Mood:  caffeinated

November 2nd, 2013

Is Niagara Falls Haunted By Haters?

Recently in the media, Deadmau5, aka Joel Zimmerman, made some comments regarding Niagara Falls, so I thought I would add to the conversation, and besides, it's raining out today and I have fuck all to do, so why not exercise my thoughts a bit, and add a lil insight to those that will take the time to read.

For anyone that likes to take a couple off the cuff comments and turn them into a pile of unjust, incriminating bile, or requires some fapping sessions full of hate, this may or may not be for you:

My name is Brad Pine. Musically, I write, produce, publish, etc. various genres of music. I'm an obscure artist, with a unique character and talent that may or may not one day see some success in the entertainment industry.

I was not born in Niagara Falls, although my parents and family were. I was born in another city and deposited here when I was about three years old.

I love Niagara Falls. Let's make sure to get this on the record: I LOVE NIAGARA FALLS. Niagara Falls has it's own special, unique culture and feel to it, and a beautiful landscape. One that most local residents overlook, or take for granted. I do hope that Niagara Falls forever maintains it's beauty, despite a future scape I suspect will involve an influx of high rise hotels swallowing up the skies all around us.

I am a homeowner, and a tax payer in this city. I have done my fair share of charitable events in Niagara Falls, and the Niagara Region on my own time and dime. One of my electronic instrumental music tracks was featured on the first Rick Rose and Mark Matthews produced SPIRIT OF THE FALLS compilation album. In 2005 I received a $75 music grant via the City of Niagara Falls Arts & Culture Committee, which I used to help purchase a mixer for my music production endeavors.

In the mid nineties, I was front man for a local notable alternative/punk band called Malickis Happy Corn Club. A young Joel Zimmerman used to come out to see my band play. Apparently he enjoyed our performances, and well, Niagara Falls was, at least at that time for our demographic, a boring place to be, so seeing an alternative punk band live was most definitely something to help pass the time.

Niagara Falls, from the beginning of it's tourism industry, has always been a carnival show. A dark and little known fact is that on September 8th, 1827, some scum bag business owners went ahead with a promotional and money grabbing scheme in which they floated a burning schooner - that was also sinking due to damage to it's hull - full of animals that were intended to kill each other, as it went over the Falls. This event drew an estimated 15,000 people to see the ghastly affair. And no, this did not happen at Marineland, nor did a man named John Holer attend this event for any inspirational research into building any famous tourist attraction down the road.

In the late nineties, I worked for approximately five years seasonally for an alien museum that also involved a kind of haunted house section where we scared visitors by pretending aliens had escaped the laboratory chambers of Alien Encounter. I loved this place, and I loved this job. Sadly, the addition of more Haunted House-like attractions slit the throats of all the businesses that served that market, some have persevered, others long sunk. As well, when the 9/11 Terror Attacks happened, that definitely squashed a lot of business for Niagara Falls for a long period of time. I actually enjoy the fact Niagara Falls has these quirky tourist traps, even though the amount of them is disheartening.

Statements made by Joel Zimmerman about his thoughts about Niagara Falls are simply the way they are, off the cuff.

Please consider these thought/questions:

Do you want an entertainer/celebrity to be phony, or to tell you the truth (at least from their perspective/opinion)?

Can you handle such brutal honesty, such truth?

What did Niagara Falls ever do for the man that became Deadmau5?

Did Joel Zimmerman really say anything unfair?

Is a person's opinion, when excreted and exploited by media again and again, really how they feel?

Do you really want to hurt me?

Do you really want to make me cry?

Joel appears to be living and working a dream job that he conjured up. A dream job not pulled out of thin air, but created and rising from his studying, learning and applying effort to make his vision a reality. I'm positive a perfect storm helped things fall into place, but the main point is he put himself out on a line, and was able to walk it without a tether (sorry Nik Wallenda, and btw RIP Jay Cochrane) on his terms to success.

My opinion of Joel Zimmerman is that he's a self made man, and a phenomenal success story. Sometimes I run into people that say shit like he will be a has been in a year or two from now. I highly doubt that will happen. I find people that say shit about people are usually envious, jealous, and do not have an ounce of the success of those they are hating on.

Joel is an icon, and you really can't take that away from anyone once it's bestowed. Joel may change directions in the entertainment industry, or switch gears entirely and go further into the technology industry or something, but regardless of where he throws his focus, he will continue to break new ground in whatever field/path he ventures.

The only thing I truly dislike about Niagara Falls right now is the shit jobs and the crack/meth heads that live within proximity of me. However, I feel this is something that most North American cities are experiencing, so I can't really blame the city I live in for this scenario.

If you don't agree with what I am stating, then you're most likely an ignorant nobody that contributes fuck all to anything that matters, and most definitely gobbles up bullshit right from the cattle's ass.

What I have definitely learned very recently, is that people read about things they do not like. Haters like to hate, and they just can't get enough of it. Keep cutting, cutters.

Cheers to da Deadmau5!

Brad “brado” Pine

Musician/Producer/Motherfucker/Friend of Mr. Goblin (likes to fist, past his wrist)

Mutant Spider Recordings

www.mutantspider.com