No Falsies

It's funny how last year, I was a Twitter boycotter, and now I'm using several different applications and programs to manage my tweet campaign. For me, this micro-blogging miracle has become one of my strongest tools to promote, educate, and give fans or colleagues a chance to glimpse into the world that is P. Murray. Of course, allowing such a transparent method of communication to spearhead my artistic campaign has it's dark side - you never know what kind of crazy folks are watching you. Still, I decided to take that risk and never look back.

With that said, I find it so interesting how people can act on Twitter. In the post-modern info age, we've learned, almost subconsciously, how to funnel our feelings into short messages and blogs, so as to try and accurately portray ourselves. Most times that portrayal is an honest one. But with sites like Twitter, you find that alot of folks (particularly music folk) have made the decision to use the platform as an opportunity to go "Hollywood' on us; that is, Tweet things about themselves or their situations that are partially or entirely untrue. What people who do this tend to forget is that the business is only but so big, therefore your bearing false witness about your daily biz will more than likely be turned out in the end if you keep pushing the facade. Just sayin.'

In addition, I've seen how fellow music tweeters decide that once they have a few key celebrity followers, their entire 'Twittatude' does an abrupt 180'. Suddenly the brazen, no-holds-barred artist you saw tweeting before is a demure, Christianized performer who loves everyone and has issues with no one. Now the person who was once so communicative with their fans only replies to people that are 'in their circle' or on the same rung of networking they are. It can be a bit nauseating. Usually I end up unfollowing those folks.

I believe that the key to the success of any aspiring artist that is independent is some level of honesty and transparency. Changing your whole style up because your positive now that 'important people' are keeping an eye on you is just making you look like a butt-kisser. It may be that those same important folks were watching you from the sidelines and you didn't know; playing to their appeasement is only a way to make you look more desperate. I decided that, while I have made the choice to be far more aware of what I write, I'm still the same P. Murray that opened up his public Twitter account, and that is the P. Murray I want everyone to know (including Brandy, Dru Hill, Swizz Beat, Kevin "A&R" Shine, and Steff Nasty - those are just a few of the folks who are part of my follower group).

Bottom line? Do you and be you. it's the best thing you can possibly do or be ;-).

An Open Letter to the UC Lounge & LES Productions

[Sent on August 20th, 2010]

Greetings:


I am sending this as an open letter to your company and establishment to express my acute anger, disappointment, and resentment at the series of events that transpired yesterday evening in regards to what was supposed to have been my third performance of this year.

Earlier this summer, I received what I deemed to be an automatic response to my newsletter from your staff, letting me & my team know about open dates and times available to perform at the UC Lounge on Ludlow Street. Though normally I am a proactive artist and search out venues myself, I took this message as an opportunity to conveniently book a day for the performance I was planning in August as per my marketing & promotional abstract. I responded to the message with a specific date & time: August 19th, 7pm to be exact. The response came back that the time was available and my slot was confirmed, along with contact information should I have any questions.

As the date got closer, I took it upon myself to reconfirm the date, time, and space for my show, entitled, "Pop-Hop." I was sent back that reconfirmation, along with details of the backline and what particulars I would need to be aware of to ensure a smooth evening and show. I took it on good faith that if any problems were to make themselves present, I would be notified beforehand. I even went so far as to visit the UC Lounge two nights before the actual show to get an overview of the space. The gentlemen I spoke to seemed confident that there wouldn't be any technical or logistics issues, and so I left, confident that Thursday the 19th would be another successful event. Evidently even this "detective work" wasn't enough to have things play out the way they were supposed to.

When I arrived at the UC Lounge at around 6pm, I was told by staff that because I had done the e-mail booking with 'Bruno (whom I have yet to have met or speak to),' that there was a complication with timing. Apparently, I had been double booked with another, more involved performance from a music school. I was then informed that I would actually not be able to use the stage or equipment until 9pm, possibly later. While I remained nonplussed, I assure you I was livid.

Please be aware that I understand completely how back-to-back shows can run into and over each other. But I was guaranteed the 7pm time slot for this date, received REcomfirmation, and was not made aware of any scheduling issues until an hour before the night of my gig. I would have even been willing to concede to an hour delay, knowing how situations like this can occur. However, completely shifting my start time to OVER an hour-and-a-half behind my slated time WITHOUT notifying me in advance is unprofessional, unethical, and absolutely unfair. It is for these and professional reasons that I had to officially cancel my performance at the last minute, to the disappointment of my colleagues, family, and fans. Keep in mind that I had musicians with other professional appointments that evening who were ONLY available for the 7-8:30 window of time, as well as corporate representatives and music industry executives who had promised their attendance because of the accessible time frame.

In short, this has put a serious damper on several of my networking opportunities and business relationships, simply because no one on your end thought it wise to call and let me know about this problem in enough time to deal with it in a timely manner.

Were I a more vindictive individual, I would have use my connections to the NYC Fire Department to have your establishment inspected; seeing as how poorly the staff operates, I have no doubt there are several unsafe building code issues that more than likely have been overlooked, which I assure you would not be passed over this time. However, I will pacify my need for reprisal by editing this personal e-mail and creating an open letter for my fans & colleagues to see. Please note also that I will be forwarding this e-mail to any and all of my close musician and industry associates as a warning to stay away from booking anything with your company and this establishment; believe me when I say that my words have no problem reaching very influential eyes & ears. In addition, should I find out from even the smallest group of artists who have had similar problems with LES Productions & The UC Lounge, I will promptly be filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau.

It is my sincere hope that others like myself do not have to experience such poor professional conduct with folks like you. I do wish you well in your business endeavors; as this has been a hard learning experience for me, I advise that it is the last time you let something as egregiously improper as this happen to you.




--
Regards,
Joseph P. Murray