Roundtable Vol 2 & Anti-Country Revisited
Well ladies and gentlemen, we were a week late, but we got the REAL Country Roundtable Volume 2 done. Topics discussed include: Why so many REAL country bands are coming out of the Midwest and Upper Midwest (and not the South). Has the .357 String Band “lost something” since mandolin player Jayke Orvis left. And we revisit Shooter Jenning’s new album “Black Ribbons.”
We also discuss my Anti-Country idea, which at this point is dead in the water, mostly from gross misunderstanding of the term. But I’m still glad I raised the topic, and just because my solution may not work, doesn’t mean there still isn’t a problem. In fact I think the problems are even more evident now, just over a week later, than when I proposed the idea. Music Row is castrating the underground, and if we cannot find some common ground or leadership, it is only going to get worse.
You can listen to or download the Roundtable below. We had fun doing it, and we hope you have fun listening. You can always find the episodes and more info about the Roundtable at savingcountrymusic.com/the-roundtable.
Roundtable Volume 2:
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Download or open with media player.
In other podcasting news:
–The White Trash Revival has had a lot of great guests on recent episodes, including Lucky Tubb, Junk, Kyle Turley, and Dog Bite Harris, so swing on over there and check it out.
—Blue Ribbon Radio is back after a stint away due to technical difficulties.
—Stink Finger Radio can now be heard the hour before Outlaw Radio Chicago every Wednesday at 6 PM Eastern on scrubradio.com.
—ninebullets.net has released their March podcast.
April 8, 2010 @ 12:18 pm
thanks, triggerman.
April 8, 2010 @ 1:27 pm
I’d actually started warming up to the anti-country idea. While I do still see both sides of the argument, the initial negative reaction might be better than a term more flatly tags things. A lot of the hypothetical arguing centers around debating this with people who are into pop/mainstream country. The simple fact is many of them aren’t going to give a rat’s ass about what is or isn’t real country, and what does and doesn’t honor the traditions of the founders and legends of the music. They’ll fly the flag of the crap they listen to before they spend five seconds giving an underground act a half-second’s chance.
The prospective audience to grow this movement is going to be in the various patches of people who aren’t tuned in to country at all, and are likely already vested in independent scenes of other genres. When I’ve been at shows of the bigger names of this scene I’ve noticed people from all flocks of scenes, styles or whatever you want to call it. I don’t simply mean a III show and the metal crowd either, it’s a lot more expansive than that.
The term might be something that gets them to perk up, ask “WTF?” and look more into it. The biggest problem with promoting independent music isn’t a negative reaction, rather it’s indifference. I’m sure everyone who’s had involvement of any kind with this or any other genre can attest to the massive wall of apathy that seems to exist, even within professed fans of the genre. Sparking some kind of initial reaction, whatever it may be, might be worth more than using a safer term.
Regardless of the fate of anti-country, it is clear that some kind of term to group all of this stuff into is needed. Other overall genres of music suffer from psychotic amounts of ridiculous sub-genre labels. (We could spend days talking about the million or so metal sub-labels.) A good, solid overall tag would go a long way towards ensuring that an eventual degeneration into sub-genre hell doesn’t happen.
April 8, 2010 @ 1:47 pm
I have not given up on Anti-Country. I still believe in it, and in my pretty little head can counter pretty much any opposition to the term. But I’m not going to shove it down people’s throats. I’m going to continue to leave it out there and see if it sticks. If a couple of bands pick it up, then it could spread like wildfire.
Very good point that apathy is the biggest hurdle to underground music, though underground movements have risen to the masses before, and have effected overall popular music.
April 8, 2010 @ 3:52 pm
GREAT”ROUND TABLE #2″, TRIGGERMAN, but i’am stickin’ to my guns on the “ANTI-COUNTRY” idea,…still don’t like the sound of it! I came to your site of “SAVING COUNTRY MUSIC” because I like the whole idea of it. I’am not into the metal or some of the other stuff you are into promoting but you have a good “heads up” on the country scene, but that’s just my two cents.Onward and upward…The most important thing you said in RT#2 that struck a meaningful chord with me was your description of current TRASHVILLE product as using,”THE DISSENTION OF POP COUNTRY INTO POP COUNTRY”! I couldn’t agree with you more!…in MY opinion, TRASHVILLE is trying to shoot you AND us with our own ammunition! BUT and (maybe) sad to say to alot of Shooter or WAYLON fans…I still think that “BLACK RIBBON” is the BEST album Shooter has put out! There have been some occassional songs that appealed to me on his other albums but I always had the sense he was trying to be his daddy’s son. “Black Ribbon” is Shooter being Shooter!, and I sincerely think Waylon, in his last years was trying more to cross over into Shooters ideas of music and would wholey endorse this album. I think you have to look at this album as a voyage the same as you would a story in a movie or as a book…its just a trip down somebody’s imagination. As far as “FUCK YOU (I’M FAMOUS)” goes, remember too that sarcasm is a JENNINGS TRADEMARK. GREAT “ROUND TABLE” Brother!, glad I caught it.
April 8, 2010 @ 4:47 pm
Aj,
I do not promote a lot of metal through here, the only exception maybe being Assjack, which is only through Hank III by proxy, and that has only been once or twice. I do promote a lot of things that are country with a punk or metal twist, but never straight metal or straight punk.
I agree that there needs to be a line drawn between REAL country, and some of the country music with a punk/metal twist, and that was one of the ideas behind Anti-Country. Those Poor Bastards is not REAL country, Legendary Shack Shakers is not REAL country. Lucky Tubb IS, but Lucky Tubb has way more in common with Those Poor Bastards than with George Strait. A fair criticism of me and this website has been is that we want to call things REAL country, but then lump things that are not real country in with it. That was the idea for a new term to describe these other bands, though it could be used to describe REAL country bands as well that fit into this movement. Again, I ain’t gonna shove Anti-Country down people’s throats. I get it that it would be misunderstood. Though don’t be surprised if you hear that term again, and it’s not coming out of my mouth.
Gonna see Shooter on Saturday. Trying to swallow all me opinions about him and try to give my honest take of the concert.
April 8, 2010 @ 4:51 pm
Its all about the interstates…road country has my vote.
April 8, 2010 @ 5:39 pm
“SAVING COUNTRY MUSIC”dot com…I know it’s a novel idea…but I likes it!
April 10, 2010 @ 2:26 pm
Ahhhh, sorry I am so behind the times. I am still travelling around the states (in Canada right now) so am only catching up on your blogs of the past few weeks now. I just posted a response to your initial Anti-Country blog, but probably should have put it here. No matter. I just remembered when I was in Vegas last week at Viva Las Vegas (rockabilly festival) I was chatting to a guy who asked what kind of music I mainly listened to. My response: Anti-Country! Of course before he could quiz me on what the hell I was on about I quantified it by mentioning some of the bands I like so he could get the gist of what Anti-Country was. You created the word, I like it and I am using it whether or not anybody else is on board. Don’t care. If I did would I be listening to the kind of music I listen to, reading a blog such as this one and taking the time to respond? I was in an indie record store in Nanaimo, Vancouver Island yesterday and had a great conversation with the owner there (a British ex-pat) about Scott H Biram. He had his last two CD’s in stock.I was telling him how Amoeba in Hollywood hadn’t even heard of the guy but I have in New Zealand and clearly he has a Canadian fan base as well. Oh the irony. Keep up the great work Triggerman. I get home to NZ in a week (after 5 weeks away) and look forward to having the time to immerse myself once again in savingcountrymusic.com
April 11, 2010 @ 10:18 am
Great summary of “Black Ribbons”. I do agree that “fuck you I’m famous” is probably his worst song yet, but I really do think he was being sarcastic. That being said, it’s still a lame joke. I’m certainly no Shooter fan but out of respect for his dad (and the fact that my dad is a fan) I’ve never been one to trash him or his music. Like you said, there are some pretty-good moments to be found here and it’s a shame that more people will be put off by the bad stuff than not.