After a particularly nasty altercation between a rock star and rock nyc, I started to wonder if we tend to forget that there is someone at the other end of our barbs.
I also wondered why it should matter. As a rock star you are public property. You have signed up to be a star for that reason alone. To give yourself freely to the masses. All this protect my privacy is absolute hogwash. If you have chosen this career you have chosen to be open for criticism and if your skin isn’t thick enough find another racket.
I do respect people as people. Misunderstanding will always occur. But if you fear your reputation tarnished, well honey that’s what publicists are for. You pay them to clean up the messes you make.
Iman and I have discussed rock nyc's integrity many times. We don’t want to be a gossip forum, but there is information that we have opinions on. We share those you opt to agree or disagree. If a post is done on a topic of interest we’re pretty confident in the intelligence of our readers (aside from like hmmm, 10 of you) that you can fact find and form your own opinion. When we are asked to keep things in confidence we do. We have had information on new releases and tours and deals that we have consciously kept quite on out of respect for the business aspect of the industry. We intend no harm.
The last thing I as a person let alone writer/editor would be is to cause anyone duress or discomfort. The world is a scary place, I refuse to be the source of someone elses stress. In this particular instance information was passed on to the writer in question, and handled accordingly. Despite numerous contacts with the person in question the point could never be drawn clearly. A shame really since it’s a misunderstanding with very little ripple effect. But again, I may be opinionated but I am not by any means cruel. In other words, don’t call me and hang up. Caller ID? Yes indeed but don’t worry. I respect people as species to do anything more than delete. Don’t cause me duress either by the way. Keep your weird sort of intimidation tactics to yourself.
The moment you open yourself up to the public for acceptance is the moment you lose your privacy. In order for you to be successful in your job you need the support and admiration of as many people as you can get. Don’t kid yourself; to enter the limelight is the world’s biggest ego stroke. To achieve fame or to earn living and your product is yourself, you become a commodity.
If you become big enough to have 80 body guards outside a venue then you have the workforce to market and hide your indiscretions. A fly in the ointment of your day and if you’re so well surrounded, well you’ll never even know what a little website thinks of you, nor would you care.
Performing arts require talent. Please do not think I’m saying that becoming a ‘star’ does not require a tremendous amount of work and dedication. It certainly does. I have seen first hand the struggle, dedication and perseverance it requires to ‘make it’. I am well aware of the difficulty to achieve this distinction.
You can’t be adored by everyone. I certainly would hope that a bit of criticism would be expected, unless you’re delusional. If your inability to communicate appropriately gets you in a pickle you’re simply going to have to suck it up.
Do I feel badly about any of the things I have said within this site? Sometimes I do think I am a bit out of line. I can come across as cruel when I’m sarcastic and hell, not one of the scenarios has the longevity to remain in my mind. It’s on to the next one.
I praise those who deserve praise; I give my opinion when I have one. I have admitted errors in my way here many times. My opinion can change and will at times. That’s freedom of thought.
If a performer is wringing their hands worry, anger or sadness over something reported here, and then I worry about their ability to brave the cruel world in general. Rock nyc are kittens compared to many of the vipers out there. Suck it up, move on and don’t fucking call me.