Nearly all of us these days have a Facebook or a MySpace (soooo 2009) or a Twitter or a seemingly infinite amount of other options for internet connectivity to our pasts and presents. Some of us even have a combination of these places to show everyone how we live our lives and secretly compare them to our "friends." ha. ha. Most of the time, at least for me, these sites are a cool way to do just that (except the comparing part). I have friends that are funny and I enjoy reading the crazy shit that travels their nervous systems from brain to fingertip on keyboard.....or cell phone. I also enjoy seeing the pictures of them doin' what they do. Watching babies grow up, blah blah, all that. Don't get offended, I'm just trying to get to the point of this one.....
So the other day it suddenly dawned on me that not everything about the social network experiment we live in is awesome. I had sent out invitations to my friends to come to our house for my birthday celebration. The convenience of sending that "event invitation" and knowing that it would be a one stop shop, instant gratification thing that we as a society have grown accustomed to. Out of 40 invitations I sent, less than 10 people actually responded to it. Of those, a few actually told me if they had more notice they would have come. I didn't bother letting them know that I sent the invite out a week ahead of time. In my world seven days is plenty of notice. I don't get offended if people have other plans, I understand that kind of thing. Scheduling conflicts are everywhere. I don't think less of myself if someone just doesn't want to come either. I'm gonna have a good time no matter what.
It occured to me the day after the party that the same thing was going on with invites I've been sending out regarding shows that the guys and I play. Send 'em out, not many respond. I put a little post up on Facebook asking if I was the last one there to realize that people just ignore them and sorta hoping that it wasn't just me. I got some truth. Out of the four responses, three told me they pretty much ignored event invitations. Wow. That is exactly the thought that went through my mind.
Now, I do understand some of the frustration that some of you might have with them. I get invites from people I barely know (yeah, yeah save the wisdom, I get it) who are in completely different states. Dude. I'm probably never coming to your show. If I'm in or have plans to come to your town, I will check in with you then to see where you're playing and I'll be there. I'll make one small amendment to that statement, by saying that I do have some friends in the music business that I like to see the events come in just to know that they're out there working. It's good to know they're out there doing it.
I try to be polite about my invites by doing a few different things. 1. I have all my Las Vegas Area people on one list (Facebook does it for you for hell's sake) and those are the only folks that I send the invite to. 2. If I'm playing at one venue for consecutive days, I only send one invitation and explain that it's for the duration of the gig. 3. I have a few people that I send "come on out's" to for the reason I explained in the last paragraph. Pat Watters and I have even made a game out of it by clicking the maybe button because "you never know....." And, that's it. I use my upbringing in the process of inviting by being respectful, but still promoting myself and the band. I guarantee that I am in a very small minority.
Because I'm artist who has this tech to take advantage of and because I've always thought it rude to ignore other artists, I do my absolute best to answer each and every invitation and add a little blurb on their walls. I say this to all of you who are reading today because....well maybe you just don't understand what it takes to be someone who isn't a household name. With all the time we spend Socially Networking, it only takes a few more seconds to head to that section of your home page and click yes, no, or maybe. I promise you I will never be offended by the folks that click no. To the contrary in fact. I appreciate the folks that do so, if only because they took the time. To all you I say thank you very much. To those of you who ignore, just remember that your response just might make someone feel good about themselves and the effort they're putting forth while chasing a dream....even if you click no. Believe it.
To all my fellow Event Inviters I say this: Think about who you're inviting. Don't just throw a blanket deal out there because Facebook lets you. It's not necessary. The amount of people who are your friends or like your page doesn't provide any justification for that kind of thing. Stick to those who are more likely to come. Let your peers know what's up. I'm sure many of them are like me and will be happy for you that you are out there gettin' it done. But if you're in L.A......
As for me, I guess the old school is calling with the test message, email, and phone call.
