Here We Fucking Go Again
Second verse, worse than the first.
The unthinkable happened. Again. Donald Trump has once again been elected president of the United States of America. Despite, or perhaps because of, being a racist, bigoted, fascist, convicted felon with a brain that is quickly rotting into a moldy tapioca, Trump will be back in charge. And he’s bringing the dumbest, meanest, internet-pilled ghouls with him. It has been said countless times over the past few months and undoubtedly in the months to come, but this will be an incredibly difficult time for most, if not all, of us, but especially for those most vulnerable.
This is, ostensibly, a heavy metal website, and while that is far down on the list of important things in life, it’s worth discussing here. So what does this all mean for metal and music at large? The first time Trump was elected, some people divorced from reality predicted that it would be a great time for punk rock a la the 80’s and Ronald Reagan. That, of course, did not happen. That’s just the nature of the modern music business, the drying up of local scenes, and the coagulation of musical styles in the internet age. Will we get all-time bangers that people in 10, 20 years will be looking back and say “That was it! That was the moment music changed”? Maybe, but probably not. Times have changed and music has changed. What most likely will happen over the next four years will reflect the struggles at large that we will all have to deal with soon.
Being a working musician is difficult. It always has been. Those difficulties increased during the pandemic years. Venues closed, members quit to find reliable work, transportation was unavailable, fans stayed home, and on and on. Trump and his ilk have already warned of economic hardship. We’ve already been dealing with economic hardship! The rich have been getting astronomically richer, while the average person has had to fight against stagnant wages and cost-of-living increases. Inflation coupled with businesses hanging consumers upside down by their ankles to shake out the last couple of pennies in our pockets has put an incredible strain on households. It will only get worse and double for those hitting the road with instruments in hand.
If Trump’s tariffs actually come to fruition (who knows if that will actually happen, remember when he was going to ban vaping for like a week and then settled on banning some flavors instead?), that will hurt musicians in unique ways. Amp busts some tubes down? Fuck you, pay them. Van needs new breaks? Fuck you, pay them. Want to make a limited editing jelly bean splattered vinyl? Fuck you, pay them. On top of that, food and grocery prices will increase. Y’know, the things you need to live. Money can be thin on the road and even the Dollar Menu isn’t just a dollar anymore.
Then there’s the case of venues cutting out bigger slices of merch sales from bands. Do you really think that will go down? Of course, not. These unscrupulous spaces will be emboldened to twist the knife in bands’ bottom line because they want their piece too. Venues have their own problems and want to supplement their bills with yours and bands’ money. It’s always a struggle for local venues, even in good times. The pandemic knocked a bunch out and we’re still feeling the ripple effects. Ticket prices keep going up and fees from ticket vending corporate vultures are making it even harder to see live music. Ticketmaster doesn’t give a fuck about you and with a grifter-in-chief, there won’t be anyone in charge to even feign concern and pressure to bring down obvious price gauging.
That’s if you still have local venues and not just one or two major venues left. There’s also not much to stop, say, an attention-desperate oligarch with too much time and money or an investment firm to open up a chain of cookie-cutter Cyber Venues, squeezing out the remaining local bars and spaces, pushing whatever soulless tripe and MAGA-friendly chucklefucks they want while casting outspoken metal, hardcore, and punk further and further away from those that want it. But that hasn’t happened. Not yet, anyway.
Bands with members the most vulnerable to the jackbooted goons who want to kick everyone out of the country that doesn’t look like them or worse will have even more hostile environments to contend with while playing out. The “safe spaces” that these Andrew Tate-worshipping goobers have derided for years will become a necessity. Emboldened bars and venues can choose not to serve “your kind” and will be backed up by hate-fueled legislatures and cowardly officials. Local and state laws in certain parts of the country have been shifting hard that way over the past few years and it will only spread further.
Even if you don’t fall into a vulnerable group, you still have to contend with your own personal health. Even in the best of times, healthcare in this country is a gamble, especially on the road. Car accidents, falling or failing equipment, fights, lots of things can happen when you’re out there. Trump and his private insurance goblins tried to kill the Affordable Care Act during his first term and the only reason that survived was because Republican Senator John McCain voted it down. He’s gone now and Republicans have added more members to the Senate. What will they replace the ACA with? Nothing. Throw in the oncoming deregulation that has caused an increase in food-borne illness outbreaks and the brain-wormed influence of Robert Kennedy Jr who wants to gut the FDA, there’s an increase of eating something bad on the road or catching a once-eradicated virus. You think emergency room visits or seeing a doctor “out-of-network” is bad now? Good luck in a couple of months.
Of course, the metal scene itself has plenty of braindead, Youtube-educated, numbskulls that are currently crowing about Trump’s victory. It’s the usual bunch, as you would expect. These people will claim that “metal is for everyone” while publicly fighting online with anyone that calls out their backwards, hateful thinking and music. One of the more galling things about this election is that these people are taking joy in the genuine misery and fear of people that may actually be fans of their music. These musicians don’t deserve an ounce of happiness or joy and they definitely don’t deserve your time or money. They will only get louder and dumber, encouraged by what has happened and what is to occur. Bands, you don’t need to play shows with these people. You don’t even have to be nice to them because they sure as hell are not nice to others.
No elected official, no court of law, no news article, no viral social media post, no divine intervention will pull us out of this. And, no, metal alone will not unite us, either. What do we do now? Where does that leave all of us? With each other. We are our greatest resource and support system. You, me, all of us can help each other in large and small ways. Do what you can, when you can, however you can.
Buy albums directly from bands. Buy merch. Go to local shows. Sign up for Patreons. Make music. Create art. Be there for each other and yourself. Speak out, loudly, against the misogynists, the racists, the anti-Semites, the homophobes, the transphobes, the selfish, cruel, sneering monsters that infect your scene, your work, your neighborhood, and even your family. And if words don’t work, do what you have to do to defend yourself and others in need.
Are you in a band? Book shows at alternative DIY venues. There’s probably halls, lodges, and clubs in your area that are reasonable to rent. Play the house party at the punk house. Book at local artist and collective spaces. For fuck’s sake, don’t do pay-to-play shows or fests with 20 local bands. Share gear. Recommend local shirt and sticker printers. Work together. Talk. You don’t have to rely on those that are looking to rip you off and call you names while they do it.
I have comforted myself over the past few days by remembering that we somehow got through this once. We can do it again. Piece by piece. Day by day. Survive. Live. Grow. Thrive. Don’t let the bastards get you down. You are the greatest asset. You are loved. Stay strong. We’ve got your back and you’ve got ours. Never forget that.
