For awhile now I have been hearing this overwhelming outcry for "support" in the scene. "Everyone should be supporting everyone else's bands regardless" seems to be the ethos today. I think this is bullshit.
I don't know what happened to most people. No one has a backbone or thick skin anymore. Every comment, critique, criticism is taken as a verbal threat and because of this no one is allowed to have an opinion that differs from the masses.
This may not be the most pleasant thing to read, but it is the reality of things, and that is not everyone gives a fuck about you or your band. I certainly do not and deep down neither do you. It is absurd to say that the scene is "close minded" because not everyone likes everyones band despite genre. If that was the case everyone would of bought tickets to Friday's Bamboozle to see Skrillex because he was once in a band. And do to the 6 degrees of separation, it actually makes more sense to have done that then it does to support every band you ever meet ever.
Now please don't get me wrong, I believe there should be some comradery in the scene, but it should not be forced or demanded. What makes the scene so wonderful is that it is the truest form of democracy. If a band is good, people stand behind that band and support. Kids will come to their shows, other bands will spread the word and that band will gradually see success if they continue down the right path in the right way. To infringe on that process by denying people the right to decide for themselves what they like and insisting that everyone like everything is tyrannical and will ultimately lead to more people getting upset when they discover a band isn't as supportive of another despite the idea that no matter what we should all support one another.
Everyone needs to come to grips with these facts:
1: Everyone perceives things differently. Me not liking your band does not hinder you from what you are doing.
2: Everyone talks. When someone says they don't like this, that and the other thing about your band, they aren't "talking shit", they are just talking. It means nothing more than that they dislike what you like. It does not hinder you from what you are doing.
3: The scene doesn't get better if everyone just got along. The scene needs controversy, the scene needs different flavors. It makes things interesting and keeps things fresh.
4: Some bands suck and are made up of shitty people. Supporting bands like that is stupid and counterintuitive.
We are all different. Lets just accept that. So if you want to support every band in the scene, go right ahead. Just don't expect me to do the same. And don't try and make an asshole out of me because I disagree with the way some bands conduct themselves and therefore withhold my support from them. I am not shit talking, I am just talking.
I think there's a difference between supporting the music and supporting the hustle, and that's a difference that a lot of people don't make.
ReplyDeleteIf I don't like your music, I'm not gonna buy it. Don't expect me to. That's silly.
If I go to a show for someone I do like, or just randomly, and someone's like "hey if you can, throw something in these other bands' tip jars cuz they're touring musicians and have to eat blah blah blah," there's more of a sensibility to that. I don't have to like your music to appreciate that gas is expensive.
STILL, my dollar priority goes to the bands that I care about, and people shouldn't expect otherwise. My wallet isn't made to support the scene. If I care about supporting the hustle, supporting the scene in general, I'll put in what I feel is right. And what's right is no one else's business.
The scene would benefit from more fans that cared about supporting the hustle in general rather than just the individual bands, and is missing that in a HUGE way these days, but no one should EXPECT it. No one should EXPECT people to randomly show up to shows specifically because they want to support the scene. At the end of the day, when they do, it's charity, not a responsibility, and it should be approached, and appreciated, as such.
However, if you suck as a person/people then I have no intention of supporting you, and if you yell at me for not throwing money at your band and say I'm ruining the scene because of it, you're a clown.