Trash Talking
Recently when I took the girls to a museum downtown, we passed a man in a trashcan playing music.
His sign says, “If you feel inclined to take a pic, please be kind and leave a tip.” Then there’s something in another language followed by 50p.
As we were going by, a lady dropped a coin on his blanket and then took a photo of him. He stuck his head out the other side to yell at her for having not given him money. She pointed to the coin and he kept scolding her anyway, saying nobody was allowed to take photos without paying first.
As she insisted that she had paid, someone else took his photo and he started yelling at them.
So while I had no interest in taking a photo of him until that point, I then did take his photo and am now sharing it here publicly without having paid him because frankly if your business is to engage with the public, you ought to learn how to do that without being a complete asshole. I’ve happily supported many indie musicians for years – even having done volunteer PR stuff for more than one – and will continue to do so, but none of them ever needed to go looking in the trash for their talent or for their customer service attitudes.
Fuck you, trash dude! We are too allowed to take free photos, and the way you yell at your actual paying audience is even more rubbish than your music.
#ohSNAP
PS If you want some awesome indie music from wonderful people, I strongly recommend The Biscuit Brothers, The Roving Gamblers, and Monty Harper. Those are all folks that treat customers well, produce great stuff, and do tons for their community, all without yelling at anybody.