Our own RGD MIKE called out by G4.

[TheBotquax]

Derpin' around on reddit I came across this video and I am completely at a loss for words. The fact that any normal human being, let alone a "mother" could walk up to an aspiring musician and say this right to their face is appalling. Instead of going out and partying/doing drugs like a fair amount of 17 year olds, this dude decided to dedicate his life to developing a REAL talent and appreciation of art, and THIS is how his mother thanks him for that. For me, the absolute worst part is the fact that he has no answers or explanation for why he plays guitar so much, he just takes the bullshit that his mother is spewing at him without stooping down to her level (I would have flipped a shit if my parents did ANYTHING like this to me, but thankfully, they are 100% supportive of my endeavors).

I've heard that the maker of this video posts here so, if you do happen to come across this;

Never stop making music because of what others think about you. If anyone ever tells you that you are wasting your time or "not contributing to society", rest assured knowing that they are in the small minority that has never experienced music as an art form capable of completely changing human emotions and outlook.

AMEN.



P.S.(Crank that engl up to 10, if only to piss off your mom!!!)

[Into Obsidian]

Wheres Twisted Sister when you need them?!

[TimmaethBoy]

That time of the month for her, eh?

Uber bitch mode, engage!

[ilovefinnish]

i feel bad for him, but he must continue playing and doing what he wants to do

[ibanezcollector]

to play devils advocate there is always two sides to the story.

I kinda see what she is saying, if he does nothing but sit there all day, yeah he might become incredible at guitar but if hes not using it to his advantage ie playing out, making money, becoming a part of social people then she has a point.

Does he sit there and crank his ENGL in her house all day long that would even drive me nuts and I play guitar.

Does he work? does he listen to her? He is living in her house and looks young she mentions school so im assuming hes a college student.


There is always another side of the story. Keep that in mind.

[Blind Theory]

He originally posted that on this forum I believe, which obviously means he posts on this forum. You can probably find his thread about this via the search function.

[TimmaethBoy]

Oh shit, apparently she locked his electric guitars up in a storage room somewhere.



"Hai, you a good musician? You won't be needing those anymore."

[djpharoah]

Some people are the same with video games.

[Bloody_Inferno]

The guy himself made a full thread about it:

What is music worth?

[MFB]

Yeah, I was just about to say the uploader of the video is a member here

[mountainjam]

Wow. I missed this video the first time around. Dudes mom is a bitch. This video would have been epic if dude busted into a killer solo in the middle of the ladies rant.

[decypher]

lol

[EtherealEntity]

Yeah I saw all the threads related to this and the situation is utterly disgusting.

Originally Posted by djpharoah

Some people are the same with video games.

Totally - I was myself for 6 years.
I think there's a difference though. A musician creates something real, to share with others and benefit themselves emotionally. A game is still real of course, but at the end of the day those numbers on the screen are gone and you have achieved nothing.

On a casual level, yes, gaming is a totally valid form of entertainment, just like consuming any other artform. More engaging, even.

On an extreme level, I'd see nothing negative about a musician who enjoys playing all day to achieve their goals and better themselves as a person. That dedication is a great thing.
However, I could usually assume some things about the mentality of an extreme gamer. I think most people who have been there and can look back on it and realise that they weren't truly happy. Realise it was an addiction rather than an enjoyment - they felt they were benefiting emotionally but they really weren't. Either that or they knew that all along, but were too lazy and depressed to do anything about it.
Whilst I enjoyed every spare hour spent infront of a screen for 6 years at the time and was not at all depressed - Jesus do I regret it when I think of where I could be now if it were my guitar in my hands rather than a mouse. I think everyone who has been there feels the same in some way.

Originally Posted by ibanezcollector

to play devils advocate there is always two sides to the story.

I kinda see what she is saying, if he does nothing but sit there all day, yeah he might become incredible at guitar but if hes not using it to his advantage ie playing out, making money, becoming a part of social people then she has a point.

Does he sit there and crank his ENGL in her house all day long that would even drive me nuts and I play guitar.

Does he work? does he listen to her? He is living in her house and looks young she mentions school so im assuming hes a college student.


There is always another side of the story. Keep that in mind.

Absolutely - but I think you can tell from her attitude here and the fact that his guitars - his identity - have been locked away from him, that he is not to blame here and the woman has not a clue what she is causing.

Originally Posted by TheBotquax

If anyone ever tells you that you are wasting your time or "not contributing to society", rest assured knowing that they are in the small minority that has never experienced music as an art form capable of completely changing human emotions and outlook.

This is clearly true. This is the somewhat justified reaction that I would expect from the mother of an extreme gamer or general couch potato. She is unable to see the emotional difference that I wrote about above.
She asks in what way he is contributing to society. If she understood what feelings music can create, she would understand that satisfying yourself emotionally and being dedicated towards a creative goal is far, far more important than 'contributing to society'.

[Alpenglow]

Originally Posted by TheBotquax

Never stop making music because of what others think about you. If anyone ever tells you that you are wasting your time or "not contributing to society", rest assured knowing that they are in the small minority that has never experienced music as an art form capable of completely changing human emotions and outlook.

You summed it up. It still pisses me off watching this though. Half the time I am that guy, in high school and practicing guitar/writing music 2-3 hours a day. Good thing my parents completely support me though. I would've gone apeshit on my parent(s) if they did that to me.

[Explorer]

Originally Posted by ibanezcollector

to play devils advocate there is always two sides to the story.

I kinda see what she is saying, if he does nothing but sit there all day, yeah he might become incredible at guitar but if hes not using it to his advantage ie playing out, making money, becoming a part of social people then she has a point.

Does he sit there and crank his ENGL in her house all day long that would even drive me nuts and I play guitar.

Does he work? does he listen to her? He is living in her house and looks young she mentions school so im assuming hes a college student.


There is always another side of the story. Keep that in mind.

When the vid maker had previously posted, I had asked if the various charges she made were true or not. I never got a response.

Originally Posted by Explorer

I understand that she shouldn't have judged the OP for the two days after returning from Michigan. Is it possible that there is a much longer period of staying cooped up in that room which is being glossed over?

Obviously I don't know the OP, but there were a few accusations in that vid, the verity of which I'm curious about.

Does the OP stay in more often than not?

Does the OP average more than two hours on the computer daily?

Is the OP employed in any way? If so, how many hours a week?

I agree with those who surmise that these topics are probably not new... but if these frustrations have been building for a long time, then how long has the OP been repeating the same actions, enclosed in a dark room, with only photons on a screen to represent friends/"subscribers"?

Were any of her points real? Or did she just make them all up? Given the video you posted, it does appear that you're not in the brightest of rooms there, so if she's spot on with that accusation, I'm inclined to think there is definitely truth in some of the rest.

I have to admit, I'm still kind of curious as to whether or not this stuff was true.

[Fiction]

^ does it matter how much time he's spending? He replied with himself getting good results at school. If my son was bumming around and going no where I'd be pissed, but it he's playing guitar all day and getting good grades, it shouldn't matter.

[Explorer]

Originally Posted by Fiction

^ does it matter how much time he's spending?

Given how he posted a vid about how his mom made unreasonable accusations, then yes, the truthfulness of those accusations does matter.

Someone just making up a bunch of stuff is one thing. It's quite another if someone is actually bringing up legitimate, truthful points, and then someone says that that person is lying to discredit that person and to gain sympathy for themselves.

[ROAR]

"The mentality of your generation, just boggles my mind."

hahahahhahahhhaahaha
....ing old crazy people man.
One minute they're 20 and want to change the world.
The next minute they're 50 and hate everyone.
kill people burn shit .... school

[ittoa666]

Made this way back when the video was posted for the first time.



In all actuality though, I felt very sorry for him. I can see how some can't appreciate a love for music, but your parents? Aren't they supposed to support EVERY positive thing you do? I can't remember if he said there were underlying issues, but I can only take that video at face value. It's pretty sad.

[Enselmis]

Originally Posted by ROAR

"The mentality of your generation, just boggles my mind."

hahahahhahahhhaahaha
....ing old crazy people man.
One minute they're 20 and want to change the world.
The next minute they're 50 and hate everyone.
kill people burn shit .... school

Cause that's totally the attitude that will make people think better of pursuing music.

[Ironbird]

OK I'm going to be on the receiving end of some hateful comments here but...

Do we really understand the entire situation? Maybe his mom is right, maybe he is spending a little too much time playing guitar! My parents were like that when I was starting out (although nowhere as severe as how this dude's mom is) but now they completely support me because a) I got my university degree b) I got a good job

Maybe he is missing out on life because of playing too much?

[Slunk Dragon]

He mentioned that at the time he had a 4.0 GPA and he was going for an electrical degree. His mom couldn't even see the connection between that and amps. Really sad, really. I hope he gets out of that living situation as soon as possible.

[fps]

The amount of time I spent playing guitar has definitely come at a cost to my social development, even though I started playing late, at 17. My parents however were very supportive of me playing because I have a talent for it and they could see it made me happy, after a fashion, and that was important because I'd been very unhappy for a number of years. Every night at 11pm those first coupla years my mum would knock on my door, just next to their room, and say "we're going to sleep now if you wouldn't mind turning it down a bit", and I would sulk and make some snide remark, and she would say good night and make me a cup of tea in the morning. I guess you need that when you're a teenager, adults forget how unlike anything else that time of your life is once they're marched their road for a while. I was very lucky in that regard.

This woman needs to support the things her kid can do and wants to do, not tear down one of the pillars of a burgeoning person like that. Unfortunately being an adult, being a parent, does not make you wise, does not make you intelligent, does not make you a "good" person or parent.

In her own way she's just worried that her child isn't going to develop the skills he'll need when he's out on his own, and her point about how he would think her crazy if she just blasted country music all day was a HIT. But I think she's conveying the message, maybe inadvertently, that the skills he HAS developed are useless, and that's a real shame.

Plus anyone who uses the phrases "playing on their computers" or "the mentality of your generation" is probably in need of a break, if they're down to such lazy generalisations.

[myrtorp]

Holy shit! What kind of parent is that?

When I started out with music/guitar (I was like 16 I think, im 21 now) I was an insecure person, and if my partents said something like that about my music I might have just quit it for good.

Makes me wonder how many bad parents have stopped their kids from pursuing what they like.

[JStraitiff]

That woman is a bitch. But unfortunately this is what us musicians must face on a daily basis until we meet success. I cant tell you how many people have tried to "explain" to me that music is a hobby. These days if someone crosses that bridge with me they will not come back from it. I have very little tolerance for it. I cant wait for the day when i make it big or this guy makes it big and these people are all forced to suck a dick (so to speak )