Moving On....

I've decided to consolidate this blog into my personal blog. Music will still be the primary focus of my writing, but it will also give me the opportunity to write about my other interests such as baseball and traveling. 

I plan on leaving this blog up indefinitely,  but from now on you can vist my Bourbon & Orleans Blog. You can also check out my Trop-Rock focused blog, Trop Rock News. Thanks for reading, and i hope you'll take some time to check out my other projects.

I'm Writing A Manifesto

I'm going to write a manifesto.

That's right. I'm going to write a manifesto. A music manifesto to be exact.

Why? Because i love music. This blog is dedicated to it. And it bothers me deeply when i see musicians who have tons of heart, soul, and talent getting passed over by corporate America in favor of those who are willing to sacrifice their art in exchange for becoming rich and famous. It drives me crazy when i hear a great, heartfelt song on a podcast or a friends Ipod then turn around and hear somebody's streamlined mediocrity on the radio.

So what is a manifesto exactly? It's defined as a public deceleration of intentions, opinions, or motives. Mine will touch upon all three of those, but will mainly center upon my opinions. I intend to state what is wrong with the music business, and what is right about it. I will state my opinion on what could be done to improve it. I will also state what i personally intend to do to help deserving artists and songs get recognized.

This manifesto will take aim at the music business and its gatekeepers. The people who are more concerned with the marketability of an act than the quality of his or her art. It's wrong, and it's brainwashing a generation that knows nothing besides what they are force fed by the radio, MTV, and CMT.  It will also target fans in an attempt to turn them against the gatekeepers and desk (not disc) jockeys who are in the music business for all the wrong reasons.

I'm just one voice in an ocean of millions, but i hope and intend to write something that will inspire people to turn off mainstream radio, buy music from their local record store, attend live shows at their local venues, and generally open their hearts and minds to the thousands of quality musician's who making music for the right reasons. And it will only take a handful of people changing to make my manifesto a success.

Here is my promise to myself, to you, and to the the music that I love. My music manifesto will be published by July 4 2010. That gives me a little more than three months to write, edit, and format it before it gets released. So guess it's time to get to work. I've got a manifesto to write.

Finding New Music in New Orleans

New Orleans is easily my favorite places in the world, and I'm lucky that i get to visit the city several times a year. However my trips to the Crescent City are generally centered around one of the city's many attractions - Bourbon Street. That's great when your in the mood to party, which i usually am, but it doesn't expose you to much music other than cover bands and karaoke singers.

New Orleans has always been home to many talented musicians, many of which play styles of music that i really don't listen to. Notice i said don't listen to, not that i don't like them. I have to admit that I've never listened to enough Jazz or Blues music to form an opinion on the genres.
 
During my recent internet wanderings I've discovered a couple of companies who have reminded me of the fact that theirs more to do in New Orleans than Bourbon Street and Jackson Square.

The first is Basin Street Records, which is home to some of NOLA's finest Jazz musicians, including Kermit Ruffins and Irvin Mayfield. The company was founded in 1997 and their albums are always among the biggest sellers at Jazzfest each year. While it appears they place an emphasis on Jazz recordings, they also support acts from other genres. Money problems have kept me from buying any of their music yet, but i hope to change that soon. They are very proud members of the community and support all things NOLA. You can check out their website HERE, or follow them on Twitter HERE.

The second half of my inspiration is Offbeat Magazine, a monthly publication that focuses on the music, cuisine and culture of NOLA, with a heavy emphasis on the music scene in and around the Big Easy. Their magazine and it's accompanying website is full of articles and reviews covering every kind genre that's played in New Orleans. They also publish a weekly email newsletter called "Weekly Beat"  Besides producing great content, Offbeat Magazine also hosts the annual "Best of Beat Awards" that recognize the best of NOLA's local music scene. You can visit Offbeat's website HERE, and check them out on Twitter HERE

Several other organizations are also working to improve and promote the music scene in NOLA. Here's a few you might want to check out.

Threadhead Records - Helps musicians secure funding for recording new albums.

New Orleans Indie Rock Collective - Working to grow the Indie Rock scene in New Orleans. They recently hosted the Foburg Music Festival.
   
New Orleans Musicians Clinic - A local non-profit that provides affordable, comprehensive health care to musician's in the New Orleans area.

And of course no musical journey to New Orleans would be complete without a trip to Preservation Hall, where the Jazz heritage of the city is preserved and on display nightly.
 
As i said, i visit New Orleans fairly often, but a music-oriented trip is something i definitely intended to do sometime soon. My spring and summer are already booked solid, so I probably won't get to follow through on this post until the fall. Which is fine with me, because i can use the extra time to continue my research into NOLA's many musical opportunities. 

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Troy Allan - "Could You Be More Pacfic"

Below is a video of my good friend and singer/songwriter Troy Allan performing last night in Lake Charles, LA. The song is a new one, called "Could You Be More Pacific." But the song isn't the reason for this post. Troy himself is. Not Troy Allan the musician, but Troy the human being. 

Troy's story is quite incredible.  Late last summer he was diagnosed with a rare form of Stomach Cancer. He started Chemo Therapy in the fall, and Radiation Treatment was also prescribed. We've all heard horror stories about what these treatments do to people, but Troy battled trough the treatments while continuing to live life on his own terms. He never missed a gig, and usually played 4 or 5 shows a week, all while fighting his cancer. 

On January 19 doctors removed Troy's stomach. Troy was obviously weakened by the procedure, and was off his feet for nearly a month. He started playing again earlier this month, and is currently gigging about once a week as he continues to adjust to life without a stomach and regain his strength. 

Troy started another round of Chemo Therapy this week as part of his ongoing battle with cancer. If you watch the video closely you can see that he's wearing a fannie pack - that's actually he his chemo pump. You'll also notice that he is wearing a backpack, which holds his food supply, as he's still getting most of his nourishment through an IV.

Troy should be an inspiration to everyone, especially cancer patients. He hasn't let one of the most feared illness in the world keep him from chasing his dreams, and for that i applaud him. I feel very privileged to call him a friend, and i wish him all the luck in the world. Check him out on the web HERE. And please be sure to share his story with anyone you know and love who has ever had to fight cancer. 

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The Search For New Music

I'm constantly looking for new music. I get excited when i listen to something that's been recommended to me by a friend. It's almost like finding an unexpected present waiting on your front doorstep. But just like unexpected presents, those opportunities don't see to come around very often.

So in the past few months I've made a conscious effort to seek out new artists to listen to. I've started reading music blogs and listening to podcasts, then following up on artists that interest me. It's lead to a couple of good finds, but not enough to satisfy me. So I've tried searching in other places. Places where i have to do the digging instead of just reading or listening to what others have found.

For instance, from time to time I'll get on Reverb Nation and spend a couple of hours listening to music. I'll search for acts based on genre and location and just listen to whatever they have posted on their page. I've found a few acts that i really like during my latest wanderings on the site, and i plan on contacting a few of them soon in hopes of writing about them. I've done the same thing on Sonic Bids. The problem with this approach is that only a fraction of the world's acts are on those websites, so after a little while it starts to feel like your going in circles.

All of this looking and listening has lead to me to one realization. I'm not satisfied learning about emerging bands at the same time everyone else does. I don't want to find a diamond in the rough. I want to find the diamond that's still in the ground.

Let me present that idea in another way.

The music portion of South By Southwest starts today, and hundreds, maybe thousands of acts will be showcasing all over Austin. That's great, and I'm sure I'll be listening to, and even writing about more than one of those bands. But those are the people playing SXSW in 2010. I want to find the bands and songwriters who will be showcasing at SWSW in 2012. And i want to find them now.

Send Me Your Music

I would like to devote approximately 40% of the content on this blog to introducing unheard music to people who want to hear it. I'd like most of them to be album reviews, but I also plan on throwing in the occasional interview or MP3 giveaway. But in order to follow through on these plans i need some music to share with the world. That's where you guys come in. Share your music with me so i can share it with everyone else.
 
If your a musician, songwriter, etc who's making new and exciting music, please share it with me. If your a fan of an act who isn't getting any attention outside of your local scene, then please tell me about them. If your a manager or artist's representative who's seeker a larger audience for your client, then please get in touch with me.

This blog is called Next Great Song for a couple of different reasons, one of which is my desire to introduce quality, unknown music to hungry fans. Check out the new CONTACT page if you want to get in touch with me. I'm looking forward to hearing from you.

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