I just thought I'd share with you a letter I sent earlier today to James Rotondi, Editor-in-Chief of "Guitar World's Bass Guitar Magazine". It obviously reflects my views and no one else's, and if you think James should be told something different, I'd encourage you to write him at:
[email protected]
James,
I'm going to keep this note short in hopes someone on
your staff will actually read it and share it with
you. I'm not sold on your publication and here's why:
1. Your content needs to stop being a watered-down
version of last month's Bass Player. The Geezer
Butler cover is a lamentable case in point and this
issue is full of similar re-hashes. If you care about
your magazine and your credibility, KNOW what's out
there already.
2. Your reviews are pathetic. Not every critical blow
needs to be softened. I no longer read BG's reviews
because they ALL come to the same bottom line: "It's
not for everybody, but if you like it, you like it!"
Gee, thanks for the value-added analysis.
3. The Editor's Letter is too much about you and too
thin on message. Compare yours to Bass Player's Ed's
Letter which neatly occupies a full page--NOT one-half
ad, one-quarter face, one-quarter message. That
letter is where you should be articulating a vision
about the community BG serves. So far, that vision is
"Hey look at me! I played keyboards with Mr. Bungle!"
No one cares, son.
4. Stop allowing publication of readers' letters that
slander other magazines. I hope Rolling Stone sues
you to drive that point home. It makes you look, and
your staff look, like petty trailer trash.
5. Please. don't. ever. let me read again that
something ought to be part of an on-tour survival kit
because it doubles as a "roach clip" (pg 49). And
don't even try to say that was in jest--nothing else
in that column is keyed to humor. Encouraging illicit
drug use, or any illegal activity for that matter, is
about the most journalistically irresponsible thing I
can imagine. Shame on you, for real.
6. Few things say more about BG's attitude toward
music than the decision to go tab-only. While the
immensely respectable Tommy Shannon uses his column to
encourage readers to obtain and learn Bach's Sonatas
and Partitas for Solo Violin--three pages later, hello
Tab City! Does one extra page of that litter
box-ready newsprint cost THAT much?
7. The Sarzo outro piece was spot on. Too bad it was
marred by at least one grammatical error unacceptable
in an undergraduate term paper. Doesnt MS Word have
a spellchecker?
8. I'm wondering if you are aware how quickly
Bassdom has coalesced into a vibrant online
community in the past two years. If you've missed it,
check out
www.talkbass.com. Check out
www.bgra.net.
And check out Bass Player! Love it or hate it, that
magazine's emphasis on a worldwide playing community
and on solid musicianship has sparked a minor
revolution in the history of the instrument.
Bottomline: I want to see your magazine succeed and I
think everyone else does, too. If you asked me to
help somehow, I would do so in a second-because the
bass instrument and the bass playing community embody
a spirit of inclusion, honesty, and above all, mutual
support. But in the end, it is up to you, or your
successors to create something original to offer that
community. The day I see you rise to that challenge
is the day I renew my subscription.
Best regards and good luck,
Brian Kaye
P.S. I've cc'ed Bass Player on this note because I
mention them extensively in the body of this letter,
and it just seems appropriate
