Well, dear readers, long notes ahead and we can just dive right in with the following rant – what is it about people who’ve never had much success and who are not very talented always coming after people who have eked out a living in the show business in one way or another for fifty years? What is it about projection – them putting on you what they, in fact, are doing? What is it about petty, childish behavior that makes the petty, childish person look petty and childish? So, the history first: When we began our online shows, we chose the second Sunday of the month at 5:00/8:00. At the time we announced our show there was not a single other show happening on that day at that or any other time. But after that, Sunday was suddenly the only day that people wanted to do shows, at our time or just before. When we did our second show, we found there were three other shows that same night. It got worse from there. It was like, why not do the first Sunday or the third or fourth Sunday, why is it the second Sunday? Joining that fray was someone I know who was doing a little choral video, five minutes in length or thereabouts, and suddenly they were putting there’s up one hour into our show. I found it really odd. Robert Yacko, who’d been asked to do their choral thing even called them on it on Facebook, saying why don’t you start a half-hour before our show or just wait a half-hour. The response from the person I know’s partner? “What’s Kritzerland?” Of course, the partner knew very well what Kritzerland was, since I’d hired his better half to MD the last live Kritzerland show we did back in March. After this, happened a second and third time, I finally e-mailed the guy I know about it. This was a few days ago. I said I was baffled by it, baffled why anyone would WANT to split audiences (not that our people would tune out suddenly) when it would be so easy to avoid the issue by doing the first, third, or fourth Sunday or any of the other six days of the week, or even delaying by thirty minutes – I said it almost seemed willful. He wrote back a nice note, saying it wasn’t intentional and it was just coincidental. I took him at his word and wrote back that I simply thought if they could just delay by thirty short minutes everyone would probably come out better for it. I heard nothing further. Until last night around four-thirty.
I received a PM on Facebook, a nasty little PM from the partner who’d said, “What’s Kritzerland?” Well, it’s never a good idea to start off with a nasty little PM and I responded that it would probably be in his best interest to back off and watch the tone. He was upset that I’d “demanded” they change their schedule. Of course, I hadn’t demanded anything, just suggested, and I told him that and that he could, of course, post their little videos whenever he liked, but that I felt Sunday was just turning into a huge glut. That should have been the end of it, but he could not stop. On and on he went, hurling one insult after another. I didn’t lose my temper and responded to him in kind occasionally because you can’t say things like that to me and not get it back. Of course, when you do that, then they do the weary old trick of, “Look how nasty you’re being.” He said nobody watches our shows and our “ratings” are pathetic, with only 100 people ever watching our online shows. I said I didn’t know where he was looking, but last I looked the anniversary show had close to 1100 views on YouTube and over 2000 views on Facebook. I said I wasn’t great in math, but I was good enough to know that 2000 and 1100 doesn’t add up to 100. He’d simply looked at the first number, which was for the interview show, a show we never really even publicized – with Facebook, about 400 people watched, which was fine by us. I said I didn’t care about “ratings” but that he was quite wrong in his assessment. And on he went.
He accused our shows of being vanity shows. I had to illuminate him that for the first seven years of our shows I, in fact, refused to ever have my name on the blurbs and flyers. It was only when Doug became co-producer that I said okay to it because I thought he’d like his name on it. There is no vanity in our shows – the shows are about the singers, the history, and putting on the best show we can. To which he replied, “Good God, your ego.” It was at this point I began to understand I was dealing with someone with the emotional maturity of a plant. He went on, “Your shows are boring and use a lot of mediocre singers” and that I was a “terrible host.” “No thinking person watches them,” he said. I said, “Ten years’ worth of thinking people have come to them and enjoyed them.” I continued, “Mediocre singers, eh? I will personally let Robert Yacko, Kerry O’Malley, Petula Clark, Beth Malone, Debbie Gravitte, Adrienne Stiefel and the rest know what you think of them. What are you, twelve “effing” years old?”
He couldn’t stop, and said, “Yeah, let’s talk about your favorite, Robert Yacko… you should hear some of the horrible stuff he’s sent us for ours! He’s one of the worst singers of the lot. Petula Clark sounded like shit on your show. No idea who Adrienne Stiefel is. I have to drop him (Yacko) out of the mis he’s often so bad. To which I responded, “I hope you understand that I be passing this along to him (Yacko), you foolish little person.” He actually responded, “That will only make you look bad.” I told him that he already won the childish award. Then he accused me of calling him names and intimidating him. As I said, projection, since that’s what he was trying to do from word one. I’d already forwarded to Yacko the comments. After more of his nonsense, I finally said, “Make your videos, be happy, and put them up whenever you like, and the world will go round.” His response? “There’s a reason your shows are so poorly attended and you’re proving it right now.” I said, “Listen to yourself, seriously. And on he went: “Mabye you’re past your prime then… time to throw in the towel. Find something new to do.” I said, “Past My Prime – great song. When you HAVE a prime, we can discuss who is past their prime.” After a few more back-and-forths, I said, “I take the twelve-year-old comment back because that’s an insult to actual twelve-year-olds.” He went on about the shows so I said, “Don’t watch them, how’s that for an idea.” And then he had the chutzpah to say, “I’ve never seen one, I just have to endure hearing them from afar when (name of partner) has them on. I said, “Oh, you’ve never seen one. That’s even better.”
He said, “Yeah, I can’t bear vanity projects with mediocre talent like Robert Yacko.” I said, “That’s why you begged him to do your videos.” (And he had begged Robert.) And on and on it went. And I reiterated that I’d sent Robert the entire conversation. Then he started on my career with, But then your career reflects that. I said, “When you have a career such as I’ve had you may feel free to comment.” He said, “Hon, what career?” I replied, “Hon, I don’t know, fifty years of a career as an actor, writer, director, songwriter, Grammy nominated producer?” His response? “Nominated, LOL.” But that’s the game – belittle something you’ve never had and then play the victim. I told him I was proud to have been nominated. He said of course you were proud to be nominated, you love to toot your own horn. I said, “When someone says ‘you’ve had no career’ it requires a reality post. Then you accuse the person to tooting their own horn.” I added, I’d say you were acting like a five-year-old, but I think we can just skip right to toddler. And then this from him (any kids reading, skip to the next paragraph): “Go give your girlfriend Yacko a blow job.”
I blocked him soon thereafter and saved the entire volley. Then this foolish little person texted Robert and said not to believe anything I might have told him. Robert said he had this guy’s exact words in front of him and that he was done and never wanted to hear from this guy again. They had several volleys, too, and the guy backed off because he couldn’t argue that he’d said all those hateful, stupid things – he offered some sort of inept apology, but Robert wasn’t having any of it. I should have probably chopped him off at the legs much sooner, but it was like watching a train wreck. He literally told me I was the most hated person in show business and that no one ever attended our shows. I said that wasn’t it an amazing feat to do ten years of monthly shows and play to completely empty rooms and yet keep doing them? He also said the tech in our shows was terrible – remember, shows he’s never seen. No matter that his little videos take him hundreds of hours to edit and mix, something that would take Hartley about two hours and it would look better than the amateur stuff they do. So, that was long, wasn’t it? I just thought you’d find it fascinating. If I’m the most hated man in show business (no mean feat) I’d certainly wear that as a badge of honor. But I wear all his petty, childish insults as a badge of honor, frankly. Blocked forever. And if I REALLY was the nasty person he thinks I am, why I’d just post the entire thing on Facebook, which would ruin him – no one would take part in anything he did if they read the entire thing, start to finish. Do understand, you only got the highlights – there was worse.
Otherwise, yesterday was a sort of a kind of a day. I did get nine hours of sleep, did stuff that needed doing, did work at the piano, listened to tracks and sent them on their merry way, finally have all but one person for the opening group number, and then I made two tuna sandwiches, which were very good. After that, I did some work on the computer and then came the volley. After the volley, Robert Yacko and I chatted about the whole thing – he was as put off as I was, and he really gave both of them an earful. After that, I sat on my couch like so much fish.
Last night, I watched the first forty-five minutes of Alfred Hitchcock’s Family Plot. I’d completely forgotten that Ernest Lehman did the screenplay. I really didn’t like the film when it came out, for many reasons, but I’ll finish it up before writing about it. After that, I had my little Zoom reunion, which was fun. Then I knew I had to begin these here notes as they’d take over an hour to write, and that’s what I did.
Today, I’ll be up when I’m up, I’ll do whatever needs doing, I’ll hopefully pick up some packages and mail, I’ll eat something, then I’ll watch, listen, and relax.
The weekend will be working on project one, finalizing the last of the Kritzerland show stuff, and relaxing.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, be up when I’m up, do whatever needs doing, hopefully pick up packages and mail, eat, then watch, listen, and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Friday – what is currently in your CD player and your DVD/Blu and Ray player? I’ll start – CD, just listening to stuff that’s in iTunes. Blu-ray, Family Plot and then other stuff. Your turn. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, wearing that entire sorry volley as a badge of honor.