Taking the Stage, By Whitney Farmer – Un Pop Culture

February 24, 2010 Whitney Farmer 8 Comments

Last week, John Doe of X played an acoustic set. He was humble.  Before the show, he was hanging out with the support acts.  This usually doesn’t happen, so I checked with him privately to see if it was okay or if it was something he wanted me to get him out of.  He said it was cool. During his set and with no announcement, Exene Cervenka of X jumped on the stage. They did an acoustic version of “The New World”.  Humble. Brilliant. They took the stage, and we gave it to them gladly.  That is how it is supposed to be.

There are some bands who will never play here again. They just aren’t worth it, and it rarely has anything to do with their skills. There is so much talent available, why put someone on stage who is an unholy pain?

Once upon a recent time, a manager decided to violate a contract in 15 different ways in order to prove that the artist has that much juice.  I did everything that was demanded and talked to her about us putting on the show together, like we were family. I said “Absolutely!” and “My Dear” a lot. PLOT SPOILER ALERT: If someone comes within my business circle and behaves this way, understand that my brain immediately does some quick math.  In this case, I made a decision that I will get the show on, and that it will be done with the minimum amount of damage to our staff and the least amount of disruption to the audience.  However, the one casualty will be an opportunity for that artist to be on the stage again (in this case, if the manager is the same).  This is no joke. Until the show is over, no one might ever know that the future is bleak. But I have symbolically shoved ear plugs in. Once the performance is done, I have been known to throw out the band with the garbage.

This is done for the right reasons. Music is a profession as well as a creative expression, and there is something sacred about getting paid for doing a job well.  People buy their kids groceries with the money they earn here. People spend part of the money they earned from sacrificing some freedom in their lives to buy tickets to see a show. Sometimes an artist refuses to play any of the music that made them famous. But they are willing to have their fans – who made them rich by buying the music and making them famous — charged at the door so that they can get paid.  They won’t be booked again.

I had one band whip through a 47 minute set (the contract required a minimum of 60 minutes…) and refuse to do an encore. Since they had threatened to not go on stage without full payment prior to the performance (the contract specified immediately after…) they looked at me smiling and said, “What are you going to do about it?…” I had security escort them out of the building immediately in front of their groupies, and I gave their food in the Green Room to our staff. They haven’t been booked again.

Let’s be clear: “The Fountainhead” starring Gary Cooper and Patricia O’Neal is one of the greatest movies of all times.  It also conveyed a powerful message, that the artist has a responsibility to the creation rather than to the masses.  I agree with this entirely…but just make sure that you execute contracts that you are prepared to honor. Interestingly, rarely is there a problem on the stage. The issues occur most offstage, and it isn’t a coincidence that the issues rarely occur with those who are the best at what they do, the most famous, the most powerful. Just like at the dog park, it’s the little dogs who pick most of the fights.

We need more of Jesus in Rock N Roll.  Putting aside religious wars for a moment if we can, here was a guy who people liked to hang out with because he was kind and humble. From all accounts, people followed him around like he was a rockstar.  And look at Moses: He was called the most humble of men.   There is a line in a movie that still sticks with me: “…when did pride cease to be a sin and become a virtue?”

Thank God for John Doe.

Haiti Update

Thanks to Kile Ozier in NYC for the following expanded information on the “We Are The World” collaboration:

“We Are The World (YOUTUBE EDITION) This collab is a great way of bringing our YouTube music community together for a great cause. I’ve chosen some Great singers to be a part of this collab.

Huge thanks to every single person who participated in this. Don’t forget to leave your Comments, Rate, Share, Subscribe,Tweet this & Facebook it. lol !!! 😀

Please help the people of Haiti by buying Quincy Jones’ Official 2010 remake version of this song on iTunes. All of the money from sales go directly to relief in Haiti.

Visit the official “We Are The World” foundation http://wearetheworldfoundation.org and do what you can to help.

Quote of the Blog: From Ed, beloved Dude of Light and Fog: “I remember when you used to go into a surf shop and they didn’t have any clothes for sale at all.”

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Whitney runs a rock music venue in L.A. She has an M.B.A. and no one cares.