Godspeed You! Black Emperor Wins the Polaris Music Prize and Issues Statement

The 2013 Polaris Music Prize was handed out last night at a gala in Toronto, with weirdo, post-rock band Godspeed You! Black Emperor winning the top prize. The Montreal band is known for its epic, instrumental mini-symphonies that are intended to make you feel stupid for not understanding what they actually mean. Actually, they're pretty damn good, and they deserve this award.

Stop With the Fucking Band Bios

If your band is on any number of social media sites (Facebook, MySpace, ReverbNation) you will know that you have to have a bio. Actually, you don't HAVE to have a bio, but the needledicks that run seminars at NXNE always say that you should have something. Personally, if I'm looking at a band, all I need to see is where they're from (if they're from Montreal they GOTTA be good, am I right?) and how long they have been playing together. Really, that's all you need to know. I don't give a fuck about the story of when you and the other founding member of the band met when you were at a Theory of a Deadman concert and immediately hit it off. We've all heard THAT ONE before. Just provide basic information that will give me some context. That's it.

Unfortunately, bands get it in their head that they need to write War and Peace when writing their bios. I can understand this trap for I too have been tasked with writing a bio or two. It usually ends up as trite drivel, as you would imagine. However, unlike some of my colleagues I discovered that the over-descriptive lovefest of a bio sounds like horseshit. Saturating your bio with over-the-top hyperbole just sounds ridiculous. I felt it best to just give listeners/viewers the basic facts and let them formulate their own adjectives for my music. Be confident in your music but don't compare it to Brahms.

The Return

I'm coming back. At least two posts will be out this weekend. I PROMISE.















(Photo courtesy @Seinfeld2000)