We've been resting, a luxury those of
us who are supposedly retired can enjoy, in Shelby, NC and now for a
week in Myrtle Beach after the five hectic, inspiring, demanding, and
action-filled days of IBMA's World of Bluegrass and Wide Open
Bluegrass in Raleigh. We find attending IBMA gives us a chance to
touch bases with people we often see out along the bluegrass trail,
and also allows us to make a personal connection to those we only
know through their recordings or on line. It's like a big, fast-paced
family reunion. IBMA also gives us a chance to acknowledge the many
kindnesses and thoughtful remarks people have made about us and our
work. For both of us, often in very different ways, this annual
feast of music and friendship remains a special gift. But it also
reminds me of a debt I owe to so many people who have opened doors
for us, created opportunities, and allowed us behind the scenes and
into their lives to understand and appreciate the rigors of the road
and the demands of performing. One of the things I hear from others,
who like me are involved in sharing this world with an ever-growing
public, is that too many performers and others take too little time
to acknowledge the effort, time, and care that goes into greasing
some of the skids of this demanding life making and sharing music.
I remember being a guest on The Mark,
that luxurious bus carrying Dailey & Vincent along their
demanding way. After a performance one day, we were ushered back to
the owners' cabin at the rear of the forty-five foot long Prevost
they ride in. The door closed and somehow some of the size and energy
leaked out of Jamie Dailey as he sat in his seat and opened his
laptop computer. As we chatted, he responded to dozens of remarks and
observations coming from fans, let his publicist and others working
to help keep their enterprise running know about the day, and checked
in with others. He wrote some of what my mother used to call “bread
and butter” notes, thank you notes to those whose kindnesses or
mentions had helped pave the way for the phenomenal success across
genre lines that has become Dailey & Vincent.
In the dozen years that we've been
involved with this bluegrass world, we've seen the opportunities for
growth and spreading awareness become ever greater. Bob Cherry, who
runs Cybergrass, the oldest
online resource for bluegrass, recognized the potential for growth
represented by the Internet almost at its birth, but bluegrass grows
from the roots of rural America and is often reluctant to take on new
ways of communicating and publicizing itself. When we came into
bluegrass, there were few band sites, no Social Media, and restricted
opportunities for publicizing a band and getting recognized. Cheaply
printed fliers and word-of-mouth seemed to be the major ways to
spread news of festival. Cybergrass, the world's seventh oldest web
site, was founded in September of 1992, and has persisted as a great
aggregator of bluegrass information from other sources and originator
of new material. John Lawless and Brance Gillihan began The
Bluegrass Blog in 2006. It has
since morphed into the bluegrass world's first media giant, a true
online newspaper that functions as a Social Media site, too. As
Bluegrass Today has grown,
it's influence is ever more widely felt. With a full-time staff and
numerous bluegrass stringers, Bluegrass Today
is
literally everywhere in the bluegrass world.
It's
the rare band that no longer has a web presence with a web site
(often professionally developed and managed), personal and business
Facebook pages, and other outlets on the Net. A new world of media
awareness has emerged, and it affects bluegrass in mighty ways. World
Wide Bluegrass is now streaming bluegrass twenty-four hours a day
around the world using numerous broadcasters in several countries.
FM radio is a powerful force supporting bluegrass music, particularly
in the realm of public radio and college low power stations. With all
these opportunities to spread the word, what responsibilities do
individual performers have?
I
hear rumblings out there in the communications world that many
artists neglect recognizing that publicity is a reciprocal
phenomenon. How many artists put a note on their Facebook Page or
Twitter feed saying “I'm going to be on the air today with this DJ.
Why don't ya'll listen in at......”? Those radio DJ's, many of them
volunteers, are working hard to publicize your efforts. Don't you
have a responsibility to let your world know about them? I once heard
Rush Limbaugh (back in the days when I listened to him) say that his
only function on the air was to keep you (the listener) tuned in
between the commercials. Likewise with you, the performer. Your
taking time to publicize your upcoming appearances on the air, and to
thank the person who put you there afterwords, is part of this game
of effectively using the vast media world available to you. Recently
I wrote a couple of useful paragraphs that bands put on the front
page of their web sites, at least for a day or two. I was pleased
about this, and complimented. I like it a lot when people who use my
photographs on their web sites or Facebook pages at least acknowledge
that they are my photos. Many people do just that. Similarly, I try
to acknowledge song writers in the description section of my You Tube
channel. It's your responsibility to acknowledge and recognize the
efforts made on your behalf by the media world working to put your
name before the public. It's not at all unlike the (often reflexive)
thanks performers give from the stage to the promoter and the sound
man. Even when the sound is bad, smart bands acknowledge the sound
man, knowing the damage that can be caused a performance on the sound
board. How often does the emcee, who brings a band on stage with
enthusiasm and encourages the audience to call for often undeserved
encores, get thanks from a band? How often does a band put its
upcoming radio appearances on its tour schedule? Isn't a radio show
or TV appearance another form of performane?
It's worthwhile for band members to remember that we live in a world
that rewards reciprocity. That's one of the reasons why links are so
important and effective on the World Wide Web. Remember that you, as
a performer, live in a literal interconnected web of reciprocity
benefiting all the participants. I remember calling a bluegrass
performer a few years ago to urge him to build a Facebook presence.
He exploded at me, saying “I already have too much to do!” A day
or so later I noticed a FB page and this performer has since become a
master of letting people into his life (in the places he chooses),
telling where his band will be performing, and sending pointed thanks
to those who help him along. The newly developed skill has been
important to the progress of this particular band. Too often I hear
performers say, “It's all about the music,” pointing to the few
hours of performing pleasure a week that make it all worthwhile. But
it's clear that it isn't “all about the music.” Much of a
performers life must be devoted to burnishing the business of music
to make it work. Spend some time looking at your web of support, and
make sure you thank those people next time they take time to
recognize your efforts.
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