The hardest thing about doing what I do is having to be brutally honest when it comes to reviewing the music submitted to me by bands. I get asked quite a bit: “Don, how do you manage to stay honestly objective about the music/bands you listen to?” Well, in all honesty, it’s not always easy but being objective is something I promised myself I would always do as the owner and writer of this site.
In the 4 years that I have really been putting my blood, sweat, tears, and bruises into this site, I have been extremely lucky to have met some really great and talented bands. I have had the pleasure of watching some of these bands grow by leaps and bounds and I have seen others digress into a puddle of gross mediocrity. The hardest part about witnessing the latter is how some bands take it when I give them a review stating that fact. The only thing I can really say about this to these bands is to please not take it so personally.
I have noticed that for the most part, bands appreciate my objective and honest reviews of their music. They understand that I am being honest and even trying to add a bit of humor to my reviews (be it good or bad) but at the end of it all, anything I say is my attempt at being humorously constructive. As a musician myself, I would expect nothing less than brutal honesty of what someone would have to say about my material. For my own material, I’ve heard everything from “This guy is great” to “This guy is flat out annoying.” I never take these kinds of things be it positive or negative as a personal attack. It’s solely artistic. No matter how much of yourself you put into your craft, by being a musician you are a putting yourself out there for a certain level of scrutiny and you just need to be able to take it all: the good and the bad and not take it personally.
Another thing I have experienced in doing this site is seeing how bands become my friends and love me as long as I’m praising them and speaking positively of them. The minute they do something questionable or put out some sort of, what I believe to be, subpar material and I call them out on it, suddenly I am their worst enemy. As easy as it may seem, trust me, it’s really pretty hard to be so brutally honest knowing that someone might take offense or God forbid not like me anymore. I’ve just learned to be totally ok with this because again, as an artist myself, I would much rather someone be totally honest with me about their opinions of my work than to lie to me. I have friends who would rather eat glass than listen to my music or even read my website and you know what? I’m totally ok with that and I have all the respect in the world for them because of that level of honesty.
Bands, if people are saying they don’t like something about music and being constructive about it, take it and use it to your advantage to re-analyze the things you’re doing. For instance, if you’re a band with a singer who has a “unique” voice and some people like it and some people don’t, just use that to kind of analyze where you’re it. If the more people seem to like it than those that don’t, I’d say you’re probably doing ok. If every review you’re getting says something like, “The band is great but the singer sucks” you might want to re-evaluate your relationship with said singer and do what you need to do. Again, don’t take things so personally. It’s one thing if people are individually attacking you for other reasons but if some random press dude/chick is reviewing your work, it’s nothing personal. It’s all about the music and is just one person’s opinion. Remember, by putting out your music, you’re asking for the good and the bad. Use it all to grow, shape yourself, and progress as a band/artist. That, or just ignore it and call them assholes and threaten to beat the shit out of them if you ever see them.
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