Dear Jessica Brennan,
“This is my arena, not yours”. Those words recently got under my skin, but not for the reason that most people watching the Junos were angry. I wasn’t irked because a band was getting played off during their acceptance speech. I was miffed with the lack of respect in those words, that was shown to the non-celebrities as the program cut to commercials.
For those of you who are not Canadian, the Junos are our equivalent of the Grammys and a few weeks back, a band was played off because their speech ran over the allotted time. Really, is there anything more annoying than people who don’t prepare a speech that stays within the timeframe they have been given? This information about timing is given prior to people taking the stage, and it’s given to them for a reason. We’ve seen it at every awards show ever and no one likes it. Just stop.
The producers were patient for a time, but it became clear that no matter how long they waited the band member was going to keep talking until they went to a commercial which is precisely what they did. He seemed to want to make some sort of point about his authority which diminished the poignant reason he was there accepting the award in the first place – “This is my arena, not yours”, he told the Juno producers on live TV. The first question that came to my mind was, “Says who? You?” I’m guessing the Ottawa Senators would have something to say about that. Funny that in error they’ve called it the Canadian Tire Centre rather than naming it after this band.
In any case, perhaps his speechwriter had the flu or perhaps he got overly excited and forgot his manners. The truth is that taking on the producers of a show, or the crew who have been working in the venue since the wee small hours of the morning to accommodate you and the other artists who will waltz on stage for a full three minutes, is like offending your hairdresser mid-cut. Not too bright.
Now, before you write and tell me that he was using “arena” in a broader sense or you all send me hate mail because you’re long time fans of the band, or you are heated jump-on-the-bandwagon more recent fans, let me say this. I have met the band which I am intentionally not naming out of respect for them. I chatted with them for quite some time backstage at an awards ceremony a few years ago. We talked about music in schools and the sad lack of instruments, and things we could do together to support kids who want to learn the art of music. They were very nice and smart and polite. Likely even the one who thinks he owns the arena was nice I suspect. I know these are good people and maybe on this night, this artist thought he was having a laugh. But here’s why I didn’t think it was very funny, and Dear Jessica Brennan, you know we have this conversation in our house often. Here’s how the “Hey, rock star, you’re not that special” discussion usually unfolds.
Dad has often admitted, particularly this time of year after months on the road, that it is difficult to keep a lid on the ego, even for him who is known for intentionally staying in the shadows much of the time. Month after month of limousines and five-stars and standing ovation after standing ovation can make you feel a little well, self-important and inflated. It’s hard, he tells me to not feel like a bit of a god when you’re treated like one week after week.
I like to tell him he’s in luck. “Hey, it’s national Zeus Day and the celebration begins with taking 3 plastic bins to the curb.” Or, “Oh, honey it’s Poseidon Day and there is a lovely white machine downstairs for you to put your clothes in and swish around in honour of the water ritual your obvious deity-awesomeness deserves.”
Seriously though, I get it. Sort of. People stand up and cheer for you and you deserve it, but so do others who never get an ovation. Like the crew at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa who had to put up with this band, their fans and contemporaries, and of course the people who produce the Juno Awards.
We love our own rock stars, and to our many performing friends who get ovations, you deserve them all and more. We always are the first on our feet because it isn’t easy to stand on a stage for two hours and knock your brains out publicly to entertain people, and to do it with precision and grace. This I know for sure.
But all friends and Juno winners aside, in a broader rock ‘n roll sense, I imagine the limo drivers who have to get you to the airport and don’t stop halfway there to toss you out on the side of the road because they just can’t stand listening to one more word, likely deserve an ovation too. The waitress in small town America who pretends to be impressed by your stories who really just wants to go home and watch the three episodes of The Good Fight she has PVR’d, should get an ovation. Every venue that opens early or stays open late because of “who you are”, making staff work extra hours when they could be home with their families, should have an ovation. The managers who get up before you do, and go to bed after you do, and work on gigs for 6 months before you even know there is one, should get ovations. The operations people who find sponsors, schedule the rehearsals and performances and load-ins and outs and the VIP receptions that you attend. The catering staff who listen to you complain about the coffee in the Green Room and the guy who has to get a tuned piano into your dressing room. They should get an ovation. The stage manager, the wardrobe people, the nanny for your kids and the guy who cleans your pool. They all do a good job too. Oh yes, and your fans. Most people do a great job without ever getting an ovation, and sometimes they even do it in “your” arena.
I know this is a long blog, and perhaps I’m showing some of my own flaws in writing it, but that’s all part of the process here. As Dad says, “You’re only as good as your last gig”, and that means the gig on and off stage, and it certainly means a gig called the Junos. This is your arena? Sort of. But it isn’t just your arena, is it? So be respectful. You chose to operate business in a country that doesn’t put a lot of weight in the value of a star-system, so be aware. Be Canadian. Be polite.
Love Mum
xo
