Re: my first bad review/ALBUM inquery

[Mark <sine@zerocrossing.net>]

I was once replaced at the last minute in a band that was going on at a 
music
fest.  It took me a long time to realize that I just wasn't really all that
good, and the guy I was being replaced by was better.  I just saw it as my
friends deserting me.  I later realized it was me failing.

The other side of "getting on with the business of making music" is asking 
your
self the hard questions: Do I suck?  If the answer is yes, and it 
sometimes is,
then you owe it to your self to admit it and work harder to not suck.  In 
this
case, you should inwardly thank the critic, or the guys that kicked you 
out of
their band.  In my case, I realized one of the reasons I wasn't working 
hard on
the music was because we were doing only covers and it wasn't that 
interesting
to me.  When I started doing my own music, the desire to make it sound 
better is
what drove me from suck to mediocraty.

There used to be a lot of expensive gear between a musician and a record 
lathe.
Yes, that's right.  LATHE.  (I've actually LATHED a piece of aluminum and 
vinyl
kids!  I had to walk 10 mi in the snow to do it!)  Now, it's not that way 
any
more.  Almost anyone can afford the couple hundred it takes to burn a CD.
However, not everyone should.  That's just reality.  The good thing is 
we're
going to get a lot more diversity, the bad thing is we're going to get a 
lot
more hacks.  It's probably worth it.  I'd trade lower production values 
for more
interesting music any day.  One thing you'll find is that few people will 
go out
of your way to say you suck, unless you're their compitition.  If this 
person's
brother and the reviewer both came to the same conclusion, I think it's 
worth it
to take heed and figure out what's happening with people's perception of 
your
music.

Mark Sottilaro

wrote:

> Of course there is always the possibility that you suck, and that the 
>review
> is doing you a favour, but unless they provide irrefutable proof that 
>they

> totally understand what you're doing and still don't like it, you are far
> better of ignoring lazy put-downs like 'mindless guitar wankery', and
> getting on with the business of making music.