For those of you who were following my 'blog, you know I was writing an entry every day following a gig. The idea was to create sort of a time capsule for a full year of very heavy gigging, and to offer my commentary on being an attorney by day and a professional musician by night in a medium-size American city.
I currently play on and off with a couple groups, none of which have in fact gigged in 2009, such as the Jazz trio 456, the R&B/Soul band ÜberGroove, and the 80s cover band Chess King. My primary band, Sharp Circle, plays almost constantly now. That was the prime motivation for doing the 'blog this year. Indeed, it's only April and Sharp Circle has had more shows already in 2009 than I had with all other bands in the entirety of any two-year period before 2008.
If I do say so myself, the 'blog-as-time-capsule concept was a darn good idea.
What wasn't such a good idea was my commentary. In an effort to be completely honest about my experiences--up and down, positive and negative--I elected to take a pull-no-punches approach to chronicling the shows.
Eventually one club's management got really upset about my comments. In truth they had every right to get upset because my comments after that gig were acerbic and sarcastic. Those of you who know me personally know that I tend to drift into the acerbic and sarcastic with some frequency, usually only to get a laugh. However, I should have realized that those of you who don't know me would therefore not realize the jesting nature of my words.
The club in question is a fantastic place, and in my opinion, is unequaled in Columbus in its level of class and design. My comments were taken as a swipe at the club's oversight and management, and certainly that was not my intent. In fact, the entry in question actually praised the management and the corporate level for changes they were making to their upcoming event scheduling. It just did so amidst a sea of far too much sarcasm.
In short, I offer all apologies to that club's management. No offense was intended. Every club has good nights and bad nights, and if a restaurant/club reviewer comes in on a bad night, you're going to suffer the consequences the next day. By stark contrast, you certainly don't want some idiot you're actually paying to work in your club offering any Internet commentary the next day, positive or negative.
And sure... I get paid by Sharp Circle to play guitar, not 'blog. We had a lot of followers of the band enjoying the 'blog as a funny side project, but it certainly isn't what we're here to do. The other members of Sharp Circle had no input into this 'blog at all, in fact. It was just me being me.
So what next? I enjoy writing and will continue to do so, but recognizing the fine lines involved in the business relationships, I'll be keeping my commentary to music... and music alone. ;-)
