Who Baby!

Danger Baby strikes back

First of all, it didn’t take you long in your article to

get things wrong. We are a five piece band, which if you more than

grazed the bio or even looked at the picture you would have figured

out. Regardless of this large mistake I was willing to listen to

your critical views. However, much of your review was drowned in

abstract descriptions and moronic soap-boxing. Statements like

“guitar-store-employee-type rock riff” lead me to

believe that somehow someone who works in a guitar store writes a

certain type of guitar lick, which apparently is common and

uninteresting. I never thought someone’s resume had an impact

on how crappy their music was – I always figured people who

worked at music stores were fans of music. Next, you stated our

music had an “overemphasized vocal.” Is it too loud in

the mix, or too layered, or not layered enough? Is it off-key? And

by employing this “overemphasized vocal” how does our

music become boring? Is it repetitious, is it not dynamic enough,

does it have a slim range? You throw out statements like the

previous yet leave the band and the readers wondering exactly what

is amiss. If we are bad, compare us to a similarly

“dimming” band, or at least explain yourself. The sole

purpose of a music review is to provide readers with an idea of a

band or musician’s sound. Instead you have managed to

completely circumnavigate this goal with reasoning contradictory to

your very purpose as a critic (to which I will address further

down). Rather than defend or explain your distaste for Danger Baby,

you take time out to attack Northwest Music Online. You claim that

“other bands” – which you admit you haven’t

heard – are more deserving of a “band of the

month” title. Unsupported statements like that make me feel

like a victim of musical McCarthyism. Then, not only do you bash

Northwest Music Online, you go on to bash places we’ve played

by calling them “local dives.” I am sure the owners and

patrons of the Eastside Tavern, Tom Grainey’s and J.T. Toads,

Club Savvys, Bogies, Boise State University, etc. are happy to be

included in such an unflattering statement. You criticize us for

taking ourselves too seriously, but then you rip us for playing at

places that are apparently a joke to you. You tell us that we

should make music that we like – which we do – and we

should have no expectations of succeeding, yet you set several

(poorly derived) expectations. Why are we being crucified for

having goals? We don’t feel we deserve fame simply because we

put together a press packet, and you are an arrogant dolt for

making such a leap. It’s obvious you hardly know us, our

goals, or even how many people are in our band. You see Brian,

you’ve lost yourself in a very contradictory type of social

venting. You cannot become a victim of mass media (MTV, radio,

etc.) without becoming an advocate of it – which you are as a

newspaper editor. You cannot even conceive what good or bad music

is without using what you’ve heard and seen as a weighing

mechanism. I thank the mass media, MTV included, for providing me

with an opportunity to reach outside of Boise, Idaho to shape my

taste in music. I don’t have to like everything I hear, but I

am grateful to hear it. Through media, I have developed a better

understanding of what I like and dislike and why. I am a fan of

music, and I reject the idea that Danger Baby is in the wrong for

taking pride in what we do, for setting goals, or even seeking

success. You take the easy way out when you jump to the conclusion

that we think we are superstars or we deserve fame. You claim we

shouldn’t care what other people think, but in your ranting

you overstep a very fine line. Part of taking pride in what you do

is finding the point at which your ideas and art can improve, and

become a part of other people’s lives; I have concluded from

your article that we didn’t achieve this goal with you, but I

think it is ignorant and unfair to criticize us for simply

attempting it.

Greg Sasser

Danger Baby Guitarist

---

A&E editor a ‘whining hack’

Brian Mayer is a ranting idiot, with little if any knowledge of

music. Besides the fact that he dismissed the band Danger Baby

without hearing them live, he uses his article as launching point

for a ridiculous argument. His claim that kids playing guitars take

rock n’ roll too seriously is about as meaningful as his

so-called experience with “many bands.” My bet is that

Brian-in his expertise – is nothing more than a whining hack

incapable of appreciating or recognizing real talent. The least his

broke ass could of done was gone to a Danger Baby show before

making such a bold claim.

Jason MacFarlane

---

Maybe Brian Mayer is the one in need of growing

up…

Mr. Mayer’s uneducated “review” of rock band

Danger Baby is a blatantly rude, immature opinion that was way out

of line. Until today I was considering offering him a simultaneous

news slot to post to our news column… but ethnocentric ranting

gets you nowhere in a business set up to support all music, not

just what you get wet to.

Starting at the beginning, the “quartet” Mayer

speaks of actually includes five (5) members. So, he obviously

didn’t even take the time to look at the so-called

“nice and very informative” press packet he received.

He completely missed the lead vocalist, Seth, whose vocal styling

and lyrics he called “cheesy, raspy, and

over-emphasized.”

Secondly, Danger Baby’s name doesn’t have to make

sense for them to be a legitimate band. Name one band, whose name

makes sense…then again, perhaps it does make sense, and dear

Brian is too uneducated to get it, who knows. As for being generic;

if you hate it, it can’t be generic.

More than once Brian mentions the word “pop

music,” which is a category that Danger Baby does NOT fall

into. This fills us in on what Brian’s favorite type of music

is. Thus, explaining his warped and ethnocentric opinions about

music as a whole. If the only form of music he thinks exists and is

legitimate is pop, of course Danger Baby is going to be crap, as is

any form of rock music, followed by punk, country, classical, and

basically anything that’s not pop.

Skipping quickly to the end of Mr. Mayer’s article, he

says, “…have no expectations, success in music does

not depend on record deals or press reviews, if you like what you

do then you are successful.” This statement alone contradicts

everything his article is based on. He bashes the guitarist, the

lyrics and vocalist, the album as a whole and even goes as far as

to bash their name. Yet he says if you’re a musician doing

what you love and having a good time, you’re a successful

band…well, in my opinion, Danger Baby is the epitome of a

successful band following those guidelines. This being why Danger

Baby has been ‘Band of the Month’ on Northwest Music

Online…and yes, perhaps more than once.

Which brings me to the basis for my whole rebuttal to

Brian’s article…I’m the marketing director for

Northwest Music Online (

“http://www.northwestmusiconline.com” target=

“_new”>www.northwestmusiconline.com). And to answer his

question that blatantly slanders our company; NO, neither are we,

in any way, the parents of, or are we run by, the band Danger Baby.

The band of the month is chosen by our founder monthly and based

usually on some accomplishment a band has made and that he deems

noticeable or worthy (i.e. a new member, a new album release,

etc.).

Sometimes it’s just what he’s in the mood for.

Either way, just as The Arbiter allows Mr. Mayer to publish his

ridiculous opinion, we are allowed to promote whom we chose. No

matter how angered I am by the amount of slander involved, thanks

for the name dropping, Mr. Mayer; our site hits went up twofold

since you mentioned us just this morning. Our site is basically run

by and for bands. Our goal is to get bands seen and heard in an

unbiased and all encompassing way. Any band and any form of music,

from any location, is able to sign up on our website. Band listings

are free of charge to all bands in the Northwest (Idaho, Oregon,

Washington). It makes a great avenue to keep bands in touch with

each other, with fellow musicians, and with recording studios,

press pack opportunities, venues/bars, and the music loving

populous of the world. Besides band listings, we have classifieds,

news, and events calendars, an online radio station, and much

more.

I am a BSU student, and was appalled when I picked up a copy my

school’s paper. Not only was an entire half of the 5th page

dedicated to biased bashing of a fairly prominent local band, whose

name is rather well know around campus, it also bashed a supportive

local business, NWMO, along with BSU itself. BSU and the Arbiter

should be appalled by its supposed A&E editor, who’s job

is to support local arts and music. The least he could do is take

the time to be fully informed before he spouts off ethnocentric,

immature, uneducated opinions.

Please check out

“_new”>www.dangerbaby.net to make your own judgments and

href=”http://www.northwestmusiconline.com” target=

“_new”>www.northwestmusiconline.com /

“http://www.nwmo.us” target=”_new”>www.nwmo.us for further info

on this band and other local bands. Feel free to email me,

“mailto:bobie@nwmo.us”>bobie@nwmo.us, with any comments,

suggestions, or to get involved with NWMO.

ROCK ON!

Bobie McKelvy

Marketing Director, NWMO

---

Danger Baby rocks

It seems to me that a review of a band should not end with the

sentence, “Those are my thoughts, I would like to hear

yours.” This implies opinion, which is what this particular

article is, not a review. It is a heavily biased, uninformed,

mediocre attempt at a music review. So, Mr. Mayer, here are my

thoughts, since you are so eager to hear them.

I am a chick. I listen to chick music. I listen to feminist

folk/rock music. I listen to Ani, I listen to Tori Amos, I listen

to Bitch and Animal. I generally don’t listen to the type of

music that Danger Baby plays. However, I do listen to Danger Baby,

because I’ve gone to a few of their live shows and, honestly,

they rock. I am open enough to attempt to experience music outside

of my “type,” which it seems you, Mr. Mayer, are unable

to do.

Danger Baby has a wide range of talent and diversity in their

songs. I have not heard the demo in question, but I’m sure if

you were to list the songs that were included (there were three,

not an arduous task, I’m sure) and perhaps comment on them

individually (a little trick most reviewers attempt to use, you

know, commenting on the actual music you listened to as opposed to

music as an industry), I could probably add my own blurb about each

song.

I do know that “We Charge for Water” was included on

this demo you heard, and had you listened to it more closely you

might have commented, on a musical side, that there is a section

near the beginning that shifts from a hard rock sound to an almost

electric folk sound back to an almost desperate hard rock sound.

This distinguishes it from their other songs. And this is only one

example of a distinguishing feature of a song.

Additionally, had you listened to the lyrics, you would have

noticed the metaphorical value and clarity of thought in “We

Charge.”

Perhaps what is confusing to you is that each song has the same

lead singer, or the same drummer, or the same bass player, lead

guitar, rhythm guitar. Well, let me let you in on a little secret

– each song on the demo was recorded by the same band. Eddie

Vedder was lead on all of Pearl Jam’s songs, and some of them

sound similar, but each song is different. There will of course be

similarities between the songs – they are written and

performed by the same people. I imagine if I use this article as a

gauge of your talent, I can make the inference that each of your

subsequent articles will be the same mediocre, close-minded

drivel.

So, for anyone who is interested in actually forming their own

opinions instead of taking Mr. Mayer’s opinion as the gospel

truth, go to

“_new”>www.dangerbaby.net and find out when the next show is,

or they will be playing Face Off November 13 at Boise State.

Patri Ann Thompson

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