Rob Oakie, Music PEI director, excluding musicians for gain

Music PEI goes all out to discourage musicians who are not part of the inner-circle of connected friends

updated May 9, 2009

Last night at Baba’s Rob Oakie, the Executive Director of Music PEI, came in to pick up his stool. For a fleeting moment I felt sorry for him. He looked like the water boy for some 5th rate rock group. Then his words to me rang in my head –

You’re not good enough.

Yup that’s what he said: I was not good enough, perhaps as a songwriter or a singer or perhaps as a human. Music PEI felt I had little chance of success. As I said before is Bigotry and discrimination at Music PEI, it was wallop to the old solar plexus.

Being your normal insecure human / musician / person who walks funny and sits in a wheelchair etc. it sent me for a loop.

Then it’s true, I thought. I am no good. My voice sounds like the a frog farting in a field. And my songs are stupid and who likes Bob Dylan anyway.

Yeah Rob Oakie the expert on music hath spoken.

So then you go through this analysis, you know what I mean. Which one of my friends is only smiling weakly when I play. Maybe even my gal is lying to me. Maybe everybody knows but me.

You put your hand up to your mouth and check the breath, whiff the old arm pits . Check the mirror: yeah I do look old and tired.

Start humming “Everybody knows” by Leonard Cohen.

httpv://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=wh9AC0jCGjY

Being a musician has to be the worst life because you suffer rejection all time.

A bar used to book you but now the audience wants something else. You remember that concert you played for 10,000 and now there’s 15 people in an empty field.

I remember winning awards in business. Best in Canada, Top 15 in the world, President’s Club, big bonus checks.

In music it’s mostly nothing but greedy little people like Rob Oakie pronouncing judgment on you, those sycophants scurrying like crabs around the politicians to catch crumbs from the table.

httpv://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=1NvgLkuEtkA

Of course, I know and you know the only reason someone would be so mean is jealousy and greed.

The greed angle with Oakie and Lloyd Doyle and the rest of that bunch is obvious by the numbers. Oakie gets the $45,000 + paycheck and most of the rest flows to buddies Doyle and the Board members. The three of them are building a little empire.

If you’re a start up band, you have to sign up with Doyle or you’ll be nobody. Well, actually if you do sign up with him you are a nobody, living in a van down by the river.

httpv://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=V0vZGE-HMrQ

The “down by the river in a van” story comes from a band Lloyd took to the other side for this big gig, right. It’s all good.

So they get there, no food in the green room, gotta pay for beer themselves because Lloyd has disappeared. So after the gig the band thinks they’re going to the motel. Wrong, Lloyd shows up with some beer and they get skunked sleeping in the van down by the river.

True story. Heard several different versions but the theme and facts are identical.

I guess Lloyd has managed some big groups in his day and really knows how to make a band feel good about their place in biz. If he ever asks me to do a gig, I’m telling you right now I got my excuses all lined up. My wife left me,  the van is broke and my dog died.

The jealousy thing is too simple to discuss. Apparently Lloyd and Oakie are kinda like business wannabees – van down by the river you know what I mean – and they are jealous that I was in business and now I don’t have to work.

When I heard that from a musician, I burst out loud laughing. Well boys, if I could work I would. I liked working, and making money. But you know there’s this little thing called disability and I gotta nap allot.

Tell you what Rob and Ray – you two and your bandy-legged little friends get real religious and start lighting candles for me at the Basilica. If I get the miracle cure, I promise to hightail it outta Dodge and you can have this town to yourself. I’m goin to Nashville to peddle some songs.

I got this one called “Sticky Fingers” (1) which goes like

Got the artist’s money from someone else
His hand in a pocket for himself
The greed is comin on strong
What part of the human race do they belong
Got a manager who’s sucking me dry
Can’t get by but he’s living high
Sticky fingers
Sticky fingers

I want to thank you fellows for helping me write than one. Sticky fingers dadada dadada dadada. Gonna be a hit some day.  Sticky fingers oh yeah!

(1) Sticky Fingers words and music by Stephen Pate copyright 2008