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  <a href="/blog/blog/7150363/music-commentary-20">Music commentary # 20</a>&nbsp;
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  <div class="message"><p>    Ah, the commentary no one will want to read. Here ‘tis. I have been performing, touring, chasing after dates. Lugging gear in and out of places. Taking the time to dial in the sound. Driving like crazy, 4,5,6 hours on a show day. Posting show info on FB. Sub-teaching between tour runs. People are, still, in my roots music/Americana/Folk/ singer-songwriter world largely not attending live music events. Many presenters in that world are, still, refusing to book a date with an artist. I am booking well into 2023 and it is 2023 that they will, still, not touch. In March it will be three years since normalcy in that touring world. So, three years-plus is the time period that grassroots touring artists have been shutout or nearly shutout. I have to believe many of those folks (attendees/presenters) are not ever coming back to it. One look at college football stadiums on Saturday, one look at NFL stadiums on Sunday, one look at concerts of major mainstream artists will prove that millions of people are willing to pay large amounts of money and spend entire days or nights in a crowd of thousands. But, the folkies, the grassroots music followers, the former lovers of singer-songwriter shows are not going to attend a concert that makes up 75 people. Or, 40 people. Or, 20 people. No, the determination that staying home while 6 people attend, that is the plan. Those who used to go to these shows, but, have dropped out: I know you will not be back. Three years is a pretty long time to be away from it. Those artists do not make the money Swift, Knowles, McCartney, etc. make from touring. They eke out a living. They always did, but not now. Their base has gone away. There is no joy in Mudville, as there has been a strikeout to end the contest. When these “fans” theorize their “return” it will not be in time. Many of those artists will be permanently out of music full-time. Having said that, I will post my tour dates (and local dates) once again on FB. I hope to see you and hope you hear me.</p></div>
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  <a href="/blog/blog/7150362/music-commentary-19">Music commentary # 19</a>&nbsp;
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  <div class="message"><p>   July 13, 1985. The USA close-out performance of Live Aid. Soooooooooo, my day started with catching performances like David Crosby joining band members, though he was on the lam from a half-way house in Texas (ala Berris Fueller on TV at a Cubs baseball game while he was supposed to be in class). I might be off-base in that remembrance, though. There were many acts reuniting for the event, and many acts I had interest in seeing. A relative came by and kept going on and on about the acts I had less interest in seeing (Madonna, Duran Duran), so, I left. Seeing this as my generation’s Woodstock or Monterey Pop Festival, let’s say I “split”. Somehow, I ended up at a house of some 20 teenagers and young adults. There were mutual friends there and some folks I did not know. I was 20 years old and it was a party house of all folks around my age. The TV was on Live Aid and we all watched things unfold into the night hours. As I discovered Bob Dylan was going to close the show it made me sit on the edge of my seat. I was excited, especially as I was in a fierce period of being under his influence at the moment. Oh, I had bought a harp rack, written lots of new songs under his inspiration, read Guthrie’s Bound For Glory, etc. This would be a great finale to a historic event! I had seen my favorite artist really blow it when the UK Live Aid show (earlier)ended with Let It Be having no vocals. McCartney’s one-song performance was a let down as the lone performer onstage neglected to turn a switch of his microphone to “on”. But, hey, Mr. Tambourine Man would kill it with a performance that would demonstrate why he should be the final act! When he walked out with an acoustic guitar, no band, the room full of youngsters around me began the onslaught of comments. About half of them had never heard of Dylan and questioned why he was going last. Yes, I said that-they had never heard of Bob Dylan. The other half of my room had heard him on radio occasionally and the totality of their knowledge was that he ”could not sing”. A few did the predictable thing and did bad imitations of his voice. Then, it became evident that Ron Wood and Keith Richards of the Stones would flank Dylan with their acoustic guitars. I grew more excited at what was to be! Once the three legendary rock stars began the triple acoustic guitar playing I started to slide down into my seat. Dylan chose to be a 1963-4 version of himself for this mini-set with songs from his very first few albums. There was Ballad Of Hollis Brown, When The Ship Comes In, Blowin’ In The Wind, etc. In the mix from the television his guitar was faint. His voice was way out front and, at times, pitchy. I knew these songs well, but, this rendering was not doing them justice. The guitar of Wood was inaudible for a song or more , as he attempted to play slide guitar. He seemed to be unable to hear it from the monitors, a nightmare in a full stadium with lots of noise. The real embarrassment was Richards. He chose to be a 1981 version of himself, with leg kicks and attitude-laden power strums. Only, the singer was not in a football uniform and prancing away on a runway. And, all his plastic showman mannerisms had a silent guitar attached to it. He, too, was inaudible. The overall sound was very bad. I was happy to see Keith allow his cig, finally, to fall from his mouth. It was not helping things by dangling there. No, it was not improving the performance. Even I understood When The Ship Comes In was not When The Whip Comes Down. As the houseful of undereducated music aficionados around me unleashed the harshest of criticism, well, I had to endure two undesirable things: the bad performance AND the tongue lashing party idiots. I was hugely disappointed by Dylan and his Rolling Stones. The mass audience, worldwide, saw such an amateur performance by such legends. How could this be? Well, many years later Bob Dylan would report in a book that a humongous stage of singers, a choir, were running through We Are The World just behind the curtain. It was to be the grand finale after Dylan’s set, drawing the entirety of Live Aid to a close. While the three acoustic guitar players tried to perform the “stripped-down” songs in front of a full stadium of people in front of them, there were tens and tens of singers rehearsing A SONG behind them. Trying to play one song, while another song is going on loudly nearby, is very difficult. Dylan trudged on with his songs, trying to be a team player. He was being professional under those circumstances. However, millions and many millions of people would never really experience Bob Dylan because of the catastrophic version of him they witnessed. I am sure the 20 “MTV generation” fans around me in that room never went and listened to The Times They Are a’ Changin’ album, one of the great albums of all-time.</p></div>
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  <a href="/blog/blog/7150347/music-commentary-18">Music commentary #18</a>&nbsp;
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  <div class="message"><p> The Rolling Stones, Now! This album was recorded in 1964 and released in early 1965. I was born at the start of that year and our family moved into the home where I would grow up sometime in 1966. I believe some teenagers from the previous family left behind a couple of albums, this being one. As soon as I could pull the vinyl disc from the sleeve and place it on a turntable, well, I did. To my very young ears the sound of the band, The Rolling Stones, was disturbing. There was a menacing element there. Instead of sweet music, orderly musical salve, I heard darkness and near chaos. The guitars were sort of out of pitch and sometimes drenched in heavy reverb or tremolo. I did not know these descriptive words yet, of course. Keep in mind that I was a few years old, at most. But, I still recall what I heard. The singer’s voice was one of no polish. Instead of a fine vocalist he came across as something opposite of that. The intent was not to be a skilled singer, but, someone delivering an unstable message, setting up a weird vibe. I detected that, even at a few years of age. Especially, at a few years of age. It was kind of scary, yet, I was drawn to it! Make no mistake, this was the original Rolling Stones line-up. Brian Jones, now not even a household name to countless Stones concert-goers, was the leader. His fingerprints are all over this music. Jagger and Richards were writing a few songs for those early albums, but, most of the material came from covering Bo Diddley, Solomon Burke, Chuck Berry, and other American black artists. Their take on these covers was of English white musicians trying to forge their own identity from it all. And, they did. No, it was not American blues. But, it was something unique that SPRANG from it. Down Home Girl is the track I most remember giving me an uncomfortable feeling. It was like, as a child, being at a carnival well past bedtime, wandering over to a dark fringe of the midway. The sounds and flashing colors were mixing in with my thought process, and, I was nearly sleepwalking. I was vulnerable and knew it, but, trudged on in my tired legs, hoping the sound would be trusting. Like I said earlier, it was a menacing sound coming from the turntable and speakers, but, a sound that pulled me in to it. THAT was the first Rolling Stones experience for me. And, I hear it a bit from other times in the band’s career. Especially, in the first three or four albums. But, that particular record, The Rolling Stones, Now! (a US release title), is the one. THAT is Rolling Stones for me. It was more under Brian Jones’ influence at the time, and the totality of Jones, Richards, Watts, Wyman, and Jagger made up the group. To appreciate what came from that record try and imagine: no Bee Gees, no Van Halen, no Nights In White Satin from Moody Blues, no Hendrix, no Garth Brooks, no Thriller, no Dark Side Of The Moon, no Beyoncé. Even the Beatles, the larger than life act AT THAT PRECISE TIME, had not created Eleanor Rigby yet. THAT was the point in time when this dark, strange R&amp;B/pop/rock and roll hybrid was released. What a bizarre sound it still is. And, as in my childhood, I am drawn to it.</p></div>
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  <a href="/blog/blog/7150346/music-commentary-17">Music commentary #17</a>&nbsp;
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  <div class="message"><p>  This writing will be to honor those who go above and beyond to give support to full-time touring artists. Those who attend shows, and buy merchandise from artists are to be thanked, of course. But, those are not the subjects here. I am referring to those folks who offer guest rooms to artists, even for more than one night, sometimes. To be at the “grassroots” level of touring means you are watching fair chunks of monies from your performances go towards hotels and auto fuel. For a superbly nice person to step up and allow a free night of lodging, well, that is key in keeping the artist in the career. Without those people, scattered throughout the universe of music engagement markets, the artist could very well be left with too little earnings to justify staying in music full-time. I can say that I have strong acquaintances and friendships with such people as a result, too. There are times I can afford the hotel, yet, choose the home stay. Yes, the monies I keep in my pocket are helpful, but, the relationship with the music-supporting friend is of high value. There are far too many people to thank by name here. But, off the top of my head I will recognize the couple in North Carolina. They have put me up countless times. Another friend in that state recently presented me at a house concert, not the first time, because he saw that Covid had shut down my career for a couple of years. I slept in a guest room after the show. One couple in Iowa allowed me to stay multiple nights when passing through, and many times presented me in concert, as well. There are the dear friends in London, England who gave me and my wife lodging many times when our duo was touring the UK. One person in Duncan, British Columbia, Canada area has allowed me to base out of the home while I toured around the island. I could go on and on, thanking people. San Antonio TX, Florida, Arkansas,The Netherlands, Michigan. There are people like these in virtually every area I have toured. Sure, all artists have the so-called “horror” story of going home to lodge with a stranger, and, it has bad results. But, those are few. And, the occasional nightmare has occurred where an artist brings unwanted events to the host! In final, I just want to tip my hat to those who have been so supportive towards me and all touring artists through granting the free stay. Oftentimes, the comfort of a home is just what is needed after some heavy driving hours, or, a hectic night of performing in a strange setting. If you ever gave me the kind of helping hand that I am referencing here-THANK YOU.</p></div>
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  <a href="/blog/blog/7150345/music-commentary-16">Music commentary # 16</a>&nbsp;
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  <div class="message"><p>  Dreams, career hopes. The topic here is dear to anyone who became embedded, loyal to a craft and career in anything. Certainly anyone determined and faithful to the pursuit for many years, instead of a fleeting span of time. As a kid I was a very good baseball player. Diminutive in size, I rose to be a perennial all-star in my leagues from age 10 through 15. At 16, my body was growing and getting stronger, developing toward a real baseball-sized body. The high school team I played on was grades 10-12. As a sophomore (10th grader) I began the season on the bench, with all playing ahead of me being 11 and 12 graders. However, the third baseman had a season-ending injury in an early game and the coach placed me at the position. I had never played third base, mostly being a shortstop. It was my chance to start and I would be the only sophomore to start for the varsity team that year. I led the team in hitting, logging a .481 average. This is all to show that I was good at the sport and, possibly, had a future in it past high school. My parents would have delighted in my getting a scholarship to play college ball, allowing them to not have to fund the education. However, I had been playing in my father’s bar band every weekend and music was rapidly surpassing my love for baseball. My music “career” had begun at the dawn of turning age 15, some 15 months earlier. There was a struggle, as the high school coach was unbending toward allowing me to miss games due to a professional music engagement. This had been a problem during the season a few times. So, during the early stage of my 11th grade season, age 17, I made the decision to walk away from the game I had loved to dash toward the music field In which I was in love. The coach was indifferent to his best hitter leaving the team, something that always stayed with me. I never looked back, never playing in a formal baseball game again. Years later, at age 37, my brother-in-law took some family members to an early showing of a movie , “The Rookie “. He had written a song that was used in the movie and was given a unique opportunity to see the film before it was in the theaters for general public. As I sat down with a small group of viewers, an acquaintance from the music industry sat next to us. The musician was Duane Jarvis, a fantastic guitarist and artist. He, too, had a song in the film. He and my brother-in-law, Steve Earle, chatted about the honor of having songs they wrote being included. The film was loosely based on Jim Morris, a man who had given up on the dream of making it to the top level of baseball, the Major Leagues. At 35, due to certain circumstances, he was pulled away from his new career as a school teacher and thrust back into a lower tier of pro baseball. It was unthinkable for him to make his first emergence into the big leagues at age 35,but he did. The zenith of the film was Morris (played by Dennis Quaid) calling his wife and kids to inform them of being “called up” to pitch for the major league parent team. Instead of riding around on a bus, playing at minor league venues with limited attendance, and making not-so-great money, he would “climb Everest” and be on a major league field with the best of everything. His uniform and glove, all his tools of the trade, would be provided by professional handlers. His name would not be mis-spelled on a uniform or the scoreboard. Upon Jim being called to pitch in his first game, an aged 35 year old rookie, I felt tremendous emotion from my theater seat. I felt my eyes tear up and trickle down my face. No one in the family gathering around me knew I had cried. I mentioned it to Steve later, as we walked to the car, and he asked me how I liked the movie. See, I was 37 and touring all over the world, driving a vehicle to most of the shows. I changed my own strings, loaded the gear in and out of the venues. I played for small attendance and got “minor league” treatment night after night. I knew, at that time of my life, I was not going to get a major record deal, to play in the major leagues. I would not get to be Jim Morris, even for a fleeting moment. The Grammies? Mainstream radio airplay? Having a full band and tour bus on my concert schedule, all backed by a major label? None of those things were going to happen. And, that is from where the cry came. I had a moment in the theater seat where I could feel Morris’ joy, all felt for him, but knowing how it WOULD FEEL FOR ME. I would not even get to feel the joy of TAKING MY FAMILY TO A MOVIE because my song was in a film. Duane and Steve got to do that and I am happy for them. But, today I am 57. I am probably going to drive into a town near you and perform at a small venue, with small attendance. I will play and sing my heart out for whoever does attend. The love for baseball is still in there somewhere, though I will not swing a bat again. The love for music performing is still in there, and I do it every year of my life. I do not cry over what I missed, but the passion for doing it is the same now as it was at 15 and 16 and 37. </p>
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  <div class="message"><p>  More Than A Feeling. Yes, the Boston record, the track. I cannot believe a better Pop/Rock track was ever assembled. Tom Sholz wrote it, played the magical guitars (mostly), and co-produced it. Brad Delp sang it, making his voice one of the all-time greats in rock history just from that few minutes. The lyrics are good, not spectacular, but do create a vibe that results from reminiscence through hearing old music. What IS spectacular is everything about the musical track. The acoustic guitar with the sparkly arpeggios, the string-bending electric guitars doubled into harmony lines, the PRECISION of the pitch on all guitars, the beautiful chord pattern, the punch of the power chords, the mix of the instruments, the marriage of acoustic-based pop with crunchy textured driving rock, and Delp’s perfectly pitched vocals. We had heard “twin” lead guitars from Duane Allman and Dicky Betts (Allman Brothers), from Thin Lizzy’s huge hit The Boys Are Back In Town (earlier that year), and from Bob Wills &amp; The Texas Playboys records. But, this was the most riveting of harmony leads to take the airwaves. At one point Delp climbs an unimaginable height in his vocal range, all in a deliberate melodic series of notes, only to blend and be taken over by Scholz’ feedback guitar note. It is musical perfection. A character, Marianne, is mentioned in the words. There is no background on her, just as Townes Van Zandt drops Lupe &amp; Lil into If I Needed You, and Paul McCartney drops Rose &amp; Valerie into Maxwell’s Silver Hammer. We are not completely sure of the characters except to know the author was keen on the reference. Mostly, we are taken by the awesomeness of the music springing out of the More Than A Feeling record. It is as close to music perfection as Rock ever delivered. It was released in late 1976 and will forever be heard over and over as long as there are outlets for classic rock music.</p></div>
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  <a href="/blog/blog/7150339/music-commentary-14">Music commentary #14</a>&nbsp;
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  <div class="message"><p>  The greatest, purest album ever made is my discussion here. It starts with a tour of the US west coast. The artists on tour were a married couple, Stacey Earle &amp; Mark Stuart. Ever heard of them? Anyway, the duo were performing at a venue in Santa Monica, CA (McCabes) and there was an opening act, based out of LA at the time. Some of you might have figured out that the headlining couple was myself and my better half. The LA-based act was a male/female pairing, as well. We watched them perform, noticing the strength of their onstage skills. He played acoustic guitar and sang. She sang. Both were noticeably very confident, mannerisms and eye-contact with audience being top notch. We would have folks open for us all over North America and abroad, sometimes the opener being ourselves. After they left the stage we came in and did our show, one of a polished Folk/Americana duo that toured constantly and made sure guitar parts were well-crafted, harmonies were tight, storytelling was timely. We had some talent, but, I always credited our skill set to work ethic colliding with heavy touring. At the end of the evening it was time to leave in our vehicle and make an hour drive to a hotel. That would cut the drive down the next day, and do so while being “keyed up”. The opening act couple came to say goodbye as we were leaving the building. They were very nice and complimentary, but, we were overjoyed to say how much we truly admired their performance, something we meant. They handed us a CD and we accepted it. Once inside the vehicle, with an hour to drive into the night air, we would put the CD into our car’s player. With no need to use our voices anymore we would drive through the quiet darkness and listen. Usually, a CD handed to us made it to a couple of songs before the need for peace kicked in, and the record would have to be stopped. In this case, track after track played. There was no talking between the songs. After 12 tracks were completed, with absolutely no comments from the two of us, we pulled the disc out. A couple of silent minutes went by, only the highway sounds of rubber on the road and engine running. Then, we looked at one another and agreed that we had just heard one of the best albums ever made. It was stunning. The duo act on the CD were, in fact, a band. But, they pared down to the two principal writers/singers for the opening set. We were awestruck at the perfection of the entire album. The songs were great. The vocals were great, with two stellar singers. The instrumentation choices were perfect and the mix was flawless. Every bass guitar line, all backing vocals, every guitar part, whatever-it was without a weak moment. How were they opening for us? How were they not a household name? By the next day, we had listened straight through a few more times. We could not believe what we had heard and to this day, years later, we each listen to it regularly. Always straight through. Within weeks of my introduction to the CD I was citing it as THE best album I had ever heard. I still say it and I feel like I am grandstanding when I utter the words. Let me be clear: it is the BEST ALBUM EVER MADE. I am convinced of it. Me and Stacey agree that Annie Lennox’ BARE is flawless. PET SOUNDS by The Beach Boys is tremendous. Beatle albums, on and on, Willie Nelson’s RED HEADED STRANGER, …..all great. But, number one is from 2009, made by Bianca Caruso, Lee Ferris, John Classick, Christopher Allis, David Bowick and a few other contributors. The band is Freddy &amp; Francine. The album is The Briar Patch. I am so thrilled to have met Bianca and Lee in Santa Monica, two tremendous talents. They should be very proud-no one has made a superior album to THE BRIAR PATCH. Stacey</p></div>
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  <a href="/blog/blog/7150338/music-commentary-13">Music commentary #13</a>&nbsp;
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  <div class="message"><p>  “Namedropping”. Why do it? It seems human nature to try and impress upon others someone you know, especially someone of status. In many cases it isn’t someone you know, just someone you ENCOUNTERED. Does it really improve your standing, your importance, that you were in line with Graham Nash at an airport? Is it bragging rights that you were on a festival line-up as a noontime performer on the little stage in the woods and Sheryl Crow headlined on the main stage at 9:00 PM? How much mileage comes from reporting that your second cousin’s girlfriend used to style Pam Tillis’ hair? It seems like nothing is truly gained by all this dropping of names, yet it goes on wildly. And, in my experience, the legitimate occurrences with famous people tends to have little-to-no impact on anything. For instance, when my music career takes me into the sphere of hitmaking recording artists and network TV shows, bonafide endeavors, no one wants to hear about it or read about it. Though the bio (biography) on my artist website describes my appearance on MTV, Jay Leno’s Tonight Show, opening for Willie Nelson, playing lead guitar in Freddy Fender’s touring band, singing onstage with Joan Baez, playing in bar bands with Warren Haynes, etc. it does not translate to folks attending my shows. And, those are REAL, unembellished experiences of a lifelong performer. Promoters of my concerts like to plug my concerts with all that wordage, but, it NEVER brings people out to an event! Most of the folks who DO attend never read any of that, and are not aware of it throughout the concert. Low tier “gigs”, such as places hiring me to play beneath loud talking hooligans, do not even attempt to exploit my track record. In fact, they seldom even put my name on a sign outside! Is it of ANY value, to name drop? I mean, it seems to create an unpleasant atmosphere more times than not. Once the talker unloads a comment about the co-writing occurrence with a renowned tunesmith, the occurrence that happened once and yielded no successful song, the listener(s) gets ready to change the subject. I remember coming home from a 10-week tour of Europe and UK, and reporting how I had a night of meeting Ron Wood, Bill Wyman, Charlie Watts, and Jeff Beck. Count them-that is three Rolling Stones plus Beck. Upon telling my rock and roll fan friends of the exciting night they all showed little interest. A few of them downplayed it because the three Stones were insignificant. Mick and Keith were not among them, and that disarmed my story. When I performed on The Tonight Show as part of Steve Earle’s band, briefly meeting Charlton Heston and hanging a bit with Leno himself, it was not even mentioned by family and friends afterward. It was as though that is “old hat”, something they take in all the time. There was no curiosity about how the show was put together, how unique it was to be in the universe of Heston and Leno. It was something that was best kept to myself. No one I knew was interested in hearing about it. So, why WOULD one wish to talk of such things? The ”paydirt” is not there, no perks come from it. If anything, you invite ill feeling by telling of it. I have stood in rooms, countless times, listening to clusters of folks trying to one-up each other with name drop after name drop. It is a grotesque sight to watch the competition taking place. And, if you find yourself throwing that stuff out there notice how oily you feel afterwards. The aim is high, but, the end result has cheapened you. We have all done it, most likely. But, it won’t write a song for you. It won’t get you that gig. You will not start to climb the music industry ladder faster. Your musical chops will not improve. If you are not really IN music it will NOT PLACE YOU THERE. The belief is that it is a nice little short cut to those things. Not so.</p></div>
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    <p class="post-info"><span data-time="2023-02-07T21:34:29-06:00" title="February 07, 2023 21:34">02/07/2023</span></p>

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  <a href="/blog/blog/7150337/music-commentary-12">Music commentary #12</a>&nbsp;
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  <div class="message"><p>  This is all about the job of a solo singer-songwriter artist on tour, and the considerations he/she takes. Let’s say the artist has three shows on the books for a Thursday, Friday, Saturday. The Saturday engagement, a folk music series concert, is the “money” date, as is often the case. That is the night of week where the chance of strong turnout is best, thus the earnings will be on the higher end. For this particular artist let’s say there is a $600 guarantee plus lodging in a guest room of someone with a large home. Other artists might consider $250 a big money night, others could garner $1,500 as such. This artist sees $600 as the ”cash cow” of a night. On the night before (Friday) said artist is in a town 4 hours and 38 minutes drive away from the Saturday show site. As Friday night is the NEXT BEST NIGHT OF WEEK for success it has a $400 guarantee. Both Friday and Saturday events allow for extra monies beyond the guarantee (overage), provided the turnout is really good. There is no lodging thrown in for the Friday night, so the artist must fend for self in booking a hotel stay, finding a guest room possibility, doing a campground, sleeping in car, etc. But, before these two engagements begin there is a Thursday night gig. It was booked as a “pick-up” date. See, the artist lives 700 miles from the Friday show, and Thursday’s performance is a way to earn some money while cutting drive time down. Of course, it is not a prime weekend night, and the restaurant/bar is paying the artist $150 plus a meal. There will be a tip bucket in front of the stage and any “extra” dollars will go toward justifying taking the engagement. If $60-$75 is made from the tip bucket a cheap hotel stay could be covered. After fuel costs, the artist could actually profit some $90-$140 on the day’s work. If tips are paltry it looks more like a $60-$75 day. Here is the potential problem for the performer: the Thursday gig calls for three hours of playing and singing. After three hours of pushing metal strings against the fretboard and singing 30-40 songs the artist has placed a certain amount of wear and tear on his/her fingers and voice. On the following two nights this performer will be expected to deliver a strong performance. After all, there is guaranteed monies and lots of prep work put in by the presenter(s). The Saturday night audience and presenter will not be thinking about performances that took place on previous nights, only the one at hand. The artist is aware of this and feels a responsibility to deliver a top notch presentation. Now, in the weeks approaching this cluster of dates it has become possible for the artist to add a Wednesday night engagement to this little tour run. That would be great, right? A fourth date, a bit of a heftier little tour outing. However, it is a rare offering of a midweek house concert, with no guarantee. The expectation from the host is that 15-20 friends/co-workers/neighbors/family will make up the audience. There is a “suggested donation” of $15 per person and a guest room awaits the artist afterward. The performer has to really consider the wear and tear on those fingers and voice over these first couple of performances. Having elected to agree on the house concert the artist drives to show #1 of 4. Upon entering the living room and setting up some gear for the performance, the host’s phone begins to blow up. It is cancellation after cancellation from those co-workers and friends, those neighbors and family members. Oh, well, the audience is now to be 9 or 10 people. Hmmm…the artist knows the earnings will be much slighter than hoped. The intended monies of $225-$300 look more like $135-$150. Wait, if some merch is sold (CDs, Flashdrives, DVDs, T-shirts, etc.) that could amp up the overall take. And, the audience knowing there were lots of no-show audience members, will surely want to buy merch. Right? Not necessarily. As it turns out, the turn out is 7 people ($105) and the sales are dreadful (1 $15 purchase). Furthermore, the 7 folks in attendance (all wishing to be praised for attending on a Wednesday night) seem to expect lots and lots and lots of “talk” time. After all, they are in direct access to the featured artist, with little competition. Questions after questions after questions target the troubadour. The artist knows something, cares about something, that no one else is thinking. SATURDAY is my money date. I need to be, have to be strong in that performance. And, TOMORROW, on Thursday, I am due to play a pick-up gig in a restaurant, where they hired me for three hours of music! The damage to the fingertip skin from pushing down those metal guitar strings, the soreness, coupled with the potentially overused voice could render me lesser than I want to be for that folk series on Saturday. The date that was booked a year in advance, and giving me the $600 guarantee. AND, with an inspired performance on Saturday the audience could buy significant merch numbers. The artist is thinking, late Wednesday night, I have to do as much storytelling and song set-up talking as I can get away with, on the Thursday three-hour restaurant gig. I have to stay away from certain hard playing guitar parts or repetitive chord voicings, things that cause substantial exhaustion to my hands. The upper range songs need to be excluded, if possible, or adjusted, vocally, to reduce the strain to my voice. Yes, these things are being plotted by the artist. Friday requires a solid performance. Saturday requires a solid performance. Where does the planning begin? Way back to when the dates were booked. And, as the tour develops, such as adding a Wednesday engagement that had questions attached (many questions, in fact) the artist has to be considering many things. It is her/his job. For those who read let me make it very clear, in case your mind tells you otherwise, touring singer-songwriters are doing a job. It is something to be considered.</p></div>
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  <a href="/blog/blog/7150336/music-commentary-11">Music commentary #11</a>&nbsp;
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  <div class="message"><p>  First album, maybe first two or three-that is the topic here. It is amazing how many people fall in love with a musical recording act upon the first album, then, cannot accept anything the act does after those first few years of recording. In some cases, it is the debut album that is great, but, all else has to pale in comparison. In other cases, the fan is onboard for a few albums before tuning out everything that comes later. In the event an artist/band continues to create and generate music work for decades, you can count on a significant part of their fan base to be lukewarm about all the later releases. I have seen countless folks be unaware the later records were even made! How many Peter Frampton “fans” have his records after the ‘70s? How many Don McLean “fans” love his songs that are not titled “Vincent” or “American Pie”? Willie Nelson keeps touring and recording, yet, how many of his music loving fans buy the albums that were not made in the ‘70s and ‘80s? Did Skynyrd make albums after they reunited in the late ‘80s? Uh, yeah. How many Lynyrd Skynyrd fans bought them? How many know the words to THOSE songs as well as they know “Mr. Saturday Night Special” or “That Smell”? How many are aware that 1987 through this minute is 35 years? How much music got made by the band’s personnel in that 35 years? In some cases, artists/bands get signed to a label and record the debut album while being at a certain place, creatively speaking. As the act grows the music takes on new shapes, new sounds, new approaches. Thus, albums that come later catch them at THAT particular place. The problem comes when the fan, or significant fan base number, rejects anything that is not a rehashing of the initial release(s). There is backlash toward the undesired “growth” made by the musicians. See, the audience, the “fans”, did NOT grow. So, they are not understanding of the changes. There are other situations where an act responds to a certain musical climate at the time, producing music to suit the atmosphere of the business. It is not really where the act’s strength is, or, where the passion is. But, the adjustments allowed for a success. Then, when the sophomore album (or third) gets made it is more in step with WHO THE ACT REALLY IS. However, the fan base loved them for what THEY knew them to be, and expect more music like that. After no real “return” to the debut album “formula “ the fans depart. 6-8 albums later that same fan base is completely unaware the act makes records. And, is unaware the act ever performs! Yes, I am talking about the 18 year old guy with his girlfriend on his shoulders, 10 feet from the stage because they got there hours early to fight it out for stage closeness. They bought T-shirts, listened to nothing but that act for weeks before and after the concert came to town, and would forever recall the magic in the music of that artist (or band). By age 32 or 35 those “fans” are so out of touch with any music released by the act that they cannot name a single song from the recent decade. They do not know of an album or albums being released. But, WAIT! The act comes to town for a show and the couple dumps the kids at mom’s house. Off to see the “magic” music act they go. Then, during the concert the couple are giving one another strange looks. What are these songs? Do you know this material? That has happened because the fans abandoned the musical act and did not stay in touch. AND, the expectation is that those really early songs are what should be played over and over, night after night, for decades. The act should stay stuck in time, in a musical place, for life. Growth? Development? Expanding the musical landscape? No, those things are not to happen. I seem to recall Mark Knopler recording an album of duets with Emmylou Harris. He used some Nashville players, and had Emmylou do the subsequent tour with him. Unfortunately, the venues were filled with lots of Dire Straits fans, expecting Knopfler to only do Dire Straits material of old. The “rock” audience were not real tolerant of the country stuff from the new album. AND, many of them DID NOT KNOW WHO Emmylou Harris WAS, despite her being an iconic music artist. Another recollection of mine is mentioning from my stage that I had been on a tour with Folk icon Joan Baez, and a person shouted out “you are too young to have toured with Joan Baez!”, questioning my authenticity. I told the person I had been 35 years old on that tour, and was plenty old enough to have pulled off the job description. The problem was that the lady in the audience thought of Joan as a 1960s act, and knew I would not have performed with her as a little lad. She could not believe that Joan was touring in the year 2000. If one knows about the discography of one Joan Baez, then, would know how many of her albums had been ignored by this audience person. I toured as guitarist for Folk-Rocker Steve Forbert off and on over the years. It was startling how often his fans brought vinyl albums for his signature, albums from late ‘70s/early ‘80s, but refused to walk over to the merchandise table and pick up his “newer” CDs from mid ‘80s through deep 2000s. I would engage in small talk with them at the intimate, acoustic-based performance settings. The recurring comments I heard were “I used to go hear him back in college. I didn’t know he still was touring.” Yeah? He has been touring AND making records. They are great, his songwriting is great. You missed a lot of music made by an artist you admired way back when. Some of those CDs had ME playing on them. That is what really hurt, come to think if it. They were unaware of MY appearances on his CDs.</p></div>
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    <p class="post-info"><span data-time="2023-02-07T21:31:44-06:00" title="February 07, 2023 21:31">02/07/2023</span></p>

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