Music is Alive

The last time I was in an arena of any kind for a musical performance Jimmy Carter was the president. Granted, I had some good times attending concerts in those cavernous spaces designed, not for music, but for basketball and hockey, enjoying performances by the mega-acts of my youth. I much more prefer my music in small, intimate settings. As for my choice of musicians, I'd rather see a local or regional group than a national act any day. More often than not when I tell acquaintances about a band that I went to see I encounter blank stares. Dweezil Zappa, Return to Forever, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, Chris Duarte, Tinsley Ellis, John Hiatt and Dave Alvin are all musicians that I have seen perform in recent years - I am astounded at how little their names are recognized. Now I still have affection for the bands of yesteryear, and some of the names I mentioned were popular in the past, but they are still thriving artists who are not just recycling their "hits", but still creating new material.

During a business trip with some colleagues we got to talking about music - several people complained about how they don't like it when a band they go to see plays "their new shit" instead of just sticking to the hits. Sad.

With so many artists of so many styles out there, why stick with the same old stuff all the time. Expand your musical horizons. Go to The Bourbon Theater, to The Zoo Bar; listen to KZUM; pick up Josh Hoyer's newest recording; fill your ears with some new stuff .

Music is alive, don't mummify it.