I titled this entry "Reconnection" for a couple of reasons. I really need to reconnect to what I started here a year ago. I have spent the last year trying to reconnect to who I am, what I am and where I want to go in life. I am reconnecting with my creativity and making music. The second reason, the reason I decided to write today, is my obsession with the disconnect to a larger human experience I feel is occurring with all of us. I have written before about the "digital space" we all create around us using social media and the internet as a whole. Maybe you think I am full of shit and are thinking "Shut up you fucking whiner, the internet rocks!" I don't disagree with you. I am a whiner and the internet does rock but put in context with the issues that we musicians struggle with in a 2.0 world, how do we expand our realm of existence back into the world of living, breathing human beings? How do we get people out to our shows? How do we create a physical community that transcends our virtual community that resides behind my computer monitor? This may sound ass backwards to you. You may be thinking that I have finally lost it. You are definitely thinking "how can he fucking type that on a blog? This makes no sense." You are correct. It does seem strange to think that as someone that is attempting to communicate in the virtual world with facebook, twitter, this blog and now my tumblr account that I am calling for bands to do everything they can to have real face time with their fans in any way they can. Can you do something as simple as have random mixers at a local coffee shop? Could you offer exclusive material to those who show up? I am not saying that this is going to set your career on a rocketship to the moon but you just might start thinking of creative ways to get yourself out from in front of the computer where you endlessly battle the time constraints of attempting to keep up with your internet marketing and social media and help build your fan base locally in a real face-to-face way. Any of you that have been to a Gravity Kills show in the last few years know I put my money where my mouth is. If you are one of those friends/fans that comes to those shows...Would you actually come if you weren't going to get the face time? I actually enjoy it more than you do but you get my drift. Don't be afraid to become a physical human being to those who might enjoy listening to your music or coming to your shows. Those people that you connect to outside of the matrix will become your most loyal and hardcore fans.
Agreed man, The internet is a great tool and really helps alot of bands and just passive musicians be able to share some rocking stuff but it also goes against why people started playing music from the beginning. It was never to gain internet fame or even fame at all but to connect with friends and comrades.
ReplyDeleteInteresting perspective. At the same time, I feel the Internet, especially social media, has changed the game so to speak in how people interact. Some positive, some negative. For instance, kids find new music like crazy. In some cases, bands that get no mainstream media love (MTV, Radio, etc) are able to be successful as kids are able to find their music on YouTube, they share it with others via Facebook, suddenly a whole audience is available with out any traditional media time.
ReplyDeleteSocial interactions are different as well. I was speaking with a Friend about this the other day. When I was in high school, there were kids in my classes that I sat next to every day but hardly talked to and didn't really know. We said hi, *maybe* some small talk, and that was it.
Now kids friend everyone from their school. That kid I they sit next to and don't really talk to might have the same interests as them and through social media they can realise this, make that connection and become friends in real life. Maybe they like the same bands and didn't know it. Maybe they are into the same hobbies and didn't know it. That kid that sat next to me in high school that I hardly talked to and didn't know anything about could have been into everything I was into. We could have been compatible to be best friends. With social media, those connections become easier to make.
I want to mention that I've been enjoying reading your blog, and find the name ironic as Enough is one of my favorite songs. My brother and I were big Gravity Kills fans when we were in High School (I still have two Gravity Kills t-shirts, and they FIT!). I found your blog after my brother and I were hanging out listening to music and heard Guilty randomly pop up on the iPod. We wondered what ever happened to you guys. Google led me here.
I still love your music and I'm excited at the prospect of seeing you guys again live and hearing new music! I've been to literally thousands of shows since my first show (Nine Inch Nails) when I was in high school and one of my top five favorites is a Gravity Kills show in Toledo, OH at the Asylum on 11/08/96 with Local H (I keep all of my ticket stubs). I have a memory burned in my mind of you clenching a large 50's style chrome mic with a blinding white light projecting from behind which created an amazing silhouette effect while you belted out songs! A fond memory indeed!
The last time I had the privilege to see Gravity Kills was at the Metro in Chicago. I hope you guys will make it back to Chicago in the not so distant future. If so, I WILL be there. Now that I know you're playing again, maybe I'll trek down to St. Louis and catch a show sometime. It would easily be worth the trip. Know that fans are still around and still interested! I'm proof of that!