All right, I'm sitting at the hospital, with my new baby boy. The boy and wife are sleeping so I've got some time to get back into this thread. I've been thinking about it a lot lately. In particular, one part;
Sactown said,
"Good example: before the Troub show, some cat haggled Thes into giving him a little discount (not sure exactly how... the "long time fan" card, a pity story, buying a lot, not sure...), and then that same cat was in the front row of the show later, texting the whole time, no dancing, no enjoyment on his face, nothing. (I think Thes directed the freestyle that night at him to tell him to knock it off.) I'm sure they're cool with someone snapping a quick photo or recording their favorite part of a show or something, but why videotape an entire show to watch later or handle phone business (facebook, texting, whatever) in the middle of a show if you paid good money to get in the door? Seems like it goes against the purpose of a live show."
This really sticks in my craw. First off, haggling for a discount ticket? That's BS. Everyone goes through tough times but, if you can't afford a ticket, you can't afford to go to the show. But then to not even watch the show? Dude, yer out.
The first P show I went to, I bought a single t-shirt. That's it. I felt stupid for not spending more. I left that show with a wad of cash in my pocket. The next day, I thought about how much musical enjoyment the P have given me and it just didn't add up. Hours and hours and hours of their hard work that I have enjoyed for hours and hours and hours. I bought one f**king t-shirt? That doesn't make sense. Sure, I buy all of their music. They work too damn hard for me to f**king download it. I've had many people ask me to burn them a copy of some P albums. No. That ain't right. You go buy their sh!t if you want it. I've way too much respect for their work to just give it away. This is what they do and how they make their living and I think they do a way better job of it than most and I bought one t-shirt? For shame.
For this last show, I had a small fund that I had been saving up for months in anticipation of the show and I intended to spend every penny. A few days before the show, that fund doubled unexpectedly (one of the perks of living in Nevada). I could have just sacked the extra away but, upon thinking about it, even if I spent all of it at the show, The P would still have given me way more than I have given them. With that frame of mind, I spent it all. I walked out of that show with three of everything including unused tickets. Now I'm not saying everyone should do this but, I feel I got a rippin deal and I did everything in my power to make sure the fellas did well at the merch booth. I don't really know if they did or not but, I certainly did my part. It made me feel good to do so as well. They put the work in and I have reaped the benefits. It's the very least I can do.
I have given away a bunch of that merch. Free P for select folks but, all of it purchased from the P directly. Not some promo free stuff or a downloaded rip off. Real merch from deserving artists. I even got my mom rockin the new album in her car. It's funny to hear her quoting the P. Just imagine your mom saying, "f*** all this smooth sh!t. Niggas know who we are. Let's get into to some of this rough, B-boy sh!t right here." Yeah. Rock, rock on, Mom. Good is good and it transcends generations and genres.
I remember rockin the likes of Steve Miller, Chuck Mangione and Steely Dan on 8-tracks while ridin around in my chrome cat seat in the back of my mom's Pinto. Now I'm returning the favor. The hard work and dedication to the art by the P is part of that. Much love.
A little long winded, I know. This is some stuff I've been wanting to get off my chest. I guess I just feel people should show their respect for artists they truly admire. Everyone on this site does that and I think it's awesome. Thanks to Yo for giving us a spot to do that. I'm sure I'll read back through Sactown's stuff and comment on something else but for now, I'm gonna take my new baby boy home. Maybe we'll rock a little of the P on the way. Ha!
