County Fairs

[Jerry C]

Why is Clearfield the only local fair that gets different styles of entertainment. Their schedule was great. I used to enjoy the entertainment at Ebensburg and other local fairs, but the country shows are all they get anymore. I'm not knocking country, but why can't there be other styles too. There are plenty of artists that are available to play and would draw big crowds. I think it's sad. Thoughts????

[Hawk]

You go with what cost the least, yet yelds the biggest profit.

[mistikalvalkrie]

Have you ever been to Ebensburg?
Country music is all you usually get saturated with in any given public place, in Ebensburg and most towns around that area.
Granted Wal-Mart's musical selections are getting better...slightly
And once the kids at Goodwill were playing punk music...which was pretty cool.
But why would you not bring in country bands for the county fair if thats what most people and places of business play in the county?
Not saying it doesn't suck, though.

[songsmith]

Hawk's dead-on regarding this. Newer country acts will play for practically nothing, because the payoff is ten years from now, you can still tour, and people remember you. Plus, country acts usually don't have a huge entourage, and live on the bus, so overhead is low.
I have, however, seen some cool acts at Cambria County Fair: most notably Waylon Jennings, and also Marty Stuart, Sammy Kershaw, and if I recall, Porter Wagoner. (Porter's the sh*t, people. He's a master showman, great songwriter, very fun guy to hang out with, and he discovered Dolly Parton, arguably one of the great talents in country music history.) The Waylon show had a big impact on me... I realized that it was just a backwoods county fair, probably one of a hundred for Waylon that summer, and he still seemed to really have a lot of fun playing, it just showed in his music. That, and his songs were real, and addressed the guys. Most country music of the last 25 years is aimed at women.----------->JMS

[songsmith]

Oh, and country's pretty punk. Johnny Cash kicked out the footlights at the Grand Ol' Opry while tweaking on benzedrine. Jerry Lee Lewis dropped F-bombs onstage there (not establishment- friendly, to be sure.). David Allen Coe would kick somebody's ass WHILE his band played in the background. Hank Williams never reached 30 years old, and would sometimes drink Sterno mixed with pine pitch. Keith Whitley was so alcoholic, his band had to lock up their shampoo bottles because they listed stearyl alcohol on the label.
Hell, Rusty Gun Revival plays "punkry"... it's country enough for the old folks, but dude... it's punk.
Don't let labels scare you away. I was a metal "snob" as a teen, I wouldn't listen to anything not metal. Looking back, I really wasted a lot of time listening to some crappy stuff, because it had pointy guitars on the cover, time I could have been discovering things that would change my life. I have very few regrets, but that's one of 'em.---->JMS

[mistikalvalkrie]

Oh, and country's pretty punk.

yeah, but when people around here start playing any of THAT kind of country music let me know...cuz all I hear anymore is that whiny, singing-with-a-fake-southern-accent, my-next-album-is-a-Ford-commercial crap that seems to permeate all the country stations around here

And Waylon Jennings came to the Cambria County Fair?:shock:
Holy hell! Where was I?
I'll bet that was an awesome show! (see I like some country. In fact, give me Johnny Cash or Willie Nelson over the Sex Pistols anyday!!)

[songsmith]

Oh, man. Don't listen to country radio. Just... don't. Country radio is to country music as Harry Potter is to English Literature. It's like a watered-down drink... you have 5 of them, just so you can tell everyone you had 5 of them ("I'm a country fan... I have all of Shania's records!"). In the end, the guy that had a shot of single-malt scotch is way more satisfied. Stick with Johnny Cash, but still look at other guys like Lefty Frizzell, Hank Thompson, Merle Haggard, Buck Owens, etc. Buck once took out a full-page ad in the Tennesseean, the local Nashville paper, saying, " I will never record a pop song and call it 'country' so don't ask me to." Then he went back home to Bakersfield CA, and made some of the best country music ever.------->JMS

[DirtySanchez]

Wearing a Johnny Cash shirt while posting.
I wanna cover "Jambalaya" in my punk band if we can do it without ruining it too badly.

In the words of Hank III- "Well I think I'd rather eat the barrel of a Double-Barrel, loaded, shotgun, than to hear that shit they call pop-country music on 98.1)!!!!!

[mistikalvalkrie]

songsmith: thanks, I'll definately give them a listen

DS: how's the punk band coming along anyway?

[ZappasXWife]

Good point about country radio songsmith....I always sort of knew that, but no one ever put it into words for me. I think of the country music on the radio as more like redneck pop, or, as mitikalvalkrie aptly phrased it whiny, singing-with-a-fake-southern-accent, my-next-album-is-a-Ford-commercial crap. And I'm gonna be real rich and look like a model doin it.
The real shame of this music is that under the label of 'country' it has stereotyped country for those of good taste who think they hate country but may like the names you mentioned. Its really like the 2 types of country should be different genres. Thats why I like the classification Americana....or when old people call it country & western you know what kind of country they mean.
Ever hear Gram Parsons Greivous Angel album? I like that...

[DirtySanchez]

DS: how's the punk band coming along anyway?

Really good, actually our first full band jam will be this sunday.

We're gonna see if Mikey Wax can still play those drums!!!
I'm stoked.