Lyndahere And Twitter "Spewage"...

I read Lyndahere’s (@lyndahere) review of the Great Big Sea Danforth Music Hall show in November 2012 to see what she wrote about as the videos from CBC music were put up on Youtube recently. Lyndahere of course was there bootlegging. She then loaded up videos on Youtube including Live This Life, their new single Heart of Hearts, and other old favourites including Old Black Rum, Ordinary Day, Nothing But A Song, and The Night Pat Murphy Died. She recorded and released Live This Life and a debut live version of their single Heart of Hearts prior to Great Big Sea. Lyndahere loaded up debut live performances of songs, presenting the music in the way she wanted and prior to the advertised special. She did the same thing to Alan Doyle on the release of his solo album Boy On Bridge and Live At Revival special.

Lyndahere knew the concert was being filmed for CBC Music. On her blog Between the Rock And A Hardplace “…A New One Begins” dated 14 November 2012 she wrote in a review of the concert “This show was filmed by CBC for future broadcast on the CBC Music site. Be sure to keep an eye out for it: I know I will”. It has been several days since the official CBC Music videos were loaded up onto YouTube and she has not mentioned it on her Twitter site. I found out through other Great Big Sea fans. Thank you Great Big Sea fans. Perhaps the reason for this is because the CBC Music videos are in competition with her own videos and are just well so far superior.

Great Big Sea and CBC Music had entered into an agreement to make a special to advertise and celebrate the Great Big Sea XX tour. They are great quality videos. There was a brief introduction from Alan Doyle and Bob Hallett about the writing of the song, the band and their guests were in fine form musically and vocally, an audience excited to be there and participating and altogether sounded and looked totally brilliant. But in the videos I could see the bootleggers were out in full in the front filming including Lyndahere. I was glad I waited to see the official versions of the concert videos the way the band and CBC Music wanted us to see the concert on YouTube. It doesn’t match being there but it is the next best thing. I really enjoyed it and I am looking forward to seeing them in Canada for Great Big Sea XX.

On the second part of her review I found this very articulate response to the feedback she had been getting from people on her blog throughout November 2012. Surely this should on be a separate post and how is it relevant to the Great Big Sea concert in particular the first concert of Great Big Sea XX? There was no mention of the song Live This Life. But a long winded 1000 word write up about the alleged abuse in her comments section of her blog. I found it interesting she had been getting all of this abuse because I have not had any abuse, not one bad comment or objection to the blog posts I have written posted to my Email account although I have had nearly 100 hits a week from around the world. I have never contacted her (except for one Email which formed the basis of this blog) in any capacity no matter how tempting so the abuse if it did exist didn’t come from me. 

There has not been any abuse appearing on her Twitter site for a very long time. She is quick to blame others including ticket sales of Great Big Sea but not Alan Doyle? You’re kidding right? She takes no responsibility in that her bootlegging and stalking is not wanted by some sections of the Great Big Sea fan community and are illegal. The United States and Canada are democratic countries and people are entitled to and are able to express an opinion that is different than her own in a respectful manner. Perhaps her frustration is increased due to the fact she still has to compete with others to get tickets after all this time and having nothing to look forward to after the tour finishes.

Lyndahere had missed the point to why I write this blog. It is related to her bootlegging activities and not her blog or her photos. I do not believe her bootlegging activities are in the best interests of Alan Doyle and Great Big Sea and music generally. They are a form of music piracy and illegal. She takes opportunities like the one above to record and release a debut song and present Great Big Sea and Alan Doyle’s music to the world in the way she wants and take the credit for it without making any contribution to the creative process. Lyndahere has done this so many times. She doesn’t get a license or ask permission. It’s illegal, rude, and undermining to the band both creatively and financially. All of my posts in most circumstances are referenced. If Lyndahere has a problem with the research I present take it up with the researchers. I hope that she has come to a greater understanding since November. I am also an information junkie and love researching and finding out about new things and most recently fandom. I believe in standing up for and taking action for those I like and for what is right and fair. It is about using her and her activities to educate people to make ethical choices about how they watch music.

In the end the only opinions that count are those of Great Big Sea. So far there is nothing to suggest they support the bootlegging or pirating of their music by Lyndahere or any other fan. If anyone has anything contradicting this I would appreciate a look.

This is what was written on her blog Between The Rock and A Hardplace on her review of the first Great Big Sea XX show in Toronto.

“….One more ETA, and then I will get busy in earnest with the Danforth show and after that, return to Alan's Amazing October. I've gone back and forth and back again about bringing this up, but when in doubt, be honest, I suppose. It's got to be pretty clear that I've backed off substantially from blogging the past month or so. Yes, it's partly because when Alan's having one of his Amazing Months, the travel can get rather hectic, but I've always managed in the past to keep on blogging when things get hectic.

The primary reason for my (relative) reticence has been an incessant and wearying spewage of vituperative abuse I've been getting here via the blog's Comments option. There's almost always some of that shit going on - Maintenance Level Abuse, as I call it - mixed in with the more-welcome comments and messages, but the past month or so has been dramatically worse. It usually does get worse when GBS tours go up on sale, spikes again at the end of tour runs, but rarely does it ever get this bad.

So I thought perhaps being quieter here than usual might result in less shit. Silly optimist me. Nothing has changed here and I've now noticed more spewage happening in other places, certainly not all of it directed at me. These seem to be unsettled times, for reasons I personally suspect are fundamentally of economic origin. Along with not being fond of being the recipient of persistent abuse, I also don't want to further trouble the turbulent waters, no matter how unintentionally or tangentially, and was therefore seriously considering putting the blog officially on hiatus for as long as seemed prudent. But, as a wise friend pointed out to me, that sounds a lot like what bullies and harassers might want, or at least one of the things such unhappy people might like to see happen - something they might like to feel they made happen. 
 

I say "unhappy people" because that's my own opinion about people who relentlessly attack those they do not know and against whom they have no legitimate grievance, accusing total strangers of wildly improbable actions, some of those accusations outright and deliberate lies, and "bogeyfying" them by blaming them for anything and everything they don't like, apparently never even considering the possibility that they could be completely wrong about what they assume - and thus another lie becomes "true" to those who want to believe something, anything, negative. The only explanation for such behaviour that has ever made any sense to me is that these folks must be seriously unhappy in their own lives to expend so much time and energy this way. Or perhaps it's more a matter of those who take cynically manipulative pleasure in creating conflict and causing pain. I don't know. I no longer expect ever to have an answer to this for sure, though I strongly suspect that the trouble such people cause is far disproportionate to their actual numbers. 
 

And I do know what is genuinely true here, what is true and what truly matters. That Simple and Straightforward Truth is that GBS has just put out an awesome Box Set/Double Album and that their recent extremely impressive Danforth First XX Tour Show makes it abundantly clear that there are going to be wonderful live shows coming soon, these first two legs of the XX Tour that are already on sale and all the rest of the dates that are yet to be announced.

Alan is still working hard and with brilliant success on his treasure-trove of solo projects, including acting roles and AD-band efforts, not to mention his greatly anticipated second solo album. Sean is on tour right now with Joel Plaskett, playing shows all across Newfoundland, performing some of the songs likely to wind up on his third solo album. I'm never quite sure exactly what Bob is up to at any given moment, only that he's likely busier than Alan and Sean put together with writing, producing, managing, and recording projects. Pub-owning now, too. Kris has multiple drumming gigs and is getting himself deeper and deeper into the producing/managerial end of the business. Murray just had a short film show at the Hamilton Film Festival and in not too much longer will be shooting his own Cocksure Lads feature film.

That's a huge pile of Simple and Straightforward Truth, and it still doesn't come close to describing all the great news and exciting events taking place in GBS Land - Extended Version (the Greater GBS Metro Area - GGBSMA - if you will). These really are Grand Times for the GBS men - Grand and Celebratory Times - and Grand Times as well for each and every person who wishes the best and the most for them. 

Because this Simple and Straightforward Truth is so ineffably (and effably) sweet that everyone who desires to and is able to should get to see the way it feels, what I've decided is that these people - that far larger group of people who really do wish the best and the most for these men - are the ones for whom I am going to keep right on blogging, choosing to keep my own focus steadily and determinedly, and gladly, on that Sweet Truth.

Because that's what we're supposed to do during Grand and Celebratory Times...and it is surely what these men and their music deserve."