I've had the good fotune to get together with an old band of mine for some reunion shows over the past year or so. We play all classic country and country gospel. I've never made this much money playing ever. People pack the house to hear REAL country music.

My son, who is a fine musician and singer, was emabarrassed when I told him I was going to be doing this country band reunion. But, when he and his college buddies showed up one night they were blown away. They flat-out dug classic country. The only reason they had hated country was because they had grown up hearing the junk that is marketed today.

I haven't been on the road for a couple of years, but when I left trucking, everybody out there was complaining about how bad country had gotten--not just we old-timers, but even moreso with the kids.

What i am getting at is that no one is going to tell me there is no market for real country music. I refuse to buy that lie. Why can't we do what the hippies did and just buck the system? I remember Jim Fourat, who was with Sony at the time, telling me that they would have jumped at the chance to sign Phish, but they couldn't touch them; they had beaten their system. How? By doing their own marketing, by holding their own concerts and festivals and by printing the permission on every one of their CDs enabling anyone to go out and make as many copies as they wanted for their friends. Phish was commanding 75 to 100 grand for a concert, what CDs they did sell, they made money on and didnt have to buy them back from Sony for 10 or 11 bucks a piece so they had some to sell at their shows. They made money from all their merchandise because THEY managed it. They had their own website and you could buy whatever you wanted on there.

This started a trend which spread like wild-fire. Next thing you know there were festivals like Boneroo and others that rivaled Woodstock 69. And the industry bigwigs couldn't cash in on it.

When I look at what we've done on a small scale, and when I consider all the great music that is out there, much of it being put out by our own forumites, I have a hard time believing that country artists couldn't just walk away from the system and follow in the footsteps of the hippies. Surely, I mean surely, there is a much bigger market for real country music than there is for jambands. Don't get me wrong, I like some of these bands, but when you look at this thing statistically, the numbers of country fans must outweigh jamband fans by at least 50 to 1.

XM radio is beginning to break the mold, but will take a while to make a big impact. But, if everyone brainstormed this thing, and did their part, I can't help but to believe that guys like Bud Carter and Gene Fields would be listed on Wall Street.

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My best,
Ernie

www.buddyemmons.com

[This message was edited by Ernie Renn on 07 March 2005 at 07:39 PM.]

Bands like Phish, Widespread Panic, and frankly, guys like Robert Randolph, defied the regular rules and made their own. I think self-production, self-distribution, and self-promotion is possible now IF one is sufficiently business-savvy and hard-working. It means logging the miles, doing the hard work, and also avoiding the traps and pitfalls of the music business, which are obviously many.

One of those pitfalls, IMO, is the belief that someone else has got to (and is gonna) do it for you. The web is the great promotional equalizer, IMO. But you've got to have something to promote. Grass roots isn't new. The acid-rock bands in the SF Bay area did it in the late 60s. The punkers set up their own scene in the 70s, it's not just the hippies. When you define your own culture and have lots of adherents, people will seek you out.

Another limiter is the commonly-held belief that somebody else's idea of success is the only one. If what's important is superstardom and adulation, not making a good living making music, they've immediately got you by the grapes. You need to be very secure with yourself to take this approach, but there are living, walking examples. Now, what I'm suggesting is not an easy lifestyle, I rejected it a long time ago, but it's not because I don't think it's possible.

Now what does the real country music culture have that's saleable? IMO, authenticity, emotion, and real human pathos, the same drawing card as the blues, and a set of values that people continue to come back to, again and again. No, not everybody, but LOTS. At some point, most people NEED authenticity and simplicity. Not when everything is going great, not when everybody's young, healthy, and carefree, and the (either real or dreamed-of) BMWs and Dom Perignon are flowing like a gushing oil spout. But when their parents are sick, their job's a drag, their kids are demanding and difficult, and they're beginning to wonder just what they're doing here on planet earth, that's when you have their attention. IMO. Look at the demographics, people my age (50 plus or minus 10 years) in record numbers heading into the 'difficult years', in many ways. You really begin to appreciate the simple, authentic things. Again, IMO.

Earnest, Ernie, you're certainly correct, the system has been 'bucked', to some extent - great music is available. But still, large chunks of the population still can't turn a real country radio station on, and most still hold silly myths about what real country music is. And plenty of fine country musicians can't make a living doing what they do so well right now. Turn on the TV, this is an urban/hip-hop culture right now. IMO.

Sometimes I'm tempted to throw a vase throught the TV set when I see some of the stuff on CMT, but I'd be the only one who lost.

Sure there is some great music out there, but you have to understand that it is going to take more than just having it lay around in cyber-space to get the attention of a generation that has been sold an empty shirt with the Country Music logo on it.

Those who do love country, but are not directly involved with it as we are, don't have any clue that any of this stuff is available. Something radical needs to be done in order to restore good music, country or otherwise, to a state of cultural relevancy.

A co-op of musicians and music lovers who develop their own radio and TV networks? Country Music festivals? I don't know the answer and even if we were successful, big media would soon cash in on it with a cheap clone, just as they have in the past.

Dave, you are right that the hippies are not the only ones, they're just the most recent ones to break the rules. Hendrix, Clapton, Zepplin, ELP, guys like that, forced the industry to S.O.G.O.T.P.

I hope that XM, mp3 and other internet options, The Nashville Show, etc., are part of something that will eventually break this pop-culture hypnosis. But something a lot bigger and more public is going to be needed to awaken the masses.

I spent 8 years writing for Nashville. What Music Row has done is to become poisoned by the principle of "largest demographic=the most money." I was told the following:

Don't write drinking songs
Don't write cheating songs
Don't write shuffles of any kind
Don't write about death, etc....

Well, that erases about 95% of the songs I loved, LOL!

Basically, the formula is up-tempo pabulum with hooks, aimed at making nobody think or feel too much about anything. Today's "country" music is so hell bent on being clever and obtuse that it has left the real human emotions behind, in a large degree. Granted, there are songs that cut the mustard still--thank God. But, so much of it is such utter crap.

The heart and soul of country is still very much alive in this world. We are the people who have to bring it to those who love it. Webb's testimony about how people are flocking to see his group is proof that the fans are out there.

The answer is to get out there and play the music. Record our own CD's and get this music to the real fans of country music. They are not buying the intellectual clever BS that Music Row is trying to shove down our throats. The big boys from LA and New York who came to Nashville and tried to turn gold into platinum have screwed it up so bad that is embarrassing.

The Classics so so speak..are the real deal..and it shows everytime time out...

Our set lists are made up of primarily classic tunes from the 60's thru the early 90's with a bunch of AJ, GS ,Merle, Waylon Brad Paisley..etc..these are the tunes that are always requested..

I can't remember the last time anyone asked for a Tim McGraw or Kenny Cheesy tune..or the likes there of......

thank god..

t

[This message was edited by Tony Prior on 08 March 2005 at 07:27 AM.]

The rules of the game are being changed as we speak. There are more alternatives to mainstream corporate "music" than ever before. Don't use CMT as a rule of thumb. Many, many artists and acts live and thrive off the corporate grid. Young people respond positively to classic country whereever I play. Satellite radio and the internet have changed the rules forever.

Corporate America and the FCC took the airwaves from us, let's make sure they don't swipe and control the internet too.

cheers,
Drew

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Drew Howard - website - Fessy D-10 8/8, Magnatone S-8, N400's, BOSS RV-3

Tony's correct, the corporate musical pablum is only valid in the moment, where the 'classic' music speaks across generations, always has and always will. That goes directly to young people who are willing to be different, but the pressure to conform is very high right now. The influence of corporate media has a very powerful grip. Folks, this is about more than country music, or any kind of music for that matter. We are fighting for nothing less than the soul of our children and grandchildren. Of course, all of this IMO.

People need something they can relate to. They can't relate to some ethereal pop star singing about fantasies. Life is a lot more of a bitch than a beach.

Dave, keep that prophet of doom stuff coming because as much as we need vision, we need to reckon with the realities of the "enemy" who has stolen the heartbeat of our music.

Great ideas everybody.

[This message was edited by Webb Kline on 08 March 2005 at 01:54 PM.]

quote:

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The heart and soul of country is still very much alive in this world.

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The bottom line is, if you don't support your local bands...there soon won't be any local bands.

So go out and see 'em!

Buy a CD!

Tell your friends!

Buy another CD!

I agree that sucking the real-life out of music is a huge part of the problem. I don't think it's hypocritical at all for a preacher to encourage people to face reality. One can only deal with problems after one has faced them squarely. As a society, we're big on what I call 'happy talk', you see/hear it everywhere. One is branded as 'negative' to be any other way, but I argue that it is emphatically not "being negative" to try to call things as they are. The media has always been about fantasy, to some extent. That's probably healthy, in its place, but it's not healthy to completely retreat from reality.

What I said in my first post is that different demographic groups tend to have different priorities. The baby boom generation is heading into the 'difficult reality' phase of life, and is a prime audience for what I call 'authentic music'. We've had (and continue to have) dreams - some worked, some didn't - but it's a reflective time where many of us try to come to grips with our lives. It's not hard to understand that younger people have a different attitude. For typical young, healthy 20-34-year-olds, the majority of life is ahead of them. They're focused on their bright future, not their problems, especially when they go out for entertainment. But the entertainment industry is being unbelievably boneheaded to think that they're the only ones who care about entertainment such as music. For the last 50 years, the entire culture has become more and more obsessively youth-oriented, but I think everyone's gonna get a rude shock when this huge boomer demographic bulge starts retiring en masse and have enough time on their hands to really start to make some noise. But we had better start to flex some economic muscle or they're going to continue to ignore us.

I don't object to people being able to listen to any music they want to. If that's Country, fine. Hip-hop, OK. Blues, Rock, Jazz, Classical, whatever. But I do object to an effective monopoly of the 'media source' having the power to withold any groups' interests. And without intervention from a grass-roots effort like we're talking about, I believe that's where we're headed. I don't necessarily believe it's any 'evil plan', it's just sort of the mass-market approach to marketing, get 70% of the market (mean plus or minus one std. deviation) with 30% of the effort. The goal is always strictly the bottom line, right? "You mean you're over 6 feet tall? Well, we just don't have any pants to fit you, sir. The highest our inseams go is 32"." It's fine that some stores cater to the 'normal-sized' person, but there'd be a helluva problem if there was nowhere for other people to find clothes. There's no problem with clothes, because any chump who wants to can open a clothing store. Not so in the broadcasting business. The FCC has created an oligopoly by approving consolidation of almost the entire broadcast business into a few companies. They've singlehandedly reversed the work of the last 50 years to spread this out. This is going to take some real work to change, IMO.

So, Donny's right, we need to support local bands who play the kind of music we like. No excuses, if it's important, we need to do it. If we show them we will come, some places will even go no-smoking on gigs like this. We have absolutely zero no-smoking laws in clubs here, but several places now feature no-smoking when promoting a blues, jazz, or classic country show. But we have to TELL them what we need, and then SHOW UP and PAY THE MAN when they do what we ask. I almost never buy big-label CDs, but there is tons of very cool indy and small-label stuff coming out. The entertainment business largely writes older people off. They need to see we can still flex economic muscle.

But, our society has become fat and lazy and no longer wants to work for anything. It's a lot easier to find other interests when the ones which once held our hearts betray our affections. Part of the blame falls on us because of our own complacency. That is perhaps a greater threat to us than big media.

quote:

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Corporate America and the FCC took the airwaves from us, let's make sure they don't swipe and control the internet too.

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Dave Mudgett

quote:

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The corporate music interests have strong motivation to prevent these changes from happening… they control the airwaves almost completely… and the FCC stands by and lets this consolidation get tighter and tighter… don't expect them to give up satellite and internet without a fight, they want it all, and have proven that again and again.

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There are vast hordes of eager young men and women packed chock-full into skyscrapers all across America who are employed by the mega-corporations with the sole purpose of figuring out new ways to take your money away from you and give it to the mega-corporations, and they are frighteningly good at what they do. If they can’t hypnotize you with your TV, turning your brain into mush with an unceasing barrage of sexual frenzy, 4th-grade fart jokes and relentless moronism and then, once you’re down for the count, injecting your brain with slithering subliminal messages of throbbing material-lust causing you, nay, forcing you to tear shrieking out of the house to blast away your hard-earned money buying a bunch of crap you don’t even want and surely can’t possibly need, if this doesn’t work (damn those non-TV watchers anyways!) they are not at all above filing lawsuits, bribing regulators and purchasing politicians (not at all a hard thing to do these days, sorry to say) in order to get what they want: total control over your mind and your money.

The FCC appoints board members based on their “expertise”, and guess who the experts are on communications? Excerpts from: http://www.fcc.gov/commissioners/

quote:

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Prior to her FCC appointment, Commissioner Abernathy was Vice President of Public Policy at BroadBand Office Communications, Inc.

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quote:

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Mr. Copps served until January 2001 as Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Trade Development at the U.S. Department of Commerce. In that role, Mr. Copps worked to improve market access and market share for nearly every sector of American industry, including information technologies, telecommunications, aerospace, automotive, environmental technologies, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, textiles, service industries, and tourism. Mr. Copps devoted much of his time to building private sector-public sector partnerships to enhance our nation’s success in the global economy.

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quote:

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Before joining the FCC, Martin was a Special Assistant to the President for Economic Policy. He served on the Bush-Cheney Transition Team and was Deputy General Counsel for the Bush campaign.

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The way these corporations do business is, they make projections based on what they think they can squeeze out of the people (YOU and ME) and then their business either “outperforms” or “underperforms” their projections. When you’re not watching MTV or CMT or CBS or buying DVD’s from Blockbuster or CD’s from a Viacom-owned record company or listening to an Infinity Radio-owned station (2nd largest chain in the country behind Clear Channel), the folks at the Westinghouse/CBS/Viacom monolith think that you are stealing money out of their pocket. They’re already counting it as their money, see? If you get your news from the internet instead of from CNN, the Washington Post and Time magazine, and you’re not watching your movies on TBS, TCM and HBO, you’re stealing from Time/Warner/AOL! If you’re getting your music from somewhere other than Sony/BMG/Arista/RCA, you’re screwing them! And it’s criminal, and these large corporations can get vicious when they’re being victimized by dishonest snakes like you and me.

General Electric (NBC) donated $493,366 to political campaigns in 2004.
Sony Corp of America - $514,443.
Clear Channel Communications - $896,076.
Walt Disney Co (ABC) - $934,636.
Viacom Inc (CBS) - $1,245,04.
National Cable & Telecommunications Assn - $1,279,242.
Time Warner - $2,502,253.

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http://www.johnmcgann.com
Info for musicians, transcribers, technique tips and fun stuff. Joaquin Murphey transcription book, Rhythm Tuneup DVD and more...

Off topic? Hardly. The entertainment industry has dulled the public's senses to any sense of reality whatsoever. Is it any wonder that other countries are beginning to despise us so, when they look at this picture?

I still say there is so much truth in what Al Carmichael said about them doing away with cheatin', drinkin' and dyin' songs. More and more we live in a "feel good" society that is futily attempting to mask ever-increasing pain and heartache with fantasy and indifference.

To think that we can know everything about Brittany Spear's life, yet are completely ignorant of some of the atrocious humanitarian abuses going on around the world is a testament to the cruel, blind greed of those who control the airwaves.

Tony Campolo once stood in front of a church and said, "35,000 children died last night of malnutrition and malnutrition related diseases and no one here gives a sh**." (Notice that I am not allowed to say sh** here) Tony then went on to say the there were far more people present who were incensed that he had just said sh** than the fact that 35,000 children had died last night.

The point is, there is probably no more powerful tool in the world to evoke change than the one which God has given us in our musical abilities. Yet, big corporations have hijacked this tool and have been using it, not only for their own greedy gain, but to numb the senses and hearts of a whole generation.

I don't know what to do about it aside from spilling my heart about the problem and doing the little I can in my own small sphere of influence, but I can't help but to believe that together, we can claim the true heart of music back from those who have taken it away, and perhaps we can even put more purpose behind it than ever before.

All I know is that something has to change.

There will always be a popular music aimed towards young people. They have the most time, the most disposible income (I have kids, a mortgage, etc). It was always thus. I think there is a lot of great music being played today: I've been listening to the Kruger brothers and saw them at Joe Val with was sold out. I can download their music to my Ipod and take it where ever I go. I saw Chris Thiele and Edgar Meyers a few weeks ago do a duet at Carnegie Hall. Sold out. I go out and play live 3 or 4 nights a week. No money, just jamming with close friends at a friendly bar.

I guess I don't see what the problem is.

As for the rest, we've always had some turmoil going on. The big band era couldn't prevent the holocaust. Ragtime couldn't prevent a pandemic. Millions starved in China during the Great Leap Forward. Millions killed in Russia during Stalen. Name your period - pick your popular music - there was a masacre going on somewhere. If it wasn't the Indians, it was Pol Pot. I'm a Buddhist, and I think he summed it up pretty well 5,000 years ago: The world is suffering and everything changes. If it is good, don't worry, it will be bad soon. If it is bad, don't worry, it will be good soon. The only constant is change.

And as far as music is concerned, nothing was a bad as the 80's and people playing one note synthesizer music. No wait, nothing was worse than the 70's and disco. No wait, nothing was worse than the 60's and that awful bubble gum music. No wait...

[This message was edited by Bill McCloskey on 09 March 2005 at 08:37 PM.]

First of all, music changes all the time. You can look at any genre of music that was alive in 1950 and, if its still viable, it sure doesn't sound the same. Rock ain't about Chuck Berry and Little Richard anymore. Jazz has gone in a thousand directions. Pop bears no resemblance to the pop songs of the 50's. And, like it or not, country has taken a lot of different roads.

I must admit that I still hear an occasional current country song that I like. I think an element of traditional country will continue to surface--at least occasionally.

The whole music biz angle has been discussed, and those cards have been played, so I won't rehash that.

Getting back to my list of song themes not to use, mainly the drinking and cheating themes, I think there is a reason and its a cultural shift. For one thing, those themes offend Christian folks and they don't want to hear those subjects. The Bible belt listens to and buys country music. Second, media and the culture have created an ideal model that people are trying to live up to--being happy, successful, in good shape and healthy, in control of life, witty, friendly, honest, etc. These are all the marks of a successful life and Nashville wants to sell those themes. Thats how people want to see themselves reflected in songs.

When Gretchen Wilson sings "When I Think About Cheating" she never does, because the singer knows that life is better without it. Even having no love at home isn't considered an excuse anymore. Drinking can get in in certain cases, but mostly its used a social diversion theme, and never as a way to drown the endless pain and sorrow. Nashville doesn't think endorsing alcoholism is a good thing anymore. I doubt you will hear a song like "There Stands The Glass" these days. AJ's character in "Five O'Clock Somewhere" is going on a bender, but just for one day, and the song spends most of its time giving him a huge excuse to drink for one day. Thats a lot different than "Shes Acting Single, I'm Drinking Doubles" or "Still Doing Time" in that honky tonk prison.

Gene Watson's tune, "Farewell Party", which is about a guy who plans to commit suicide so he can keep his wife until the end of his life, would never be allowed on the airwaves as a new song these days. Its not acceptable thought or behavior in this brave new world. Yet, I bet it happens everyday. Its just that Nashville isn't into endorsing such behavior.

If we look, there are still lots of songs with "classic" music and melodies, but with a shift in values. In those cases, its not that the music has changed, just the approach to the topics. I'm neither for the shift or against it, but its a sign of the times. However, I think that some new songs could be written that incorporate both the older musical styles and a more positive spin on the trials of being human. Maybe that combination would really save modern country, or at least help to pull it back from oblivion.

Country music has always gone in cycles. When it gets too pop, somebody always comes around to remind us of the roots, whether its Waylon and Willie, Ricky Skaggs, or Randy Travis, George Strait and John Anderson.

On a grassroots level, all we can do is play what we think country ought to be and do our best. I think the older styles will come back to some degree. Whether it will become the center of country music or not is just speculation. I do know this. If the major labels could sell more records with Haggard and Jones type stuff than Shania Twain, they would do so in a heartbeat. I don't think they are tryin gto fore stuff down our throats as much as they are trying to give the masses what they want. I just think their compass is a little out of calibration at the moment.

Anyway, thats what is going through my brain tonight.

[This message was edited by Al Carmichael on 08 April 2005 at 05:20 AM.]

Let me also say that I think young people see a hypocrisy in this 'happy talk'. I'm a college teacher, have been around college students a lot over the last 35 years, both as a student and a teacher. Why do you think young people have turned to the harder music? I believe because it speaks to the reality that they see. I know that when many of them hear what I call authentic country music, which talks about real peoples' lives, not the 'happy talk' version of it, they listen. Look at Johnny Cash and his American Recordings projects. He reached many younger people by talking real. Many people whined and complained about the reality in his lyrics (interestingly, from the 'left' this time, esp. Delia's Gone), but it holds up as good music. Johnny clearly had to 'buck the system' to do this project, and he had enough clout to get away with it. I suggest that music would be a lot more vital if up-and-coming artists could also speak their minds, without the 'happy talk' censorship. It really goes to the relevance of music as an art form at all. Again, just my opinion.

The preacher part of me is all about encouraging the positive and challenging people to make right choices with their lives. But, too much of organized religion is just as guilty as the record industry of trying to snuff out the cold, hard realities of life.

Songs like, "I Think I'll Just Sit Here and Drink," if nothing else, make great sermon fodder for me. But, don't think for one minute that there aren't times when doing just that doesn't seem like the most viable solution for me at the moment for the way things are going. We all have those days and a song like that is a warm pat on the back for me when the chips are down; like saying, "We're all in this together, friend." It's not going to make me go get drunk, but in its own way it is like the proverbial shot of courage I need to help me stay focused when I am challenged by the hard realities of life.

But, it seems to me that what is going on is that many of us feel betrayed by an industry who has been consumed by its loss of identity and is forever trying to find a market with everybody but the very ones who brought them success in the first place. (IE. Tim McGraw doing the video with some hip-hopper) I know a hip hop producer who laughs at this. He sees it as a struggling country music industry grasping for straws, whoring itself out to a group of consumers who could not care less about country music and likely never will.

But, what if the industry has found its niche with the 20 to 34 year old girls? Let it do so. But, what about the rest of us? Certainly there is a market with us.

Most of my friends are at a stage in life where they have more money to spend on entertainment and more time to do it than when they were raising kids. But, they have a hard time relating to much of the music that is being put out there today. Maybe it's not really a matter of bucking the system as much as it is trying to get the system to realize there is another market out there--a market which it has abandoned--and that it might just be able to cash in on.

What if there was an adult-country syndicated radio format, an adult-country TV programming with a modern-day HeeHaw, Opry programming,etc. and record labels-even subsidiarys of the big ones-who promoted, distributed and marketed a more mature genre of country. I'm not talking about just rehashing the classics, although they should be included, but I'm talking about promoting new music that appeals to we, ahem, more mature citizens.

Think about it this way; I'm 50. Lord willing, I'll be buying new music for 40 more years if there is new music that I like. Quite honestly, the choices are few and far between. There is some fine jazz being released, still some good bluegrass here and there, but along with good country, the pickins' are getting slim. That WC Edgar who posted on the players thread this week has some of the most refreshing good country playing I've heard for some time.

There's some great stuff out there. I won't argue about that. I just fail to understand why I have to feel like I have to go on some kind of scavenger hunt to find it when there are so many who feel the same as I do about it.

The good side of it is that he has his sights set on a sociology doctorate because he sees the dishonesty in music as nothing more than a reflection of a head-in-the-sand view held by an entire generation of "feel gooders" who have fostered a lot of their own problems simply by denying them. He has a true passion to do his part to face our problems head-on.

Here's another interesting thing I discovered. A lot of the people who worked behind the scenes in Nashville didn't listen to country except when it was part of their job. They were into rock, classic rock and alternative. They were all a lot younger than most of us. Now, they are guiding the ship.

During WWII, there were posters/movies/ads, etc., that explained "Why We Fight". This is the same thing. Thankfully, we can 'fight' using words, not bullets, and we want to keep it that way. But the surest way to lose this is to suppress free thought. It doesn't matter if that suppression is at the point of a gun or at the point of a lawyer's pen. It's the latter I'm worried about in the music business.

Al, if your comment "I just think their compass is a little out of calibration at the moment" is true, we have nothing to worry about. My concern is that, if media moguls have the power to control a large segment of the population, then past trends may well disappear. I think there's an argument to be made for this point of view, although only time will tell for sure, but I think we can definitely influence the outcome. So, I think stirring up this precise pot may help either 1) redirect their compass or 2) wake people up. As always, IMO.

But seriously, I think most of us on this thread are pretty frustrated with the 'music biz at large', that's what's goin' on here. Why should we fight with each other? We're just honing our arguments.

It would be real easy to say to me, "Listen, old man. The music world has just passed you by--get over it." Maybe thats valid, but I began listening to music in the 50's as a kid and the changes didn't seem to bother me as I got older. When things changed, I enjoyed a lot of the changes and it kept things fresh. Its just been lately that I feel like the music doesn't speak to me much anymore--I can almost smell the demographic marketing and cunning written into a lot of the tunes. Frankly, it insults my intelligence and my being.

At the same time, I still love and crave great music. Its always been a huge part of my life.

Anyway, I am at a loss as to what to do. I'm 53 and I still make my living playing music full time. Right now, I have this burning desire to put a classic country band together and I think the right pickers are out there, since there used to be a ton of us all working nightclubs in southeast Michigan.

The problem is that all the old clubs are gone. There are two country bars left and both have house bands. Especially, I'm asking Webb--how can I market what I want to do today? How did you do it? In the old days, if you had a good band, you could get work all over. Do I have to hit the summer festival circuit? Talk a club owner into doing a special classic country night somewhere? I'm open to all ideas and suggestions. I can't get anybody on board without a plan that has some sure rewards.

Build relationships iwth the local Public radio outlets. This is exactly how Oh Brother Where art Though was marketed. Local radio and tv stations are always looking for entertainment. What about public access.

Play as many places for free you can to build your email list and fan base: supermarket openings, etc. Make an arrangement with a hotel to rent out their faciliities and sponsor a weekend festival. Joe Val was packed. It is really not that difficult to do if you think the audience is there. In fact it is a good business opportunity for someone.

The downside is that you find out the audience is not there and you lose your shirt. You might have more sympathy for club owners, promoters, and music marketers once you've walked in their shoes.