How far would you go for exposure?

[DannyT]

Dear community,
I'm creeping my way back on these forums from time to time to see what everyone's up to these days. Today I saw something that caught my attention right before heading to work.
But first, here's a little background info you'll need...

Way back on America's got talent, some of you viewers might remember "Clownvis".
If not, here's a link to his performance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwIJ6InjuiU

When I first saw him I thought: Wow, what an ass. His lack of respect for the judges is disgusting and his skit sucked. But he's still performing and getting gigs.
I digress...

This brings me to the beginning. I had about a half hour before I had to leave for work. I grabbed the remote, turned on the tv, and I see "Clownvis" singing and playing his guitar in a courtroom.
Turned out he was suing his manager for $1800 in unpaid gigs that he performed for.
Take a look: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBHpDHV2Ys4
(there's 3 parts to it, that's only the 1st)

Again I asked myself: Why would he ruin his professional career by agreeing to appear on court tv for being accused of reeking of alcohol and cigarette smoke at kids birthday parties?

The only conclusion I came to was exposure. To receive more gigs.
So I wanted to ask the community, would you want this type of exposure? To get your name out even if it means hurting your reputation?

Personally, I would have to ask what kind of situation I'm in. If being an entertainer were my only job, if I had nothing else to fall back on, and if I had nothing else to lose, and if I were worrying day to day about how I'm going to eat tomorrow, then yeah I'd get my name out however I can to make money. There are places such as comedy clubs that are always hiring dirt bags. So even if you close some doors by "acting out", many more doors will open for you.
I want to hear your thoughts.

 

[Toby]

One phrase comes to mind, and unfortunately it is true: There is no bad publicity.

 

[D ICE R]

As a working entertainer that is defiantly over stepping the line. However he is going to get a fair few bookings just for the publicity. But you really need to look into the long term clients and I believe that building sold relationships are more important.

 

[MarcusChristiansen]

I guess it's easy to sit here and say, but I would never do something to get publicity if it would hurt my reputation. It'll always come back to haunt you eventually.

Respect for magic, respect for oneself and respect for fellow magicians are a must in my book.

 

[TheGonzaloMagic]

If you have talent, you dont need to go around cheesy comedy clubs to get a crappy job.
If you have talent time will get you known.

Me being an aspirant-performer Im just trying to make sure that when I reach an age where I can start performing Im one of the bests, praticing everyday at least 8 hours a day.
And I will only start performing when I feel confortable about doing it even though I havent reach the level of Perfection, wich will never come, to start performing.

So what I mean is, nobody needs to live from a crappy job if you put enough love and dedication in your art.

I would never get a crapy job at those clubs whatever.

I rather be poor and keep on praticing, hopefully getting better and better until I can work in a good place, have a show whatever

PEace

 

[notsoltd]

This guy seems crazy. [As far as the 'Judge Karen' deal goes] I'm not sure whether to believe the plaintiff or the defendant...honestly, I think they're both lying to some degree.

While dreams are great and all, not EVERYONE is meant to be a professional performer. This 'Clownvis' guy is DEFINITELY not a performer. Judging by that video of 'America's Got Talent,' he seems to me like an idiot with a stupid clown idea...not to mention he, in a way, put down my favorite of all time - the King of Rock 'n' Roll, Elvis Presley.

I would love to be a professional, and a magic creator. Unfortunately, I don't see myself being on any t11 releases. It would be amazing, don't get me wrong, but I doubt it'll happen. I'm going to keep dreaming [and hey, maybe I'll get there someday]. For now, I'm just going to try to find a career path that interests me, go to college for it, and hopefully work restaurants and do gigs as a side job!

Note - Speaking of careers...anyone here a Radiographer? lol It's been interesting me and I am strongly thinking of going to college for it...I know the basics of what it is but would love to know more. If anyone here knows more about it, could ya PM me?

 

[DannyT]

If you have talent, you dont need to go around cheesy comedy clubs to get a crappy job.
If you have talent time will get you known.

Not if you don't do anything about it. Getting a job at a comedy club isn't a crappy job. Working in a grocery store while having talent to perform; is a crappy job. Plus, most people performing at comedy clubs are doing what they need to do; practicing in front of a large group of people to hone their skills as a professional performer. It's not a crappy job, just not a career either. I'd consider it, "a start".

So what I mean is, nobody needs to live from a crappy job if you put enough love and dedication in your art.

I would never get a crapy job at those clubs whatever.

How do you expect to get better? Do you really expect to get better by practicing in your room everyday for 8 hours at a clip. You'll probably get better with sleight of hand, but not performance wise. The real way for improvment is by performing in front of live people and seeing what plays, what doesn't, how to say something, what to focus the attention on, how to say something so that it gets a big laugh,etc,etc,etc.

I rather be poor and keep on praticing, hopefully getting better and better until I can work in a good place, have a show whatever

PEace

More power to you man! But for those who are performing everyday to eat food, that rely on this job for their income, they don't have that kind of leg room.

 

[RickEverhart]

Interesting post Danny. I guess if I were trying to live "day to day" and get my foot in any door that I could...in order to eat....survive...then yeah...I would try to get any publicity I could.

If I had a roof over my head, food to eat, a family, etc. I would not do any of those types of things to hurt my image. I would keep working as hard as I could and keep a positive mind set that eventually I would make my way up the ladder.

Somebody made a key point earlier. Relationships and networking is huge in this industry. A lot of times it is "Who you know and happening to be in the right place at the right time" as well with a little bit of luck.

 

[MalibuARMY]

That got me thinking. At what point do you need a contract with your manager if you are doing a gig?

 

[DannyT]

That got me thinking. At what point do you need a contract with your manager if you are doing a gig?

Another great topic!
If you're performing full time and have a manager, you should keep a contract with you stating that you get paid every gig you perform, whether the feedback was good or bad, your manager is responsible for collecting the $ after you perform and responsible for getting you gigs.
I'm sure it goes a lot more in depth with that, but in this instance, that was the point that "Clownvis" overlooked.