The Current’s LineCheck is a series of public forum events with Minnesota artists discussing various topics affecting the local art scene. To hear clips from this episode of LineCheck, tune in to The Current’s Local Show on Sunday, Mar. 27 from 6-8 p.m. Central. To enjoy the full conversation, use the video player above. For a brief transcript of interview highlights, read on.

TikTok, reigning home of the viral video, is full of bands trying to grab some attention. But what are the best uses (and pitfalls) of TikTok as a platform? Our host Diane asked TikTok star Xavier Goodman, former TV producer Mark Mallman, and the siblings of Durry how they use TikTok to gain new fans and express themselves.

The key to TikTok is authenticity

Xavier Goodman: It’s nothing like any other platform. You can post something, and an audience of over thousands of people can see it within a matter of 24 hours. And it’s more realistic. So you can wake up one day from your sleep, and then make a TikTok, and it blow up. You don’t really have to dress up and put on your best — you really can just be yourself, be authentic, show the true side of you, true version of you. And people can connect with you in that light … I create TikToks as if I’m FaceTiming somebody, or talking to somebody, or if I got a friend that’s in front of me.

Mark Mallman: Well, I totally agree with him. And I think the one thing that shines through on this app more than any other app that I’ve experienced is simply sincerity. It works for people who can be themselves and do their passion. For me, it’s making these music history things. For Xavier, it’s sharing his daily experience. But you can tell immediately when someone’s being thirsty, and it just doesn’t jive. These big celebrities will come on, and they’ll say — Elton John or Lindsay Lohan will be like, “I’m on TikTok now!” This isn’t that sort of community. And it's not gated, but you have to learn the communication skills of it. And what I love about it is — there’s still people buying their way on TikTok — but for the most part, you can reach an audience of people who want to hear your sincere concepts and feelings. It is an art form. It’s just that society never adapts to new things. It just takes them a while to see how it fits in. 

Durry finished “Who’s Laughing Now?” after it blew up

Austin Durry: It's so funny that [“Who’s Laughing Now?”] is the song that's blowing up, because it's talking about itself being successful, because I finished writing it as it was blowing up on TikTok. The first little verse blew up on TikTok, and on the way to the studio to record the real deal, that's when I wrote the third verse. Like, "It's all happening. I just paid the rent making music with my friends."

How do you know when your videos are good enough?

Xavier Goodman: I think that the practice happens when you're doing it. Stop thinking, and just do. And then once you do it, you'll notice, “Hmm, it's not the way I want it yet, but I'm doing something. I'm creating.” And that's the thing of an artist.

You're a creator. You create things. You're going to be your biggest critic, and that's OK. You're critiquing yourself as you're going. But you have to fail to get better. You have to fail to know, “I don't like the way that turned out, so I know what to do now to make it better.” So just create. Just create. If you're taking two months to think about a video, you're taking way too long. Just post the video. Just post it. And through your post, through your actions, it's like your practice.

Mark Mallman: I'm a big fan of researching the Marx Brothers and the vaudeville experience. Touring as a musician, you try something out one night. The Marx Brothers, they would try a joke out one night. If it wouldn't work, they wouldn't use it anymore, and they would keep going.

I think what's dangerous about all social media for an artist is you can start chasing numbers. You can start recognizing the wrong thing. So you have to make something, to a point, that might appeal to people. But at the same time, what's past your career and what's past your numbers on social media is we have a limited time on this Earth as people. And whatever you spend your day doing is a part of your story, is a part of your narrative. If you're chasing a carrot by making content, I don't think you're valuably using your experience on this Earth.

If you've ever seen The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, there's a beautiful scene at the end where Sean Penn is supposed to take a picture of an animal. And he moves aside, and looks at the animal, and never takes the picture. And the point of that is you can't capture life and experience life at the same time. So you have to just make sure that you don't ever lose sight of your time on Earth to social media or to anything.

TikTok is a “slot machine”

Austin Durry: TikTok is interesting, because you can just explode on it. Other places, you have to have this gradual, gradual growth. And TikTok, if you hit it right and get lucky, and people connect to what you're doing, the sky's the limit. You can just blow up like crazy. I say it's like a slot machine. You're just rolling the dice. See what you get. Yeah. So we just got lucky with some content people really liked, and are figuring out now what people like, and trying to keep it going.