Shinybass Journal Entry 03/20/23

‘Don’t read the comments.’

When I started doing videos for the amazing magazine/website Premier Guitar, the first thing my editor told me was to not read the comments. I laughed, and sort of didn’t think about it much. I mean, I am personable and love to interact with people, especially music-centered people. The human need to be loved (or click-liked) and respected is real as well, so I was thinking ‘Heck yeah I am going to read the comments.’

Let’s talk about this landscape for a moment. The musical instrument world is a vast yet sort of tight community. Yes, there are millions of people that own guitars for hobby, and a million more that have gigs. Musicians are typically very passionate about their gear. There are endless forums and discussions that dissect everything from paint color offerings to the design of the control knobs. It’s a deep and educated gathering, and just like life, there are different directions for all of it.

I don’t think there is any more or less passion in the MI world than other hobbies or ‘lifestyles’ as some would call them. Star Wars fans range from casual to maniacal (I teeter just past the 75% nerd range), or car buffs that go from just appreciating cars to knowing the ignition timing on a 1955 Chevy Bel Air with a 327 and a 4-barrel carburetor.

Some players just want to plug in their bass and sound decent. Some people want to discuss the actual plug. That’s how wide the spectrum stretches, and occasionally this range needs to be taken into consideration when making and posting content. It’s really hard to make a 19-layer cake that will appeal to everyone, so sometimes you just need to pick a cake layer and show it off.

The problem pops in, of course, when someone wants the other 18 layers included in that content. That’s when the comments start to fly. Remember, this is all free content. It costs the viewer or reader nothing to learn or be entertained from this content, yet we must feel the desire to let our voice be heard on the leveling platform called ‘Internet’, where anyone can just chime in from just about any corner of the world and promptly let everyone know that your video is ‘too distracting to watch because of your bald head’. (Real comment, real run-on sentence.)

Truth. My head is bald, and I can see where it would be distracting if there were lasers bouncing off its freshly shorn surface. Perhaps there aren’t many bald people sightings in the wild, and the experience is new. Maybe you are starting to thin topside yourself and you feel the need to project. Sit down and let’s talk about it. Your hour starts now, which will be over in 40 minutes.

Just like not coloring inside of the lines, I don’t follow common sense directions. Much. I did go down the rabbit holes on some of my videos to peruse the comments, and you know, there are some truths out there. Believe me, there are a lot of hurtful things as well, but it really helped me in a couple of ways to soak, digest, vomit, and finally let nourish. (Wait, not in that order, I think…)

First, the hurt. Yes, people are mean. Some want a voice. They can have it. Some want to be blunt, or just offer two cents. They can have that as well. After I read some of the comments down and questioned my place in the universe, I had a couple of realizations. This is where maybe some of you who read the comments (too much) and take them to heart can process a couple of things.

Let the haters hate. If they are talking about you, it’s a good thing. You won’t change them, even if you engage in the best and most promising, positive way. Very few internet debates are won, so don’t try. You can actually learn from the hate, though. Aside from the personal digs, you can (attempt) to separate church and state and look at it professionally. Remember that as one person will say one thing, someone else will go the polar opposite. Take both and meet in the middle somewhere.

One comment that resonated with me (no pun intended) was about my demonstration playing. I was told that my playing was masking the purpose of the video. I was trying to be something I truly wasn’t; a flashy player with a ‘look-at-me’ attitude. After reading that comment, I had to remember the reason for the videos. We all want to be ‘somebody’, and by playing fast maybe you get noticed, or gain some sort of internet fame, however, being asked to do these videos makes you somebody. You got the gig for a reason. So just do the gig.

After that busy playing comment, I pulled back. A lot. I am there to demonstrate the product, not myself. I believe there can be a balance in the two, if that is your desire. Get some more followers for your balance of playing and on-screen personality. If you can get both followers and more companies to use your services, then you’ve won. If you have lots of followers but are broke, eh, you may need to rethink some things.

And remember to be you. Whatever that ‘you’ is. Until it’s time to create your alter ego and sell your show to the highest bidder (you all know reality TV is far from reality, right?), just be yourself, no matter what they say. And I’ll let those comments like ‘This guy will never get a gig’ make me smile a knowing smile that my life has been and continues to be right what it is supposed to be.

See you in the comment section!