First and foremost; this blog was inspired by a couple e-mails I sent out - I know you don't care, but I feel the need to state that. You see, after the concert at the Wilma on Monday night (Tech9 / Murs / Exigh) had completely ended, I wasn't entirely myself. I went to the after party, not knowing what to expect. I went up to the bar to say hi to couple cool cats I know, and instead of attempting to actually hang out, visit, and talk, after a minute or two
(I did visit for a minute or two, but not long), I walked away to look for a couple other people
(RBIZ and JaeO, the dudes I was working with) - to see what was going on (both earlier in the night, and for the rest of the night). To most people, this might seem okay or normal. But here's the catch; after talkin' with RBIZ and JaeO, I went back into the Top Hat and sat on a bench against the wall for the next 10-15 minutes (maybe even longer, I have no idea)....then got up, said my goodbyes, and went home.
You see, I've heard the stories, and have always had a slight understanding of what the local acts go through trying to make it in the music industry - but I always kept an optimistic spin on it, and never
truly understood the emotional (and even the physical) side of things.
The night of the Tech concert, I was actually involved with (almost) everything for a change. I wasn't just a fan in the audience. I wasn't just a dude with a camera trying to film the show. No, I was right there at the stage, running between a bunch of big security dudes
(I kept tripping over them and the feet of the security rails), doing the filming (as close to being part of the act as I'll get), selling CDs (going up to people and trying to talk them into buying one), conversing with the fans, hearing their reasons for not buying CDs, hearing their opinions of the various acts, dealing with security and the anal restrictions they put on me (I wasn't allowed to be on stage - even when the group I was there with
(to film) was on stage - or even before the show started for that matter,
in order to get a good shot of all the people filing in), and then the let down feeling of things not going
anywhere near what was expected or hoped for.
That night was a complete blow to me; my legs were hurtin' bad (old lifting injury had acted up) - which caused me to be somewhat stumbling half the night (as if I were drinking - I didn't have ANY alcohol in the past couple of weeks or longer), the CDs didn't sell anywhere near what I thought they would (which were a personal investment), the drama involved with Strange Music
(complete B.S. in all honesty - check out the blog entry on PrinceJaeO's or RBIZ's myspace page for details **UPDATE: The blog entries have been removed [4/25/09]**); I went home feeling ready to step back to just strictly doing web-design / graphic work, I didn't like this feeling, and I never wanted to feel it again. But then I stopped and thought to myself - "these guys go through this constantly, and have been doing so for years...I can't get in this mindset after one night. I can't give up on this, after just one night of bad experiences - especailly since what I personally went through, was on a smaller scale compared to what these guys went through." So I started looking at it from different angles and got a much better outlook on it now. __________¹
So now, as I told JaeO this morning, I have a new found respect for all
the local acts that are "doin' their thang"
...doing this time after time, after time, and doing their best to
keep their heads up no matter what happens, and keep their hustle on. This was probably the best experience I could have had, in order to get a
decent understanding of what these people
(all local acts) go through; things can obviously go better, and things could easily go much worse. I've always respected what the local acts go through and what not, but now I have a much greater respect. I felt a good chunk of that emotional pain; as almost everything went wrong from the beginning
(I was there from about 2:30pm on). I wasn't on stage, but I was on my feet 95-98% of the night - with a injured calf muscle flaring up, and two ankles and feet that felt like I had been litterally running for several hours, and shouting trying to sell CDs; so I felt a good chunk of the physical pain as well. Don't misread this - I'm not trying to take anything away from what the performers go through; just saying that I have a better understanding of it than what I once had.
Here's the twisted part; a good chunk of me still had a good time
I think most of it was some of the fan interaction; before the show I was talkin' with people at the security rail (in front of the stage), and after the show I was talking with some of them out in the lobby...the fact that I sold 4 or 5 CDs by going up to people - that felt pretty good (even if it was only 4 or 5 - I understand that this number can be significant at times, especially if they end up really enjoying the music).
I look back at the night, and I feel bad for how I acted at the after party (at the Top Hat) - basically not being myself, and just sitting in the corner trying to figure things out. The night was a HUGE learning experience, and a HUGE stepping stone for all involved as well. Those that were involved, I truly believe understand this. Everything that happened
(all of the stuff that went wrong, especially), were just blocks being stacked up to create a bridge to get to the next playing field.
We're not going anywhere but up!I think I said all that I really want to say. I wasn't myself after the show; I felt beat. I don't mean tired beat; I mean Heath Herring's face after Brock Lesnar got a hold of it beat.² I was worn out physically and mentally, and I really didn't know what to think - it's a completely new experience for me. I tried my best to stay positive - it's all one can really do when stuff happens, however it wasn't for quite a few hours later that I was able to change the angles on what happened. I learned a lot, and I gained more respect for aspiring artists.
On that note, have a great day, always keep your head up, and until next time...
Peace Out...
¹ This part was edited on 4/25/09 due to various circumstances / agreements.
² Heath Herring's face after Brock Lesnar .... Brock owned him the entire night...come to think of it, I think his face looks a little better here then it did between the rounds
...just for kicks, the end of the Brock Lesnar vs. Randy Couture fight... I've always felt bad for Randy at this point in the match (Randy was doing pretty good until a punch slipped by and clipped him)...but I'm still a Brock fan.
