TWITTIQUETTE

Fall tour dates were announced today. Today is the second of two days I have at home this week. This coming Sunday will mark the beginning of 6 weeks without a touring date scheduled. It will also be the end of almost 6 MONTHS of almost constant touring since this past winter. I checked my Twitter this afternoon to find about 100 tweets from places we aren’t hitting this coming fall asking “Why not?” I started listing off many of the other cities in the world we’re not going to be visiting this fall in a hyperbolic list that I was sure would be understood as somewhat snarky, and certainly humorous. Some people took offense, and to most of them, I say, I am sorry – it was all meant in good fun, and maybe the “Calendar + map” thing was a little much, and maybe I put too much stake in the notion that if you follow me on Twitter, or you’ve been to our shows, you’d understand a bit of my sense of humor regarding being put upon and exasperated and etc. (maybe it’s a Jersey thing). …But regardless, I do apologize if I hurt anyone’s feelings.
HOWEVER (you knew that was comin’…), your Twitter feed is not my Twitter feed, and when, on my second of only two days at home this week, I checked MY Twitter feed, what I was met with was not kind-hearted wishes that people not in our touring loop could have another chance to see us this fall, but angry, sometimes aggressive tweet after tweet after tweet asking “WHY!?” (Literally in all caps, I’d say, 80% of the time).
So I’m calling “foul” on the double standard of people feeling entitled to yell at me – at ME – I’m not a rock star, and I’ve spent every ounce of energy that I have to keep this going and to go to as many places as I can as often as I can, etc., without me being entitled to bite back every now and then! Not one single person tweeted something kind at me. Some of the unkind was also humorous and snarky and I respect and even enjoy that, but not one person just said, “Man – wish I could see you in _____ on this tour. Maybe next time?”
And if you weren’t one of the people who was a little jerky to me, then please don’t take anything that I say as being jerky back to you. I honestly thought the 5 tweet catalog of far flung cities would have indicated that I was just poking fun, but if you didn’t deserve to be poked, and it upset you to be wound up, then, again, I’m sorry. And if you couldn’t pause for a second before blasting me with your demands that I come deliver myself to your front door, and my poking upset you, then I’m still sorry. I was trying to use sarcasm to make a point humorously, not bum anybody out. It’s a point I’d still like to make – maybe I just won’t underline the points from now on.
Thoughts? Comments? Hate letters? E-mail me!

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