The following is an open letter from one of our writers, Jesse Jester, to all that took umbrage with what he wrote in his review of the Open Mic Night at Bossy Grrl’s Pin Up Joint on Tuesday, June 27, 2017.

Jesse Jester
July 3, 2017

Well, this is all a bummer on my end. I want you all to know that when we put together this idea, we had in mind to highlight the intrigue of the Open Mic Night event held every Tuesday at Bossy Grrl’s Pin Up Joint, in hopes to draw new traffic to the area and perhaps shine a spotlight on some of the talent in Columbus. It appears that hope took a wrong turn down the middle, and it was, in fact, I who crashed on the delivery.

I am not a man of excuses, but anyone who knows me, knows that the last two weeks have been exceptionally difficult for me. I honestly almost didn’t even come out to Open Mic Night last week. Still, I ended up missing the first act due to being held late at work that night. I pride myself as a man who can generally work through the internal turmoil that I deal with, but in hindsight, it was probably not a good idea to go forward as I did that evening.

The most unfortunate thing for me is that this was an idea that had been planned out for several weeks, with the support of the venue and the hosts. I personally have attended many of the recent open mic nights, and if you were at Bossy Grrl’s Pin Up Joint that evening, you know that I enjoyed it thoroughly. The staff there are exemplary, and Nick and Jenelle are consummate hosts. To think that any negative light has been shed on any of the aforementioned people is truly a personal disappointment to me.

However, in reading through my article a week later, I can understand the uproar that has happened today. What initially had been planned as a simple spotlight, ended up turning in to a full-on show review, and that was definitely unintentional. Perhaps I was of the wrong mind that evening, but it seems now that I was simply overzealous in my critique of the night. It was never my intention to build up or to tear down any of the acts; only to show just how many different unique profiles perform there on a weekly basis.

All of us at Music in Motion Columbus will always give you an honest ear and eye. That is our creed, and we will always stand by it. However, it is clear to me now that a different ear should have been given to this event. After all, things like Open Mic and Karaoke are simply meant to be a fun avenue for bringing people together and letting loose what we all have inside of ourselves. It definitely should not be something that is held under a magnifying glass, especially in a public forum.

With all of that in mind, I do apologize for coming across that way. It was never my goal for all of this to play out as it has, and I have advised our Managing Editor to go ahead and take down the article in an attempt to fix any bridges I may have accidentally laid siege upon. I try to hold myself to a higher standard when writing, but I’m man enough to admit when I’ve made a mistake and fallen flat on my face.

I would hope that all of the upset parties would accept my apology, and at the very least reach out and touch base with me regarding this entire fiasco. I will always accept any honest criticism of my work, and would happily engage in dialogue with anyone who wants to talk about these things.

The long and short of the above is that I am truly and genuinely sorry that all of this went down. I appreciate our Managing Editor’s support in the matter, but in the end I should not have submitted that article, especially with such negative tones. Anyone who wishes to speak with me may do so on my own personal Facebook page (Jesse Jester), as it was I who am the guilty party in this matter.

From the Managing Editor:

My hope is that Jesse Jester’s mea culpa satiates those who were offended. Due to the responses we received about the article in question, I have made the decision that we will not cover “open mic nights” moving forward.

While the tone of his article was not received well, what the readers should remember is that reviews are subjective. What one person sees or hears as being “good,” someone else will see or hear as “not being that good.”

After having three music editors that I know personally (one in Los Angeles, two in New York City) review Jesse Jester’s article (and finding nothing wrong with it), I have decided not to take down the article from the website. This decision rests solely on my shoulders, knowing that some will never be satisfied.

Our motto has always been to “Support Local Music.” That does not mean that we write “puff” pieces about performances. That means that we write as honestly as we can about what we see and hear. With the good, comes the bad. That’s the yin and yang of the world. 

With respect,
Rick Gethin
Managing Editor
Music in Motion Columbus