Brad’s Corner

With all of the uncertainty and changes around us, one thing has remained constant: live music. It’s just that the venue looks a little different. Tufts of dog hair have replaced hardwood floors. Throw pillows might be found where barstools used to sit. Tickets are easy to come by. And man is the beer cheaper and the crowd way more quiet and respectful. I am of course referring to the widespread trend of taking live music to the multiple streaming platforms. You can find someone playing a show at just about any hour of the day post-noon on any social

Well, here we are. The COVID19 virus has caused an interruption in lifestyle like no other moment in memory. Being that this is a music blog, we will only focus on the musical side of all this. That is not to trivialize or minimize the severity and alarming nature of all that is coming our way. It is a monumental and historic moment. Seemingly every hour brings bleaker news and more restrictions. The days after 9/11 comes closest in scope within my memory, but that was a different time and different threat. We were still able to congregate and revel

The traditional New Year falls on January 1.  But, for Texas Music the calendar doesn’t really reset until MusicFest in Steamboat Springs, CO.  Much like The Super Bowl which once sold tickets for $5 and was a television afterthought before growing into the biggest show of the year; MusicFest has grown over the past 35 years from John Dickson’s super cool excuse to get a few of his favorite songwriters together in one of his favorite towns into a multi-day, 100 artist extravaganza.  Every square inch of Steamboat is populated by sponsored content. There insn’t a stage, ballroom or condo

Had a conversation at a show the other night where the opening act was underwhelming.  The conversation went something sort of like this. Me: (jokingly) Either I’m getting old or I just don’t know what good music is anymore. Friend:  (laughing)  Nah man, your ears as good as it ever was.  We all evolve as listeners and by now we definitely know good from bad. His sentiment is true.  But, we are the outliers.  Taste is subjective. Appeal is massive. We are the quality over quantity types.  The ones who’d like something to hit the cineplexs or streaming services that

Perspective.  It’s what just about everything is based on in this life.  What’s new. What’s good. What’s old. What’s bad. It’s all a matter of opinion…and perspective.  Sometimes things can shade our perspective and we can be tricked. In Sociology, they talk about the different selves that human beings showcase depending on the circumstances surrounding them at that time.  This is especially true in the music business where it has not been uncommon over the years for people to do whatever it took to become famous, disregarding their more pure artistic desires. There’s a trade off that only the person