Merry whateversuitsyou to everyone !!!
Re: Musicians and their fans reactions to their music ( in the light of the questioning of a fan's reaction to the new Karmakanic CD) :
In this Merry time there may be room for some Merry honesty from my side and I sincerely feel that I never get "angry" when fans don't like my music , but there are exceptions and that is when people ridicule a song or an album that I've worked with for months. There are luckily generally few comments or reviews of that sort .
But most times we musicians/composers just have to accept that some fans do not appreciate our work or a certain song or album. This does not mean that we UNDERSTAND why,because to our understanding (in most cases) the music piece is something we've put our soul and many, many hours,days, months into . So I think it would be correct to say that when fans dislike my music I feel that I've failed to reach them but I do not get angry(unless they are obviously mean spirited or intended to harm.) You create and then you want to share the beauty of your creation with others, if it doesn't work and they are left cold then you feel you've failed - it is not a good feeling.
The other confusing element (and more complex ) is if someone say "I don't like the new Karmakanic" , but love the band xxxx's new CD that is essentially the same style of prog/symph/fusion but with a drummer that cannot keep the beat and a guitarist who play way beyond his capacity with a terrible sound and vocals are out of tune with sappy lyrics and a crap pruduction and mix . Now THAT is something that I know confuse ALL of us in TFK , but again you cannot even begin to try understand just WHY people like a certain band or album .......it just happens - probably more on an emotional level than analyzing an album or band in itself. I mean in the case of Karmakanic there is no doubt the musicians are top notch.
Why would anyone prefer Riverside,Beardfish,The Watch or Pendragon ? ( not that they are bad ... but not on par with Karmakanic musos) These are the things that puzzle an ambitious musician like myself or Jonas. I guess the answer is that we look for different things in music and you cannot simply force the rest of the world to join you on YOUR journey - and perfection is not ALL.
So does your music get a fair review - no I don't think so - I do not think that a band like TFK will be judged by the same measures as a new upcoming band . Bands with a long history like TFK, Pain Of Salvation,Spocks Beard,Opeth,Dream Theater,Pendragon,IQ,It Bites will be judged by a different measure than Frost, Magic Pie or Moonsafari. So maybe when the freshness goes away with groups like Karmakanic,Tangent, Thieves Kitchen,Magenta then it's fair game to pick them apart and/or get bored or cold............ then off to the next new kick.
All this said - not much we can do as musicians than to do our best - and for you, the fans to sometimes stop and maybe digest and think - like in Christmas time - to appreciate and be grateful what you have been served in life.
Hugs Dr Nasty . |