Thursday, February 1, 2007

Knoxville Music News

Has anyone out there read the days News Sentinel and found out that a band you would really like to see was in town or fairly close by last night? Wayne Bledsoe gives a review worthy of John Ward that makes you feel like you were in the front row. But it was last night and you weren't there. So now you feel like you missed out and everybody that was there is one up on you. Forever. You go ahead and google the band you missed and guess what? The tour just ended and it says too bad. They ain't comin' back. The New York Dolls were on PBS tonight and I had just bought their self-titled disc for $6.99 (used copy) plus our states exorbitant cut at Disc Exchange West. It was really an album when it first came out in 1973 and is still in my car cd player now. Kind of helps out with the road rage. I googled them up and damn if they weren't in Nashville back in December. And, of course the tour was over. No more information available it said. Last August a fantastic all day music festival, Mucklewain was held in Harriman featuring Steve Earle, Lucero, Less Honky More Tonky, Will Kimbrough, Todd Snider, The Tennessee Rounders and such. Allison Moorer was there in a white dress. In the rain. But she said she had just married Steve Earle, so we all quit staring out of respect for the newlyweds and listened to her beautiful, beautiful music. Y'all should all go down to the Disc Exchange on Kingston Pike or Chapman Highway and buy all her cds. We need her to come back soon. Now I read the News Sentinel every day, even the over priced Sunday edition. But I didn't even know about Mucklewain until the long time Marine and longer time friend Master Sergeant Bruce Shea called from Camp Legeune, North Carolina. He had heard about it from an old friend in Memphis. News of Mucklewain had to come from Memphis and then go to the Carolina coast and then finally get back here to Rocky Top before I knew what was up. If it weren't for cell phones, I would have had to read about it a day late and forty of Master Sergeant Sheas government issued dollars short in the News Sentinel. Thanks Sarge. My point is: I wish the News Sentinel would do a better job of advertising or at least letting us know about music in town and hereabouts. By hereabouts, I mean within a few short hours drive. I realize advertising ain't free, except on this site. For now anyway, till I can get a couple hundred thousand of y'all logging on every day. I know the promoters gotta pay for space. But if the Sentinel could spot Mucklewain the first round on the house for example, I'm sure the tab would be quite large in the future as Mucklewain grows and grows. If the Sentinel gave promoters of shows from Nashville to Asheville and from where ever Jerry Lee Lewis was in Kentucky to where ever the Drive By Truckers are in the dirty south a little break, it would pay off in the long run. Out of town advertisers would buy some Sentinel advertising space and we would all know about the best shows locally and hereabouts. Everybody wins. More importantly though, the Sentinel needs to do a better job of covering upcoming local music events. Let us know way in advance. Don't make us search out news of upcoming events in some classified looking ad or hide it in a find-a-word puzzle. Tell us where it's all happening next month in advance so we can adjust our busy schedules. We got things to do and places to be. Like Roosters on Friday night and Thompson Boling arena this time of year. Finally, thanks to Bruce Pearl. I hope to see you all at Sundown soon. Especially those who don't sponge up my last beer ticket. Remeber Steve Winwood opening up two years ago? I hope all that do realize they saw one of rocks greatest legends. For Free. When you visit this site, please comment and comment on the comments. That makes for some lively discussions.