Whenever I don’t like a band’s music, whether it’s national or local, I usually keep negative opinions to myself these days. Why? Because, if you make opinions public, it’ll piss everyone off, and I’ll get called the badguy for it. All for just expressing an opinion on a band which is all I’ve done. Whether making opinions on their music, videos or image, whatever. Doesn’t matter what I say about a band, I get yelled at.
Usually this happens, when you criticize a popular band that everyone likes. Their fans would have their support and back them up. They would defend that band, no matter the negative things that is said about them. That’s how much of a joke the music world is sometimes.
Yes, there’s going to be bands that I will like and dislike. I’m certainly not going to like everything. Usually, when I discuss music online, I always think there is nothing wrong with expressing “honest” opinions on bands, but the second you say something about a band, it sparks controversy.
I would love to keep discussing bands, however I wanted like I did in the past but I’m done with that stuff. People just don’t understand that’s what music is here for, you either like some of it or don’t. I still stand by a lot of things I’ve said about certain bands in the past, too. I just keep them for myself.
People know there is nothing wrong with being honest about music, it’s just that their fans hate seeing someone else ripping on their favorite band. The fans don’t want their favorite band to feel upset and hurt, so they defend them to let them know they have their support. That’s why fans do what they do.
The irony of this is, people get upset when their favorite band is getting bashed on, yet some people don’t have a problem with bashing my music. You see what’s wrong with that picture? Think about it now.It seems I can’t have an opinion on music and everyone else can. That’s how messed up and weird the music world is. Sometimes I just scratch my head and say “what the fuck” at all of this.
Kev
K'Brocking 
I am in the same boat as you, man. People get offended if I mock the area’s more popular cover bands, but then it’s okay for them to absolutely hate MY music. Well, then again when they like a cover band, they don’t really like the cover band’s music…because the cover band isn’t even doing “their” music. They’re playing someone else’s. They like that the cover band plays songs they know and love. With artists like us who play original material, they’ve never heard it before. Our songs aren’t tied to any sense of nostalgia for the listener, so they decide they don’t like it. The funny part is that, for every song they absolutely love for that cover band to do…there was a time when they didn’t know THOSE songs either!!! So at one point in their life they had never heard “Stairway to Heaven,” but they listened to it with an open mind and grew to love it. Well, where the hell is that open-minded mentality now?
PS: It’s also funny how it’s okay if you like national acts, but it seems to be absolutely forbidden to not like local ones.
I hear ya Steve. It seems that it’s okay to hate the national bands but not the local ones. I can write the nastiest shit about a national band in facebook, like say I will write a long nasty post about Korn for example in facebook and people wouldn’t care. If you do that to a local band, it makes you the asshole. Weird.
Kev
Why write a nasty post about ANY bands? Everyone is out there trying to get better and playing music and hopefully having fun, right? So why knock ANY of them? If a band plays covers, what’s the big deal? People just want to have fun when they go to see a band, right?
Original music or not, I have seen people enjoying songs they have never heard before – a good song is a good song!! And a bad band with a bad singer, who is also a bad guitar player who writes bad songs, is just…BAD! So don’t blame OTHER people for YOUR OWN lack of skill. It’s not the scene’s fault. Practice, get better, listen to good music, understand how a song is constructed – ever hear of a hook? Most songs have them…
Please understand that just because someone plays their own songs doesn’t mean the songs are any good, right? And because someone writes their own songs it DOES NOT make them more musically relevant than a good cover band. Some dope who writes meandering horse-shit drivel and has no sense of rhythm, no idea how to phrase the vocal, and zero sense of melody is, truthfully, just in the way of someone who is really good and is trying to get gigs. Open mics are for the guys who think they’re ‘artists.’
And let’s be honest, it’s chumps who can’t get gigs that are the ones who complain about bands who are working, it’s jealously more than anything else, right. You know it’s true, Kevin. You’re a pro, you’re out there gigging – you know the deal.
It always have to come down with jealousy when criticizing other bands, right? I always thought about criticizing bands for a good reason. A lot of bands can be unprofessional, they can have huge egos and some of them can act like assholes as well. I always thought it was good to expose the truth because not everything in the music world is nice and friendly as everyone thinks.
Plus, you should have every right to call a band is crap at what they do musically. I also find it hilarious when you say “people shouldn’t attack” bands when you just did the same exact thing in your post. You did it by simply calling open mics for people who think they are artists, that’s an opinion and it was an attack. Calling musicians jealous of their success is also an attack.
I’ve seen some great bands in the music scene and I’ve seen some horrible bands. I felt that if people think they have the right to trash my music, I should be allowed to do the same.
Kev
You have seen people out there enjoying a good original song? How? 99% of the venues around here won’t book anything EXCEPT cover bands. It has nothing to do with how good or bad of a songwriter the original act is. They want cover bands in because they know people are more entertained by music they already know. This area is a cover-dominated environment, so whether I lack skill or not, it IS also partially the scene’s fault. And Kev is absolutely right: you say don’t attack bands but then start mocking someone you don’t even know: “Don’t blame the scene for your own lack of skill…open mics are for the guys who think they are artists.” I never said playing originals automatically makes me or anyone better than a cover band. I just said they get most of the gigs in this area, plain and simple.
I’m agreeing with everything Steve is saying, 100%. Not only that most venues want cover bands, if venues were to book originals, they wouldn’t book you unless you have a large following of fans. They don’t give a shit if you’re music is good or not. All they care about is bringing in more customers and pulling in more money. If I were to own a music venue, I would not book that way. I would book a band if they’re music is good. The way venues book shows fucking sucks.
That’s why I almost gave up gigging completely to begin with. I would only play gigs when I’m asked to play on one. If other bands and other venues ask me, I’ll accept. It’s easier for gigs to come after me, instead of going after them. I like it that way.
Kev
Bands and/or solo performers that are GOOD get gigs. Bands and/or solo performers that ARE NOT GOOD don’t get gigs. That’s the bottom line. Criticize whoever you want to, you point a finger at someone and you have fingers pointing back at you. So, YOU have to deal with the karma. No one owes you dudes ANY thing, don’t ever forget that. You have to make your breaks. Luck is the residue of hard work. So a person can read zombie comic books and beat off like a horny gorilla or they can play their guitar, whatever works. But if you’re gonna beat off, don’t blame ANY one but yourself if you can’t get gigs. Rejection is protection. If you’re NOT READY to gig, you ain’t gonna get gigs – it’s for your own good! One last thing, ask yourself this question, ‘does the scene suck, or do I suck?’.
Everything you’re saying is entitled to your own opinion. I just had a gig last month in June opening for a few bands and I had a great crowd that came out to see me play. At least 30 people or more showed up. My comeback gig was pretty successful, I think. I was asked to play that gig. The gig that I opened for Eastbound Jesus and Cletus. I can get gigs just fine, I don’t gig much because I choose not to.
If people don’t think I’m good, that’s fine. I’m not heartbroken about it. I don’t care what people think of my tunes. As long as I have some fans and supporters out there (which I do), that makes me happy enough.
Seriously, who are you, and what band do you play in? Show a link of your music and then I would judge your talent or whatever.
Kev
Well, I guess I just proved my point of what I was trying to say here on this entire blog post. The second I criticize the music scene, people get pissed at me, and it’s working. It also proves my point that this area is full of assholes who can’t take honest criticism. Comments closed.
Kev