From: How Should We Handle Meltdowns?
Touring is tough, being a band is tough, hard work is tough. Unfortunately, bands sometimes fall prey to meltdowns, even on stage.
I didn’t know what to think about the Wavves debacle. I don’t know if it’s even relevant now that Nathan’s daily routine is balanced by weed, “because shit is just so hectic that without it I’ll just blow a gasket. There’s a lot of weird pressure and backwards politics behind the scenes that goes on that I never knew that I would actually be involved in to just have people listen to my music…” (via)
Last week, Ida Maria walked off stage in the middle of a song. She then canceled the rest of her US/Perez Hilton tour. She talks about a bad day at the start of this video. See her sudden goodbye at 7:30:
From hasn’t toured yet. I can’t say that I know what I’m talking about. But now might be the perfect opportunity to figure out a meltdown strategy.
What should we blame for going off book during a song? Are drugs and alcohol the classics, or will they trend down as an excuse by the time we tour? Should we leave the stage immediately or finish a super shitty performance, giving ppl a complete evening/more video content? Should we post an apology on the blog or take to Twitter? Does it count as a meltdown if we’re all LOLs during an interview and say something we wanna take back after people freak out about it, like Vivian Girls’ Chili’s/office work comments? Did Kanye have a meltdown when Taylor Swift beat Beyonce at the VMAs?
I’ve been reading a lot about how the Perez tour might not have been a good idea for Ida Maria. Post-meltdown, she comes across as a damaged heroine – she tried to make it work but the burden of the tour broke her down. The meltdown was just her true self standing up to bullshit corporate expectations. Breaking down on stage tells people that you realize you’re a niche band, but someone else roped you into some ridiculous business plan to expand your audience or maybe cross over.
Seems that having a meltdown is a way to communicate that you’re a real person, that touring is just what the man makes you do, and that you are willing to sacrifice your health for your fans. Scares me that I care about my well being; maybe that makes me unrelatable. I don’t wanna die or gain weight (booze is made of calories). Ugh.
It’s been a while since I posted about From’s process. Here are some previous posts on T-shirts, box sets, canvas bags, the mascot, and potential scandals.
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