BigUglyWorld #1 - Setting the Stage (September 6, 2003)

Welcome to my indulgence. I started once upon a time writing a column called Toxic Thought Syndrome for 3am Magazine, but it's been something that I've let slip in recent months. The reality is that sometimes I just haven't got much to say on the global scale. Sometimes the things I want to talk about are smaller than that, and don't hold much appeal for 3am's rather geographically-diverse reader base. However, Nate from The Nate Pike Band has been harping on me for some time to continue these sorts of posts, and the idea of doing an irregularly regular post via the Johnny Incognito site makes some sense. So welcome to BigUglyWorld, something that focuses a little more directly on the world of me, Big Ugly. Thus the name. Get it? I'm a freakin' genius.

Band:
First thing's first, let's have a word about band stuff. We've been playing gigs fairly steadily of late, and it's been great being on stage and watching the band gel. If you haven't seen us in a while, we have a lot of new stuff. The show that we play on the 13th is shaping up to be a tremendously fun gig, and we're very excited about it. Sharing a stage with solid bands like Twitch and the Nate Pike Band is quite flattering, and we're aiming to show that we deserve to play with people at this caliber.

Me:
Aw hell. I turn 30 tomorrow. All that stupid crap that they put on TV about the significance of turning 30? Well, it turns out that it's not too far from the mark. As much as it's all a bunch of crap and turning 30 is about as life-altering as buying a Hyundai, it still winds up poisoning the thoughts a bit. And frankly, I don't think I'm alone on this one. We all have these glib plans for how our lives are going to turn out, and while I'm pleased as punch with my life, it isn't the life I would have prescribed for myself, and as such opens the door for those thoughts. Oh well, I guess that makes me human. It's about time something did.

I watched Bowling for Columbine last night and really enjoyed it. I knew it was going to be about gun control and all, but I found it interesting that a lot of stuff I came to on my own accord and in different ways wound up appearing in the movie. I do definitely recommend people give it a watch.

Meat:
Everything's a competition. I understand that, and I accept it. It's not how I think the world should be, but should be and is are usually two different things, and I'm okay with that.

The capitalists use words like healthy competition to describe why their system is so much better than a more communist approach. The argument is that competition brings out the best in people, and a lack of competition encourages sloth. It's sort of a funny opinion, because the end result of capitalist competition is a few mega-corporations who compete unfairly, driving Ma and Pa Kettle out of business. Healthy competition indeed. Hegemony feels so good.

In the music scene, it's the same thing too. Everything's a competition, from the first gig most bands land in some Battle of the Bands to the millions of contests to play shows like Warped Tour to the sites like GarageBand that offer the promise of struggling your way through their charts to the top, where all the right people will hear you, care, and make you rich.

The result of all the competition, much like in the corporate world, is that people become selfish. Every gig is about them, and every other band on that stage is an enemy who could screw you out of your chance. I'll be honest and admit that I've been there myself back in my early days, staring at some band on my stage and feeling disdain towards them for their trying to beat me. I knew logically that it wasn't about that, but the attitude is just such an easy thing to believe because everything is a competition, and you're there to win.

It fortunately was not very long before I realized just how totally unimportant any winning and losing was. The key was to put on a good show, feel good about yourself, and let the chips fall where they may. Johnny Incognito has had it's successes and it's failings, but we've moved forward a lot faster than any other band I've worked with because we've focussed on putting on a good show for the people who come to see us. That's what they want to see, and who cares what else you get out of playing some show?

To me, the capitalist, competitive nature of the scene is the very thing that kills it. You don't want your fans to come out for a night of good music, you want them to come out and vote for you. Instead of finding out what time the show starts, people find out what time you're supposed to take the stage and when you'll be done. That way, they can skip the other bands and just see you.

That's such bullshit. Me, I don't want a scene, I want a community. I want gigs where bands get to be heard by more than just their immediate friends, and where the audience gets to see a bunch of great bands doing their thing.

It started with Nate getting us to open for him a few times, and it continued when he wound up opening for us. It became obvious what we needed to do, and that was get a bunch of bands and work together. Nothing formal, no pecking orders or commitments, just a bunch of people who want more out of their show than to win a competition. We have plans now. This next gig is the first step in those plans.

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