It is interesting how musicians responds to honest criticism. I’ve been interacting with musicians in the local music community for more than ten years or so. I can tell you right now that most of them have a problem with being arrogant and egotistical most of the time. Whenever I talk about this stuff, some usually don’t believe me and they think I’m full of shit most of the time but that’s okay. I’ve seen how musicians are online and offline… I just go by what I see. I don’t make these things up, why would I?

I think it’s safe to say that most musicians don’t like criticism of any kind. They really don’t. If you say anything negative — whether it’s about their music, their image, their stage presence, the way they promote themselves, the way they handle their live gigs, their attitudes, etc. — if you say anything negative about any of that stuff, you can expect some kind of retaliation by them in return. They usually throw a nasty temper tantrum when you do. I’ve dealt with that many times over the years, trust me.

Why is it that some musicians get pissed over criticism? Like the title of the topic says, I think it’s merely arrogance and egotism. You see, the thing is there are too many musicians who love themselves… they love themselves a bit too much. They think they’re important and they think they’re better than others just because they had some successes with their music. Like I said before, some musicians just want to feel like that they’re more superior than you just because they’re more established than you. They just try to put you below their level. So because they’ve had some successes with their music, they think they know everything and think they know what they’re doing. They feel that you don’t deserve to give them criticism or advice. The more success they get with their music, the bigger their ego becomes. That’s how they are.

Yeah, I understand that some musicians and bands are proud of all the success they achieved and making their dreams come true, but is responding to criticism is the best attitude to have? No. Absolutely not! As some of you know, I get a lot of bad publicity and I have nasty critics too, but I just learned to ignore them over the years. I don’t respond to anything negative anymore like I used to.

There are musicians out there that can’t take criticism at all. I’ve seen musicians respond to every criticism and attack aimed at them and they try to defend themselves each time. Not really a good thing to do. It’s an unprofessional thing to do is to react toward the critics especially responding in an angry manner.

That’s the name of the game in music, ya know? When you want to play music and get yourself out there, you’re gonna get criticized. I wish some bands would understand that but they don’t get it yet. Many of them live under the delusion that they are great and thinking that everybody likes them. Well not everybody is gonna like you and not everybody is gonna agree with you. You’re just going to learn how to deal with it.

I’ve said this before and will say it again that I find it funny that people think it’s okay to criticize me but when I do the same, they don’t like it. They get all pissy. Many of these musicians acting like keyboard warriors… attacking me through blogs, social networking, anonymous pages and message boards… yet when I do the same to them they’re like: “Oh no, Brock is the big bad internet troll”. They play innocent victim almost all the time. Funny how that works. Musicians having negative thoughts about me for years but I can’t criticize other bands. You get the point of where I’m getting at? This is messed up.

I’ve been dealing with musicians for many years. Trust me, the local music community is crazy. It’s not all that great and wonderful like some say it is. They’ve been brainwashed by the local music websites and blogs that are out there (not naming who they are but you’ll figure them out).

Don’t get me wrong. Not all musicians in the scene are arrogant and a bunch of assholes… there are some that are actually wonderful people, humble and down to Earth. Wish we had more musicians like that ’cause being humble is important. I never thought I was better than others, and I never thought I was a rock star either. I play music ’cause I love it. I was never into it for the money or popularity. Just want to play and rock out. That’s all I want to do.

Kev

As some of you may figured out by now, I have been criticizing the Albany/Capital Region music scene for many years. I have no regrets for any of it, and will not apologize for it either. I think it’s good to be honest and real about it. Yes, admittedly my criticism to it has gotten me in trouble a lot over the years, but I don’t give a shit. If I’m going to be the only one talking about how musicians really are and the way the music scene is in this area so be it.

No doubt that there are loads of problems in this music scene. Not only that the negative attitudes, the egos, the drama and the attention whoring of musicians have become a problem… I can name tons more.

First of all, it’s pretty hard to get gigs around here. This area is making it tougher for musicians to get gigs around venues in this area. It used to be that if the owner of the venue likes your music then you get a gig, but those days are dead and gone. Nowadays, if you want a gig at a small concert hall or a bar or a coffeehouse, you must have a pretty big following. If you don’t have a decent enough following to pull people into your shows then you don’t get a gig. It’s just as simple as that.

A lot of venues around here makes you want to prove your worth which is to me is pretty sad. There are many talented musicians around here struggling to get gigs for that reason. A lot of venues around here wants to make you have a press kit and all that stuff which to me is pretty silly. What’s wrong with just giving them your demo and if you’re good, you get a live gig? That’s not how it’s done anymore.

Secondly, it is hard to get noticed in this area. Ya know, become recognized for your music or even become established & well-known. Yeah, it’s pretty hard to get people to like your music… I know it is. That’s the challenging part is getting people to listen to your original songs. What’s even harder is to get people to come to your live shows when you have some booked. I speak all this with experience too.

This isn’t directed at any band in particular, but have you noticed that some of the bands around here getting bigger and becoming more established pretty quickly? Ya know, playing the bigger stages, playing all the local festivals, opening for national acts, etc. All the good stuff. Well the answer to that is that many of these established bands have good mangers, booking agents, etc. These bands hire those people to help them get where they are. Now, I’m not necessarily saying that’s a bad thing, but I have seen established bands that didn’t have managers/booking agents at all. They did all the work themselves to get to the next level. It can be done.

These days the only way to move forward to your music and go to the next level is to play music that people love dancing to. Why? It’s because bands that makes people fill the dance floors is what’s selling. If you play rock n’ roll and metal, and if you don’t get people moving then you probably won’t go anywhere with your music. Play music that people can dance to then you’ll be big around here… that’s why country music is pretty popular around the Capital Region. It is why pop music is getting popular around here. Nobody pretty much appreciates bands for the art anymore. All this area wants to do is party, drink and dance. As long as people are buying the drinks then the bars & clubs are happy.

When I look at the music scene today, I’ve noticed it’s gotten much harder to play out ’cause venues come and go. Unfortunately, not many places to play out anymore. I can’t find venues to play at myself nowadays ’cause I’m thinking about getting back out there to play some open mics and maybe an actual gig. This area isn’t much of a scene to be honest with ya. I can see why some bands around here are starting to tour the states and even other countries ’cause there is nothing here.

Don’t get me wrong, I love live music, and I do enjoy going to local shows to cheer on the band in front of the stage… I’m just not afraid to real about this stuff. I’ve always been that way for years and still haven’t changed now.

This scene never gets better and still remains the same. When I write songs, I don’t care to write songs that get people dancing and moving. I Just write songs however I want to; just write whatever comes out of me. I just wish people would appreciate the art and not worry about the partying aspect of music. When I play out, I mostly like to play the diners & coffeehouses instead of the bars. I hate playing bars ’cause they’re too loud. I like to play diners & coffeehouses where people actually sit and listen. That’s how I’ve always preferred my music to be heard. I try not to make music that people would party to. I just want to make songs and that’s it.

While it’s admittedly tough being a musician around the area, I’ll always continue to do my thing. Yeah, there are going to be bands & music venues that are gonna make you feel like that you’re nothing musically but fuck those negative people, ya know? We work hard as musicians, and they have no right to look down on us. We all deserve to play out and get heard. This area claims to support “all music”, but the reality is they’re really picky and choosy. They just won’t admit it publicly.

Just keep doing your thing and keep playing no matter what. That’s what I’m gonna do.

Kev

When the Crumbs local music web site first came back a few years ago, the site started off real good. The Crumbs Cafe interviews were coming in and then there were bloggers trying to keep the site going. Looks like the site is dead now. The owner lost interest and moved on? Look like people lost interest in that site pretty quickly.

Ah well, that site disappears and comes back every now and then. I used to listen to some  of the Crumbs Cafe stuff. The Crumbs blog slowed down too so that’s when I believe that nobody’s interested in that site anymore. Weird.

Kev

It’s no secret that I have a tough time getting along with other bands & musicians over the years. A lot of musicians around this scene hates me. Yeah, there are many other musicians around this area that are haters of mine but not all musicians hates me, though. There are some musicians in this area who actually likes me, fans of mine and some that do like me as a person which is awesome. There are some wonderful and talented musicians who have stayed loyal to me over the years.

Some of you may ask, why is it that some musicians go on hating each other and having long-lasting feuds against each other? Feuds that go on for a long time. Well, like always “ego” and “jealousy” is always a huge part of that. A feud between musicians usually happens when one musician is more established than the other. You know, a musician who is more well-known than the other. Usually the established musicians always want to feel more “superior” than those who aren’t that well-known. The established musicians are the ones who have played the bigger stages, opened for some national acts maybe and got some local press. You tried your best to support them, look out for them and even try to become their friend, but they don’t care to show support in return at all. Instead, they always look down upon you all the time; always having negative thoughts and feelings about you.

I’ve been a part of the music scene for many years, so I can safely say that Albany is definitely one of the most negative music scenes I’ve ever seen. This area definitely does have a lot of problems. I’ve witnessed crazy shit over the years.

Yes, you will get backstabbers. Yes, you will get haters and bullies. Yes, you will get musicians who pretends to like you, but secretly they can’t stand you. Yes, you can’t trust anybody in the music scene. I’ve learned not to trust anybody over the years. It’s the best attitude to have as a musician. Don’t trust anybody and only focus on your own music. Only focus on you and not caring what everyone else says or thinks about you.

It’s good that bands & musicians got some success with their music, but that doesn’t make them more “superior” than others.  They’re still a local musician like me and everyone else. Whatever happened to being humble and courteous? Musicians don’t have that anymore nowadays. Most musicians nowadays are so ego-driven, arrogant and stuck-up. Most of them have a rock star attitude and always had. It’s gotten much worse today. When bands & musicians don’t care to show you support and always treating you in a negative direction when you’ve been nothing but supportive and helpful, it’s time to stop supporting them.

I’ve always learned it’s important to treat your fan base with love and respect when they support you. I will never talk down on them and never look down upon them. When fans like you for your music, you must support them in return and I do my best to do that. I don’t see that with bands nowadays. Thing is, there are some bands out there that are into music not to make new fans… some bands are into it for the money alone.

This is why I have stopped supporting the local music scene a long time ago ’cause this isn’t a very good music scene, and I’m sticking with my view on it. I’m just gonna focus on my own music only and that’s it.

This area tries their best to promote “positivity” in local music, but don’t believe the hype. It never was positive. There’s a lot of problems here. You know it, I know it.

Oh well, who cares right?

This area is very liberal with their politics anyways. Most musicians here wanted Hillary Clinton for president to begin with. That’s another problem with the scene ’cause they too can have loud voices with liberal politics and they can be SJW’s. Sad.

With all this being said, I’m not really worried about haters in the scene.  I can’t get everyone to like me and can’t please everyone. My life is good. Just working on my own music, just keeping on playing guitar and singing. I’ve also been keeping busy in my fitness life like with bodybuilding, yoga and boxing. My life is awesome.

Kev