to clarify my last statement.

Got the facebooks abuzz with comments, which is what happens when you draw a line in the sand. So, to be fair, I will add my clarifications below:

It’s poser shit and telling of someone’s lack of character. Do what you like but when I spend $30 or more to see you perform your art and you can’t remember words, cut your set short, or butcher my experience you fail at your job as a “performer.”

I have been “entertained” by the likes of Murphy’s Law, Courtney Love, and Amy Winehouse as she forgot the most of the words to two songs before she stormed off stage. I have watched Snoop and Ludacris on stage and while entertained, I laughed AT them, not WITH them and there is a difference. I don’t care what you do in your spare time but on that stage it is your job and OBLIGATION to the people who believe in you and pay your electricity bill to give them what they ask for. You would be pissed if you went to Burger King and asked for a Whopper and got a Fish Filet. But I digress - the “NEED” for a drug to help you get on a stage to share your emotions is self-defeating. The art lacks honesty when it’s the amount you’ve smoked or drank that helps allow that to come out. I don’t respect ANYONE who can’t be honest with their emotions if it is their job. There is a difference between “entertainers” and “performers.”

(In response to: “Art is subjective, is it not?”) I never said it wasn’t art. As an artist and a human being with a voice it is my obligation to call out bullshit when I see it. My art doesn’t allow me to NOT be judgmental. No one ‘should’ behave the way I want them to but they should have a respect for the art and as a consumer of that art we are all allowed to have an opinion. And as someone who has stood on hundreds of stages in front of thousands of people AS MY JOB, I would be heartbroken if I came to find that in order to share my life and world I “NEEDED” a performance enhancing drug with someone who paid to see me. Drugs and alcohol on a stage are what steroids are to baseball.

One last thought before I go and shave my balls - I know my little FB rant isn’t going to change anything. Hell, even I need a little GG Allin and NOFX in my life, but let’s be honest here people. What I’m talking about is asking, demanding, and expecting honest emotions. You wouldn’t respect your partner if they could only say ‘I love you’ if they were drunk or if your friends could only be honest with you when they were high. So why should we expect any less especially when we’re PAYING for it? Ever wonder why there is so much fucking garbage out there? It’s because this status isn’t ALL of your statuses. Just because someone goes and spends an afternoon copying the moves, strokes, and words of someone else doesn’t mean we have to respect it. It is all part of this passive ‘anyone can be an artist’ mentality that allows for the garbage you see on TV, hear on the radio, browse in a museum, or read in a book. You are not doing anyone any favors by not raising your hands and calling bullshit. In fact, you are the REASON why that garbage exists. Everyone is afraid of demanding more. So yes, if I PAY to see you on a stage, you can play your monkey role if you like. You can say “wacky” quips, forget words, and act a fool, and I will clap for you and I will laugh - but I won’t be laughing WITH you, I will be laughing AT you. Because I know you are an emotional fraud. If that is “harsh”, “rigid”, “elitist”, or “arrogant”, then so be it. But at least I know I raised my hand and demanded more and better. And shame on you who don’t.