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