THE HARD R: DALLAS COYLE ON “BORROWING IDEAS” AND TALKING SH*T
I haven’t done a blog in a while because the last blog I did really got me thinking about the mentality of people in the metal scene. Most particularly, the mentality of shit talking. We’re all guilty of it. I admitted to shit talking Bring Me The Horizon in magazines over in Europe when I was in God Forbid. I never heard them at that point. But now, I dig them and I feel pretty stupid for slagging them.
In my last blog I mentioned my excitement for the band Eryn Non Dae and how I was going to “borrow” some of their ideas for my new project. First of all, my last blog was PACKED with information about band business, touring and juicy tidbits of amazing knowledge :) But, the funny thing about the last blog was this guy ‘Jamie.’ Out of a five hundred word blog, he took the phrase “borrow ideas” and accused me and God Forbid of riding the coat tails of other popular bands. Killswitch was his biggest gripe. Then it was Opeth.
He claimed Gone Forever (2004) was a Killswitch rip and Earthsblood (2009) was an Opeth rip. This type of thing usually doesn’t bother me. In this instance I was fucking bothered. Jamie and I entered into a written brawl about the history of God Forbid and the intentions of our song writing for the last ten fucking years. Why would I waste my time to defend myself from this sort of claim?
Because borrowing an idea is not stealing an idea. God Forbid was influenced by countless amounts of bands. Emperor, Lamb Of God, Opeth, Killswitch, The Beatles, Mayhem, Led Zeppelin, Michael Jackson, Suffocation, For The Love Of…, E-Town Concrete, Nile, Clint Mansell, Miles Davis, etc. Sue me. I love all types of bands. Shit, on Gone Forever I was influenced by Sevendust, Radiohead, Queens of the Stone Age and The Beatles. It was the first album I started singing and I was scared to fucking death. Those bands were my guides to learning how to do something the right way.
This guy Jamie acted like Killswitch invented singing and Opeth invented the acoustic guitar. To tell you the truth, I was offended. Any of you who follow this blog regularly (as regularly as I can do it) understand my knowledge in songwriting and the touring lifestyle. I know what the fuck I’m talking about. I’ve got my own style in this game of music. A guy who’s done NOTHING is testing me about “borrowing ideas?” I’ve proven myself in this shit storm of a bullshit scene.
This brings me back to shit talking. This guy seemed smart. He seemed on top of his game. But his intelligence didn’t mean a thing because he made the dumbest mistake anyone can make. He assumed he understood the ‘mentality’ of an artist at the point of creation. At that point he already gave up his shit. He thought he understood what I, as an artist, thought about when I was creating my music. He couldn’t have been more wrong. I have a voice. It’s SINGULAR. It’s ONE.
I’ve created music on weed, ketamine, coke, alcohol and other assorted treats… Fuck, I’ve even created my music sober! In those states of mind, who knows what the fuck you’re thinking? Real artists bleed, kids… We don’t twiddle knobs to figure out the best ‘angle.’ We don’t take theory to find the best ‘chord progression.’ Art bleeds from us. We can’t control heavy bleeding. It flows then it clots.
Brand this in your fucking mind.
An idea is free reign, my friends. An idea is influence. Martin Luther King Jr’s ‘Hope’ influenced a generations. ‘Hope.’ No one owns an idea. Your voice personalizes and molds the idea. You use your voice to express your ideas. Your voice sets you apart from the pack. If enough people recognize your point of view or your VOICE you will make an impact. Look at Kurt Cobain, Michael Jackson and The Beatles. Tried and true.
I will give Jamie one of his arguments: God Forbid didn’t make the huge impact other bands did. That is true and I’m disappointed in that. Maybe we lacked a true voice. But that’s MY disappointment. In that regard, Jamie’s just being a dick. Yeah, sure, I live in the dream world where I make a million dollars a year and thirty thousand people come to see me play every night. Come on, you really don’t think I’m in the dark about where I am in my career? The realities of the business are harsh. I know that. I don’t need some cocksucker telling me the things I didn’t accomplish. He forgets one thing while he’s talking that shit. I have many accomplishments. I’ve written first rate records. Had first rate record sales. Been on the biggest tours. Had first rate pussy… And I mean eleven on the Richter Scale type pussy.
When people talk shit, they need to realize who they are talking to. I’m not some young buck on the side of the street waiting for a hand out. I’ve lived a life few would dream of. The funny thing is I DID dream of this life, and it came true. Maybe that shit talking comes from a deeper, insecure place of not seeing a dream realized. Or jealousy? Or rage? Or fear?
I put my money where my mouth is. When the shit talking begins, I won’t be judged for the output of God Forbid. I left the band six months ago. I am proud of my time with the band, but I’m not a prisoner of the past. Who am I now? I let motherfuckers judge my new music when the shit was being thrown my way. In response, all I felt was respect. All I heard was silence. My music can’t be fucked with and I know it.
I’ve been answering questions for the last three blogs. Now I have a question: What makes you talk shit? What gets your gut to twist, turn and force your tongue to take action? This blog is also an open invitation to talk shit on me as much as you want!
-DC
