Why do people continue to compose music, and even pretend to teach others how to do it, when they already know the answer? Nobody gives a fuck.
-Frank Zappa

One more reason why being a musician sometimes suck:
As I stated in a previous post, it’s not a dance on roses being a musician. Let me just add to this post by explaining to you a bit about groupies…

By groupies, I don’t mean the women or girls that only wants to ride a band bus and get shagged by the lead singer. By groupies I mean – in the broadest sense – the people hanging around before and after a concert. Yes, you’ve probably been one at least once in your life. And this is not a rant about you, it’s about the way people sometimes act when dealing with music and musicians, which not always is as diplomatic as one would think.

Now. Releases. Groupies (call them “friends of the band” if you’d like – I’ll just stick to “Groupies” for the moment) often congratulates on the new release, and then ask when they can get a free copy.

Then, when you are out playing a gig, nobody wants to pay to hear it and most groupies are on the guest list, which in some cases can consist of a hundred people or more, which can be up to 50-60% of all visitors in a club. If they’re not on the list? 90% of them stay home.

Then, before, and especially after the gig, all the groupies throws themselves at the backstage in order to congratulate, yes, but mostly for the free beers and booze, which mind you, is also a part of the (lousy) payment the musicians get. They hang around just to think that they’re so much cooler than the rest in the club, and then they loot all the beer.

An example: Yesterday, I got a total of two beers – one before the concert – the other one during (that’s the tops I can handle before I begin to feel that I’m not in total control of the situation – otherwise I drink water). Afterwards, when we needed to celebrate – no beers. We had to buy our own. Pretty much everyone else but the musicians were fairly drunk and in a good mood. Problem got solved – a guy came with a bottle of booze and some sodas. Time to clear the stage – get the gear off and stashed in a safe room. Then: No booze. Not that I like to get pissed after a concert and craves two pints before I can call it a day. Not at all. But a) this is a part of our (lousy) payment and b) it’s nice just to sit and relax together with the band and enjoy a good day’s worth of work before we part.

I do not wade in and steal some of your paycheque every month, after having consumed your hard-labored, hand-made product without paying for it, now do I?

And sadly, this isn’t atypical. Admit it – some clubs are very generous and either lock the band up or just keep the beer coming (which in the end cuts down on the generic wage for the place – understandably), but most are not. And how can you control a gang of a hundred groupies? You don’t know if you’re about to throw out the girlfriend of the bass player or the cousin of the singer, and you don’t know all people. Everyone is potentially a groupie then. But who cares? Free beer! The musicians? Who are they?

And then there’s the industry…

Frank, I begin to think you’re right. Nobody gives a fuck.

On this day...

... in 2008: Shadow warrior
... in 2004: Close-ups