The Fanzine Writer's Dilemma

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Not sure if any of you music writers can be arsed with this, but here goes. I'm currently writing my own fanzine, and last friday I went to go and see a friend of a friend (called Liam) play live. He was great, but his set for me was spoilt by the presence of two gimps in novelty shirts on bass and guitar. I don't think he needed them musically, and that he would have done better to stick to having just him with his acoustic guitar, and his cellist. Today on Liam's messageboard people were talking about whether they should all wear novelty matching shirts at the next gig, and I said they looked shit, and the two blokes were unnecessary musically and would have been better employed as Liam's roadies. Now, obviously they're his mates, so he's a bit pissed off by my being rude about them. I've an interview scheduled with him for later this week. i don't want to piss him off, (obviously he's going to read it)
but I feel quite strongly about this and don't want to leave it out of my review...what does everyone think?

Of course the real dilemma is "what the hell am I doing writing a paper fanzine in 2004, it's completely pointless" but let's leave that aside for a minute.

― Kate Jane Connolly (fixitgirl), Tuesday, 17 February 2004 16:19 (twenty-two years ago)

well, it's YOUR fanzine!

― My Huckleberry Friend (Horace Mann), Tuesday, 17 February 2004 16:24 (twenty-two years ago)

i agree. he never needed noel and those other losers.

― scott seward (scott seward), Tuesday, 17 February 2004 16:29 (twenty-two years ago)

Yeah, and if I was just going to write a "blah blah my friend's band's ace" piece there'd be no point anyway, would there? I want to be as honest about the night as I can and treat him the way i would if I didn't know him, so I'll just write what I want.

― Kate Jane Connolly (fixitgirl), Tuesday, 17 February 2004 16:31 (twenty-two years ago)

on the other hand, it is *just* a fanzine. is this going to ruin an otherwise great friendship (hint: if it's so great, he'll understand), and is that worth it?
sometimes it's better to say nothing than to get all riled up in personal whatsits.

― My Huckleberry Friend (Horace Mann), Tuesday, 17 February 2004 16:33 (twenty-two years ago)

OK, Here is the word.

As a friend, you think he should ditch the guys and go it alone.

As a writer, you cannot do this. You have to review and/or deal with the band as they are. Praise the guy, criticise the others, diss the dress sense, but you have no right to demand the band break up...

(That seems to be a bit 'stating it brutally' it's not meant to be...)

― mark grout (mark grout), Tuesday, 17 February 2004 16:33 (twenty-two years ago)

Oh God no, I wouldn't be *demanding* that he ditch the blokes, it would be purely a matter of criticising the fact that they're there. It's not such a rigid band line-up, the band is basically just him and whoever shows up to play with him on the night. the other night it was the first time they've played in their current incarnation.
The other thing is that he's not really a friend as such, he's a friend of a close friend. I don't want to piss him off as he's a nice guy and very talented, but I do want to say what I honestly think.

any more for any more?

― Kate Jane Connolly (fixitgirl), Tuesday, 17 February 2004 16:42 (twenty-two years ago)

Just me again..

It's the old dilemma, as Lester Bangs said in "Almost Famous", you can't be friends with the band if you're a writer.

― mark grout (mark grout), Tuesday, 17 February 2004 16:45 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm friends with everyone!
I've been accused of being harder on my friends. The thing about that is I get like maximum 700 words to say something in print, and then if I've at all slighted, even inadvertantly, a band I know, they'll want to spend four hours hashing it over.
But I'm like, "dude, I said my bit, I've moved on."
which is cheap of me, but I didn't say I was good friends with everyone!

― My Huckleberry Friend (Horace Mann), Tuesday, 17 February 2004 16:48 (twenty-two years ago)

I've been in situations like this before and basically if you're honest and fair (in the context of a generally positive review) people tend to be okay. Obviously, people don't like criticism and there's no accounting for people's 'artistic' tendencies but over the last few months I've just got sick of skirting round people's irrational sensitivities.

― Jim Robinson (Original Miscreant), Tuesday, 17 February 2004 16:49 (twenty-two years ago)

I think my gut feeling is that I've got to be honest even if it makes him narky. He was once out with the friend we have in common when some girls came up to him and started saying how much they wanted to come to his next gig and how they loved his CD. My mate quipped, "Oh, don't say that, his head's big enough already." and Liam didn't speak to him for three weeks.

If he ever goes to London, he'll be *hell*.
So, Mark, what do you think? What would you do in my position?

― Kate Jane Connolly (fixitgirl), Tuesday, 17 February 2004 16:49 (twenty-two years ago)

My honest, comes down to: If he can't take crit from friends, he'd better not go to london and get crit from strangers. I say, say what you feel, don't go further than you would if you didn't know him, don't care too much or too litle about him 'wasting' his talent etc..

If he can't take small crit, his loss I say.

― mark grout (mark grout), Tuesday, 17 February 2004 16:57 (twenty-two years ago)

Gotta go. Later..

― mark grout (mark grout), Tuesday, 17 February 2004 16:57 (twenty-two years ago)

I agree with Mark for the most part. I would, personally, pull the article and explain to him why.

Do that, and maybe by the next issue you will really want to write the piece.

― ___ (___), Tuesday, 17 February 2004 17:04 (twenty-two years ago)

ah fuck it! it's a fanzine! damn the torpedoes! leave journalistic ethics to the pros. it's just your opinion anyway... if one external person's opinion, no matter how good that opinion might be, is the sole reason for a band to split... hell, it wasn't Meant To Be (TM) and meanwhile, you as the beloved fanzine writer get to tell us all about it.

honesty is good. if they can't handle that, well then they have some growing up to do.
m.

― msp, Tuesday, 17 February 2004 22:16 (twenty-two years ago)

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