Disclaimer—the following opinions are mostly Ben's..well, all of them are Ben's because he says he likes to froth at the mouth on occasion. He's basically harmless and he has had his shots...
Is That How You Really Is?
It's somewhat of an eye opener being on stage and seeing an audience from the perspective of a performer. With over 1,000 performances in the past four years, we have certainly had our share of shocking revelations about people. Since many of the venues we play are small, the performance area is usually at floor level. In other words, we are very accessible. One of the common things listed under "strange human behavior," that I think is both irritating and amusing at the same time is the "fish in the tank syndrome." People will stand no more than several feet in front of us while we are playing and singing and speak (sometimes very loudly) about us as if we were freak specimens and can't understand what they are saying. Of course we are a bit freakish, but that's no excuse to be rude, is it?
And then there are the unfortunate males who, especially after a few drinks, think it's a grand idea to sweep Julie off of her figurative feet and impress her with feats of intellectual bedazzlement and physical prowess. Machismo sucks enough when guys are sober but when they are drunk they act like television wrestlers who never got the gig. Julie and I reward these bad boys with our own version of the "fish tank syndrome," and though this can be dangerous, it is most entertaining.
Then, in case we get bored there are always the "screamers." Against a mellow backdrop of our acoustic music the screamer(s) shouts as if to say, "I'm going to be the grand marshall of the hearing aids for barflies convention..ha!" We offer our votes to them and hope their convention is held in another state next time.
However, lest I seem cynical, on a rare evening we will get an audience who will actually listen. This being an uncommon event, I have prepared many small talks on the first law of thermodynamics, flight patterns of rare sub-Saharan butterflies and cooking with common noxious weeds. But really, it's almost a shock to us and it takes a bit of focus on our parts to actually relate to real, interested people. If this becomes a pattern, we'll have to cancel our order for an authentic 10,000 watt Ted Nugent PA system.
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Digital Fear and Frankenstein
Music is what we do and the tools of our trade have in recent times certainly shaped the way we make and listen to music. For perhaps the first time in music history, many independent musicians have been able to take a fair run at the production and reproduction of their art. With the advent of digital technology, musicians can now own recording equipment that is of decent quality and reasonable cost. This equipment meets and exceeds some capabilities of equipment that 25 years ago would have cost millions in its analog hardware form.
Still, at times there blows a wind of cynicism and scorn against the utilization of the Digital Audio Work station, or DAW, to create and market music. For Julie and I it is a tool to work out our ideas, both musically, lyrically and technologically. Yes, I believe technology is a valid medium for artists and digital audio is the "paint" we use to fill our canvas.
I can't blame the skeptics for a certain amount of negativity though. There will always be those who create an image that is not a true reflection of their talent. Every year millions of corporate dollars are paid out to image consultants, makeup artists, marketing firms, producers, writers and advertisers to create an image that will convince someone to buy into an artist of questionable talent. Bad talent can now be "fixed in the mix," as the recording industry joke goes. Digital technology makes this more possible and convincing, not to mention cost effective.
In case you might think I'm pure from such crimes, I must confess—I exploit the capabilities of digital non-destructive editing to give our music a polish that is not possible with tape-based analog systems. I take pride in the Dr. Frankenstein approach to stitching together our music, but I don't pretend to present our synthesis as something we are. As artists, it is a statement we make—it is what we do. I take it for granted that the listener will not mistake a statement about reality to be the reality itself.