I haven’t figured this out in my head yet. But I guess I’ve been privileged enough NOT to have to figure it out in the past. Years ago I left my day job to do what I WANTED to do rather than anything else, and I’d had to make some questionable choices back in the corporate world. As I joined the bar scene and moving on to the idea that in some ways I was ennabling and even encouraging what I perceive to be the worst addiction in our culture… I have the same feelings about Facebook and social media – but those things are so pervasive there’s more a feeling of holding my nose and getting it over with than it is of really being able to make a change on those fronts.
I’ve been asked to play benefits for things that I wasn’t really into and it was easy to not do those – though I rarely made a big point of WHY I wasn’t doing it. I try to make more of a point of who I work WITH and what I DO than mayhaps over who I’ve blacklisted and what I WON’T do – but today I definitely had to turn down a gig because of who else was involved and I’m not sure how much of a deal to make out of it.
At the moment it’s sitting at just a “I apologize, I won’t be able to participate in your event as we don’t really work with _ – we don’t need to make a big deal out of it or anything.”
I guess if they get back to me about specifics I’ll have to say:
- because our only in-door gig last year was under the strictures of specific COVID guidelines and he refused to wear a mask – which – we can have all sorts of opinions on that, however we’d all had an agreement – arguably a CONTRACTUAL agreement. It was kind of amazing to also watch the breakdown of the venue scolding the artists to tell the soundguy but it’s not the artists’ place so the artists (me) go to the organizer who goes to the venue and… I get it – it’s hard to lay down the law with the guy who’s presence or lack thereof will either make the show go or… STOP. Oh – and
- I really don’t like being in a room listening to him yell at his wife and tell her how dumb she was. Maybe she wasn’t his wife. I think she was his wife. I didn’t catch her name. I doubt it was actually “Hey Stupid”. AND
- In response to, honestly, the poorly implemented but en masse folk community response to #BlackOutTuesday he took it upon himself to email the boards of multiple folk organizations and the local press in response that “Kowtowing to some nameless, faceless, activist somewhere who had the bright idea to run this phony solidarity scam is not something I do, and resent being asked to comply… Tying to a movement that is all but run its course, and devolved into riots in the street is all the more angering… Do not assume to know what I believe or what I support. Do not involve me, or even think I’m “in solidarity” with [your] politics. I can speak for myself.” And he did. He spoke for himself. But he didn’t just speak for himself to say “hey, I’m pissed off and don’t treat me this way” he made it a point to say this to a lot of people that otherwise would’ve been none the wiser to his politics, forcing them to take sides.
Not that anyone will. No-one remembers any of these things, I’m sure. No-one really cares. And I’m sure he’ll get plenty of work despite these things. I’ve always said “I’ll know I’ve made it because I can say ‘no’ – so I guess today is a very GOOD day – because I can turn down this particular paycheck.
— I’ll also point out the difference between what I’m doing and what I’ve seen a lot of. I’m NOT going to go to the organization or the other artists’ Facebook pages and start a little flame war over this. “Your organization is supporting this misogynist, anti-mask, anti-Black Lives Matter individual so YOU MUST BE … etc” Maybe that’s not aggressive enough of me – but I don’t think that’s what I should be doing. It’s weird – because his position as a soundman is generally voiceless, you know? So he had to sort of go out of his way to project this into view, but he decided to come out from behind that cover and make a point of it. I don’t think I should ignore that for myself. Generally speaking I’m sure he’ll do the good deed of amplifying a community that he is privately contemptuous of.