Re: Have you ever. . .

Have you ever met a musician that you liked a whole lot on record, but when you met them in person, you had a really hard time reconciling their really bad personality and ego problems their music? I've met many musicians and only one of them meets that bad criterion. I have no agenda to trash on him here. . . But I think for the unabashed music fan (especially one who starts writing about music and interviewing musicians) it can really create a weird, conflicting situation. I've thought about this for many years and my bottom line is that my job was not to gratify anyone's ego but to celebrate great music. Just a thought. . . someone once wrote about Jim Derogatis that he liked music criticism better than music. I think that was a cheap shot. . . There is a selflessness that the great cultural critics possess (of music and otherwise) that a lot of creators of art could never have. It's a very weird paradox, in my mind. Just something I'm tossing around in my head.



Post Edited (06-13-11 07:59)

yeah, I too could make a list...

But what would be the point? Could any of us stand to be in a room with our 20-yr-old selves? Along with aging/growing comes a different view of the music industry and the role of bards in a society.

Civilizations are revered for their art and not their politic.
Artists are left-brained, pathic, fractured, driven/stunted.
In youth I thought they were all born-geniuses. But that's such a set-up and I think that pre-internet there was a large disconnect between holding an album cover and reality. These days I'm empathetic yet supportive - even with the assholes (whether from strong ego or shattered).

Often when you meet a musician it's in an atmosphere that puts them on the defensive. So many of us, as musicians, are not ultimately comfortable in any position outside of the creative process itself.

What's the famous quote about never meeting your idols?

But I was thinking more about your first question than with critique. I'm sure there are critics who never cringe when doling a bad review. There are certainly a lot of readers who see no point in dancing about architecture. (Albeit nobody treading these waters).

By the way E, read Woody Allen's "Whore of Mensa" if you haven't already.



Post Edited (07-25-11 03:31)

I couldnt stand to be in a room with my current self....

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I couldnt stand to be in a room with my current self....

This. I leave the room when that jerk comes in.nosepail wrote:

this situation.
kind of answers the exact opposite scenario of your question.
i went on a cruise where reo speedwagon was playing and my friend is a comedian who was opening up for them.
the lead singer kevin was in the bar with us and we talked for over an hour about all types of subjects and music that was not his own.
i even think he got the drift that we werent into his genre of music .
he was gracious humble and a good man. it made us kind of feel guilty about not liking his music .
it made me come to the conclusion that anybody who is playing music that makes others happy is ok in my book as an entertainer

Another situation my friend was in was a parade where the person of honour was lou reed. my friend woould sit next to lou reed and hold a sign.
he was told to make minimal contact with him dont look at him much dont bother him. well he didnt make too much small talk with lou and he found him to be cordial. lou was probably happy that this guy wasnt a big fan and didnt make a fuss

I met several musicians in the '80s when I was doing lighting for stage performances; most of them were fine, and a few of them (George Clinton, Stevie Ray Vaughan, the members of Berlin) were terrific. I never met any that I thought were assholes, but at least one meeting (Todd Rundgren) was surprisingly strained and awkward. It didn't ruin my view of Rundgren, but it did temper my eagerness to meet more stars in the future.

And really, how many of us like to get approached by total strangers who try to strike up a conversation with us, at any given time? Sure, it's an occupational hazard when you're a celebrity, but I doubt that makes it any less awkward or uncomfortable.

> Could any of us stand to be in a room with our 20-yr-old selves?

Amen to that. God knows I couldn't. (Part of it would be the ridicule I'd receive from my younger self, for putting on so many pounds.)

Looking back, I guess I was probably an irritating ass, to the celebrities I've met. I kept trying to bait them into discussions of Runescape Gold. But they were having none of it.

Was it the real REO Speedwagon or the fake one?

"told to make minimal contact with him dont look at him much dont bother him"
I've been told that by handlers and each time I've said, "That's an interaction request that's sociopathic. Get fucked".

"Part of it would be the ridicule I'd receive from my younger self, for putting on so many pounds."
The other day I was thinking I wouldn't be able to party with my younger self and he'd then snub me.

I'd tell my younger self not to buy so many goddamned laser discs.

I love my younger self, even though I was so fucked up back then. I'm not so crazy about my older "mature" self", so I've kept some fuckedupness in a box in case of emergencies.

We no longer need great art; we need great people. And you can quote me on that. That's some deep shit.

Actually, looking back, I'm just fine with my college-age self. Sure, he had an obnoxious streak, but that was part of his charm. And I'm sure he'd find cause to ridicule the later-model Delvin. But I'd go back in time with that assumption, and just buy a round to break the ice. (I'd better start hoarding currency with series dates from the '80s, in case that opportunity arises.)

My high-school self, I still struggle with, sometimes. But on the balance sheet, I really am okay with him too. Now my junior-high self ... oh man, if I could go back in time and somehow have a heart-to-heart with him ... Of course, he probably wouldn't listen.

Post Edited (06-14-11 23:37)

A certain percentage of the population have always struggled with the Golden Rule whether today or in pre-Roman societies. (I would NOT have interviewed Hammurabi, Ogedie Khan or Qin Shi Huang).

McCartney is known as perennially polite. He shrugged of non-stop reformation questions. I'm thinking he's an exclusion. There are many examples of musicians who get that question every time they interact with strangers. Being in an interview situation puts many musicians in a defensive position. Hell, most people, since you're likely being interviewed because of something that you did or created. It's uncomfortable knowing that what you say will be given an angle and then contextualized during editing. You want people to see what you're currently creating and working hard for and they want to remind you of the time when you had to work and live with people you ended up hating & are unable to focus on what was created. You never got to sit in the audience and the music isn't necessarily enjoyable from the inside of it. (As a guitarist, you've always just heard your stage monitor and on recordings your ear goes straight to your part). So, I get it. But sounds like you found his stress button and pushed it. He was probably sitting there waiting for it. Or maybe he's socially inept to begin with. I'd venture a majority of musicians are. McCartney appears to have always understood the Beatles from a sociological perspective, as would a fan.

Stereotype: extrovert drummer, narcissistic singer, shy/nervous keyboardist

I think that many fans bring in this expectation where thy think the musician can't wait to jointly share the joy that is experienced in discussing their past work; the celebration; that the work makes them feel the same way as the fans. But it can be really uncomfortable to discuss your previous work on someone else's terms, particularly when you only had a certain amount of input to begin with. When a track title is mentioned, it can bring a flood of negative associated memories, not the enjoyment of sitting in front of a stereo. (Not to suggest an excuse for Lloyd).

I used to assume that all musicians are music fans and collectors and was then surprised when I'd meet a musician and make music references, none of which registered. (I played in a band a couple years back where not one member had heard of the Ramones. wtf?!). Not everybody is Bill Janovitz or Buzz Osbourne, who used to spend their tour off-time in dusty bins. (Not to pick on Bass, but it seems like many of these guys just want to play the notes but could not care less about roots, trivia or a bigger picture. Granted when you're in a band it can be exhausting spending your off-time focusing on music. Better to be a fan or critic perhaps.) Anyway, point being: that's weirder to me than ersatz-priapic musicians.

Though many have said as much, it resonated with me best when Janeane Garofalo told a group of us that it was weird, to her, when people exalted anyone on a stage or whose business was to present for entertainment, because, from her point of view, entertainers are all fucked up people (almost by definition).

Friends and family used to pester me about why I didn't put more energy into pursuing a band membership and I used to say I didn't want to be around that much cigarette smoke every night, live in a van, constantly argue over material. Internally I didn't have the urge to share my creative impulses with people. But maybe I just didn't want the admission of being that fucked up. (that and laziness)

Society needs bards.

Not sure about Napolean. Caligula would have been thrilling and I would have specific questions for Tiberius.

Caligula would have beenlushed

"McCartney is known as perennially polite."

That's my impression of him. . . and I was actually thinking of him in this post. I (and my coworkers) had a very brief encounter with him when I worked for Premiere Radio Networks (for a boss/editor-in-chief named Ira Robbins). McCartney was actually trying to make US feel comfortable and managing the (really brief) conversation while our mouths were hanging open. It was as if (and this is only my impression) he felt that it was important to make everyone in the room comfortable and as if he was oblivious to the fact that just standing in the same room with him made us really happy.

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McCartney is known as perennially polite. He shrugged off non-stop reformation questions.

This is certainly true. I once tried for hours to bait him into a discussion of Martin Luther's 95 Theses and the Diet of Worms, but he was having none of it. He was quite happy to answer questions about the Enlightenment, though.

Sorry. Couldn't resist.

"I once tried for hours to bait him into a discussion of Martin Luther's 95 Theses and the Diet of Worms, but he was having none of it. He was quite happy to answer questions about the Enlightenment, though."

Haha! Now THAT is funny.

I was recently in play a game called RS game, I was there are a lot of powerful equipment, are bought with RS Gold". It took me only a week made a lot of Runescape Gold, if you also play RS, I can give you a lot of wow, let you also buy powerful equipment. Extra RS Gold can also get Internet up to sell.

Glad you didn't resist that one, Reno. Very nice.