More Dangerous Than the Internet Troll: The Backhanded Complimenter
The musician or artist is often forewarned about the danger of Internet trolls, but I warn you to look out for a more personal danger: the backhanded complimenter.
I met one of my Michigan-based, musician heroes this year. This musician happened to be at one of my outdoor gigs.
After my set, a mutual friend introduced us, and I thanked the local musician for listening to me. His response was, “I was really dubious of you when you sounded checked with that [cover song]…but you did really well with your own songs.”
Talk about taking the wind out of my sails!
Later that might, I considered removing that cover song from my repertoire, wondering if the song wasn’t “cool.”
Ironically, what’s not cool to the “hip” is often the song that gets requested the most. Playing that cover song gets tips, which helps afford birthday presents, groceries, guitar strings…
Ignore backhanded compliments; they usually come from those feeling discouraged about their art. And being a musician or artist is difficult enough.
Comments are closed.