I guess I should start this rant off by stating that this is the opinion of a musician and primarily about musicians. Hence the title being “Bitterness in Music.” While what I say may be relatable to other professions out there, I cannot speak for them because I don’t do those other jobs. If you’re in another line of work and find this works in your job field well, “if the shoe fits,” so they say… 

   This rant comes to you thanks to two things: one being that I’m sick (not Covid, thankfully) and typing this out doable from the comfort of my bed; the second being a nice little negative comment my Rolling Stones tribute band, Jumping Jack Flash, received on one of our videos on YouTube. Which I will get to in a bit.

   Are our opinions based on our level of career success? Well, my question is one that I’ve had for quite some time. There’s also a strong possibility this question has been answered already by someone who actually knows what the hell they’re talking about. Or the answer is blatantly obvious and you’re sitting there thinking “Yeah, no shit it is.” But basically, I’ve noticed throughout my career as a musician that my opinion of other musicians has changed not only as I grew older, but also as I became more successful. So let’s start with that – my definition of “successful.”

   We all have our own viewpoint of what it means to be successful. In college (Musician’s Institute), the span of all of my and my classmates’ career goals spanned from “I want to be in the next Travis Barker!” to “I want to be able to play a simple jazz groove without crying!” I was somewhere in the middle. I just wanted to make a living playing drums. Well, I wanted to be like Hal Blaine and spend my career in a studio recording drums on various tracks for various artists. While it would be nice to be a big rock star, I knew pretty early on how nearly impossible that is in this industry without being related to someone filthy rich or already successful in the music industry. I also blame it on the fact that I was born in Los Angeles. Most of LA are transplants from all over the country or even the world, who come here with a dream in whichever career path they’re on. Of course, they were special in their town, but Los Angeles doesn’t give two shits who you were in your small town. So, when their dream isn’t fulfilled right off the bat (or at all), they become bitter and resentful. Basically, their soul dies. How am I, and other native Angelenos, different? When we were born, our souls were already dead. Point is, I set my career expectations low early on.

   Currently, I am making a sufficient living in music. I don’t have a day job, I’m not getting government money or help from others; I am solely and sufficiently paying all of my bills from the income I make working in bands. So basically, I reached my definition of success! It took a long ass time and a ton of work to get there, but I got there. Granted, I will always continue to strive for more, but for now, I’m happy and content where I am in my career. I just never thought wigs would be involved. Anyway, humble brag over.

   By now you must be wondering why I keep blabbering about how successful I am instead of the point of this blog post. It’s because I don’t edit down what I write. So deal with it. But it’s also because I’ve spoken to people about the subject of this rant who would miss the point completely because, in their mind, I’m not a “successful musician” simply because I’m not a mega rock star. I am a professional full-time musician, and that’s it. So I am my definition of successful, and while you may have your own definition, it’s imperative that you and I are on the same page as to what “successful” means to me in the context of this rant. 

   Patton Oswalt has a great bit about how when he was in his 20s, not only did he HATE certain bands, but he also had to let you know how much he hated them. Today, there are bands he doesn’t like, but otherwise isn’t bothered. That was me 10-15 years ago. I went through my late teens and early 20s DESPISING certain bands/artists and boy did I make my dumb opinion known. I was young, but also very unsuccessful. I was playing 3-4 hour long gigs that maybe paid $25 – $50 if they paid at all. So despite being in somewhere around 20 bands, I still had to hold a variety of day jobs until I was about 28. Throughout that time, the bitterness and hatred I had for many many musicians would be so palpable because I made it so. It was very time-consuming and a total waste of time at that. However today, like Patton, there are artists I don’t like, but I don’t ever think about them. I’m often confused by the success of some of them until I find out they’re related to someone high up in the industry or with a lot of money, but I think “meh” and go on with my life. 

   I saw this mellow way of thinking in a few of my more successful friends early in my career and didn’t understand why they basically “allowed these hacks to exist.” I realize now that it’s because they were then where I am now. I also have friends who shared my anger and bitterness back in the day but continue to think that way today because their dreams and goals weren’t reached later in life for one reason or another. One, in particular, loves to point out every little mistake anyone in the band makes regardless of whether the audience notices or not. All while simultaneously overreacting to and denying any criticism (constructive or not) thrown at them. I have to say it can be sad to watch, but when I get annoyed by the negativity and judgment brought on by these people, I remind myself that their opinions stem from a deep-seated lack of self-esteem and frustration in their own careers. (OMG the point of this blog post!!)

   Going back to the second trigger of this post, a comment written on a video put up on my Stones tribute band’s YouTube page. And here it is!