REAL Country’s Ace in the Hole: YOU
Yeah, Nashville and pop country might have all the attention. They might have all the money. They may have found a way to hijack all of the institutions of country music, even the word “country” itself. They may have the media in their back pocket and control of the radio stations. They may have mansions on the hill and ivory towers and personal jets and sold out stadiums. But there’s one thing that pop country doesn’t have that REAL country and the greater Americana movement does: YOU.
That’s right, YOU. I mean the person that is reading these very words right now. YOU are the reason that REAL country is on the rise. And it IS on the rise, like a great awakening rolling across the fruited plane. People are waking up to the fact that there’s something better.
The difference between YOU and the spoon fed pop country fan is, you are loyal, and are willing to participate in the movement. The pop country fan will be off to the next big hype when it hits, whatever it will be, and pop country and Taylor Swift will be “SO 2009.” But you’re here for the long run, because you don’t just like the music, you love it, you identify with it, it is part of your being.
Sure, pop country has a monopoly on radio, but we have our podcasts, catered to the music WE love, operated by people not doing it for the money, but because they want to, because they are passionate about the music. How many pop country DJ’s can say that? I’m sure there’s a few, but there’s many more that are ONLY doing it because they get paid.
And when you see an artist you like, you support them. And then you tell your friends. And then you go to see them live and you take pictures and video and audio to share with others, just like Cathy and Allison did in my last post. You cook them meals and offer up your couches. You don’t ask what the artist can do for you, you ask what you can do for the artist.
There are so many people that have contributed so much, I’m scared to start naming off names because I’ll probably forget so many, but they are all over the place: podcasters, videographers, MySpacers, message boarders; everybody does what they can, however big or little. Host a podcast or hang a banner. Either way, the movement grows.
And the same could be said for the artists themselves, who sometimes spend their own hard earned money to bring you the music, and go through untold sacrifice to make the music happen without compromising their ideals.
Who needs the Grand Ole Opry, Rolling Stone, or Austin City Limits? We’ll share our own music on our own networks, with like-minded people who aren’t sharing and reporting on it to get paid, but because they want to. Where would you rather see your favorite artists perform, from the upper deck of a football stadium, or the front row of a honky tonk for half the price?
So enjoy your sugar high Nashville, because it’s burning off quick. We’ll see how much mileage you get out of fleeting whims of 14-year-old girls and bored soccer moms, while REAL country fans who were born and raised on this music and have devoted their lives to it come to our side of the fence in droves. We’re the redneck white trash of country. We’re the ones into country to stay, and we’re standing on the back porches of our doublewides, or on the rusty bumper of our trucks with our fists in the air.
We’re REAL country, hear us roar.
Pat Messenger
December 21, 2009 @ 1:27 pm
You’re right . It seems as though only certain performers have all kinds of backingwhile there are other performers who only get a passing glance. If I hear asinger who is really good,then I will support them to the hilt. If a singer has true talent,give them support, but it seems to me that some singers just sleep their way to the top and if they truly had to sing for their supper they would starve to death.
The Triggerman
December 21, 2009 @ 2:18 pm
And a lot of them do starve to death if they lose that major label support, because they’ve not put the effort out to create a solid fan base.
Tom
December 21, 2009 @ 5:25 pm
I do my best. Even minute stuff like posting a freakin MySpace bullitan telling people to buy a CD/link to an artist page. I don’t hear of many people saying “Hey I saw a link for the new Tim McGraw video!!!” What I do hear and read however, is people saying “I saw live footage of 2 new Hank III songs”, and the people who see those videos link to them, spread them around.
Another thing, I wonder how many people who spend $20 on a pop CD actually listen to the entire album, and not just the single they heard on the radio. It seems to me that it’s ALL about the hit single with pop country, so it makes one think about the mindset of these “artists” when they record a record. Knowing the majority of them don’t write a damn thing do they just put all the effort into one damn song?, and the rest of the tracks are throw-a-ways?
I know this is rambling on and on but it’s an interesting topic. All in all, I know that when one gives a shit about what they do and puts effort into their art, the fan base puts the same ammount of effort into letting others know.
OkieWolf
December 22, 2009 @ 1:24 pm
“some singers just sleep their way to the top and if they truly had to sing for their supper they would starve to death….”
The problem is that 1). these people are NOT singer nor are they entertainers and 2). they can’t sing for their supper because they CAN’T SING in the first place. There are more off key notes in today’s “country” than the worst karaoke bar you can imagine.
The Triggerman
December 22, 2009 @ 6:46 pm
Good point Okie, Taylor Swift clearly sang off tune in her performance on the same awards show that named her Entertainer of the Year. Taste aside, at least the people can sing on tune.