Evan Kremin Live On Stage!

Time once again to reach into the old comment bag and see what people have been saying to me since the last time I did this a few months back.

Today I'll just do one. I got this comment last month on my post about Evan Kremin from last October, from some guy who calls himself Richie M.

I've been to a few Emergenza nights and seen Evan Kremin perform. Out of dozens of bands to compete, his band keeps making it to the next level. I'm not saying the whole room loves him universally, but a lot of people seem to think he's doing something right.

But his music is beside the point. Think it through for a minute: This guy writes his songs, rehearses his band, probably pays them for non-paying gigs, and then sticks his neck out performing in NEW YORK FREAKIN' CITY, the toughest crowd on the planet. He's creating something and, whether you care for it or not, he has the nads to get out there and try like hell to sell it over. What do you do? Is this blog about the sum of it?

Worst of all, when someone searches his name on Google, as I did, the first hit to come up is your blog. Think about what that does to a potential fanbase, let alone to the guy himself.

Listen to your friends and your conscience (which you reveal), and at least take his name off your blog. Offer him the same anonymity you grant yourself. Call him "EK" or something.

I don't see what roasting him does for you. You seem like a fairly witty guy -- decide whether to use your brain for good or not.

OK, let's assume that Evan Kremin himself did not write this, despite my inclinations to the contrary. We'll go ahead and assume it is just one of his friends or family members, which is his fan base.

Yes, Richie, if that is your real name, the crowd at the Emergenza nights (i.e. battle of the bands) does seem to be into him. But have you noticed that after the show he walks up to just about every person in the room that was cheering for him and seems to know their names and gives them a hug? Being able to fill a bar with your friends so that you can win a meaningless band competition doesn't make you any good. It makes you pathetic, and his friends aren't doing him any favors by encouraging him like that either. A real friend would pull him to the side one day and explain to him that he sucks and that mullets haven't been hip since 1986.

And like I pointed out in the original post, Evan's got an ego the size of Montana and people like him deserve everything they get and more. I also said that I considered not bashing the guy in my blog that day but after seeing his myspace page he became more than fair game. He describes himself on that page as having "sex appeal," being a "gifted singer-songwriter" and even calls himself a "golden boy." He also claims that they are one of the "Top 5 bands city wide!" Seriously. He should call it his masturbation page instead.

If he was really one of the 5 biggest bands in the city of New York, why can't he get a gig any other place than the one where he is the sound guy? One thing I learned from spending so much time in the clubs in Seattle, the sound guy's band always sucks. That's why they only play the club where he works and usually on a Sunday night.

I still can't think of anybody I've seen in a while that deserves to made fun of more than this twit. He is a legend in his own mind and no one else's. That's why I used the Christopher Guest analogy in my original post.

And his music is the most god-awful shit you've ever heard.

As far as what I get out of "roasting" him, did you see my blog's under title? That should make everything pretty clear.

And I'm not hiding under any sort of cloak of anonymity as you claim. That is my real name in my profile and my real city location. So I don't get your point there.

As someone who once had a fledgling theatre career I've had my work reviewed many times, in real publications too, not just some random guy's blog. And some of it was bad. One show I did in Boston a couple of years ago earned me a serious dressing-down from a local paper. So what? For starters, I got what I deserved on that one. The show plain sucked. Second, that's what happens when you put your art out there. Some people are going to hate it. A big chunk of the time it is deserved.

So what did I do when bashed like that? Well, nothing. I certainly didn't get one of my friends to write the author to bitch (wink wink, Richie). I even saved that review.

But tell me, Evan's friend, what are the rules for using anonymity? What if I loved his music? Then it would be OK to use his name?

Sorry, you don't get it both ways. If you want the good stuff to have your name, you have to take the bad. Roger Ebert doesn't bash on the latest Lindsay Lohan vehicle and refer to her only as LH during the review. That would be stupid.

By the way, I think that warning people about Kremin's music before they find themselves in a club exposed to it is doing good. A public service if you will. I know I wish someone would have warned me about it before I walked in that night.

Though that's not really true. I was really happy for the blog fodder. I've been thinking about going to a club to see him again so I can drink some beers, have a few laughs and get more material. It really is like seeing a Christopher Guest movie come to life. Or the fun of watching a really bad TV show or movie á la Saved By The Bell or Grease 2.

And oh, yes I did know that when you typed in his name to Google that my blog was the first thing that came up about Evan Kremin. I was pretty proud of that. I even emailed my friends to point that out. It made me giggle because I figured he was the kind of guy that Googled his name a couple of times a month in a vain attempt to find some actual reviews of his work.

Well he finally got one didn't he? If I'm the only guy that's written anything about one of his gigs, what does that tell you about his music?

Exactly.

But alas, have lost my top spot on Google for "Evan Kremin." It appears he clicked his myspace page enough times to put that on top and some listings for his upcoming gigs, at the previously mentioned place where he's the sound guy, coming after that.

I've fallen to about fifth or so now.

Hopefully with today's post title I can take back the top spot.

So thanks for reminding me Richie.