mjb wrote:.
i can't believe paul didn't bust out the seal yet.
Actually, I've been taking a self-imposed hiatus from posting on Rockpage because the political BS was just getting too much for me to handle. I only broke that once, when I thanked someone from another band playing in the same town as we are tonight for promoing our show as well and theirs in the Show forum. I thought that was a very classy thing to do, so I couldn't let that go without showing appreciation.
But Mike's right. If any thread deserves the Seal of Approval, it's this one...
Okay, now that's out of the way. I might as well come back from my posting sabbatical and give my two cents, because I've been reading this thread ever since it was first posted.
Yes, if you're a musician, you're jaded. I think that it's naive to think that we, as musicians, should just automatically accept an outsider who's "in the industry" without first asking the hard questions. Is that a cynical stance to take? Yes, it is. But since I've started playing music, I've had enough smoke blown up my ass that my mouth could be used as a chimney. You have fly by night booking agents that think they can get you into rooms that you can get yourself into anyways. Every garage band looking for a new musician has "label interest." Oh, then there's my favorite: promoters who think you should do their jobs and sell tickets just to open for C-list national acts. There are blood-suckers in this industry, from the local cover band level to the touring national band level. I'm one of the last people to ever be xenophobic, but I like to really understand who I'm dealing with. I think that's why Rob B. wanted to know who was this person: He's been around the block a few times. He's heard a lot of BS, so yeah, he's going to be jaded too.
I don't know who is this Jim/Herman cat. If he's doing good things, then that's awesome. I'm not saying he's a snake. I'm not saying he's shiftee. I'm saying that if you want to do all you say you are going to do, then be ready to state your credibility. He kind of threw out his resume/CV, but it still didn't tell me much. He knows some cats in the business. That's cool. We work with the former tour manager of the Dixie Chicks and Reba McEntire on a regular basis - So do the Slacker Theory guys. He's helped us a lot, but we work with him because he's a credible cat and doesn't blow smoke up our asses. That's cool he helped Phil's band get some airtime. Again, I really don't have an opinion either way about this Herman cat. I'm an empiricist. I want to see what this cat's really about.
As far as what the scene needs. Call me cynical, but majority of people here bitch and moan and really don't do anything. I learned that when I was part of PACAG and tried to fight the noise gestapo that is responsible for us losing venues. A bunch of us dedicated our time to the cause, but most people didn't want to do shit or found an excuse for not wanting to do shit. Of course, they're the first to complain when a venue gets hit with a noise violation. My interest is very much piqued over Brian's indie label. Why? Because I know Brian and I know that Brian's actually a change agent. He doesn't talk about a bunch of stuff that he has no intention in enacting. Jim Price is a change agent as well. I consider the Straw brothers change agents. Hawk's a change agent. These are people who do, not just talk about what should be done. I'd work with any of them on any project they want to do. I know that they get things done. I'm not naming names, but I know that many other people who are big talk here wouldn't walk the walk when the time comes.
Well, my first post back wasn't very PC, but I think that some good points got brought up and they need to be discussed. Now I'm going to go post in the Harry thread, which is the thread that, in hindsight, should have probably got me posting again anyways.
...I know return you to your regularly scheduled thread.
"He's the electric horseman, you better back off!" - old sKool making a reference to the culturally relevant 1979 film.
).
Plus its a hell of a lot more fun than sitting in a studio.
