D.I.(Why?) - The Way To Succeed And The Way To Suck Eggs

Saturday, December 14, 2013 - Banksy

D.I.(Why?) - The Way To Succeed And The Way To Suck Eggs
(From Brew For Breakfast Issue #2 - Written by Mark Michaelides)

First, I'd be remiss not to give credit where it's due for the title of this article. The first part is the title of a song by TNS Records' Revenge of the Psychotronic Man (shameless plug #1), the second part is the subtitle for the album Psalm 69 by Ministry.

I felt that the two combined would make for a good title for this collection of thoughts and experiences, otherwise know as an article. Phew!! Now that that's out of the way...

I guess the point of all the following is to take a look at the DIY ethos, it's benefits, detriments and some of the attitude, both good and troubling, that surrounds it. I remember way back when I was playing in a band called Down For the Count (shameless plug #2) in Atlanta, GA. It was early into our stint when one of the guys came into practice one day and said that he met a lady that may be interested in 'managing' us. I thought the idea was kind of funny at the time being that we had really just started out and, frankly, we really weren't that great at the time. We hadn't really gelled as a band yet, but I figured, 'What the hell, why not?' It would be interesting to see what came out of it.

So, she came into watch us practice one day and afterwards sat down with us to ask some questions. The questions really centered around the main question which was, 'What are your expectations out of the experience and where do you want to go with it?' Hmm. I don't think that any of us had given that too much thought, but we answered the questions and the answers varied. We were all in consensus that we wanted to have fun, but there were a few differences at to what but nothing that really suited the kind of band that we were.

What's the point? I think that question, 'Where do you want to go with it' is a question that every band needs to think about and discuss with each other. In the end we all just want to have fun, but having fun can be relative. Being on the same page, however, helps. I don't think that many of us start punk bands with the notion that we're going to be swimming in money pools like Scrooge McDuck and, the few punk bands that do approach or end up at that level often have their 'punk' credentials removed or get labeled as sellouts. Success, at least in money terms, seems to be looked down upon and many seem to relegate the hard work and early DIY efforts of bands like Green Day or Against Me to some sort of Orwellian memory hole. One could argue that these bands get labeled as such because of the way their music evolved and the motivations behind that evolution, but that's an entire article unto itself.

Fast forward a few years, and I found myself doing promotion in Europe for Nashville based label, Stikman Records (shameless plug #3). My initial motivations for getting involved in promotion were keeping in touch with the music scene that had given me so much fun and good memories over the years and The Carry-Ons' 2008 album, 'Is Anyone Listening' (shameless plug #4; last one), an album that I thought should be heard by a lot of people not only for the fact that it's a solid album musically, but also because it had a political tone that was insightful and intelligent. In addition, it gave me something to do when I travelled alone, and selling CDs on the streets can help in that crucial pinch when you're in a foreign city and find yourself a little light in the pocket.

Anyway, so I found myself in the Netherlands, doing some promotional work, and ended up at a show in Leiden. I hadn't heard any of the bands before, but I met with a guy who runs a booking company there and he said it might be worht checking out. It wasn't, but that's beside the point. Before the show, I'm enjoying my 'non-capitalist' beer, as the bartender liked to remind me (apparently the show was a 'Socialist Culture Center'), trying to turn some people on to the music I was promotion, and talking to the bands that were playing that night. So, I approach one of the bands, tell one of them that I'm doing some work on behalf of a record label, and ask if he wants a free CD. Not many people say no, but you'd be surprised. I've even been accused of trying to spread computer viruses. The guy takes the free CD and we started talking about music in general, his band, etc. Seemed like a cool enough kid, so I offered him another CD in trade for the 4 song album they had, and told him that I'm looking to put together a compilation of European bands to promote in the US. We traded CDs, but his response was, 'Man, we're DIY.' Now, I don't know if he assumed that Stikman Records is some sort of corporate megalith where we sit around drinking champagne and snorting blow off the tits of high class hookers, but I found the smug, self satisfied tone and smirk kind of annoying. I took a large gulp off my Gulpener beer and informed him that I burned all 200 of the promotional CDs on my laptop and hand cut each of the inserts with scissors. No smug sense of self satisfaction, just a statement of fact. He was actually kind of shocked.

Finally we got to the point. The point of this is not to put DIY culture on blast, just to point out how being smugly self satisfied with it will inevitably hurt the punk scene. First, you would have to be totally ignorant to think that even the most monetarily successful musicians, in any genre, didn't start off printing their own fliers, booking their own shows, etc. Even Lady Gaga probably did all that stuff, albeit under her real name and less flamboyant. Second, there's no shame in being somewhat sucessful moneywise. Some of the bands we all looked up to are relativel sucessful moneywise. They're not riding in Maseratis, but they get a decent residual income off of albums that they created. I'm talking the Bad Religions, The NOFXs, the Rancids, etc. etc. etc. And, let's face it, many of us came into the punk scene because of the exposure that these bands got on MTV in the early and mid 90s. Some of us had siblings who were into the 70s and 80s punk, but I think that that amount is fewer.

The point is that if everyone did it themselves, then we wouldn't have what we have today. We're fortunate enough to have people like Bret Gurewitz or Fat Mike that took their success and used it to help the next generation along. At some point, the bands that have 'it' need to step forward and grab the torch. They need to be proactive enough to realize that there is only so much you can do DIY. At some point you need to enlist the help of others, especially if you have real talent and something to say. And you can't be ashamed of 'success'. Selling 10,000 records is an achievement. Fuck, selling a thousand is an achievement. Let's face it, in reality, none of us are DIY. We rely on a network of friends that help us along; from the zines that publish reviews to the casual conversation that turns someone on to the music.

I recently read something from someone that I can only assume has the smug DIY attitude that I'm talking about. They wrote a few paragraphs talking about the years they put into booking shows in the DIY scene, but went on to say that if you're in a band that sees DIY as a 'stepping stone' to bigger things, then they have no desire to help you. Of course they explained it by using extreme examples of 'big money' deals and the like, mentioned that they did like bands that have achieved some success, but it wasn't quite enough to cover that snese of self satisfaction that comes from self imposed limitation in the name of 'keeping it real'. I've dealt with bands who were a little hard to work with, particularly on the money guarantee part, but that band is signed to a decent independent label and has spent several summers touring around with Warped. They aren't swimming in money, they still have jobs, but they are having fun doing what they love, and I'm not going to piss on their parade by selfishly trying to impose my vision of what punk is. That said, one of the other reason I got into music was to try and help others the way that music always helped me. One of the best compliments I got, being in a band was, 'Hey man, yall's music really helped me through some hard times' How could you not want to be albe to help as many as you can by that way? We've all relied on music to help us through shit times.

So? Success and Sucking Eggs? There are multiple ways you can achieve both, often at the same time. I'll agree that if you make music just to make money and keep it vapid in order to gain the highest amount of mass appeal, you could very well be successful, but you probably suck eggs. But, if you make music to have fun, and your music has meaning, can make people feel good, has something intelligent to say, and you intentionally limit yourslef in order to cling to some lofty ideal; you'll be successful at having fun, but you kind of suck eggs when it comes down to paying real dues (namely giving back to others what was given to you). Success is a relative term; sucking eggs not so much. To kind of quote Fat Mike 'At the end of the day, it's not about how big you are, or having the most money, etc. It's about having the most fun doing what you are doing' This is a guy who runs a successful independent label that has helped numbers of bands on their paths. But, he's still doing what he loves, having fun, helping to keep the tradition alive, and working less than two hours a day (his words). And, his main benefit? Getting to spend time with his kids.

Team #punxuk

The latest photos you have sent in! Share yours on Instagram with #punxuk
Follow Us On Instagram