Upcoming show in Wausau article by Dino (Page 1 of 5)

Jim,

Thanks for posting that, and Dino...nice work! It is not the same old, same old rehashed article on Joe.

“I could have remade Blues Deluxe, but I have learned that women want to hear songs, and a crowd full of women means a packed house,” says Bonamassa. “I could sing a few lines, then solo for 20 bars (in standard blues format), but I wanted to write songs on the new record.”

Joe...there are many women here on the forum, me included, who want to hear that guitar too!  Nothin' beats Burning Hell or The River!  Love that slide.....but I think I have told you that before!

~Rhonda

I think I will have a longer article in a national magazine in the next month, but have been unable to get what I need from Joe or his people.  But still working on it.

Thanks guys.

I have a radio show coming next month, three hours of Joe and Scott Holt and The Black Keys (for Jim M's son)

Dino wrote that???!!! What can I say, except very nicely done! Applause & you deserve better exposure yourself Bub!  Thanks Jim for posting!

Rock On & Keep the Faith,
Rocket

"He still doesn't charge for mistakes! "
http://jbonamassa.com/tour-dates/
"Everybody wants ta get inta the act!"
“Now, this isn’t your ordinary party crowd, here.  I mean, there are professionals in here.”

"Culture Bin" is a music review section Dino writes for Wausau's City Pages; a very cool, free and sort of "alternative"  weekly newspaper that covers politics, music, restaurants, area events, etc. 

Nice work Dino.  You kept it objective and positive.  I hope it helps bring in a new crowd of area fans!  Wish, wish, wish I could be there......Tue. night just doesn't work.  Hopefully this summer!

No, not really the "gay, lesbian and transgender rag", just another cultural outlet for the open-minded of northcentral Wis.  Sorry, guess I should have let Dino answer the question.

Thanks Rocket. Wasn't sure in what tone to take that question.  I do have a sense of humor, but I also reside in redneck land, so I got defensive.  "Alternative" may not be the right word for the paper.  I do think the readership would include a young and hip crowd that might want to check out Joe, as well as some of the more musically intelligent older folk in the area, such as myself.

Well, since it is a discussion of alternative...I thought I would jump in.  In the era of modern journalism we can see clear trends of the alternative being adopted, and co opted by the mainstream press.  The greatest, most over used example is Hunter S. Thompson, and his role in Rolling Stone, and the image he chose to put forward.  As a student of writing, the charicature Hunter chose to put forward, in 2007 terms his brand, was far from the skill that defined him as a critical observer of modern culture dating back to far before he joined RS.

I think if you chose to look back at the era of the Hearst publications which led to the rise of George Seldes and the other publications lumped in the muckracking area, you can see that the alternative goes back a long way before Thompson.  You saw citiies like Philadelphia having over 15 dailies, and your political alliance could be defined by the one you picked up on the way home from work.  Traditionally  most urban areas have had a labor newspaper in stark contrast to the mainstream paper.  In college cities you often see universities offering dailies that focus more on the city they exist in, rather than so called college life.  In Wisconsin both the UW in Madison, and Milwaukee have dailies, as well as Marquette University.  These are often a more accurate depiction of the city they live in.

The rise of Gannett, and the like led to the term alternative weekly in the late 80s and early 90s.  The sort of paper that bypassed government, and focused almost exclusively on culture, and were far more specific.  For example things like car specfic peridocals are in this catergory of alternative.

In regards to 2007, alternative media exists almost solely in a digital world...say for example the blogosphere the world of podcasting or internet radio stations.  Almost all of the FM dial exists in a purely corporate state, save for things like community Low Power stations.

If you want to embrace truly alternative music writing, you need to begin with the patron saint of it, Lester Bangs.  Follow the work of Bangs, and find out about really amazing music writing.  Writing that takes the music seriously.  I myself am a worshipper of Bangs, and as a result writing about the likes of Joe as a signficant force or worthy of traditional academic criticism is a lot of fun.  To compare music with any of the other forms of mass media in todays pop culture is what I like to do.

My role in this whole thing, well I get to write about what I want.  I was not told to write about Joe.  My role as a columnist is to find things I find significant, in the Central Wisconsin area, and write about why I think it is cool.  It is from this that I wrote about Joe.  I found his inclusion in the lineup of this theatre to be an amazing thing, and it should have been in the article...but honestly this was pretty much based on the will of Sara and her sister Kristine...giant Joe fans.  I think the significance for me was not Joe, though Joe is the article, but rather this very very traditional PAC is taking a significant financial risk in bringing a talent like Joe to central wisconsin, where he has made no smaller appearances, has not had any radio penetration, and really his reception was met with mixed reaction at Big Bull Falls.

As an act of business, this is a giant leap for the Grand Theatre, and thankfully they are highly profitable right now, so they can afford to take a chance like this.

Please do not view that last statement as anything about Joe...but in all honesty Joe has not BROKE central Wisconsin in any concrete way.  In the traditional models or eve nthe non traditional models of launching an artist, Joes team have not any sort of plan aside from getting these bookings.

In following up for the article, I have had the chance to see the purchase list for the show, and the people coming to the show are traveling, some from a very far distance.  I think THAT is a reflection on the Joe thing.

While my past has been checkered on this board, I have decided to just go with it.  I think that the Bonamassa phenomenon that is occuring is an interesting one in the off market cities and PAC.  Joe is selling tons of tickets, but not selling out.  It can also be pointed out that the advance work by the staff in off market cities has been lacking.  Local radio, a purely reactionary forcce, has not gotten the phone calls from street team members or publicists or management. 

As a critic, and a fan, I am interested in this nexxt few years.  Joe has made statements about taking blues around the world, as no one has done that...apparently failing to remember that Corey Harris has done that very project and it was documented for the Martin Scorsese Blues Series.  taj Mahal has a record recorded in India.  Buddy Guy is a regular at the festival near Dehli in India.  The Beatles took John Lee Hooker to India, to meet the swamis or whatever...George Harrison worshipped John Lee.  BB King has a record recorded in Africa.

As Bonamassa and his people make a choice in the next few years to either move Joe from the Guitar Shop guy like say John 5, or the undercurrent of Warren Haynes or Wisconsin's own Greg Koch...or to move him to the larger stage of pop music like John Mayer.

I had written a longer post, but thought better of it.  I have started to really write about Joe seriously, in the traditional music critic way.  While I know that you all are serious fans of Joe, and have a great sense of blinders about the whole thing.  Writing about Joe in the canon of modern music is fascinating for me.

I do not mean to offend any of you.

Dino,

I enjoy reading your articles, or the parts that you post here. You always go beyond rehashing the began playing at the age of 4........ I like that you question things and try to bring a fresh perspective. Please do not take my counter-points as being critical! They are not meant to be, just something more to ponder. Also, have you ever considered doing an article from the point of view of a Street Team member, as they are out doing their work?

Counter-point:
"Joe is selling tons of tickets, but not selling out.  It can also be pointed out that the advance work by the staff in off market cities has been lacking.  Local radio, a purely reactionary forcce, has not gotten the phone calls from street team members or publicists or management."

The one disadvantage over the many advantages of being on an independent label is that you are not going to get the support of "Corporate America". If your not going to play by their rules (financially) you are going to have a tough time playing. I look at it this way, if you join Corporate America and sign with a big label you play by their rules, they control everything about you. And if you don't sign, your chances of success are slim. It is like having a business in a busy city where there are crooked cops or the mob. You can either pay the dirty cop or mob extra on the side for their protection, or be subject to no protection at all and even burglarized in the light of day.

It has been a long time since those with talent rose to the top naturally.

I can honestly tell you that in St. Louis I cannot get Joe played on any of the commercial stations. It is not for the lack of trying. I have spent countless days promoting Joe from putting up posters to personal visits to radio and tv stations, guitar shops, music stores and sending out numerous emails. I have been told by DJ's at the top stations here that, "I know he is good but since he is not mainstream we can't play him", this is from a station that 20 years ago bragged about being the first in the area to support Van Halen and other groups before they were mainstream. But of course this was before they were owned by Emmis Communications which controls the majority of St. Louis radio. The St. Louis Street Team is small, consisting of myself and four others. Three of the four are not even forum members. I am confident that after the St. Louis show next week that there will be more street team members.

I think there is much to be said about a force that picks up steam at a steady even pace. Artists that become popular overnight also tend to fall out of popularity overnight. When Joe played St. Louis this past January at Finale, he sold out two shows 7:30 and 9:30 pm. Granted, each show only had seating for 130 people, but the venue had to turn people away. Nov. 10th Joe is playing at The Pageant, one of the nations premire medium sized venues and known for its great acoustics. When I checked on ticket sales on Friday, 565 tickets have been sold. There are only a few seats left before standing room only is available. To me that is progress!

Being the Street Team Coordinator for St. Louis I have spoken with Joes management and I know that the radio stations in every market are sent a promo kit with a CD. What happens to the CD and info after the station receives it is out of managements control. Kudos to everyone at J&R Adventures and Premire Artists and anyone else that is behind the scenes in the offices. Every lead and contact I have given management has been followed up on and I know they keep Joe very busy!

"Joe has made statements about taking blues around the world, as no one has done that...apparently failing to remember that Corey Harris has done that very project ......."

Taking the blues around the world might mean more than just India or Africa. There are many more places in the world than just those two. Why not wait and see what Joe has planned for that project. Others before Joe have made blues/rock albums, does that mean it has already been done and no more should be made?

Dino, as a fan, I too am interested in the next few years. I am excited and confident about the direction and the future of Joe and his music.

"As Bonamassa and his people make a choice in the next few years to either move Joe from the Guitar Shop guy like say John 5, or the undercurrent of Warren Haynes or Wisconsin's own Greg Koch...or to move him to the larger stage of pop music like John Mayer."

Who is to say that there is a choice that needs to be made? Personally, I feel that once you move to the larger stage of pop music you lose. You lose your personal identity because every media rag stalks you waiting to see if you are human. Is that something Joe is willing to sacrifice? I do not know. I think there is a difference in making music for the masses and having a hit here or there, or a couple of good songs on a CD. But like Joe said regarding Sloe Gin, he wanted to make a CD in the tradition of the lost art of the album, where it is listened to all the way through. I think that all of Joe's CD's are of that calibur. Every song is about quality, not because one more is needed to finish off the CD.

I might be in the minority, but I am more interested in music where the artist is interested in exploring and refining their craft regardless of the direction it takes them. Good music is good music, whether it is blues, gospel, bluegrass, rock, jazz, country, or classical. You get my point. I think for true musicians and artists, it is not about how big the stage or theatre is, of course they want and need and should make a good living, but it is all about the music and their connection to it and sharing. 

The fact that when forum members are asked in a post to list their favorite CD or song of Joe's and there is not a CD or song not mentioned says something. What we have here is a true musician that is well grounded....well, as grounded as a person can be who is on a tour bus 250+ days out of the year. A musician that cares about what he gives to his fans, on a CD and at every show.

Ok, so enough rambling........I feel like I have just had a religious experience! Time for some music...... The River and Burning Hell....... Joe....did I tell ya' that I am really missing that slide guitar? lol  I will see ya' in KC and STL!

~Rhonda