Artists are self-destructive people

[Mr. Jelly]

I've always taken the artist image to be a myth. And I've been around a lot of artists. But then drama bores me. It's not voodoo it's a process.

[tinnitus]

As a bar-band-hack in the 1970s I'm the first to acknowledge that disco saved my life (in a round-about way). For bar owners, my hard rock band couldn't pack a place like one guy could with a couple turntables and a mirror ball. Given our scruffy crowd, we had become a liability and gigs dwindled. So, on a whim, I enlisted in the military, eventually retired from that and then retired for good from subsequent careers in 2017. Also went acoustic that year (note the username).

Merely a competent amateur rock/blues cover guitarist, I've played in various part-time hobby bands over the decades and even considered naming one of them "Five Day Jobs."

For half a century, I've often pondered where the "other road" might've led me had I stubbornly/desperately stuck it out. In no particular order, here are some of my thoughts on the perils (if your personality leans that way) of artistic dissipation (YMMV):

- People can be self-destructive with or without music. We just don't read about nobodys in the news.
- Some artists are obsessively driven in ways the rest of us might not understand or imagine.
- I often found several pints of free cold beer by my pedal board during a gig. Thanks, cheers!
- Creative musicians might be more inclined to follow fun whims vs. hard/fast rules.
- A tiny hint of success early on might set in motion a lifetime of chasing rainbows and mirages. Such a scant few actually "make it."
- Commercially successful musical acts tend to attract drug users/dealers.
- Who has time for a 9-5 job? Gig or no gig, life is a party every night.
- "'Cause a month on the road and I'll be eatin' from your hand" (Steven Tyler)

[Silurian]

Originally Posted by SprintBob

I believe the most successful and happy artists (and you can group pro athletes into this) make it a priority that an audience is there to be entertained, not to witness bad behavior or to be lectured on outside issues not related to the music (or the game).

For some artists the music and the "issues" are deeply intertwined but that doesn't mean you won't be entertained.

I think most people understand that they will have completely different experiences at a Tommy Emmanuel concert and a Roger Waters concert.

[perttime]

Artists might tend towards "sensitive" and "passionate". Some, so much so, that they become "unstable".

I'm aware of musicians who are, barely, held together by family and music.

[marciero]

You'd think psychologists or neuro scientists would have studied this, though it may not be easy to find a proxy for this trait that would play out in an experiment. My guess is that the myth of the artist as tortured soul is based on a few well known examples. One thing for sure is that lot of artists or would-be artists have bought into the notion that you have to be self destructive to create art. Justin Townes Earle is an example- admitted as much not long before his passing. The other example I can think of is players trying to copy Charlie Parker. "To play like Bird you gotta be like Bird". But even this gets any potential causality arrow backwards.

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by tinnitus

As a bar-band-hack in the 1970s I'm the first to acknowledge that disco saved my life (in a round-about way).

For half a century, I've often pondered where the "other road" might've led me had I stubbornly/desperately stuck it out. In no particular order, here are some of my thoughts on the perils (if your personality leans that way) of artistic dissipation (YMMV):

I basically forsook the "Rock Band" dream in the early 70's and struck out on A part time solo acoustic guitar and singer path.

BUT I have pondered "what if" about every ten years
Even wrote a song about it

[catt]

There are many reasons why folks given to the creative arts are at risk for various deficits and imbalances in 'normal' operations/day-to-day life. I won't bother to enumerate.

My wife has been a psychotherapist for a long time, and it seems most everyone in the local arts scene (as well some internationally famous) has been her client at one time or another. Personally, I've been afflicted by many of these conditions of 'excessive pursuits' and understand the mechanisms very well. It's a well-understood complex to anyone interested in the psychology.