D Nuts || February 29, 2008
Music writing for a local paper is tough enough without being new to the town in question. The job is naturally social--you go to smaller shows, become a familiar face in venues, get to know the people making things happen. That can cloud judgment enough as it is; what if you've got the added burden of taking everything you hear in a club at face value? When you're new to a music city, you might wind up believing the shit you hear or see.
Pete Freedman, newest music editor at the Dallas Observer, did not overcome this hurdle in his first notable, opinionated column since moving to town a month or two ago. His review of last week's Melodica Festival could've been good if the guy wasn't so wide-eyed. Biggest problem? Looks like he just met Mwanza Dover, the dramatic, excitable and polarizing organizer of the show. It would take someone fucking crazy to organize a fest like Melodica--to get the fricking Silver Apples to play a one-off gig, to attract a decent number out-of-town art bands to bad-rep Dallas, to convince so many Exposition Park bar owners to be a part of a fest without any advertising budget. I'm not hesitant to call Mwanza fucking crazy--and with fests like this, his overzealousness and flair for the exaggerated are downright necessary.
Of course, had the new music writer in town been familiar with Dover (or read the umpteen articles about him in his office's archives), Freedman might've taken everything he says with a grain of salt. Instead, Freedman decided to make Dover's banter the central chunk of the story while the rest of us filtered it out, going so far as to call the fest Dover's "Bar Mitzvah." And as a young writer new to town, it's tempting to write down every weird or over-the-top thing Dover has to say and run with it.
As a result, the kid caught hell, and not just your usual "what about my band?" hate mail. Some really substantial posts can be found in the article's comments thread, particularly three--yes, three--club owners' well-reasoned defenses of what the festival was about. (And as an aside......dude, you pissed off Club Dada's love-everyone Amanda Newman. How the hell did you do that?) I agree with most of it, but that doesn't mean I don't get Pete's motives here. Beyond the desire to whip up some potentially incendiary copy, he wants to say, "Quit beatin' yer chest and do something to expand Dallas music to a greater audience," and it's the kind of thing someone who hasn't played music in Dallas for roughly 15 years would say. Shit don't work that way, Junior. To be fair, maybe that kind of naive perspective will prove valuable at some point, but what's disappointing is that, unlike Freedman said, Dover wasn't blowing an opportunity--he was really on to something here. Planting seeds of interest and new community, striking while Internet promotion is hot and proving that grassroots operations can make something out of nothing.
I know Pete could care less whether or not Melodica placed an ad in the Observer, but more than a few folks in the neighboring sales dept might've. Maybe that's the interesting story here--one Pete would've picked up on if he were familiar with the Wall of Sound Festivals thrown by Spune Productions. They've tried the same thing that Pete wished happened with Melodica--expensive multi-day passes, mix of locals and nationals, attempts to really ignite the mainstream Dallas interest in local music, a serious marketing push. It. Didn't. Work. I love the Wall of Sound Festivals, but honestly, it sounds like Melodica was way more sensible with its approach. I'll agree that to some extent, the choir was preached to, but when the choir builds momentum and steam with an organized, compelling fest like this, converts show up in a slow, staggered manner. From the sound of Melodica's crowds, there were more people at the fest than the 20 anons who bitch on We Shot JR's comment threads.
And that can be the best part of the music editor job, Pete--making sense of who these people are in the crowds, what draws them out to a show, and why an outsider would want to get excited about what's going on. Maybe having your judgment clouded by getting social with these folks, rather than calling them nose-in-the-air hipsters, would do you some good.
Pete Freedman, newest music editor at the Dallas Observer, did not overcome this hurdle in his first notable, opinionated column since moving to town a month or two ago. His review of last week's Melodica Festival could've been good if the guy wasn't so wide-eyed. Biggest problem? Looks like he just met Mwanza Dover, the dramatic, excitable and polarizing organizer of the show. It would take someone fucking crazy to organize a fest like Melodica--to get the fricking Silver Apples to play a one-off gig, to attract a decent number out-of-town art bands to bad-rep Dallas, to convince so many Exposition Park bar owners to be a part of a fest without any advertising budget. I'm not hesitant to call Mwanza fucking crazy--and with fests like this, his overzealousness and flair for the exaggerated are downright necessary.
Of course, had the new music writer in town been familiar with Dover (or read the umpteen articles about him in his office's archives), Freedman might've taken everything he says with a grain of salt. Instead, Freedman decided to make Dover's banter the central chunk of the story while the rest of us filtered it out, going so far as to call the fest Dover's "Bar Mitzvah." And as a young writer new to town, it's tempting to write down every weird or over-the-top thing Dover has to say and run with it.
As a result, the kid caught hell, and not just your usual "what about my band?" hate mail. Some really substantial posts can be found in the article's comments thread, particularly three--yes, three--club owners' well-reasoned defenses of what the festival was about. (And as an aside......dude, you pissed off Club Dada's love-everyone Amanda Newman. How the hell did you do that?) I agree with most of it, but that doesn't mean I don't get Pete's motives here. Beyond the desire to whip up some potentially incendiary copy, he wants to say, "Quit beatin' yer chest and do something to expand Dallas music to a greater audience," and it's the kind of thing someone who hasn't played music in Dallas for roughly 15 years would say. Shit don't work that way, Junior. To be fair, maybe that kind of naive perspective will prove valuable at some point, but what's disappointing is that, unlike Freedman said, Dover wasn't blowing an opportunity--he was really on to something here. Planting seeds of interest and new community, striking while Internet promotion is hot and proving that grassroots operations can make something out of nothing.
I know Pete could care less whether or not Melodica placed an ad in the Observer, but more than a few folks in the neighboring sales dept might've. Maybe that's the interesting story here--one Pete would've picked up on if he were familiar with the Wall of Sound Festivals thrown by Spune Productions. They've tried the same thing that Pete wished happened with Melodica--expensive multi-day passes, mix of locals and nationals, attempts to really ignite the mainstream Dallas interest in local music, a serious marketing push. It. Didn't. Work. I love the Wall of Sound Festivals, but honestly, it sounds like Melodica was way more sensible with its approach. I'll agree that to some extent, the choir was preached to, but when the choir builds momentum and steam with an organized, compelling fest like this, converts show up in a slow, staggered manner. From the sound of Melodica's crowds, there were more people at the fest than the 20 anons who bitch on We Shot JR's comment threads.
And that can be the best part of the music editor job, Pete--making sense of who these people are in the crowds, what draws them out to a show, and why an outsider would want to get excited about what's going on. Maybe having your judgment clouded by getting social with these folks, rather than calling them nose-in-the-air hipsters, would do you some good.
posted by Sam M. at 12:49 PM
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