As Frank Zappa once said “Most people wouldn't know good music if it came up and bit them in the ass…” and I’d have to agree with him. So why have I put myself in a situation where I’m at the mercy of “most people” and their opinion of our music?What the **%$ was I thinking?
I’ll tell you what I was thinking - I wasn’t thinking at all, I was so engrossed in my love of music and my desire to make music for a living that I never once thought that I’d have to convince society at large to think we’re cooler than everyone else in order to be successful.
This is quite a frightening realization because truth be told we aren’t cooler than everyone else. We are who we are, that’s as much coolness as we can offer, and yes we want to make a living as musicians but if that means buying into our own hype and having to convince others that we’re super awesome I’d rather shut myself up in an empty room and play music to the walls because quite frankly the walls are better at distinguishing good music from bad. I refuse to be judged by an entity I have no respect for.
Its the ultimate catch 22: you need the support of the masses to make a living as a performance musician yet if the masses accept you and your “awesomeness” you have become by default a crap band that believes they’re something bigger than they really are.
I know what you’re thinking, what gives me the right to disassociate myself from society, who knows, independent thought perhaps, good question - all I know is that I’m different.
And so are you, yes you reading this right now: if you weren’t, you probably wouldn’t listen to our music and therefore probably wouldn’t be reading this.
So in closing let me say, we are simply musicians who one day hope not to have to subsidize their careers with other forms of income, we imagine a society that invests in the arts, a society of educated listeners. We have no flashy product, no clever marketing tools, no catchy slogans; we are simply a group of individuals who love making music together and if any band ever tries to convince you that they’re something bigger/deeper/more unique than that, you should be weary.
Peace in the Middle East
Tessa Lily
