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(4/5/04 8:15 pm)
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A Press Release We Recieved
Didn't really know who this band was, but we just received this press release from them and it was kind of interesting. Sounds like it came from the heart. Fair play to the guy. Hope he doesn't mind us throwing it up here.
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Romance Is Dead Press Release
March, 2003
Romance Is... Dead
By Blake Norton
Ex-Frontman, Romance Is Dead
After a whirl-wind year on the fringe of mainstream notoriety, including an album launch, substantial radio airplay and a national tour, Romance Is Dead have left the Irish music scene as quickly as they burst on to it.
Of all the reasons I could cite, only one matters; I didn’t want to do it any more.
The last act of the band was to turn down what I felt was a profoundly dodgy offer from Hotpress, which essentially bought us an endorsement in their yearbook for four hundred euros – not an advertisement, an endorsement. We bought an ad with them before our tour a few months ago, and in return were given a news story – in the news section, not the advertising section - singing our praises like the second coming. Things like that make it hard to believe anything one reads, no matter how nice all the people I worked with at the magazine were (and they were). I'm sure they're not the only publication that works that way, but that doesn't make it right.
The month before that, we’d done an interview with Iris magazine. The girl who interviewed us – very nice and friendly she was, too – grumbled about her last interview subject only giving mind-numbingly boring one-line answers to every question, making us promise not to do the same. So Bob and I gave her a one-hour interview, talking about the origins of the band name, our taste in music, our aspirations, life philosophies, the whole nine-yards. When it was published, the article’s headline mocked how much we “like to talk,” and pulled just three quotes from the entire conversation – two of which were answers to inane questions at the tail end of the interview, one of which was Bob explaining what he’d hypothetically pull out of his burning house! I realize full well as a former magazine editor that the interests of the subject and that of the publication diverge, but surely there’s some inkling of a friendly middle ground, even if it is only two inches wide?
The only reason of substance that I ever wanted to play music was for the reality of it, the opportunity to touch in to and share something beyond our basic conscious selves with those in my community. I know there’s something more than what we see and hear in our daily lives because I’ve written happy songs when I wanted to come across as sad but just… couldn’t. That’s what “real” is. “Real” is what you are, not what you want to be perceived as. The music industry, it has become abundantly clear to me, is not only superficial; that I could have dealt with, that I was prepared for.
The Irish music industry revels in the mockery and disdain of genuine intentions.
As time went on for Romance Is Dead, more gigs, more airplay, more radio appearances, there was more and more unsettling diversion within the band. None of us ever liked the way the business is, but I decided openly from the outset to keep an eye on the bigger picture and operate within that framework in order to achieve something genuinely positive. Somehow, through my basic acceptance of what the industry is, people somehow began to see me as an advocate of it. Ultimately, I can't cut a seven minute song to three and a half simply because it will get airplay; and either I cost the band by staying true to the art, me and my silly, sentimental songs, or I do what's best for the band's success - and regardless of who you are, a band needs some form of success to re-enforce our belief that we can make a difference to our community - as a "sell-out." There was purely and simply no way for me to appease my band mates, to act in any manner they’d ultimately be truly happy with, and there was no way for me to appease myself. It was an irresolvable catch-22, and there was only so long that I could even try to play the middle. I entered this industry with every good intention, and I’m just not prepared to put myself in a position where I get blasted and treated like a bad person every day for years in the hope of the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Sooner or later, you begin to believe the negativity. Any worthwhile journey is reflected in the path one takes, and I found myself on a road laced with gratuitous punishment.
Being a manager-come-frontman totally and truly sucks. People treat you like you think you’re superior, they treat you like you get “more” of “everything.” What, exactly? Money, fame and hot-chicks? There’s more bills than income, marginal dime-a-dozen fame which puts you in your place on a daily basis, and I already have a wonderful girlfriend. Anyone who enters the business for reasons like those aforementioned is an idiot. The only thing you get “more of” is abuse and blame, and from all sides. The only people who should try being frontmen are those who don’t give a damn about anyone but themselves, and therefore won’t care about the unavoidable barrage of abuse, or those rare few who are surrounded by people who realize that being the frontman of an independent band is not a privilege, it’s a sacrifice.
And so end my words of warning to every other band, who would – and should – disregard them as I did the heeding call of all those before me. You have no idea how much better my quality of life has been since I left this Godforsaken industry in my heart last month, but hey, you never know unless you give it everything. I’m glad for every day I spent a part of it, for the enlightenment if nothing else, for helping further teach me what is real and what is not. In the immortal words of Stewey, “Damn you all!” I regret nothing!
All new music from me will be free on www.RomanceIsDead.com, as will an update on the happenings of Bobby O’ Halloran and Dr. Brendan Munroe, the crazy cats who continue to follow the dream.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart to the many people who were so genuinely kind and supportive. No, you weren’t enough to keep me in the business, but you have ensured that I’ll look back on my band days and smile!
I realize that most of this letter came across as being far more bitter and angry than I really am; but that's life. What’s important is that no matter where you go, no matter what you do, there is one thing that makes us all the same – you, me, everybody. Everybody -
Woo-ha!
Eternally yours -
Blake Norton
Professional Wrestler, Writer, Entrepreneur…
…oh, and Songwriter.
www.BlakeNorton.com
Rock On Nivola, Irish Unsigned, Music Matters International.
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