise. Playing music with other people can be an adventure. One note can be the difference between mundane and exciting.

Playing guitar since I was thirteen, I've been in quite a few bands. Certainly, I'm more proud of some projects than I am of others. I just find myself longing for that creative process again. I miss sitting in a room with two guitars and pushing each other to be more creative.

Well, the solution seems quite simple, you say?

No.

All the bands I have been a part of have consisted of friends. It's easy to put together a band when surrounded by musical people. Today, I'm not quite as fortunate. I remain friends with all my former band mates, but they are all unavailable to play music.... with me. Several of them have new bands of their own. Others have little time or interest in further pursuing music.

What also complicates my situation is that I don't have the time or enthusiasm to seek out musicians with whom I'm not already connected in some way. Absolutely, I am responsible for my situation. I could surely post an ad on Craigslist and have a hipster-hating band together before the week is done. I just don't want to. I've heard too many horror stories about band auditions, and the time involved is staggering. I guess I've been spoiled. I've had the luxury of knowing musicians and the pleasure of the opportunity to play with them. Not only the pleasure of playing with musicians who were also friends, but the sense of achievement that came from being in a band that gained some local notoriety. Having had such experiences, I find myself doubting that I'll find myself in a room (no pun intended) with similarly talented and driven folks without undergoing the dreaded process of actually looking.

Perhaps the only thing left to do is write a personal ad. And since you're likely a friend of mine if you're reading this, perhaps you or some one you know may be just what I'm looking for.

Fast-approaching-thirty guitarist seeks a similarly saddled person of musical inclination. I do like walks on the beach, though I don't aspire to walk beaches with you (or our dickhead drummer). I'm not a virtuoso but I can play my instrument and fake it with the best of 'em. I'd love it if you knew how to play your instrument as well. It'd be great if we could push each other to be better, more creative people. That's really what I hope to gain from us playing together, as my dreams of becoming famous have long washed away. I'm not impressed that you have your dad's 1960 Les Paul and I couldn't care less that you have a drug habit. Neither of these things make you a rock star, and you need not reply if either sound familiar. We won't be ordering stickers or shirts before Christmas. Stickers and shirts don't equal credibility. We likely won't be playing shows before Christmas, either. I know, I know...this probably seems absurd. Especially since we've only just met and you booked three gigs for next weekend. We're going to take things slow and see what comes of our collaboration. To be honest, we may never play a show or order stickers and shirts. We may never drive across the country playing dive bars for free, all the while convinced that this will somehow garner some major label attention. Having read this far and not been driven away, I'd like it if you'd call. Perhaps we could get together for coffee and some discussion over our mutual admiration for all things Jack White. Maybe we could spend a day exploring your amp and guitar arsenal, as I can't imagine you're still using that solid-state piece of shit you bought back in 9th grade. I hope you exist. I hope you call.              Soon.


DK

I probably need help....

I'm becoming increasingly self-aware and it's nothing short of scary. What I'm referring to are the many moments throughout a day that I find myself needing things to be "just so".

There's something that I gain from certain mundane details being carried out in a way that I expect and approve of. There's a comfort in it.

It's worth mentioning that I almost scrapped this entire post. Though, sitting back and thinking about what I'm saying, it seems that these must be feelings that we all experience to some degree.

Sure, some of us lead more routine lives than others. And though I wouldn't describe my life as routine, I do find comfort in having an outline by which I can fill in the blanks.

Today I know I'm working. From home, but working nonetheless. I know I have two treatment plans to write, and that I'll likely be done with both before noon. At some point today I need to find time to pick up a few odds and ends at the grocery store. I need to eat. And I know already what I'll be having for at least two of my three meals.

I've always liked plans. I'm not very spontaneous, though I'm seldom without an activity to occupy at least part of each day. I'm sure some of this need for planning comes from anxiety. Though I'll be the first to tell you that having some anxiety can be beneficial. At least, it has been for me. Fueled by a small amount of anxiety, I'm able to manage my time, plan ahead and be prepared for whatever the day may bring.

With any luck, I'll find some time in my day to plan for a better blog post tomorrow.

DK

Genesis: Not the band

Those who know me well, or even peripherally, can attest to the fact that I have an opinion. In launching this blog, I make no suggestion that this is a unique quality, or that my opinion carries more weight or proves more valid than those of my peers. In fact, I quite value the opinion of those around me. I still solicit the advice of family, friends, and coworkers. I truly believe I have a lot left to learn in this life.

That being said....

I'm launching this blog as a venue for me to put my opinions out of my mind, and by doing so, set them free. All too often I have found that my boredom has led to ill-received Facebook commentary, instigating remarks on MassLive forums, and ultimately achieving a perception of myself that is largely negative.

I aspire to use this blog as a vehicle by which I can appropriately address matters of the day without being consumed by the call and response of social network banter. By no means am I declaring an end to my participation in social networks. That would be just silly.

With any luck, this process will prove beneficial for me and, at times, mildly entertaining for you.

DK