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(Yeah, yeah, I know, I’m a day late getting this out. I’m sorry, it’s just because I actually write my material and this particular one deserved a bit more fleshing out before I take a short break, more on that below...)

I was talking about what good scene citizenship looks like on yesterday's live AMA, and it got me thinking about what it looks like when someone is doing the complete opposite of that.

In my experience, they're usually the person where when people talk about them, they have to make apologies for them. "They seem like an asshole but actually they're a really nice guy once you get to know them."

Name one serial killer that wouldn't apply to.

I've watched so many people get this wrong, where they want to be "mysterious" or "tough" or some other bullshit. They make a bee line for the people they want to network with and brown nose them all night, turning their nose up at people who just want to offer a compliment or strike up a conversation. They're posted up in one spot at the venue, talking shit and making fun of people the whole time, and being an asshole whenever someone dares to approach them, when they could have just stayed in the van. They gossip, backchannel, and stir the pot with glee. They show up in the comments of every post and thread with a chip on their shoulder.

You know what the sad thing is? I've been this person myself. I've been guilty of too much of this. And while I did do a lot to offset that, I was also associated with people who do this regularly.

That asshole who's being one? They're not trying to be the villain. They suck because they haven't done the work on themselves. They may know how to rip solos, or hold an audience captive, but if they can't work with people when they're not on stage then there's zero chance they're going to get far.

You're not part of this if you're destroying this.

So what was the consequence of all this? What happened that made me see the light?

That's the thing: I don't know. I'll never know how many opportunities I got passed over on because me and the group I ran with were absolute dickheads. I'll never truly know just how far I could have gone if we'd just been better people.

Music is an industry that is built on relationships. This isn't some hermit's dream: you don't get to build a thing and then people will come. You have to work with others. And the world has so many insanely talented people who are NOT assholes, that DO know what they're talking about, that LOVE to learn and experiment and grow, that why the hell would they settle for the asshole who thinks their shit doesn't stink?

A bandit doesn't cultivate anything; it just steals what it can, because it can't create for itself.

You'll never know the joy if you keep on taking it from others.

Let's get into it.

WE’RE OUT FOR A BIT

Really quick, I’m with my kids for the next few weeks, so there will not be another edition of this newsletter or Verse & Vision or V1LLAG3 Voice until we get into September. But if you want to stop in and say hello to us in The Green Room, the community for musicians we’ve been developing to develop artists, you’re more than welcome to; I’ll always offer a reply. It’s a small room right now, which I reckon is the best time to be in one.

I hope you’re doing well.

Singer-songwriter Greg Amici (Big Honey, Tragicomic) on the vocal polyp that ended his band, sixteen years in film, coming back on his own dime with no expectations, and the advice he’d give any young artist: stay independent; control is a big deal.

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