One man's "sell-out" is another man's treasure. Why does no one label it a "sell-out" when three or four of our very most talented original Detroit acts agree to sit around in some over-priced, superficial pick-up joint in BFE County for $3-a head & one half-hour set in between the guys in bunny costumes & the ozzy-wanna-be's? Just as every artist/warrior marches to a slightly different drummer, so every performer has a different price. Artists and whores have long been compared analyzed, to the same bitter-sweet conclusion . . . ... Don't judge MY art and I won't judge YOURS.
What I really wonder, is WHY do we "wonder" about one another's motives instead of appreciating & supporting one anothers pursuit of the elusive muse? We all need to eat & put shoes on our children's feet....so what difference does it make to any one else whether another performer chooses to play the game by "THEIR" rules?
And, please, tell me, somebody...anybody....how choosing to position oneself in a higher tax bracket qualifies one as a "sell-out". Come down off your high-horse AND wake up & smell the coffee, my darlings...there are paying gigs & there are places to exercise your karma....the two seldom blend into one perfect gig.
Consider the word"performer", perhaps even go so far as to look up the definition in your dictionary. Then, take a deep, cleansing breath and realize that some people pay their dues and then mature to a certain level where they recognize the need to accept and tolerate, and, yes, compromise. That doesn't mean they don't have the same deep rumblings of conscience and desire as the "starving-artist". It means they have conquered the obstacles and found a way to rise above the rhetoric and work their talent into a viable income.
Instead of becoming jaded, they take the gold from pharoh's treasure house. Is there any one out there who would NOT prefer to "sing-for-his-supper", as opposed to delivering pizza's, or interest rate quotes, etc....? Because a particular genre happens, at this moment, to be "chic", does that make it "conformist" and a "sell-out" to take advantage of the interest and perform what the people want to hear? On the contrary, it sounds like smart business to me.
I love what I do, but how much more do I love that it is a MAKETABLE PRODUCT? I dare you to search your OWN mirror for the answer to this one, sweethearts.
"People who live in glass houses should not throw stones."
GRACE To You
grace@i.am
http://grace.i.am