Ugh!! I could slap myself in the face for not posting sooner. I would put this in a blog, however very few people actually read them so…Here i sit on my first night off in what feels like weeks typing a personal reflection on a blog. Complicated?? Heck yeah! However, its kinda important to me that I put this out there to whom ever actually reads this… I have gone to quite a few concerts this summer and can count on my hands how many more I will be going to. When I first started going to concerts it was to get out and actually do something other then work and sleep, and I figured what better way to reconnect with the outside world then through music? Awesome…yes i know. I never went to a concert and fought to be up front, and I never went with the expctation of meeting the bands…But if I did it was amazing and greatly appreciated. However, I have come into contact with people after and before shows who are exactly like Kieren Smith has run into (Read the inserted blog to get the point…). Ok, I get that your fans…awesome, me too! I get that you have seen this band soooo many times you can practically play their songs yourself. I also understand you spend $40-$50 at their shows on swag. I think its awesome you spend your money on stuff to remember them by…However, they do not OWE you anything other then a show. They dont owe you their phone number bcause your their “biggest fan” or free shit because “you go to every show”. You go to the concert because you love their music, if you get to chat with them after, consider yourself lucky. Alot of people fail to see all the work that musicians put into a show…They drive ALL night state to state to state, the skip meals, they rarely get a good shower or nights sleep, and they load and unload their own equiptment after performing a 30 minute set for the paying crowd…Not to mention the fact that they also go months without seeing family and friends and loved ones. Is that the type of sacrific you are willing to make to do what you love and to supply your talent to the world?? I have even gotten twitter updates about them giving out free tickets to shows (We The Kings) and actually paying out of their pockets for fans to get in (Cassadee Pope of Hey Monday) and still, a good show and a chance to say “Hi. Your set was amazing.” and taking a picture isnt enough. At what point do you feel as a fan that you need to go around and basically go from fan to stalker?? Like do you honestly feel if you learned everything about them they would run off and marry you? Hahaha…I got some news for you, they have lives outside of their craft, and if you dont know everything about them its ok. They have personal lives that they like to be able to keep that way. You dont have to know their first pets name from when they were 12 to be a fan…you just have to love their music. Such a simple demand for such a laborous craft. But thats not even what gets me the most, stalking does happen, and bragging about who you know and who you’ve seen where, and how close you are with a band is expected… But why would you see them a hundred times and then turn and talk shit about them on a lame ass website (FBR_Trash) because they decided that instead of talking to you for 30 minutes after a show they wanted to go meet new fans? JUST BECAUSE YOU GO TO THEIR SHOWS AND STUFF DOESNT MEAN YOU OWN THEM!! They are people. You do not own them. I could agree more with Kieren, if your going to spend your time and money at the show, just to turn around and bash them after because they dont spend every minute with you after the show, dont bother coming. Stay at home and complain about how much you hate them because they are being human giving someone else a chance. All i can say to those types of “fans” is Grow the Fuck Up Douchebags. This is Kierens Blog: 04/21/2009 What’s Wrong With This Scene… Before I get into this blog, please take into account that I am only referring to a minuscule portion of those who call themselves “fans” of music. 99% of people do not apply to this blog, but for those of you who do, pay close attention, because you need a slap in the face… Let me start with a story… When I was 12 years old, I was fortunate enough to meet one of my heroes, Joe Perry, the lead guitarist of Aerosmith. I randomly bumped into him during my visit to The Rock And Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland on a road trip with my grandma. I was star-struck. I could barely speak. I shook his hand and just told him how much I loved his band-nothing more. Last night I witnessed a girl at a show of ours openly tell an unnamed musician on our tour how she used to like his band, but now that other kids started liking them, she refused to listen to them. I wanted to scream. There are many, many problems with the music industry and just with music in general, especially pop music; illegal downloading, greedy record executives, incestuous management, booking, and talent agencies just to name a few. These are all every day battles that we fight. However the number one killer of passion, love, motivation, and truth in music are the kids themselves. There used to be a barrier between bands and fans. That barrier is completely gone. With the internet and the economic recession, bands have been forced to recapture their fans, because kids just don’t have the money to go out and buy loads of records, concert tickets, and merchandise. So what did bands do? They put themselves out there personally so that kids can feel an intimate connection with their heroes. This is a good thing! Don’t get me wrong. It is necessary now days. But it has become tainted. Bands have made themselves so accessible to fans that it has become expected of them to share 100% of their personal lives. There is no more wonder, curiosity, or separation. Kids feel entitled to everything. I cannot tell you how many times I have to deny kids my phone number, I don’t ask for yours! Why do you need mine?! Don’t get me wrong and I cannot stress this enough, I love my fans. Without them I wouldn’t be here, but the kids who come out to shows to look cool, expand their name dropping capabilities, or talk crap on people they claim to support, can just stay at home. I went to shows because I loved bands and their music. And if I got to meet them, great, if not, I understood, they have lives outside of this. I didn’t go online and blog about them being jerks because they didn’t talk to every kid in the room. This job is so stressful and very demanding, with very little financial reward. People need to understand this. All bands LOVE their fans, but they need to take care of themselves personally or they will fall apart! I am known for being the quiet one of Sing It Loud, and people resent me for it. The truth is, I don’t care. I started this band with my own money and brought these 4 other amazing guys together with a very strict idea of what this was going to be. I worked my butt off getting us here. I spend the majority of my day on the phone with management or in the van/dressing room writing for our next record. Does this make me a dick? Because I am focusing on making it possible for us to have new material for you? To make it possible so we can afford to keep touring? How does that make me a mean person? Being in a band is not party-time 100% of the time. It is a 24/7/365 job. I haven’t seen my family in 9 weeks, and the kids I do see end up blogging about how I am a jerk because I am quiet… Tell me why anyone would want to keep doing something when they just end up getting eaten alive by the people who they work for… Because I do this for you guys, not for anyone else. I make music for YOU. And to talk in specifics, the online blogs FBR trash and Fueled By Gossip-you guys are dicks. Here is a group of people who claim to be fans of bands and just go home after shows to sit online and rip apart those who they look up to. I make it a point to work hard and avoid situations that would land me a spot on these pages, but it happens anyways. People “request” trash on me. There are pictures of me, my girlfriend, stories of past girlfriends, and just loads of garbage… You kids need to be careful with what you say because these bands you are talking about read this stuff and it discourages them from making music! You are going to kill what you love, music and the people who make it! Why should I make music and put my neck out there when you are just going to illegally download it and then talk crap on it? Yes, I know being in the spotlight causes this kind of stuff from press and what not, but it shouldn’t be coming from fans. If you are true fans. There is a girl who I know personally from shows that used to come out all the time and support us, I found her online on absolutepunk.net openly saying she hated our music. Literally two days later she came to a show and tried to say hi to me and be personable like nothing happened. I called her out on it. I said, if you are going to hide behind a computer and talk trash on us, don’t come out here. I don’t want your support. Nothing makes me happier than meeting an honest fan who just digs our tunes and wants a picture. I love that. But don’t sit there and tell me about what band guys you know or have hooked up with, don’t talk trash on my friends, and get a life. The funny thing is, I know I am fueling the fire of these websites, but I just don’t care. I know that every member of Sing It Loud is a good person, and I know all of our true fans are amazing people and I would do anything for them. I just felt that I needed to warn those who take part in this disgusting behavior and warn you that if you push it too far, you are going to end up ruining what you claim you love. Music. Bobby Flash agrees with me. Thank you, and goodnight.