Manwho? Responds to Manwhore and Their Fans

Editor’s Note: The following was left in the comments section of our infamous Manwhore Named Best L.A. Rock Band post. It seems there has been a lively exchange between a Manwhore detractor and the Manwhore faithful. We felt this most recent dispatch merited special attention. losanjealous hopes to continue this spirited philosophical debate on the very nature of rock n’ roll and the age-old battle of art versus commerce. We encourage reader comments below.

Dear Manwhore and Manwhore Fans:

I am amused to see this fire still burning some months later. Obviously, you and your fans seek out the lone piece of press your band received and return to it again and again. Reading through these comments, it seems that you guys will ramble on about anything besides the quality of the music itself. The name calling is particularly witty. I’m not offended, but I want to just point out that most of what I wrote was a comment on the product, not the personnel, but now the gloves come off. And I will now proceed to show you why Manwhore is the worst fucking band, possibly ever.

As much as I’d love an 80’s style Battle of the Bands, I am not in a band, but I have the usual industry connections and know the scene. More importantly, I am a member of the paying public that goes to shows and buys CDs regularly. I get a lot of demos thrown my way. I can tell you there are 19 year old kids in Calabasas doing more interesting things than Manwhore. Wrap your head around that for a second. OK, let’s move on.

First off, a clarification on the whole band name thing, as your fans seem to be fixated on that issue. My point was not that a band name can’t be nonsensical in order to be successful—god knows Hootie and the Blowfish is about the worst fucking name ever—but that your band name CANNOT HAVE THE WORD “WHORE” in it. Any idiot should know that. Got it? I somehow don’t see Best Buy making up one of those divider cards with MANWHORE on it. But you guys are not aiming for Best Buy, you will no doubt reply, rebels that you are.

So you guys “are not about the scene,” rock n’ roll is “not a club,” don’t have anything to do with “taking yourself seriously,” and it’s all just about “having a good time.” This defense of benign intentions (if it is one at all) is really weak. If you don’t take it seriously, then please keep it in your Van Nuys apartment. Bottom line: You don’t subject paying audiences to something you don’t take seriously. Unless that audience is only your friends, family and co-workers. In which case, they are just humoring you.

So you played to 250. (And it doesn’t look like you’re playing much these days at all.) But regardless, you can play to 25,000 in Madison Square Garden and your music will still be unintelligent, cliché rock. Do you see how you can’t make a direct correlation between numbers and quality? The list of shitty entertainment that draws millions of fans is long. I’ll spare you.

Let’s look at a recent local band success story, She Wants Revenge. I personally can’t stand them, but they are a textbook example of how it helps to know the current scene in order to make it. Last year, while you might have been playing to 250 at the Whisky, they were playing to 25 at the Silverlake Lounge. On paper, you guys might have seemed like the more successful band back then. But they had a plan. They were honing their shit, focusing on a specific audience with a specific genre sound. I think you know the rest. They are currently playing 1,000 seaters and festivals across the states.

As I said earlier, this criticism is not a personal thing. The musical product you offer is shit, but I’d have no problem with you guys moving a sofa for me. I’d even offer you a beer for your troubles. Just do us a favor: Hang up the guitars and raise your kids right. You missed your shot, but that’s OK, most do.

–Manwho?