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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The Radio Promotion Blues

Jerry Diaz & Hanna's Reef, the band i work for, released a new album in November of 2009. It's called Home On The Gulf Coast, and features 11 songs written by Jerry. It also has 4 songs that were produced by Austin based guitarist John Inmon, who use to play with guys like Jerry Jeff Walker and Ray Wylie Hubbard. As a group we were (and still are) very proud of the project. We spent a lot of time discussing ways to expose it to people outside our existing fan base.

After some motivation from our friend Jim Hoehn, we decided to try our hand at promoting HOGC to the radio. More specifically, I decided to pursue the DIY (Do It Yourself) method of radio promotion, and Jerry gave me his blessing. I knew that trying to reach any major radio stations would be pointless, so i decided to focus on public radio, college radio, and specialty show. I spent a couple months reading everything i could find on the internet pertaining to radio promotion, while also researching different music charts and organizations. I eventually came to the conclusion that our best shot was to push HOGC to Americana Radio. Then i settled on the FAR (Freeform American Roots) chart as my primary target.

I didn't want to jump in over my head, so i kept my first effort small and sent promotional packages to 21 outlets. 19 radio stations and 2 podcasts, most of which report to the FAR Chart. The packages were mailed on February 9. I waited about 10 days, then began contacting them, (mostly via email) to confirm that they had received the CD's.

A Hot Start

Success came almost immediately. On February 22 Garry Morse played "Captain Jack" on his Lost Music Saloon show on WRIR in Chester, VA. That got me pretty excited about our overall chances for successes. The momentum continued a few days later when we were added to the music library of KPFT in Houston, TX. On top of that several other DJ's and stations replied to my emails with some form of "your cd is in the pile, we'll review it when we get a chance." In the end, a little less than half my targets responded to my initial round of emails and phone calls. I was thrilled about getting our first play and felt pretty good about the entire campaign, if you want to call it that.

After my initial round of followups i waited a couple weeks, then started another round of inquires. This time things didn't go so well. No plays or adds. Two DJ's declined to play our album because it didn't fit their format, but that didn't really faze me as i had expected to get that response from some outlets. Their wasn't much in the way of good news - just one more station to the "It's awaiting review" list. What irked me was the lack of response period. Less than 20% of the outlets contacted responded to my second round of followups.

Looking Ahead

I had no doubts that going the DIY route on radio promotion would be easy. Everything I've read online has mentioned the numerous phone calls and emails it takes to each station in order to get a project played. But even with that knowledge I've still be shocked to get such a small response to my phone calls and emails. I've actually had a much harder time accepting that then the outright rejections.

But I'm not giving up easily. I plan on working my current list into Mid-April, or until they play the record or tell me they won't. I also hope to do a second, but possibly smaller mailing, probably around the first of April. After that I'll talk with Jerry and decide if we want to continue working radio or not. 

But until then I plan on giving this campaign everything I've got, and hopefully picking up several more plays along the way.  I do plan on changing one thing, and that's my method of contact. I've tried to use email whenever possible, but I'm afraid that might be to easy to ignore or forget about. So I plan on hitting the phones hard this week, and fighting to get the album played. After all that is what radio promoters are suppose to do.

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About Me

At the end of Wednesday's post i promised everybody a biography. Well I don't know if you can really call this a biography, but here's your opportunity to get to know me better.


The Short Version
I was born and raised in Sherwood, Arkansas where i spent a lot of time at the local pool. After high school i moved to Fayetteville, home to the University of Arkansas. I spent 10 years at the university as a student, employee or both. While in Fayetteville I became exposed to the "independent music" movement, which eventually led to me moving to Texas in May 2009. I now live in Beaumont, TX where i spend my time working for Jerry Diaz & Hanna's Reef when I'm not busy working on this blog or figuring out some other way to support myself.

More Random Facts That You Could Possibly Want To Know

• Baseball is my other great love besides music. I'm pretty fanatical about the Chicago Cubs and the Arkansas Razorbacks, but I'll watch pretty much any baseball game. From the Major Leagues to T-Ball, I'll watch it. 
• My favorite bars include George's Majestic Lounge in Fayetteville, Ar; Gruene Hall in New Braunfels, TX; Shorty's in Port Aransas, TX; and The Tropical Isle, Johnny Whites, and Lafitte's Blacksmith Shoppe in New Orleans, LA.
• I work for Jerry Diaz & Hanna's Reef as the bands "Road Manager." Basically that means i do anything but play an instrument onstage. This includes working sound, selling merchandise, marketing/pr stuff, and bar tending. 
• With few exceptions i like Dos Equis Beer, Tequila, and Rum. I very rarely touch Whiskey or Vodka.
• I've worked on or around pools most of my life. I'm hoping my "adventures" in the music business can eventually change that.
• I consider the New York Yankees to be the cause of all evil in this world.
• My favorite bands include Reckless Kelly, Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi, Jerry Diaz & Hanna's Reef, and The Randy Rogers Band.
• I read a lot. Which tends to freak most people out for some reason.
• I'm scared to death of Snakes.
• I consider "South Of Interstate 10" to be it's own state regardless of what state your legally in.
• The French Quarter in New Orleans, LA is my favorite place in the entire world.
• I was the President of the Northwest Arkansas Parrot Head Club for over 3 years. During that time i was introduced to Trop-Rock music and dozens of incredible people who are still my friends today. 
• Because i work for a band i don't get to see very many shows, which sucks. But that's the trade off for getting to go lots of cool places. 
• As far as I'm concerned 50 is getting cold, and theirs no such thing as "To Hot."

I could probably go on forever with random facts, but that should give you a glance into my personal side. I justhope you don't think I'm crazy now. I plan on turning this post into a "About" page sometime in the next few weeks, but for now I'll leave it as is. Have a great weekend!

Things We Talk About On NGS.

The vast majority of anything i talk about on this blog is going to be music related, so I'll keep this post the same way.

Some people listen to all kinds of music....literally everything from hip-hop to country to classical. I can't claim to be that diverse. Basically my tastes run from Rock-N-Roll to country, although i don't really like much of anything that's on modern country radio. More specifically i really enjoy genres like Classic Rock, Roots Rock, Trop-Rock, and Americana. I also like acts that don't fall into any of those genres or sub genres, but they probably cover 90% of the stuff i like. With that in mind let me loosely define those genres for you. Please keep in mind that these definitions are my own, not something  you can find in a book somewhere. I'm sure someone will want to disagree with them, and they have every right to.

Classic Rock

Pretty much anyone who plays Rock & Roll and got started before my 10th birthday. If an act made their debut after 1991 then i can't consider them Classic Rock. The genre goes back to Elvis, and runs through the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, The Eagles, etc. I'd have to call Bon Jovi the youngest classic rock band, but I think i would have a hard time including them if they weren't one of my favorite acts of all time. I've got to give credit to 94.1 The Point in Little Rock, AR for introducing me to a lot of great music back when i was just a kid riding around in the car with my dad.

Trop-Rock
My involvement with this genre can be traced back to my love of the beach, the ocean, and Jimmy Buffett music. Basically its a mashup of rock, country, reggae and a dozen other genres with lyrics that focus on a beach of island lifestyle. The band that i work for, Jerry Diaz & Hanna's Reef, is a Trop-Rock band. Trop-Rock acts can range from folk to Rock & Roll and everything in between. Basically it's all about the beach or island theme. It's not necessarily the most intense music around, but its a lot of fun. If you want to learn more about Trop-Rock then you can visit the official website of the Margarita Mafia.

Americana
Americana is a big jumbled mess of awesome music that's basically free of labels. Anybody who plays some combination of folk, rock, country, bluegrass, jazz, blues, or dozens of other niche genres could be considered Americana. Johnny Cash might be the most earliest example of an Americana artists as he's in both the Country Music and Rock and Roll Hall of Fames. A similar case could also be made for The Eagles since much of their music had a heavy country influence to it. Nowadays you can find thousands of acts playing Americana music all across the country, just don't expect to find them on CMT.

Note - Lots of people, including me, tend to call Americana music made by artists from Texas or Oklahoma as "Texas Music" or "Red Dirt Music."

Roots Rock
It's old school Rock & Roll presented by newer acts. In the mold of Bruce Springsteen the lyrics are more important than how loud the band is, although you'll find plenty of great solos in the genre. Some might consider it a sub genre of Americana because the bands playing this music often bring a touch of country, blues, or even punk to their songs. One of my favorite bands, Reckless Kelly, is a good example of a Americana act who could also be considered a Roots Rock Band.

Conclusion
I hope this will give you a little better idea about the music i enjoy and that i will be talking about on this blog. As i finish this post up I'm also realizing that i should probably write a biographical post to share more of my personal background with everybody. So look for a post along those lines on Friday.

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Show Review - Reckless Kelly @ George's Majestic Lounge

On February 26 I had the opportunity to see my favorite band play at one of my favorite bars. Specifically I saw Reckless Kelly play at George's Majestic Lounge in Fayetteville, AR. I was really excited about the show for a couple reasons. The first being that i have never seen Reckless play at George's. Apparently they use to, but they hadn't been to town since 2005 or 2006, before i started following them. The other reason being that the band recently released a new album, Somewhere In Time. The project is a departure from RK's previous albums because it's actually a tribute album to Pinto Bennett, who is one of the Braun brothers biggest influences. In many ways it's a return to the bands roots, but its definitely different than the more rock-n-roll RK that i've grown use to. I was very interested in seeing how the new material would be presented and received in concert.

The show started with "The Ballad of Elano Deleon," the second track from the new album. It was followed by a pair of Reckless stables in "Baby's Gone" and "Motel Cowboy Show." Next up was the title cut from the new album. I think "Somewhere In Time" is probably my favorite of all the new songs, and i hope it stays in live show for years to come. RK followed it with a handful of well known tunes before featuring Cody Braun on "I've Done Everything That I Can Do Wrong."

It was then that Reckless really found their stride as the they tore through a 5 song mini set. “Nobody's Baby,” got everyone's adrenaline following before the band jumped right into “Vancouver. ” RK then fired off "Love In Her Eyes," "Wiggles & Ritilan," and "Castanets" without pausing between songs. Only then did things slow down as the band played three more songs from Somewhere In Time before closing with the crowd pleasing "Crazy Eddie's Last Hurrah"

The encore started with Willy Braun alone onstage alone as he sang the first verse of “Wicked Twisted Road” His brother Cody joined him for the second verse, and guitarsit David Abeyta joined them for the third. Finally drummer Jay Nazz and Bassist Chris Schelske took the stage for the songs outro. RK then closed the show with full band versions of "Somewhere In Time" and "Guy Like Me"

In the end the show was everything I hoped it would be. George's was packed, and the crowd seemed to know the words to all of the bands older songs, plus many of the new ones. The setlist only contained 2 songs from Bullettproof, focusing on Somewhere in Time and older albums. I think it's safe to say that it won't take Reckless 3 years to come back to Fayetteville and George's. Also please check out the picture below, its a scan of the setlist, signed by all the RK guys. Pretty damn cool!

JB's Top Songs of 2009 - Part 2

Songs #5-1

#5 Rum in Pensacola - Jerry Diaz & Hanna's Reef
I generally tell people that this is one of my two favorite songs in the world. Written by Jerry Diaz, (AKA the closest thing i have to a boss) it's the reason i now live in Texas and have so many great friends all over the country. This song and its affect on me is proof that music truly is important, and that it can make a difference in someone's life.

#4 Wicked Twisted Road - Reckless Kelly
My favorite song by my favorite band. To be honest i have a hard time even finding the right words to use in regard to WTR. It's one of those rare songs that's vague enough to allow each listener to apply it to their own life, but still feels like it was written about somebody or something specific. Without a doubt it's Willy Braun's finest work as a songwriter. 

 #3 American Saint - Bleu Edmonson
I once referred to this song as "my generations Born to Run." I said that with the knowledge that Bleu is heavily influenced by Bruce Springsteen, but I really believe that its true on many levels. "American Saint" always leaves me feeling a little desperate and rough around the edges. It's one of my favorite songs to play when i need a little motivation.
#2 Baby's Got A Whole Lot More - Reckless Kelly
RK's second appearance on this list comes in the form of a rather obscure song. Don't ask me to explain how this song wound up as my #2 song for 2009, but it did. I think it proabley has to do with the songs underlying theme of being road weary and wondering where home really is, which i most definitely understand. 

#1 Already Gone - Sugarland

This was my theme song for the first half of 2009. I was getting ready to move from Arkansas to Texas, and the relocation wasn't easy on me, even though i knew it was a good thing for me. The whole idea of being "already gone" pretty much described my mindset for the last couple months i lived in Fayetteville.

That wraps up my late edtion of 2009's Top 10 songs. I can't wait to see what songs end up on top at the end of this year.

JB's Top Songs of 2009 - Part 1

Songs #6-10

Ok so this is a little late...but here are my top 10 songs of 2009, according to my Itunes.To be specific these aren't necessarily my favorite songs, just the most played on my Itunes and Ipod.

#10 Great Expectations - The Gaslight Anthem

A great song by a relatively new and upcoming act. They may be fairly new, but the Gaslight Anthem is the real deal - Bruce Springsteen has set in with them several times. This song is a great play off the title of a classic Dickens novel. I do have a soft spot for bands from New Jersey.

#9 This Time Around - Randy Rogers Band

I'm really a little surprised that this song made my Top 10. It's a very good song,  but i wouldn't rate it in my Top 15, much less my Top 10. But anything co-written by Randy Rogers and Cody Canada is going to be pretty damn good.

#8 So Close Now - Eli Young Band

The first of several songs that i listened to constantly when i was getting ready to leave Arkansas. Listen to this song and imagine getting ready to move out of the only state you've ever called home. 

#7 Saints In The Twilight - Mike McClure Band

This song just makes me want to fight somebody. The lyrics tell the story of a strained relationship, but the overall song strikes another chord with me. It serves as a reminder of anyone and everyone that has ever doubted me, and i like to think that it helps keep me focused on proving them wrong.

#6 Can't Slow Down - Randy Rogers Band

I'll be honest, I can't believe this song isn't higher. It describes the endless road that musicians, or the people who work for them follow. One night after another, and sometimes it gets depressing and lonely.

Talk to you tommrow, when I'll introduce the top 5. 

Road Trip Time!

It's only Tuesday, and I'm already ready for the weekend. We're going to have a lot of company in town this weekend, including a particular someone that I'm really looking forward to seeing. Jerry has a solo gig on Friday night, and we have a birthday party on Saturday evening. But the real fun doesn't start until the next morning.

On Sunday I'll be heading north to Arkansas, and eventually to places even further north. Like almost to the North Pole. (Ok only Wisconsin) It should be a really fun and interesting trip, one that will take me from the Gulf Coast to the gates of Canada.

Theirs only one problem with this entire trip. I HATE cold weather. Despise it. I know what the weather is going to be like in Arkansas. I can't imagine what its going to be like in Wisconsin. Can't fathom it. My brother is going to load me some of his hunting clothes so I don't freeze to death. But I'll only be in Wisconsin for 3 days and I'm sure I'll survive.

After I leaving the North Pole I'll be heading back to Arkansas, but to Fayetteville instead of Little Rock. Reckless Kelly is playing at George's Majestic Lounge, and there is absolutely no way I'm going to miss that show. I'll also get to catch a Razorback baseball game and a Parrot Head Happy Hour, plus see a bunch of my friends.

After that I'll return to Little Rock for a few days before I end up in Gulf Shores, AL for the annual “Stars Fell On Alabama” event. All told I should end up hitting 8 states before I get back to Beamont.

Fun stuff, I'm just ready to get started.