I simply followed the disdain. I didn’t create it, I wasn’t the first person to decide Candi and Khan were being unfairly propped up by a system that was either being exploited or must be disrupted. I just capitalized on it.

If Candi had been smart she would have stopped this whole thing in its tracks by thanking everyone for their input, acknowledging that it is always hard to find a balance between corporate requirement and “rock and roll” (but that she and Khan would continue to try), and then going about her business. If Candi had been smart she would have done ANYTHING but retreat in to obscurity and censor the hell out of her blog. Maybe she would have changed her content for awhile, maybe not. All she had to do was make the public issue go away – dissolve the drama of conflicting parties by mediating them, temper the scandal of someone daring to call her out with non-chalance. It’s not hard, and it’s not difficult to conceive of that solution. But that’s the whole point: Candi is an idiot. She is an idiot who won an opportunity based off the simple qualification of surname (see comments) and has failed to fill the role she was given.

There is a thriving Brisbane music community, and it certainly deserves to be promoted, represented and discussed in a way that does it justice. No one is expecting artistic integrity here. Please. I’m not grovelling at the feet of C-M and beseeching them to think of the scene. I know these are buzz words, I know the blog rides on the back of an established culture and ineptly tries to penetrate its media habits. Duh, as the kids say.

But at least operate on a principle of equal exchange here. Pillage our interest, but give us something interesting. We tried to extend this thought to Candi and Khan several times. People have been offering her these comments ever since she arrived with her contrived “rock chick” outfits, her painful photo poses and her chirpy, insubstantial blog posts. Not only have she and Khan ignored this stuff, they’ve suppressed it.

That’s how you become Bad Business in any sector, let alone one based around fostering relationships and interactive discussion. I think it is important to understand that when you hold a position of public relation (literal definitions, not industry stigma), you are accountable to and at the mercy of that public. Whether you think what they say is significant, whether you think it is right or entirely dimwitted, you have to engage with them. It’s your only safeguard against being crucified.

You can only leech off the credibility of a publication name for so long before the switch flips and you begin to discredit it. That’s where BrizBands is at. They are obviously aware of this, that is why their actions are based on premises of fear and avoidance. For future reference, BrizBands, the answer is to listen and respond. Because when you won’t, we find others who will.

Do you want to know why? Because we dig journalism, and we dig Brisbane music, and we dig being threatened with professional repercussions for making blog posts.

Everett True says:

Also, dear reader, if you’re reading this blog and feel that this sort of rubbish masquerading as reportage should not be allowed to continue, please write about it on your blog and also notify the online editor at the Courier-Mail (cmonline@qnp.newsltd.com.au). You will be performing a public service.

Sincerely,
Saint von Peepz0rz.