Drugs and Jazz., to some the words have become to mean the same thing. Werner’s opinion that jazz artist turn to drugs because of a lack of audience response, is only half right in my opinion. I think that the fact that the audience is always demanding more from them is more of an issue. People start out liking an artist then they get “board” of the same thing, they want to see them live and be entertained also. They want the artist to wow them every time they step on stage. This is a lot of pressure for any person. I feel that the constant pressure of the fans and the industry leads to a life of drug and alcohol abuse. Not just for jazz artist but for artist of many genres.
I have know a few struggling artist and when they start out it is all about fun and making it “big”. Then, when they start to get popular, it is all about getting “bigger and better”. It becomes a struggle to keep the audience entertained and finding a wow factor. Some of these artists got lost to drugs and alcohol. They say that the pressure is just too much. Pressure from them elves, from the fans, the record produces and managers just keeps mounting. One of my friends told me one day that he felt as if nothing was ever good enough. That “they” always wanted more and better. . A few of them say that they were much happier before they had musical success.
I also believe that the provenance of drugs in the music industry is a major factor. I think that to a certain extent it is tolerated and some times expected for the artists to do drugs. Major artist go on huge tours and work log exhausting house. All the while, we the audience want them to be fresh and excited as if it was the first show. How do they cope? Well I think that is where the drugs come into play. They take some thing to help them have more “energy” or to get through this performance. Then one thing leads to another and then they become full on addicts. Maybe they feel as if they “need” something to get them trough this performance or to just make it through another day.
I also feel that as a society we are way to accepting of this type of behavior. If an artist comes out on stage all drugged up we may say how upset we are, maybe. However we will still listen to their music and buy their records. Some times we expect them to be on drugs. Like jazz musicians. We feel as if it is part of being an artist.
I know that this is not the case with every artist but I think that with many of them it is. I could not even begin to image the huge amount of pressure they must feel day in and day out. It must be very hard for them.
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The blog titled Jazz is a well written blog. It caught this reader’s attention. I liked the way the writer put his/her words together. It made it interesting reading. I also liked the way the writer put his/her opinion about drugs and Jazz. The blog made me think about these artists who struggle with drugs and the reasons why these artist turn into drugs. I like how the writer gave more than one example why an artist might turn to drugs and that it isn’t just jazz artists it’s also other types of music artists. Like for example the pressure of the fans and the industry wanting them to perform to their best ability or even better, and I have to agree with the writer that is a lot of pressure for the artist. To stay on top of their profession, they struggle doing that and find themselves falling. Some of them find themselves turning to drugs. So they could get out of there depressive mood, and the stress they are going through. Another reason the writer wrote about why Jazz artist turn to drugs has to do with their long hours. Which I have to agree, I want to thank the writer for writing an interesting blog.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the words drugs and jazz are coming to mean the same thing. I think its sad because jazz music has nothing to do with drugs. I dont believe that jazz artists turn to drugs just because of the lack of response from their audience. I think that if they turn to drugs, there must be something else going on in their lives to promote this. I agree that drugs are accepted to a certain extent in the music world. Its sad to say this because drugs should never be tolerated for anyone no matter how much money they have. Our society is learning to accept this kind of behavior also which is crazy. Artists go out on long tours and work many hours, but this should never lead them to do drugs. If they cant keep up with their schedule's they should not be on tour to begin with. If they cant cope with the stresses of their tours, they need to stay home. Many artists say that they were happier before they started their music careers. I believe this is true because going into it, they had no idea of the long hours they would have to spend working and on tour. I bet if you asked an older artist if they would change their career choice if they had the chance, they most likely would. I believe this because they have gone through all the stresses of the music business and know what comes with becoming a music artist.
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