Todd says:
>I guess what it comes down to is the degree to which a given band is known
>and marketed as representative of a certain genre, and the degree to which
>people associate their particular experience of the band with the entire
>genre.
Well, I'd say that a show billed as an alt.country showcase is one that's at
least to some degree marketing the acts who appear on it as representative
of the genre, and I'd say it's reasonable for people, especially those
unfamiliar to the genre, to think that a show billed as a bluegrass festival
is going to feature acts representative of bluegrass.
>But the larger point for me, to say it one more time, is the notion
>of blame. The conversations here (and Mr. Anonymous' assertion that sucky
>bands are a threat to the roots music movement) is like a bunch of
>restaurant critics suggesting that the sucky Malaysian restaurant should
>shut down before they ruin everyone's taste for the good stuff...
This is where you lose me, Todd, because I haven't suggested, nor do I think
Mr. Anonymous suggested, that some external authority ought to shut anyone
down. I do think - and I'm speaking for myself, obviously, and not Mr.
Anonymous, who may be making a different argument - that this is a fairly
specific issue related to how these styles are perceived on first encounter.
It's worth noting that the International Bluegrass Music Association's
mission statement speaks explicitly about promoting higher standards of
professionalism, and the phenomenon that we've been talking about is a big
part of the reason why - not just with regard to the music itself, but with
all aspects of the field, like sound reinforcement, recording quality, art
work, venues, etc. - but the organization doesn't suggest kicking anybody
out of the business <g>. I'll leave open the question of the extent to
which those are issues relevant to alt.country.
Jon Weisberger, Kenton County, KY [EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://home.fuse.net/jonweisberger
