Micheal wrote:
Lets ask Monte, who does entertain for pay,
Monte - When someone asks for song that you disagree with the message or reason for,
- Do you refuse with political or ethical reasons explained?
- Do you decline politely, no one needs to know why?
- Or do you just sing it because that is what you are paid to be there for?
- Something else entirely, please explain.
Great question, and a complicated answer.
I find a lot of value in religious music, and sing it fairly frequently. In the music I write for the SCA, the Christian god is frequently mentioned. Why? Well, my persona is Spanish and is a devout catholic (as one might expect). For a time, I even wore a fairly elaborate crucifex, but stopped doing so for ethical reasons. I just didn't think it was terribly respectful of me to wear that symbol, even as part of my re-creation.
Around Christmas time, I am happy to sing Christmas songs, even though I'm not christian. I see them as works of art, and I enjoy singing them. However, I have to enjoy them. For example, I do a mean "O Holy Night". But I generally decline to sing songs like Jesu Bambino (mostly because I don't like them much). I couldn't really tell you where that line exists, but I know it when I see it.
Would I do a Christmas show? Yep. Would I do a Christmas show for an organization that worked hard to deny equal marriage rights? Not if it was just me, my guitar, and a microphone. I simply wouldn't take the gig. However, if I am in a play or doing fight work for a company, that stuff doesn't matter as much.
Quote:
Do you have an ethical position on this?
Is singing the song anyway selling out?
Do you dislike singing songs (for pay) that your political or ethical positions disagree with?
That depends. It's hard to disagree with some of the beauty that's out there when it comes to religious music, and it is very fun to perform.
I certainly wouldn't sing "Have a Homosexuality Free Christmas" or "God Hates Fags At Christmas Time", but those songs really don't exist. And if Focus on the Family offered to pay me to come sing at their office Christmas party, I would decline.
Quote:
Or is it a case of professional ethics where your political and ethical positions were never discussed before signing the contract and you feel obliged to honor the contract?
[/quote][/quote]
If I sign a contract, I hold myself to it unless I am asked to personally do something seriously distasteful, and that thing was not disclosed when I signed the contract (I dont sign a contract where I will be uncomfortable with something ethically). Again, there is some separation between doing a music gig and playing a part.
For example, if I was cast to play a homophobic bigot, I would dive into it head first. How best to display the horrors of that sort of bigotry than to really display it? I played Angelo in Measure for Measure, I had to play through a near rape scene. I am very much against sexual assault, domestic abuse, etc, and so I really threw myself into that scene in order to make it as jarring as I could.
I don't really care who my audience is, generally speaking, if I am in a play. I do care who I am working *for*, and what they do and how they do it.
edit - and as a final note, I would "sell out" in a heart beat. Which is to say, if some fancy producer came up to me tomorrow and offered me a bunch of money for a record contract, I'd take it. That being said, I would make sure they understand where my lines were. So I guess I would sell out, but only so far.
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It feels like all the people who want limited government really just want government limited to Republicans.
---The Daily Show
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