Yes, I am persistent and/or annoying.

You know, it’s a hell of commitment one must make to be a professional musician. The record business is in shambles. You can’t get paying gigs unless you’ve managed to sell your CDs to a proactive fan base. You can’t find a reputable manager unless there is something there to actually manage. You can’t afford an entertainment lawyer unless you have deep pockets, so more often than not, bands sign shitty deals that they later regret.

In addition, clubs can’t turn a profit unless they sell alcohol, so bands are essentially “bait” for club owners to do business. Bookers have to take this first and foremost into consideration – will this band help me sell drinks? Local papers exist to sell advertising, not to break bands. Same goes for commercial radio.

Nonetheless, the Dallas area has every reason to be proud of our collective achievements in spite of all of these variables and circumstances. Musicians from North Texas have sold almost 100 million records altogether – in spite of the fact so few people here even realize it. On top of that, we’ve had to do this against an almost unbelievable onslaught of bad luck and misfortune.

It started in the early 90′s when local DMN music writer Russell Smith and Pepe from the Loco Gringos both died. We dealt with skinheads and insensitive cops in Deep Ellum. Corporate consolidation changed the face of local radio for the worse. Stevie Ray Vaughan died in a helicopter crash. Saxophonist Will Clay, former Toadies guitarist Tracey Saurwein and rockabilly musician Ronnie Dawson all died of cancer. Then it was Dave Williams from Drowning Pool. Trees, Bronco Bowl and Gypsy Tea Room all closed down. Most recently, it was the deaths of Marchel Ivery and Carter Albrecht which shook our faith and determination.

How do keep moving forward with so much adversity? We simply must pull together as a family. You can’t take anything of this for granted. You need to know that REAL musicians aren’t doing this simply to boost their own ego… they do this because they HAVE to. That said, they deserve the respect and support of the people of this community. Over three million people live in the DFW area – there is no reasonable excuse for a turnout of less than a hundred people for any decent local band’s show. If the Dallas Mavericks can sell 18,000 tickets on a weeknight – any weeknight – then our local bands ought to be able to draw 500 people to a show. A ticket to a Mav game costs almost 40 bucks – the cover charge at Dada is rarely over five dollars.

Music is part of the cultural fabric of who we ultimately are as community. We’ve faced almost insurmountable odds and still managed to bring a wealth of amazing music to the rest of the world. It’s absolutely shameful that our local music community is seemingly ignored by the majority of our community. Like Hunter said, if it takes dragging someone to a gig to show them what they are missing out on, then do it.

Don’t be afraid to act as an ambassador for our greatest natural gift.