Musicians Aren't Just a Bunch of Losers, Ezra

As mentioned in a blog post back in March, I write for an online music magazine called Sticky. One of the perks of being a contributor is the opportunity to not only meet an assemblage of talented musicians but to see them perform live. And the majority of these talented musicians are neighbours of mine. They live, eat, work and play in the same city as I do – the city of Toronto. Most citizens (if not all) can agree that this is one of the greatest cities in the world. When reading The Atlantic earlier this month, I stumbled upon an article dubbing Toronto as the second best city in the world for business, life and innovation. Next to New York, Toronto is apparently the land of opportunity.

For musicians, the ample land of opportunity is becoming more like a smidge of hope in a gutter. Now that our current Prime Minister Stephen Harper got a majority government earlier this month, musicians, artists and thespians alike are stuck holding their breath. The Conservative government has systematically cut public arts funding in the past. According to this article, culture cuts in Canada totaled $45 million in 2008. I fear this is just the beginning.

The nationwide launch of Sun News Network brings us the return of Ezra Levant. Just when we thought Calgary Sun got rid of him, he returns to my side of the country. Now, this is one conservative media figure who will be the first in line to pull the plug on arts funding. A clear indication of this is found in his most recent editorial in the Toronto Sun. Levant wants to cut funding for “so-called musicians”.

Levant, with a slew of libel lawsuits under his belt, goes on to call B.C. punk band Living With Lions “a bunch of losers” for getting a $13,000+ grant from FACTOR. A day later, an article in the Vancouver Sun reported the band has given back the money and the album will be pulled from all shelves. The band will rerelease the album on their own terms “without the logos and without the acknowledgment of government funding in its liner notes.”

I was out with my boyfriend yesterday on a leisurely coffee date to celebrate his birthday. I should mention my boyfriend, Matthew Angus is a musician. He started his band Fast Romantics in 2007 in Calgary, Alberta (birthplace of Ezra Levant and a thousand other neo-conservatives). Just last year the five-piece shuffled from the Rockies to the bright lights of Toronto for the chance to excel in the industry.

Like the rest of the musicians in Toronto, Matthew Angus and the rest of the Fast Romantics are hard workers. They work long hours to save enough money to tour and hire the most skilled producers for their records. Any working band in Toronto can express the hardships of being a musician: the lack of financial stability, the time spent in studios or on the road away from loved one, the abysmal results sometimes caused by publicists and promoters, the stress of doing interviews or playing in a dingy bar with one sole patron. These things and more are what musicians put up with and sacrifice in order to peruse their dreams.

So, because Matthew is so passionate about music and the financial opportunities bands currently have to produce albums and go on tour, he wrote an open letter to Ezra Levant on the importance of music and arts funding for Canadians. I have been sharing it all over the internet for two days now not because he’s my paramour and this is what women do for their men. I share this with you on A Table For One because I stand by every word written in this letter. As I began transcribing an interview I held with Ryan of Mother Mother, I thought “this band probably got a lot of financial help from the government when they started out”. I quickly looked at a lot of albums I’ve recently purchased, like Austra’s Feel it Break, and almost all of them acknowledged government funding in their liner notes. So, take away these grants and these albums would not exist (or they'd be much, much harder to make). As a human being, music speaks to me on so many levels. As a music enthusiast, I appreciate how far grants can go for my favourite local bands. As a music journalist, if bands don’t get proper funding to make records and go on tour, I’d have nothing to report on.

“A man named Bob just put out an album called My First Album! He used one of those recordable disc from the Dollar Store that fits nicely between two folded pieces of paper. It’s great if you enjoy listening to nothing but spoons clanking for 40 minutes straight.”

This isn’t what I want to write a year from now, no.

I want to continue working with amazing musicians and spreading their music out there for everybody to indulge in. Every artist deserves the chance to record an album, showcase in a gallery, perform in a full theatre or sign up for classes to gain knowledge and experience, what have you.

Please read Matthew Angus’ response on arts funding and please retweet or reblog if you truly believe in what he says. The letter can be found here. Not only do I believe in music but I believe in the power of the internet (when used properly) and what it can do to spark a change – for better or worse.