Do people at your work/school know that you produce music?

[nospin]

I'm curious because I tend to keep it a secret at work... and why? Well, I know that the people I work with have completely different tastes in music (top40, pop, rock, etc.) and they would not 'get' electronic music at all, especially minimal with all the clicks and pops and no singing and 8 minute tracks and all that.

i dont walk around calling myself a 'producer'... i just make music, have for a very long time in various forms. eventually at work, when people start to try and figure me out and ask about my hobbies, i tried to explain to a few of them about what i do...
now theres a running joke how i think i'm gonna be a big time music producer. nobody takes me serious when i say i dont intend to make music for the radio, or make any real amount of money.

the ironic thing is, at my work, there are a ton of musicians. but its all very rigid, they're not musicians, they are either 'guitarists' or 'drummers' only, they are all like, aging rockers, who play in really bad bar cover bands on the weekends and come home to families and watch big brother twice a week.
its actually kind of frustrating and disappointing that they dont understand how many young people just really like making and enjoying interesting, innovative music, just for the sake of it

school is a whole other topic... most are very much open, but fairly uninformed, so i have to play it for them to get it... although for most of those kids that play instruments, it takes quite a while to convince them that electronic music isn't necessarily easy because i'm not really playing instruments, they are also usually surprised when i tell them all the instruments i can actually play.

in short, i usually keep most things to myself, unless i get the impression somebody is genuinely interested... many times i'm wrong about that and the conversation can get awkward real quick

[hydrogen]

... it depend of people !

exactly, and even sometimes i'll bring out my laptop out of my bag and show them how to produce a beat they are blown away that I know how to do this stuff as its actually pretty complex. It's very interesting to some.

I avoid talking about going to parties though. I don't want people to know how much sleep I am avoiding.

[Martian Telecom]

I never mention it because it really isn't that important. I don't really care about your super rare exotic stamp collection so why would I bother you with my interest in obscure electronic music? What is the point of forcing someone into a one sided conversation?

If someone asked directly and was interested I might make them a couple mix cd's but that is about it.

At this point in my life I am so far outside of a scene that my interest in electronic music is personal and not something I wear as a badge of identity. After a certain point in life you understand that you are not the center of the universe and that your interests and opinions are specialized and not terribly important in the grand scheme of things. I would feel rude and over-bearing if I rattled on and on about some weird record.

[PsyTox]

I shouldn't have to justify my hobby to anyone, especially to ignorant, boring people that have no understanding of creativity.

exactly why you shouldn't keep it a secret. Every Monday I start blabbering away about which parties I went or what a weird location it was set in, or something remarkable I saw on a party. my collegues are all totally unaware of clubbing and as far as they know, Richie Hawtin is a barber from Berlin, but still, people also like to hear some stories that are "beyond their usual life space".
In my opinion, you can get suprised by people and their reactions everyday. Two of my collegues even came to check out a party and I know that my boss drives his car around with one of my mixes on his cd changer... Don't block yourself off from a possible good experience, I always say. Well not always, just now

[G3rard]

I dont tell the people I work with because where I live most people are not that open minded to clubbing and dance music in general and the clubs I DJ in are associated with drugs "thats where all the pillheads go", my djing and producing go hand in hand so its not worth the effort explaining. If they were to Google my dj name and scratch the surface then there are numerous incriminating comments and photos with me slightly worse for wear and as I work for the Government I dont want people knowing what I get upto in my spare time. Plus apart from a small number of people the majority are aged over 50 and dont actually care.

Saying that in the past when people have found out it hasnt made too much of a difference but in the past 2/3 years with the increasing popularity Myspace, Facebook etc. it can get slightly awkward. I do tell people who I honestly think would be interested tho. It all depends on the mix of people you work with really.

[Android]

you don't tell people about washing your laundry do you ?


seriously, if they arent going to have a clue, or respect what you are doing it isnt even worth wasting your time over.

I'm all for converting new people to EDM, but they usually are laid back and have an open mind.
If you dont work in that sort of environment, dont worry about sharing your hobbies / or find a new job

[optX]

my girlfriend always says : "A little word, that seems unimportant to you, can have a big influence in that guy's life, who heard that word" ... well, I believe that too, so if the situation is right and I am in the mood to speak about my hobbies, I will do. I am not going to hide myself, never, so if somebody don't like the music or looks at me in a stupid way because I tell from that 4 day party in the woods, well, sh!t on it, everybody is different, everybody likes something that another one doesn't ... but I, and i think many of you, know the big difference : We let them live, we aren't making jokes because the guy likes countryor whatever.

But everything is easier, for me it was at least, when people see that you know what you are doing... well, but there are always guys that aren't openminded at all and they aren't going to be openminded, hopeless, let them be what they want to be.

I have some guys in my company which are playing guitar in a metal band, it needed a couple of months of discussing, but now even they know, that producing electronic music isn't that easy, it's not just pushing a button and turning a knob et voila, here it is ... on the other hand i know, they will never see a syntesizer or a drum machine and therefore electronic music as something honest, as something respectable ... same with that unopenminded guys, that will always stay the same : Let them be, let them believe what they want, that's life about for me, everybody does sh!t, I don't believe my sh!t's more stinky than the others

[MINIMALTECHNOHOUSE]

I get this allot;

A says} "Soooo... what did you do this weekend?"

B Says} "Urm..........hmmmmm...........I just sat at my computer in the same clothes i wore to work and friday all weekend; it was great"