Drama tearing up the scene in Ottawa
Hey guys, I have a bit of a rant incoming.
As some of you may be aware, there have been accusations, threats and just all around bad decorum hitting the scene the last few hours. This is not just bad for the people involved directly in the drama, but also bad for the scene altogether.
The obvious effect that public drama like this has is the bands of the people involved will be looked less favourably upon by venues and promoters. If a venue or promoter views an act as a possible security threat, then those bands won't get booked. Because the members of these bands are fighting it out in public, people are going to worry that supporting one of them will get them harassed or even injured. If someone is saying that because you support a band or are friends with someone, they now hate you, that is a scary thought. Music is meant to bring people together and help build a community. Letting stupid petty bullshit tear all the progress we've made down is inexcusable.
I was planning on announcing this in September but I'll do it now. The Ottawa Sound is planning on starting to book shows come September, but if bands can't stop themselves from shitting on each other, then I won't be booking those bands. Period. I will not have my name associated with an act that just wants to stir the pot and cause drama. If you want an interview, and you are in one of these bands, and you all know who you are, I will flat out deny the interview. I was honestly starting to believe that the music scene in Ottawa was one big happy community with the odd problem here and there. But today there have been people threatening violence towards each other over some absolutely idiotic and irrelevant bullshit.
You don't get to decide what opinions are okay and which ones aren't. You don't get to bully and harass people because they think differently than you. I don't care who you are or what band you are in, if I find out that you are using your platform in this community to harass and bully people because of their opinions, I will not interview you, I will not promote your music through the blog or any other aspect of my business and I will definitely not book you for a show.
Because of the behaviour of 2 particular people in the scene, I will no longer be attending shows by specific bands, which also means my employees will not be attending them on behalf of my company. (I am not going to stop them from going on their own time and money, but I will not be paying them to go and use my business name at these shows.) This is unfortunate as one of my good friends is in one of the bands whose show's I will no longer be attending and I will be sending him a personal message about the situation.
As for the accusations of assault and property damage that have been thrown around. Grow up. If someone committed a crime, go to the fucking police and deal with it in the proper way. Don't go around and defame somebody just because you feel all high and mighty. For the person who is a victim of the harassment and bullying, I'm sorry you have to go through all this and if you want to talk about it, hit me up, I've been on the receiving end of this shit, and I know how lonely it can make you feel. For the people doing the harassing and bullying, this is what causes people to snap, this is what causes self-harm and suicide. I know that you don't want to be the reason that somebody dies, no matter how mad you are at them. You might think that I'm blowing this out of proportion by saying that but I'm not. You don't know the demons that somebody is battling every day, you have no idea what health issues and mental scars that person has. It only takes one comment to send someone over the edge, but one apology, one compliment can bring them back. I'm not saying you need to make nice, but don't be a dick.
Peace out!
K
As some of you may be aware, there have been accusations, threats and just all around bad decorum hitting the scene the last few hours. This is not just bad for the people involved directly in the drama, but also bad for the scene altogether.
The obvious effect that public drama like this has is the bands of the people involved will be looked less favourably upon by venues and promoters. If a venue or promoter views an act as a possible security threat, then those bands won't get booked. Because the members of these bands are fighting it out in public, people are going to worry that supporting one of them will get them harassed or even injured. If someone is saying that because you support a band or are friends with someone, they now hate you, that is a scary thought. Music is meant to bring people together and help build a community. Letting stupid petty bullshit tear all the progress we've made down is inexcusable.
I was planning on announcing this in September but I'll do it now. The Ottawa Sound is planning on starting to book shows come September, but if bands can't stop themselves from shitting on each other, then I won't be booking those bands. Period. I will not have my name associated with an act that just wants to stir the pot and cause drama. If you want an interview, and you are in one of these bands, and you all know who you are, I will flat out deny the interview. I was honestly starting to believe that the music scene in Ottawa was one big happy community with the odd problem here and there. But today there have been people threatening violence towards each other over some absolutely idiotic and irrelevant bullshit.
You don't get to decide what opinions are okay and which ones aren't. You don't get to bully and harass people because they think differently than you. I don't care who you are or what band you are in, if I find out that you are using your platform in this community to harass and bully people because of their opinions, I will not interview you, I will not promote your music through the blog or any other aspect of my business and I will definitely not book you for a show.
Because of the behaviour of 2 particular people in the scene, I will no longer be attending shows by specific bands, which also means my employees will not be attending them on behalf of my company. (I am not going to stop them from going on their own time and money, but I will not be paying them to go and use my business name at these shows.) This is unfortunate as one of my good friends is in one of the bands whose show's I will no longer be attending and I will be sending him a personal message about the situation.
As for the accusations of assault and property damage that have been thrown around. Grow up. If someone committed a crime, go to the fucking police and deal with it in the proper way. Don't go around and defame somebody just because you feel all high and mighty. For the person who is a victim of the harassment and bullying, I'm sorry you have to go through all this and if you want to talk about it, hit me up, I've been on the receiving end of this shit, and I know how lonely it can make you feel. For the people doing the harassing and bullying, this is what causes people to snap, this is what causes self-harm and suicide. I know that you don't want to be the reason that somebody dies, no matter how mad you are at them. You might think that I'm blowing this out of proportion by saying that but I'm not. You don't know the demons that somebody is battling every day, you have no idea what health issues and mental scars that person has. It only takes one comment to send someone over the edge, but one apology, one compliment can bring them back. I'm not saying you need to make nice, but don't be a dick.
Peace out!
K
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