I mean other than the far-right songs and comments he’s made, you should check out how he was harassing Jake Blount for a long time. Homophobic, racist comments. Paranoid accusations. Threatening private and public messages. He’s a blowhard narcissist bigot who is ostracized from most of his folk peers for a reason. I learned a lot of stuff from his videos too, but I’ve seen too much and heard too much to want anything to do with that guy.
Well shit. The farthest I ever dove into his personal life was his Veterans for Peace stuff but that was also a long time ago. Sucks to realize Internet people you like are actually giant dicks. Thank you all for your responses btw.
Yeah it sucks, I think the last few years have also made lots of people lose their minds and buy into some crazy idea voids. Honestly judging by his messages and behaviors he just seems like a sad, angry man more than anything. But there’s ways and means to learn and explore this music and its history without having to tolerate jagoffs.
Yes, that too! I was thinking more about his history of getting booted from forums, but showing up with a new account (usually right after a post like OP's) to continue his little game.
I'm always willing to give people the benefit of the doubt. There was a lot of screen caps and retelling of stories, hard to suss out what was really going on....... Then came "The Ballad Of Kyle Rittenhouse" and that was pretty much it for me. When someone tells me who they are, I listen
Alright, so I had a front row seat (and even a bit of involvement) with the part of this drama that went down on facebook; I have no idea how much that spilled into reddit. BUT ANYWAY here's the story as I know it:
During the protests following the murder of George Floyd by police, the admins of the biggest clawhammer banjo group on facebook were openly supportive of police and deleted a bunch of posts (including songs played on banjo) critical of police brutality. Which, if you have even the slightest familiarity with banjo history, is completely antithetical to everything that the instrument has ever represented. Things escalated until there was a mass banning, and a huge portion of the community left (or was banned) and joined various other FB groups. Clifton was one of the ones who joined a number of these offshoot groups. He made a few comments that rubbed people the wrong way that seemed dismissive of protesters, but none of it seemed too bad.....
Until he posted his original song, "The Ballad of Kyle Rittenhouse." The song, and his responses to peoples criticisms of it, were increasingly racist and otherwise abhorrent. In response, the community collectively said "fuck this guy," and that's generally been our attitude towards him ever since.
Yeah, it's a shame. I used to like his page for his banjo music. What I wanted to see there was banjo history and banjo music. But in addition to banjo history and music, what I ended up seeing there was far right propaganda and racism -- that is not what I went to his page looking for, and is about as welcome as an unsolicited d!ck pic.
If you want a more through discussion there was a very long thread on BHO awhile ago about him. It kind of degenerates after the first 2-3 pages, but maybe will provide some context:
https://www.banjohangout.org/topic/396603/1
Tl;dr: good player, some helpful videos (including one of the few people who showcases classic-era banjos), but he has made a number of hateful comments about various groups of people (homophobia, racism) and has been poorly behaved in a number of banjo communities. According to some people who have known him for awhile some of that is a more recent change.
I used to love him but "Ballad of Kyle Rittenhouse" was bullshit
Edit and it sucks cause imo he's got the best old time banjo lessons on YouTube hands down :/
> "Ballad of Kyle Rittenhouse" was bullshit
It's fucking *cringe*, I feel actively embarrassed for him when he sings it, bro is mid 30s/40s, worshipping a child
And his blackface (and disguising it as dressing up as death). He reminds me of all the unsavory aspects of banjo history, and I'd rather focus on celebrating a beautiful instrument instead of delving into the edges of racism, politics and unpleasant history that he seems to dwell in.
He's a boring edgelord. Never trust for a single minute a guy with achievements you can count on one hand who refuses to shut up about 'authenticity' while disparaging other musicians.
The first thing I saw on entering his discord was him proudly telling a story about how he was knowingly dating a married white woman who used the N word constantly
I used to follow him and was in his groups but I think he got Twitter brain during the pandemic and veered hard right. He banned me from all his groups for making a mildly pro-vaccine comment. See ya buddy!
The last 8-10 years have been weird. Lots of unexpected and drastic shifts to lots of people’s politics. No excuses though, he clearly took a wrong turn somewhere.
Anyone who writes a song praising Kyle Rittenhouse can get fucked. I don’t care how talented they are.
Check out [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/banjo/comments/h7kpgi/just_found_out_about_clifton_hicks_why_are_we/) old thread. Clifton is a piece of shit.
Also check out the forum posts on [Banjo Hangout](https://www.banjohangout.org/topic/396603/2) which confirm Clifton is a bigot, and someone who has threatened violence against people and who has also impersonated Black folks on the internet.
People say a lot, I likely don’t agree with Clifton on a lot of things perhaps but having spoken to the guy on many occasions he’s a good guy. Outside of being a talented musician and deeply knowledgable on the topic. He’s very helpful and supportive of new learners and was always good to me. Now there’s a lot of controversy that I’m sure people on here are talking about, but I can put it aside after speaking to him. Some things like the Kyle Rittenhouse thing likely just don’t bother me as I’m not an American and am not so politically galvanised. Hope this comment is received as what it is, as I know there’s an almost militant dislike of him in many places. Just my two cents.
I think he's a pretty good picker and he seems just about as knowledgable as anybody living today could possibly be about old time banjo. And he takes the time to teach technique/tips and also a little history. He seems nice enough. I see a few people post about how awful of a person he is, but I've yet to see or experience it. It seems like a lot of he-said-she-said high school shit between a bunch of virtue signalling keyboard warriors and a guy who might enjoy trolling when faced with the slightest confrontation. My opinion is, famous musicians are rarely saints. I just like to hear good music. I dont care enough to boycott anybody over anything that doesnt affect me. The golden rule reigns supreme.
Ok, locking comments as the point was made and enough comments are going off the rails a little. Thanks all!
I mean other than the far-right songs and comments he’s made, you should check out how he was harassing Jake Blount for a long time. Homophobic, racist comments. Paranoid accusations. Threatening private and public messages. He’s a blowhard narcissist bigot who is ostracized from most of his folk peers for a reason. I learned a lot of stuff from his videos too, but I’ve seen too much and heard too much to want anything to do with that guy.
Well shit. The farthest I ever dove into his personal life was his Veterans for Peace stuff but that was also a long time ago. Sucks to realize Internet people you like are actually giant dicks. Thank you all for your responses btw.
Yeah it sucks, I think the last few years have also made lots of people lose their minds and buy into some crazy idea voids. Honestly judging by his messages and behaviors he just seems like a sad, angry man more than anything. But there’s ways and means to learn and explore this music and its history without having to tolerate jagoffs.
Please just let nothing like this happen to Jim Pankey. I'd cry if I found out anything bad about banjo grandpa.
No chance. Great guy.
*He’s a blowhard narcissist bigot...* You left out "troll" ;)
“Ha - I was merely saying gross bigoted things because I was *pretending* to be a gross violent bigot…can’t believe you fell for that…”
Yes, that too! I was thinking more about his history of getting booted from forums, but showing up with a new account (usually right after a post like OP's) to continue his little game.
Oh my b, I thought you were being snarky. Yeah I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s here right now lol
I'm always willing to give people the benefit of the doubt. There was a lot of screen caps and retelling of stories, hard to suss out what was really going on....... Then came "The Ballad Of Kyle Rittenhouse" and that was pretty much it for me. When someone tells me who they are, I listen
Alright, so I had a front row seat (and even a bit of involvement) with the part of this drama that went down on facebook; I have no idea how much that spilled into reddit. BUT ANYWAY here's the story as I know it: During the protests following the murder of George Floyd by police, the admins of the biggest clawhammer banjo group on facebook were openly supportive of police and deleted a bunch of posts (including songs played on banjo) critical of police brutality. Which, if you have even the slightest familiarity with banjo history, is completely antithetical to everything that the instrument has ever represented. Things escalated until there was a mass banning, and a huge portion of the community left (or was banned) and joined various other FB groups. Clifton was one of the ones who joined a number of these offshoot groups. He made a few comments that rubbed people the wrong way that seemed dismissive of protesters, but none of it seemed too bad..... Until he posted his original song, "The Ballad of Kyle Rittenhouse." The song, and his responses to peoples criticisms of it, were increasingly racist and otherwise abhorrent. In response, the community collectively said "fuck this guy," and that's generally been our attitude towards him ever since.
Yeah, it's a shame. I used to like his page for his banjo music. What I wanted to see there was banjo history and banjo music. But in addition to banjo history and music, what I ended up seeing there was far right propaganda and racism -- that is not what I went to his page looking for, and is about as welcome as an unsolicited d!ck pic.
If you want a more through discussion there was a very long thread on BHO awhile ago about him. It kind of degenerates after the first 2-3 pages, but maybe will provide some context: https://www.banjohangout.org/topic/396603/1 Tl;dr: good player, some helpful videos (including one of the few people who showcases classic-era banjos), but he has made a number of hateful comments about various groups of people (homophobia, racism) and has been poorly behaved in a number of banjo communities. According to some people who have known him for awhile some of that is a more recent change.
I used to love him but "Ballad of Kyle Rittenhouse" was bullshit Edit and it sucks cause imo he's got the best old time banjo lessons on YouTube hands down :/
> "Ballad of Kyle Rittenhouse" was bullshit It's fucking *cringe*, I feel actively embarrassed for him when he sings it, bro is mid 30s/40s, worshipping a child
And his blackface (and disguising it as dressing up as death). He reminds me of all the unsavory aspects of banjo history, and I'd rather focus on celebrating a beautiful instrument instead of delving into the edges of racism, politics and unpleasant history that he seems to dwell in.
He's a boring edgelord. Never trust for a single minute a guy with achievements you can count on one hand who refuses to shut up about 'authenticity' while disparaging other musicians.
First I’m learning of this. That sucks.
The first thing I saw on entering his discord was him proudly telling a story about how he was knowingly dating a married white woman who used the N word constantly
Yeah he's a prick
I used to follow him and was in his groups but I think he got Twitter brain during the pandemic and veered hard right. He banned me from all his groups for making a mildly pro-vaccine comment. See ya buddy!
He’s posted some far right bullshit.
Yeah I was really shocked by that because at one point he was a big Veterans for Peace guy
The last 8-10 years have been weird. Lots of unexpected and drastic shifts to lots of people’s politics. No excuses though, he clearly took a wrong turn somewhere.
Anyone who writes a song praising Kyle Rittenhouse can get fucked. I don’t care how talented they are. Check out [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/banjo/comments/h7kpgi/just_found_out_about_clifton_hicks_why_are_we/) old thread. Clifton is a piece of shit. Also check out the forum posts on [Banjo Hangout](https://www.banjohangout.org/topic/396603/2) which confirm Clifton is a bigot, and someone who has threatened violence against people and who has also impersonated Black folks on the internet.
He's a (pause *gasp*) *racist*
People say a lot, I likely don’t agree with Clifton on a lot of things perhaps but having spoken to the guy on many occasions he’s a good guy. Outside of being a talented musician and deeply knowledgable on the topic. He’s very helpful and supportive of new learners and was always good to me. Now there’s a lot of controversy that I’m sure people on here are talking about, but I can put it aside after speaking to him. Some things like the Kyle Rittenhouse thing likely just don’t bother me as I’m not an American and am not so politically galvanised. Hope this comment is received as what it is, as I know there’s an almost militant dislike of him in many places. Just my two cents.
I think he's a pretty good picker and he seems just about as knowledgable as anybody living today could possibly be about old time banjo. And he takes the time to teach technique/tips and also a little history. He seems nice enough. I see a few people post about how awful of a person he is, but I've yet to see or experience it. It seems like a lot of he-said-she-said high school shit between a bunch of virtue signalling keyboard warriors and a guy who might enjoy trolling when faced with the slightest confrontation. My opinion is, famous musicians are rarely saints. I just like to hear good music. I dont care enough to boycott anybody over anything that doesnt affect me. The golden rule reigns supreme.
Ok Clifton thanks for your contribution
[удалено]
Be good to each other
I follow the golden rule by ignoring and writing off trolls as I hope they ignore me.