Poetic Injustice

This is a touchy subject at best - one that I have been considering for some time now. It would be great to hear some feedback on the idea...



I've coined the term Audience Discrimination recently. It's not a nice term. It refers to "musicians" that won't share their time and talent with audiences that cannot afford to pay them. It refers to "musicians" that won't share with audiences whose health and well-being would benefit dramatically. It refers to "musicians" that are dividing the world they pretend to hope to unite.



Forgive me for using quotes around the term musician above, but for a long time I thought "musicians" were folks that played music. Only recently have I allowed the fact to seep in that most of the "musicians" in this little "music town" define themselves as someone who gets paid to play music, and does not play music unless paid. In particular they do not play for old people, mentally challenged adults and/ or physically challenged children. They do not play for folks that would derive health benefits from their music, and their visit. Or anyone else who cannot make it to Miller's or Gravity Lounge.



Frankly I do not know the reason they won't come play for these audiences. When I ask I am told that they do not have time, or they will only do it for money. I am aware that both of these statements are not true. What we do with our time is a choice. Every so often I see their names on the bill for charity gigs that I KNOW are not paid. The perceived value for them is of course in the billing itself and the associated event promotion. It satisfies their ego need to "give back" to the community and pretend that they do not only play for money, and of course they are certain that their public stock just went up a notch due to the "good guy" factor.



It's cute, the way some of these folks confuse making a living in some aspect of the music business with actually living a musical life - that is, actually living a world-changing musical lifestyle. I find that it's a distinction between singing the lyrics and living the lyrics; a distinction between singing about what they and the world will one day be like, or actually just going ahead and being like that now and letting the world take care of itself. It's hypocrisy. Or a lack of awareness. Either way, it's been eye opening for me.

Then I went to the Gravity Lounge....