Half Robot-Half Man. I Am At Your Mercy (Part 1)

Half Robot - Half Man. I Am At Your Mercy (Pt. 1)

After many months of glorious isolation from my typical days while we were recording and touring, I decided it would be in my best interest to integrate myself back into society. Ironically these days what it means to
"socialize" has changed and for a lot of people and this is especially true for musicians. Socialization is done on a social platform and the digital platform and every indie band across the country is trying to find a balance. Many music business experts believe that most importantly the modern musician needs to be leading this double life. Eventually will it be that every musician will become half robot - half man?

Musicians can choose to plug themselves in at anytime. As musicians we now can capture our music and broadcast our angst to the entire world wide web. No label, resentful promoter, police officer breaking up the party, or disc jockey is going to stand in our way! We are telling the whole world just WHO we are from our cell phones and laptops while we sit at tables with strangers and friends in coffee shops and on trains discussing exactly what it is we are typing about on one of the thousands of social networking sites we have the access to have a profile on.  Why is this necessary? If you haven't noticed the game has changed immensely and it is NEVER going back. For worse or better - the good news for you is we are at your mercy.

As if touring, recording, performing, writing, producing, booking, merchandising and finding the time to keep our chops up isn't demanding enough for the independent musicians, the ones that do all of those things are now also expected and often rewarded when we stay in touch on our social networking sites and connect with our fans. Of course we have all fallen victim to and occasionally participated in the FLURRY of self-promotion that comes with this new formula but I ask you - whose job is it exactly to say, define who should and should not be sharing? If it drives you crazy as a fan - let the band know. If a band isn't sharing enough - let the band know. After all you are the one buying the records and going to shows.

The aforementioned gatekeepers of the past, although biased and often driven by greed, at least required that there was some sort of standard.  Nowadays anyone can pick up a microphone, plug in and bellow out the highest out of key note they can reach and SHOVE IT IN YOUR FACE every 10 minutes. So now the power has shifted and the general public or the fans of independent music are the gatekeepers of who is in and who is out. No longer are artists able to sit back and just be artists. Now the best are required to be half Entrepreneur-Half Artist. Fans used to be martyrs for bands, but now bands are martyrs for fans.

Of course, every struggling musician would claim that 95% of the fan community "don't have a clue" or "don't find the patience or time to really listen to what is really going on". I say , "Live with it pal ." Unfortunately that is the way it is, and these days it is expected that you understand your audience not the other way around. The game has just gotten so much bigger. Unfortunately for the new gatekeepers this new business also puts more stress on them too. It's part of the reason Facebook changed the Fan button to a Like button. Being a fan was just too stressful. Now, no longer can you just be a friend of someone in a band. In time you eventually become Half Promoter-Half Fan. Could all of the time bands spend promoting themselves be taking them away from their music? Hell yes.

Don't forget. We are in this together.

You want your favorite independent act to develop? Join their street team or buy another tee. They just might grab a set of guitar strings and write you a distorted lullaby....

Half Robot-Half Man. I Am At Your Mercy.