Chris Dyer is an artist who frequently vends at festivals and events around the country. Over 10 years ago Chris met Lorin (better known as Bassnectar) at a small show in Montreal. At the time Bassnectar spoke with him and complimented his art. Fast forward to a few months ago, Chris was asked to sketch out a poster for Bassnectar‘s annual New Year's Eve event.
Misunderstanding With No Contact
Today Chris Dyer teased the design he was working on for the event. Unbeknownst to him as no NDA was signed, the event details were private and him previewing the design of the poster was not something Bassnectar and his team wanted in any way. While this is a reasonable expectation for an artist who is contracted to create a design, Chris explained in a lengthy Instagram post that he was never told the details were private.
Upon seeing that the event details were leaked Bassnectar went on a Twitter tirade against the Festival Owl. Not only did he call Chris' art ugly, but went into full detail about the situation and dragged Chris' hard work and name further than many have seemed to think appropriate or necessary.
Over Reaction?
Upon seeing Lorin's response, Chris posted the below photo to Instagram, with a humble and heartfelt apology. I will be honest, I do not listen to Bassnectar as often as I did in the past, but this entire situation makes him look awful. I understand that event details are proprietary and secretive, but not the best way to handle a situation. No contracts or NDAs were signed with specific information about event information. Chris is a talented artist who made an honest mistake. It is also worth noting that the event on the poster is not any different from the last 2 New Year's Eve shows Bassnectar has put on.
Furthermore, Bassnectar said the details on the poster were not even accurate – so uhh why freak out and make fun of an artist who was doing his best to make something worthwhile? It does not sit right with me, check out the full interactions below.
UPDATE: Bassnectar continues to fire off on fans who questions the situation.
the logic of a 12 year old….. lol pic.twitter.com/pi0hPWRS8d
— matty (@BilboWompins) September 3, 2018
The Original Conflict
I made a humble mistake last week, so I’d like to explain myself and give my public apologies to a friend I might of hurt. Very recently I was asked to do a NYE event poster for the popular American dj @bassnectar . I met him 10 years ago, at a 200 person show in Montreal. He said he liked my art then and I had fun dancing to his set. Though I can’t honestly say I follow his music (Im more into collecting old vinyls), I’ve enjoyed dancing at his shows over the years and like him as a person when we’ve interacted. So I was stoked to do this poster for him! I did my first concept sketch right away and shared it on my story posts, as everything else I do. Soon after his manager calls to yell at me, as I had ruined some kind of surprise announcement I was unaware of. He never informed me about this (or made me sign a non-disclosure contract) when we discussed the poster. Usually people who hire me to do a poster appreciate when I help them get the word out. I have never been asked to keep a lineup or location secret. Since the manager didn’t ask me that neither, I obliviously shared my sketch. It was done with no malice, or as a leak to harm them, I just didn’t know about their announcement plots, stuff I don’t pay attention to in my busy life. So I was bummed to get yelled at and dismissed from the gig. But was extra sad to hear Lorin say mean things about me and my art on Twittter. I honestly don’t understand why the location/lineup of a show has to be kept secret from their fans, but I understand that they wanted to be the ones doing the announcement themselves. So if I’ve hurt somebody I considered a friend, I sincerely apologize. Harming fellow artists is the last thing I want to do. I wish they’d let me make it up to them by doing the sickest nye poster ever, but I understand they are mad at me and feel they need to punish me for my mistake. With all the horrible things going on our planet right now, I wish a show announcement coming out early, wouldn’t be such a big deal or a source for people to get so mad at fellow creators, but I accept their process and wish them the best! In the end this is just music n art to uplift the people, no need for drama or beef
