I’ve run across a strange problem…

All I can say is…what is WRONG with you fucking people?

I just came home from karaoke. Karaoke is an interesting thing here: Not only can everyone sing, but everyone can sing in very unique ways–and that’s not a euphemism for “they’re bad”–that’s a euphemism for “They have a point of view and have singular voices that people want to hear.” They are interesting. Karaoke is where the performing artists in town come to cut loose. That’s not always the way it is. Quite often, it’s weekend warriors coming to get in touch with a part of themselves they’ve denied. Here, it’s where people come to show off all that they are. It’s amazing.

And when you get to talking to people, everyon’e’s got a performance project they’re working on. Everyone’s in a band. Everyone’s got a vision.

Because the bars around here pay basically as much as the bar tab, I’ve been talking to a couple of people about producing a show ourselves. I’ve been calling around to see what’s available. And the community center seemed like a good place to do some variety theatre: They’re cheap, everyone knows where it is, it’s easy enough to get a license for food and drink–it will work!

So tonight, I floated the idea of putting together a variety show in March–individuals in different mediums–music, poetry, comedy, what have you–doing work around a central theme, and then maybe we build to a jam at the end and the audience can get involved if they feel moved to. Sell tickets, include food and drinks, split the profits.

“And we should come up with a charity to give it to.”

I’ve gotten that from non-entertainers before, too.–“What charity will it benefit?”

“The cause I’m working on is trying to do something where the artists can make some money. There is no arts funding. I want to come up with ways to support the artists who play all of the benefits and perform for free all over town.”

“You can make a lot of money here [at the bar].”

“No…you can’t make a LOT of money. You can make less than minimum wage at this bar for the hours you play, after many hours of practice and getting your own equipment and promoting.”

“Well, to us it’s a lot, because we just put it back into the band fund to get equipment.”

“But…if we produce a show…you can still put that money back into the band. It will just, theoretically, be more money. Or not. But it’s a chance at more money. And a better chance than here.”

“We always play benefits or just for fun.”

“Well…this will benefit every artist who participates, and will also be fun, and you don’t even have to think about the money if you don’t want to, I’m just saying this one is for us. But you can still play benefits and play for fun. It’s not exclusive. I’m just saying…one where we are celebrating the artists in town.”

“But people don’t have money here.”

“…They have money to come here every Friday for karaoke and spend $15 a cocktail. Many people don’t have money here. Those people were growers, and are also all artists–like, everyone I’ve met makes art. And now they’re broke because no one buys local weed anymore…so…we should champion the art. Because the other half are vacationers and retirees with money and nothing to do, and then we have tourists who can hike, but then have nothing to do at night. But we don’t even know what it would make. Its just a show. I’m not talking about some huge commercial thing. I just want to put on an all ages show. The show itself will be something good for the community.”

“I just don’t see why we should when we make a lot of money here.”

“You make $75 for 5 hours of very intense work.”

“Right.”

“…Well, it was nice talking to you.”

Everyone has been wanting to work with me…but I never imagined that they were… specifically opposed to being paid?

I don’t think I’m in LA anymore.

Here’s the thing.

I realize that I sound like some city slickin’ greedy person when the town can’t fathom performing while simultaneously being compensated, or not giving everything away, and I’m all, “Let’s make a profit for once!” But this is so fucking backwards I can’t stand it.

Let’s start with this: I don’t think anyone can fuck with my “give it away for free” credentials. I’m by no means a money grubbing person. I only ever want enough to get by on–and when I say “get by” I mean on far less than anyone I know is comfortable with. I have eschewed all offers to sell out, and I prize the need to do the work, and to do that work with integrity, beyond all profit.

But the part I have a hard time accepting is how much the culture–the ENTIRE FUCKING CULTURE–thinks it’s morally wrong for creative people to make ANY sort of wage for their work.

And I don’t know how people can think like this when we live in an age where there IS NO ARTS FUNDING, there is barely any art in schools, and the corporate art we see is ABSOLUTE CRAP. Someone has to keep the art going and on display. That is a tremendous amount of work. Producing shows is the hardest work there fucking is. And it is something people enjoy, and that benefits the community holistically.

Artists: Why do we hate ourselves this much? Why do we think what we do is some sort of horrible burden on people?

It makes me wonder how long before we start telling teachers it’s not enough to make a low wage and buy school supplies themselves–but that they should pay to play. How long before they believe it themselves, the way performing artists do?

I’m going to keep working on these people. Because they’re right about this: The money isn’t flowing. But it could be.

I know, in part, I’m coming up against a religious argument–though the musicians don’t know it. I’m certain almost every person I talked to would classify themselves as not religious.

But I’ve noticed something about atheists: The ones that come from religious backgrounds and rejected it, tend to retain the misogyny, the guilt around enjoyment, the idea that labor is only meaningful if it makes you feel bad about yourself and like you’re wasting your time. Everything else is “money for nothing.”

I reject the premise. And for a simple reason: IT’S GOING TO FUCKING KILL US.

Artists MUST find ways to fund their art. You are not better for being able to spend less time doing it. The community is not benefitted by your art not getting the serious time and investment it deserves. And it’s not possible to give it that time and attention when everything is expensive and with no funding.

But I notice that no one has this attitude about their favorite celebrity artists. They do not feel that Lady Gaga or Taylor Swift should donate every concert’s profit to charity–even though they actually have enough money that if they did that, it would be appropriate. They HAVE funding. But regarding them, they say “get that bag.”

We cannot have a culture where only the richest people in the world are allowed to make a sustainable living in the arts. For obvious reasons. We NEED artists on a local level. And we need to work towards creating the possibility of a middle class life.

I’m not talking about making hundreds of millions off of an insane arena tour. I just think that maybe quarterly we should have some sort of seasonal concert for the local community where the performers split the profits.

I never thought…

Sigh. I have my work cut out for me.

But in the meantime, this performing artists is behind on her bills. I’ll be posting my last concert here exclusively for subscribers THIS AFTERNOON! Click the Subscribe button at the top right to keep this thing going and to make sure you don’t miss it!

Here’s a little preview: