Often, those who tread off the beaten path are misunderstood or mischaracterized and so we asked folks from the community to reflect and tell us about the times they’ve been misunderstood or mischaracterized.

Black & White Motion Picture

Absolutely. As a band without a commercial equivalent, we often find ourselves with the difficult task of defining our sound. Since we arent a clone of an existing band we usually just say “rock” or “indie”. And look, if we cant define ourselves, how in the world will can an outside third party? There have been more than a few articles written about us mislabeling or mischaracterizing us or our music… what can you do? You dont want to be “that guy” and correct everyone all the time, no sense in burning calories pursuing accuracy Read more>>

Tony Smotherman

I think all artist deal with being misunderstood on one level or another. I can only speak for myself of course, but early on in my journey as I started learning classical guitar, I wasn’t particularly interested in playing other genres of music at the time. I was wholeheartedly set on strictly performing and recording as a classical guitarist. This music requires complete dedication. I remember being advised early on that it wasn’t a popular form of guitar music and that I should be focusing my energy on genres that would attract bigger audiences. Read more>>

Haley Slamon

One of the worst things about being an artist is practically everyone who views your work will immediately try to sort you into a box, usually a box you don’t fit in. I will never forget as an actor the matter-of-fact way casting directors have talked about what roles I could and couldn’t play, based solely on appearance rather than talent. Read more>>

Kalil ROS

As an inspirational hip-hop artist, I don’t really fit into a specific category. I can be considered as too secular for Gospel music and too Gospel for secular music. Regardless, I will continue to put God’s message into my music to inspire people to go after their dreams and overcome everyday struggles. What I do isn’t about running after what’s popular- I don’t mind being in my own lane. Read more>>

Garrett Young

Throughout my creative career, being misunderstood and mischaracterized has been a recurring issue. Having a diverse array of musical influences and not falling under a singular genre has sometimes felt like a detriment more than a benefit. However, fighting the urge to conform and staying true to my passion and influences has proved to be one of the most character building experiences in my life. It has forced me to push aside my doubts and find confidence in my own path. Read more>>

Stells Di Rossi Hurst

When you think rock and roll over the past few decades what do you picture on the stage? Sadly, there is an automatic gender bias of someone male and the industry is predominantly Caucasian for most of the world. Names like Big Mama Thornton and Rosetta Thorpe are an antidote of social bias stamped beside them because the were not allowed to cross over into mainstream outside of their communities in the their eras and not attributed to being part of the founding influences of the rock music until much after 2020 by the industry. Read more>>

Kizzy Cobain

As an artist, I often times feel extremely misunderstood. Which in my opinion, is to be expected. Everyone in this world is different and unique in their own way. It’s not to say that no one ever understands, but never to the fullest extent. And that’s what makes art valuable to me. To be able to tell a story that can be interpreted in an infinite number of ways is where the beauty lies. At one point in my life, I strived to be understood. Read more>>

Errol Fritz

Yes. One-hundred percent of the time actually. I basically wake up in the morning, pour myself some coffee and feel the curse of misunderstanding. I can’t think of one specific incident, there’s just too many. Being a lone-wolf is enough for humans to snub anyone it seems. The San Diego scene is very much in their comfort zone. The community will preserve it’s mellow nature at all costs. To the people who run this town, my art is viewed as a direct threat to the culture (or lack thereof). Read more>>

Super Beezy 64

Often times my music is seen as “Meme Rap.” While people who discover me, and the algorithms of music streaming platforms categorize me this way, this is far from the truth. In reality, I take my art very seriously. I like to include pop culture, video game, movie, and anime references in my songs. I like to bring a comedic tone to a lot of my songs, because that is who I am. Read more>> 

Riki Kubota

I think I’m in a weird space creatively. First and foremost, I’m a music artist. I’ve been making music my whole life, and the entire reason why I started building an online presence on social media platforms was to share my music to potential fans and new listeners. Read more>>

Lucas Essman

This is such an intriguing question I think, and the answer is absolutely. I actually contemplated this a great deal last year, because it seems to happen more than I’d like honestly. There’s a few aspects as to why I think I get perceived differently than who I really am. Read more>>

Coach Evan The “Shred Sensei”

I feel as though the world is moving towards a popularizing of skateboarding as a normal American pastime, especially with the recent inclusion of it in the Olympic Games, but for decades the hyper default cliche has always been “I’d Skateboard, but i can’t afford to get hurt.” Or, “Skateboarding, oh that’s too dangerous.” Who DOESN’T know someone with a skateboarding story about a fall, a sprain, or a bad experience? Read more>>