To Be a Cult Band 

At the start of Vulgar Boatmen Awareness Month I wrote, “The point of Vulgar Boatmen awareness month is to highlight the fact that our language has difficulty communicating that a band can be qualitatively better than 99% of the other bands and deserve greater attention. To use more philosophical language, to highlight the fact that a rock and roll band can create something that can only be called beautiful - a work of art - not an article of commerce.” 

Hmmm. Sounds like someone was reading too much T.S. Eliot 

I missed the obvious answer: The Vulgar Boatmen are a “cult band” – small passionate fan base. 

It took me awhile to get there. At first I was thinking that The Boatmen were representative of underappreciated artists, and we should have an underappreciated artist day. After you thank the veterans, emergency responders, essential health care works, and teachers, please thank your local indie rock band for…? I love rock and roll, but I didn’t see that going anywhere. 

Then I remembered interviewing author Matthew Bunson who had written a book called The Encyclopedia of The Saints. I asked him the obvious question, “How do people become saints, like really though, step by step?” He gave me an answer that stuck. Step 1, paraphrasing, most people are forgotten after they die, but some people because they were martyrs or because they lived interesting/holy lives are remembered long after they are gone. People continue to think about them, talk about them, write about them, create art inspired by them, and they even have parties at their grave sites (no kidding. Checkout Augustine’s Confessions 6, 2, 2). Sometimes from this small base of fans it snowballs becomes the cult of a saint. The Church will either officially recognize the cult of that saint by formal canonization or it will just remain a local pious tradition. 

Cult has several variations of meaning and some of them have negative connotations, but I still think it is the right word. What the definitions don’t capture is where the passion comes from, and I think that is the key. The passion has to come from the fans, almost spontaneously, but definitely organically. You can’t set out to become a cult band, just like you can’t hire a marketing team to make you a saint after you die. A band has to make music that is interesting enough that people continue to care, listen, and talk about it. All a band can do is make the best music that they can, who knows what people will think. Being commercially successful is different. You can make a business plan and elbow your way into a competitive music market. You put yourself where the money is changing hands. I think your success is based largely on your skill at being a good small business owner and not necessarily your musical talent, and there is nothing wrong with that. 

I can also see why band members would be weirded out by members of their band’s “cult.” The cult is a separate from the band, and people join the cult because they want to. It isn’t something they have to do or because it was marketed that way. But once you are a member of the cult, you are a participant in the life of the cult. You can’t be in the band, but you belong to the cult around it with other crazy people like yourself. And when you are in the cult, you are not merely an observer drinking an overpriced beer at the show. 

So being a fan of The Vulgar Boatmen is a way of life! Not really. Huge overstep. But it does feel good to let your passion out of the bag once in a while. Embarrass yourself. Tell a total stranger you think they are great. Now that I know how to use Facebook, I probably won’t wait until next September.

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