1,000 Words | Artist Interaction
Written
By: Jameson Ketchum

e knew that we would be facing this problem when we decided to start this magazine. We knew it would have its up and downs and as business goes we knew we wouldn’t always get what we wanted. We knew we would have to improvise, plan ahead, and at times, admit defeat. So far God has been blessing us immensely with great artists to interview and present to you, our readers, which is our main goal. We couldn’t be happier. But, as I said, not everything has gone peachy.

The most recent lesson we’ve learned is some artists just don’t take the time to fully answer their questions. What I mean by this is that we’ve had to scrap certain articles and interviews because of the content returned to us. It wasn’t that it was crass (for the most part) or incorrect information, it was just too short to make anything out of. One sentence answers to a question that we felt would provide the artists with an opportunity to explain something that could reach readers and better promote their own bands seems to be the popular thing to do lately.

I can’t be judgmental here. I have no idea what that person is going through at the moment or if they simply thought that they were giving a full answer. What I’m saying is that doing interviews and answering people’s questions, especially when it comes to their art and their faith, I would hope that artists would be a little more joyous in providing those answers. We feel like we are giving them another medium to speak through and continue to influence with their words. We would hope that they would take advantage of this offer. Do some not realize that their art and the way they live their lives is directly impacting others’ lives? This is what frustrates me more than anything.

The fact that we have had to drop interviews with artists that I would consider largely influential in today’s scene just makes me sad. Artists, we are giving you the opportunity to not only promote your livelihood, but to further spread the word of what is backing your entire life and decision to do what you do.

I understand that we live in the MySpace generation. A generation revolving around speed and easy access to whatever information you need. Now more than ever, it has become easier for fans to connect with their favorite bands. Can you imagine being a fan back in the day when the only chance you’d have of asking a band member a question was if you happened to catch them outside of a venue? No wonder these guys were held up so highly. Now, we have more ways to connect, on both ends. What band doesn’t have a MySpace, Facebook, Twitter and who knows what else? And these are all great things for getting your music out there but we have to remember how important actual physical fan interaction is. I could follow a band on all these sites, read their bios, keep updated with all their current events and still have no idea who they are on the inside. Especially in this genre, it is so important for listeners and readers to know more about the people who are providing us with this art, this worship. We want to know the individuals we are supporting with our money and our time.

Let me back up a bit. Yes, MySpace and other networking sites are beneficial to the music scene in a lot of ways but also I find it very detrimental. These sites are giving any artist with a Mac Book a chance to put their music out there, which is great, but sadly we have forfeited our views on quality. What most would consider sub-par quality is now being masked by the overwhelming ideals of quantity. There are over night sensations being made without the band ever having played a show or booked a single date. The passion, the drive, the hard work-it’s all gone-replaced by an outpouring of less than great artists. So who can tell what is real anymore? Who deserves to be supported, listened to, and promoted? Truly great artists with stacks and stacks of potential are being overlooked because as soon as they release a track, there are 100 imitators ready to jump on that particular sound.

As you’ll read in our cover piece this month, Aaron Gillespie talks about this scene becoming something its not and I whole heartedly agree. Clothing lines for example: I love clothing lines, especially those done by artists; but once again, the market is vastly oversaturated with anyone who can create a MySpace. Where has the concept of paying dues gone?

As an avid music fan myself, I have always wanted to dive deeper into what I give so much of my time to. Reading interviews in various other publications is what inspired me in the first place to start off down this path. Even though I’ve learned a great deal about both the journalism and the music industry in the past years, I still feel like a true fan at heart, I still have faith and that is why I’m here. I look up to these musicians as much as any other kid who throws their album on while on long drives or just before bed.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not promoting an “us against them mentality”. I’m a writer but I’m also still a reader. We should be embracing all these things that make up the music scene today but not forgetting how important personal touch, hard work and originality really is.