Dear Collin Raye, I agree with your editorial about the state of Country Music and the immediate need for the Gatekeepers to put an end to the Bro Country dumbing-down of the art form. It has become laughable to compare the genre to anything resembling its former status, as a music of the people. The real people, with real stories about real life choices and consequences. However, you missed the fact that there is an entire scene of great country music still being recorded by world class studios and Grammy winning producers, supported by radio stations numbering in the triple digits and fiercely loyal fans, making millionaires out of nationally unknown artists, who dont even have to venture out of their own regional area of the country, very often, to ply their trade. It even has its own gatekeepers! Youre addressing the problem of a scene with a much larger audience, Ill admit, but the music you miss is, in fact, being written and recorded at a high level. Just not where youre looking for it. There are holes in both sides of this argument, of course. Theres at least some good work available to the country mainstream, corporate radio audiences, and theres certainly some cheesetastic crapola on the scene I am referencing. But, those percentages are absolutely upside down from one another, comparatively speaking. I cordially invite you to come on down to Texas and let my friends and I show you something wonderful that will restore your faith in country music. Ill make myself available, and Im sure I speak for many of my fellow singer songwriters, anytime youre up for some hope instilling musical discovery. Yours truly, Mark Allan Atwood
Posted on: Fri, 16 May 2014 16:57:17 +0000