Planet Art Council, or PAC, as a website and organization about arts and music, from time and time again has been asked bysome people and readers to make "Official Band Reviews". Our answer has been the same, NO. Others wonder and think why is it that we are engaged in the music and arts and yet we do not make reviews about it, and here is our answer.
When Planet Art Council started out in a small coffee shop in Shekou, its founding members agreed on a lot of things and one of its primary goals was to establish a network of support to artists of all fields from all over. The keyword is "support", in whatever way is possible. Mostly, this support come in the form of promotions and by linking one artist to a probable lead or contact. PAC has also proven itself as an organization to have helped put independent artists together to be as a group. Aside from support, some of its objectives include unification of artists and adding more options or opportunities for artists to express themselves as well as jobs.
Now, how come we don't do "Band Reviews"? The answer is simple: In most times it can help out the artists', but in some occassions, it can prove to be destructive. Why? Because in order to make an "honest" review, one has to be sincere in what is to be written. Everybody has flaws, and that means all of us. Now, in order to write that unbiased review article, as a responsible writer, one needs to tackle every aspect of an artist good or bad. Now, we all know that the good will of course do good, but the bad at most times will have a negative effect on the artist and even the reviewer as well. Aside from that, there might be times when we see a performer at a bad moment which is the norm with the performing arts as not all performances are great. There will certainly be days when an artist is not up to his maximum performance level and judging him from that alone would be unfair.
PAC's mission is to support. By doing band reviews, there will always be that chance of some damage being done. A lot of people read reviews and believe it. What if a bad review part was the only thing they remembered? What if the reviewer caught the performers at a bad time and wrote about it? Now, how do we get around this? We don't do reviews. We don't lie, we just don't do it. We write about events and performances, but it is not about grading the artists' capabilities.
For some, this may seem that we are turning our backs on what is supposed to be part of an arts and music website and organization, but we think of it in another way, that we are doing more good than harm. We can write about artists, what they do and what they're best at. As for shortcomings, we can talk about it in private as friends, peers and maybe just as acquaintances within the network. We share opinions, and almost everyone has something to learn from someone. We do parties with sharing, clinics and other forms of get-together activities that will enhance and develop our skills and knowledge while being in the company of friends. Such activities are common in Shenzhen' live music community. That is support. Growth and corrections occur from the back end as we highlight the achievements of the artists up front, not their pitfalls.
And lastly, who are we to judge and criticize other artists? We are on the same never ending path of learning from others and experience. We all are just artists doing what we love most who make blunders and simply fuck up from time to time.
All artists score a perfect 10 at PAC!
-Dennis R. Briones
When Planet Art Council started out in a small coffee shop in Shekou, its founding members agreed on a lot of things and one of its primary goals was to establish a network of support to artists of all fields from all over. The keyword is "support", in whatever way is possible. Mostly, this support come in the form of promotions and by linking one artist to a probable lead or contact. PAC has also proven itself as an organization to have helped put independent artists together to be as a group. Aside from support, some of its objectives include unification of artists and adding more options or opportunities for artists to express themselves as well as jobs.
Now, how come we don't do "Band Reviews"? The answer is simple: In most times it can help out the artists', but in some occassions, it can prove to be destructive. Why? Because in order to make an "honest" review, one has to be sincere in what is to be written. Everybody has flaws, and that means all of us. Now, in order to write that unbiased review article, as a responsible writer, one needs to tackle every aspect of an artist good or bad. Now, we all know that the good will of course do good, but the bad at most times will have a negative effect on the artist and even the reviewer as well. Aside from that, there might be times when we see a performer at a bad moment which is the norm with the performing arts as not all performances are great. There will certainly be days when an artist is not up to his maximum performance level and judging him from that alone would be unfair.
PAC's mission is to support. By doing band reviews, there will always be that chance of some damage being done. A lot of people read reviews and believe it. What if a bad review part was the only thing they remembered? What if the reviewer caught the performers at a bad time and wrote about it? Now, how do we get around this? We don't do reviews. We don't lie, we just don't do it. We write about events and performances, but it is not about grading the artists' capabilities.
For some, this may seem that we are turning our backs on what is supposed to be part of an arts and music website and organization, but we think of it in another way, that we are doing more good than harm. We can write about artists, what they do and what they're best at. As for shortcomings, we can talk about it in private as friends, peers and maybe just as acquaintances within the network. We share opinions, and almost everyone has something to learn from someone. We do parties with sharing, clinics and other forms of get-together activities that will enhance and develop our skills and knowledge while being in the company of friends. Such activities are common in Shenzhen' live music community. That is support. Growth and corrections occur from the back end as we highlight the achievements of the artists up front, not their pitfalls.
And lastly, who are we to judge and criticize other artists? We are on the same never ending path of learning from others and experience. We all are just artists doing what we love most who make blunders and simply fuck up from time to time.
All artists score a perfect 10 at PAC!
-Dennis R. Briones