expression vs. entertainment - u.p.c. codes vs.art - compensation without compromise... quit supporting artistic slavery.

expression vs. entertainment - u.p.c. codes vs.art - compensation without compromise... quit supporting artistic slavery.

The underground is fed up and we will take no more! We have had it with the cultural class warfare, we have had enough of being co-opted by TV, movies, art and music, they steal our lives and our experiences, and make millions on our stories, mocking us all the way to the bank. And the worse part - they give nothing back to the culture they steal from.

But it gets worse, for decades now record companies, book publishers and other middlemen have gotten fat on the backs of artists who are barely scraping by. We have known countless bands who have had decent record sales, and toured and have a good fan base, but are still working straight jobs because they don't see more than a dime from their hard work - meanwhile record company execs, and even their lowly promotions employees are able to pay $1000 or more for a badge to attend SXSW, and more for their convention booth - meanwhile the bands on their label can't afford a bus ticket down there. It’s the same for creators/artists almost across the board.

The exciting thing is that in today's world, those middlemen are obsolete, we don't need them and their inflated expense accounts! Today, artists have social media to promote themselves and itunes to sell their songs, writers are able to publish their own books on demand - just a few at a time, rather than having to invest the retirement fund into a print run of 1,000 copies or more. Plus, with the evolutionary advances of e-books and gadgets like Kindle, they can put their writings up electronically. Even authors like Stephen King have made more publishing a chapter at a time online than he ever made from his published books!

That’s revolutionary! Part of the revolution is we don't need the middle men, and we don't need to grovel at the feet of record companies and publishers anymore, we are free and the technology is there to do for ourselves. This concept may very well be the reason behind the recent surge of laws to limit and control internet access. The multinational corporations that run America only want you to buy their books and watch their movies and listen to their musicians. On-line DIY entities were a major part of the target, the man doesn't want you to find a washing machine for cheap on Craigslist, or a free futon on Freecycle, they want only certain products to show up when you do a search. The corrupt corporate structure only serves to slow down the evolution of print on demand and similar technological tools, tools that help the artist not need the middle man.

We are already heavily manipulated by these giant all encompassing corporations - think of all the recent articles against natural foods, healing herbs, raw milk, and even the way Mountain Top Removal mining companies say they put the land back together better than it was... this is all corporate manipulation and pure bullshit.

But it goes even further than these obvious manipulations. Even counterculture idols cannot be trusted. Take William Burroughs for example, people worship that guy, 20 year old kids run around quoting him and trying to emulate him and his "life", but have you ever looked into the guy? He was from money, he was not some street kid with a good wit. He was a pre-fab, contrived and created commodity.

William Burroughs, who pretended to be low brow and live in the gutter, with his Harvard education. One has to wonder, how many kids got themselves strung out on drugs because they thought Burroughs was "cool"? When in reality he was part of the system, manufactured to distract and control. If all the would be "revolutionaries" are reading Burroughs and his ilk and nodding off in a drug made stupor, who is fighting the system? Nobody, that's who.

Now are we saying we hate corporations? No, but we are saying, artist and those who support the arts should choose who they support a little better and not sit still while they crush us under their thumbs. Hell, we have been incorporated before, and you know what? It was the least amount of taxes we have ever paid!

In our opinion all artists should incorporate. Here’s how it works, first corporations are taxed at about 15% vs a person whose income is taxed between 30-40%. Second, almost EVERYTHING is a deduction, clothes, travel, business dinners, research, manufacturing, it’s pretty easy to mold every expense you have, even your rent, into a deduction. After all that, it is pretty easy for most any corporation to come out at a loss or at a small enough profit that they owe nothing. Now, a corporation can only claim a loss on their taxes for 3 years in a row, but they can break even or make $2 a year FOREVER and 15% of $2 is not a lot of money! And it is all perfectly legal.

Wanna bet that if we were all to incorporate ourselves, we would see that corporate personhood law repealed and quick!

All of this and more is what provoked the idea for WTF Fest, and to follow the lead set by 1960's revolutionary John Sinclair. "We had a blast!" says Sinclair about the 1960s movement he was part of. "We did free shows every week". When asked if they used the free shows to preach their politics, he answered with some surprise, "Free shows were our politics!" And that is the politics behind WTF Fest, we are using Kickstarter as a modern funding tool, we don't need corporate sponsors anymore, and we don't need to follow the rules to make our sponsors happy... this will NOT be Monster Energy Drink's WTF Fest.

We have chose to kick off this first WTF event in Austin, TX during SXSW to illustrate, that SXSW is also obsolete, it has run it's course, or at the very least it should be accepted that the 10 day event is a corporate convention, much like the electronics convention of Las Vegas, and not the place for new music to be discovered and celebrated. At least not in the confines of SXSW.

To spite the 10 day corporate takeover of Austin, TX, there ARE numerous outside events going on that do offer great music, art, and performance. WTF Fest is one of them. WTF Fest offers live music, performance art, videos, and spoken word featuring some of the greatest minds of three generations of the underground.

You the art supporter/consumer and you the artist/creator have choices to make - everyone of them could lead us further down the rabbit hole of shit and despair. some might say support of SXSW and ANY of their shows is support for modern day slavery... some might say, throw your own showcase, present your own art and throw your own party!!

Maybe support the arts by hosting film screenings in your own home, put together an art happening with some locals, do something more than try to buy your way in... hell, maybe make your own fuckin art - really, give it a try and tell us just how easy it is to shit out painting after painting, song after song, book after book, sculpture after sculpture. maybe then the value of art would rise BEFORE the artist dies.

The artist need to loose the insecurity and produce and push ahead with pride, not desperation... we need to unite and treat the creative class as a union, at the very least act as a united front. Competition isn’t cutting your brothers throat to suck some corporate cock... true competition breeds excellence!

Remember, art is a major commodity and one of our strongest and largest exports... if we take control of the art, we take control of our future.

Think about supporting a group of fiercely independent artists.

Show up at ruta maya on march 14th and help up give a big fuck you to corporate control of the arts. can’t show, we’ll be streaming the event live for any and all who kick in $5 or more on our kickstarter deal: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/shanebugbee/wtf-fest-the-underground-comes-above-to-laugh-at-a

Please pass our link to any who might be into what we're doing: http://www.whatthefuckfest.com