I live in a town with a very rich musical history. Many of the greats got their start here. One of the major record labels of the 70's was located here. Pretty much everywhere you look, you can find a piece of Rock and Roll history. It's great being able to feel such a deep connection to so many great musicians. Unfortunately, for many aspiring musicians in my town, being this close to musical history doesn't give them inspiration so much as a reason to complain.
A few weeks ago, I found out about a "musicians meet-up" which had the potential to be a great networking opportunity. I've been wanting to collaborate with other musicians in the area to create some new art. I was so excited for this meeting because it would give me a great jumping-off point with some of the other local talent. Unfortunately, it wasn't so much an occasion for musicians to meet and collaborate as it was an excuse for them to whine and moan about how awful everything they hear on the radio is. I thought I was going to meet some cool people to create with, and what I got instead was a room full of self-important people and no escape route. This meeting lasted for about two hours, but it felt like days.
"Music today is so disingenuous, I'm so sick of Taylor Swift!"
"Daft Punk is so stupid! All they do is stand in front of a computer!"
"You can't play today's music in front of mixed company, like you could in my day! I miss The Beatles!"
Nobody ever said anything constructive. Nobody offered solutions on how to get their own "genuine" music out into the world. Nobody even wanted to make anything, they just wanted to complain about how much better they were than the latest thing they heard on the radio. It was tiresome listening to their ridiculous, masturbatory ramblings. I would try to explain the fact that Daft Punk does everything live and that their computers are their instruments. What right do these people have to dismiss it because they don't understand how to play it. I don't know how to play trombone, that doesn't invalidate the instrument, it just shows I have limited skills. The same goes for the computer as an instrument. Maybe we should take a note from their book and learn how to play it. Literally every time I would try to steer the conversation in a more constructive direction, I ended up getting dismissed. I found myself having to stick up for musicians I don't even like that much because of how ridiculous the meeting was getting.
What nobody seemed to understand is that while they're sitting around a table complaining about how unoriginal Taylor Swift is, she's cutting an album. While they cry about how Baby Metal is the embodiment of everything wrong with metal, they're booking another tour. While they whine about Daft Punk's stupid computer, they are learning and inventing new ways to use said computers to make music. You can't just sit back and whine and expect to be noticed as a musician, you have to work for it. That means sitting down and writing something. That means going to open mic nights to get your name out. That means spending hours with your instrument, practicing.
These meetings happen at least once a month here and, each time, nothing is accomplished. Nobody exchanges contact info for collaboration. Nobody puts together events to show off their skills as musicians. Nobody wants to do a workshop to help hone their craft. It blows my mind. If they want to know why the music scene seems stagnant, this is it! Musicians would rather sit around and complain than actually do something.
In some ways, this meeting was good for me. I left it with a resolve to actually do something with my music. I began looking for ways to get myself out there and ended up booking my first payed gig as a musician. I started writing again and aggressively practicing on my ukulele. I just wish that the other self-proclaimed musicians would do the same. The only way to change the direction of music is to get new music out. Hopefully others will follow and work to make new art instead of tearing existing art down to make themselves feel better. In the meantime, I'll just be over here creating.
