| Re: "Can stand losing you,’ by David Bright, Viewpoint, February 22-28, 2007.
Your article on the reunion of The Police was extremely dim. The notion that musicians should create music solely for the sake of their art and without expectancy of financial gain is arrogant and ignorant. Professional musicians, like artists of any type, earn their money through years of hard work, just like professionals in any other business. Visual artists and musical artists are generally the most underpaid of the lot. Among my peers, one of our favourite jokes is, ‘I’ve been a musician for 30 years I’ve made hundreds of dollars.’ We find it humourous because it hints at the truth: our years of devotion to the work we love haven’t exactly made us rich. Granted, sometimes groups like The Police hit it big and do become wealthy. As they prepare for a reunion tour, Bright laments the fact that, in his opinion, they’re too old, and they’re doing it for the wrong reason: money. He seems to feel that in order for musicians to have any artistic merit, they should wallow in indie anonymity. Well, I’ve done so for 30 years (The Black Dots, The Remones, Zuckerbaby), and the street cred ain’t all it’s cracked up to be. Does Bright expect to be paid for his article, or does he just write for the sake of his art? Will he continue to write when he’s old? Rather than accuse mature musicians of being shallow for doing what they love to do (and hopefully make a few bucks), Bright and others who share his viewpoint should look in the mirror and consider how they’d feel if this view pertained to themselves.
P.S. Rock ‘n’ roll isn’t a "bloated, whored-out corpse," it’s alive and well, even right here in Calgary.
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