Comments on: BUMSAP promotes underground music scene

By: John F. Doe

John F. Doe — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 19:53:23 +0000

To Trent Houghton and any BUMSAP supporters:

I would like to start with this: You are all, by supporting this miniscule organization, essentially shoving yourselves into an oxymoronic world in which each and every member (especially it’s creator) is simply trying to “toot their own horn” if you will. The whole point of underground music is to avoid mind-dumbing social networking sites like Facebook. Don’t you get it? UNDERGROUND means UNDERGROUND. The only reason this group was ever formed is so that a few certain people would actually feel like somebody was listening to their mindless babble.

Ultimately, I tend to believe that the bands who do make it into the Showcases at Belmont are, in fact, very talented bands. Therefore, please avoid undermining their music simply because your poor little “underground” band probably could not even make it past auditions. The bands who do make it into these showcases got there through hard work, hours and hours of practice, and diligent networking. So, again, don’t hate on us just because we did it right.

And one more thing. Please don’t take it personally when bands opt out of becoming a part of BUMSAP. I have bore witness to multiple occasions where members of bands have been verbally ridiculed, insulted, and downright disrespected because of their own personal perspectives. This behavior is both inappropriate and incredibly unprofessional. Seriously. Cry me a river…

Thanks,
Everyone Else

By: Trent Houghton

Trent Houghton — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 23:20:37 +0000

Frank, I agree with you. College is designed to do what it is supposed to and Belmont does it wonderfully. I should’ve chosen my words more carefully on this quote, maybe saying something like:
“Belmont teaches the commercial world of music and how to get into it and leaves out the different areas of things like DIY marketing and the bands that did it differently. Making money DOES correlate with success, but in this business, what’s accessible sells.” What I was trying to express is the feeling of sacrifice a music lover has to make if wanting to be “successful” in the business of businessmen AND artists. Independent labels are hardly even mentioned in some courses. The “third-world” music business is negated. It’s harder to make money playing metal or punk instead of writing/finding songs for the radio. In today’s model, we may be better off doing it ourselves, marketing to the ones that will buy, than to wait to get picked up by a profit-searching suit.

By: Frank Serafine

Frank Serafine — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 03:00:12 +0000

“Belmont teaches kids to make money and they teach artists to sell themselves to make money and that turns off so many people…”

Trent and these types of students are crazy to think that a college, which is an institution designed to educate you on how to be successful, is doing wrong by them by teaching “kids to make money”. That’s called SUCCESS.

If monetary success turns you off and gives you artistic fulfillment, then go ahead and live in obscurity and barely scrape by like a jazz artist. Live in the underground. If this is not what he is saying, then he should have chosen his words better.

My band, Dark Hound, is associated with BUMSAP, but I do not feel he or the organization represents my views now, given this statement from him. I understand BUMSAP is trying to build an artistic community within an artistic community, but I feel that being ignorant to or even against what is successful is not in the spirit of higher education.