By Steve Berg
This week, the song “We’re From Texas”, by my band Eleven Hundred Springs, debuts on the Texas Regional Radio Report. Along with the debut on this radio chart comes the designation of “most adds” and “highest debut”. For those not familiar with the band Eleven Hundred Springs, the current music scene in Texas, or songwriter Matt Hillyer; the following is an explanation of the song “We’re From Texas” (originally written & recorded in 1994, re-recorded and re-released in 2011).
When Matt first wrote and began performing “We’re From Texas”, Gas was $1.12 per gallon. The “Texas Singer Songwriter” movement, and the Monica Lewinski scandal wouldn’t be happening for another 4 years. What is now known as the “Red Dirt Music Scene” was over a decade away. The year was 1994, and with Matt’s “head start” years out of the way, his foray into the world of music was in full swing.
I will keep the history lesson and yarns of the “good old days” to a minimum, but here is a little background. Matt & Myself (Steve B., co-founder and bass player in both Lone Star Trio and Eleven Hundred Springs) have been playing music together since 1992. In 1993, while Matt was still in high school, we were already working hard with our band Lone Star Trio. In fact, our first tour to California started while Matt was technically still in high school, with me (& tattoo artist Sam C.) getting a head start in the van and Matt flying to San Francisco after leaving his last day of class at Arts Magnet in Dallas. By 1994, Lone Star Trio was doing very well in Texas and California. We rode the wave through most of 1995, but by 1996, things with Lone Star Trio managed to unravel. Perhaps a case of “too much too soon”, but it really doesn’t matter because it only took about 2.5 years for us to begin working on our (now) longtime project, Eleven Hundred Springs. (Side note, in the downtime between Lone Star Trio & Eleven Hundred Springs, Matt would write 2 mainstays of the Eleven Hundred Springs set list, “Thunderbird Will Do Just Fine” and “See You In The Next Life”.)
Ok, so now you have some idea of where Matt was coming from at the time he penned “We’re From Texas”. When first written, the lyrics were a true statement about Matt's (and my) life at the time. Collectively, we didn’t give a shit. This was a time when “normal” people weren’t (what was then considered to be) heavily tattooed. This was before cable television shows made everyone an expert on fabricating and building old cars. This was before a time where the mere participation in a talent show would ensure stardom. This was a time when a Guitar Hero was a person, not a video game. This was a time when month long tours happened without cell phones, GPS, internet, or even pagers (remember pagers?). In short, this song came about long before mainstream America co-opted (and watered down) many of the edgy elements of Me and Matt's lifestyles at the time. Does this mean that we own the copyright to everything that is (or was) edgy, cool, and earned (rather than Google searched)? Of course it doesn’t. The basic theme of this song rings true today. Enjoy doing things your own way. Enjoy and cherish the good times that you create during your youth. Embrace the things that make you unique. Be proud of where you are from. We’re from Texas, and damn sure proud of it.
Hey Sammy It's 2011
By Miss Leslie
I played at Floore’s Country Store on Friday and the Longhorn Saloon in Bandera on Saturday. I had some friends that were staying over and we hung out in Bandera all weekend.
We decided to go to the Sammy Kershaw show at 11th Street on Sunday night. I’ve always liked Sammy Kershaw. He has a unique voice with a lonesome country sound.
If you’ve read my writing for any length of time, you understand that I’m a proponent of using technology to promote music. It’s the only thing that works outside of mainstream and satellite radio airplay. And since only a small percentage of artists receive that, the rest of us are all hoping that someone plays our songs amid a backdrop of babies and kittens on youtube and that the music somehow goes viral.
But they announced before Sammy’s show that you couldn’t video the performance. . . . Wha???? So, like all good fans do, my friend ignored the request and started to record Sammy on her cell phone. . . to which he promptly had someone stop her.
Um, Sammy, I hate to tell you this, but the 90s are OVER. And I mean they are SO over. No one is selling millions of records. Money isn’t flowing like water to record labels anymore. The tide has turned and more and more the music is in the hands of the fans.
My almost 12 year old daughter doesn’t find out about music from a record store or from the radio. She browses youtube. Her friends are the same way. Look up Rebecca Black’s “Friday”. Yeah it’s awful. But it spread through youtube.
So maybe, Sammy, it’s not such a bad idea to have a ton of fan videos on youtube - the more that’s out there, the more that people see of you. You can’t control your image like you did in the 90s. Those days are over. AND the reality is that a ton of fans on Sunday night were taking video on their cameras from their seats.
Why not embrace it? You could have a contest on your website after each show of the Video of the Week. You could have your fans vote on the best video from the previous performance – maybe they could even win a free $20 CD ($20? really?).
I’m not trying to pick on you Sammy. I heart your voice. I heart more than a few of your songs. But I guess I’m writing this to a lot of artists out there. There’s a guy in the hill country that regularly videos a bunch of us Texas honky tonkers. And he’s careful to always get permission before posting video. One artist told him he/she doesn’t want him to video him/her anymore. WHY?????? Again, it’s about numbers, folks. The more that’s out there, the more people find you. Yeah, some stinky stuff gets out there. No one wants a Whitney Houston. That sucks. But whatever – you can’t control it. Go with it. Make it your own. Remember that if you’re a virus, the key is touching as many people as possible. You can’t do it if you limit yourself – if you’re worried about “staying clean”.
I’ve given my video-ing friend permission to post anything of mine anytime. He never has to ask me. Maybe he’ll get me on a night when my voice isn’t so hot or when I can’t hear onstage and my fiddle isn’t perfectly in tune. But then again, maybe he’ll catch that one performance that knocks people’s socks off and I gain new fans out of it. It’s worth it.
And Sammy could have used some Fan Love on Sunday night. The most striking fact of the weekend? Jake Hooker, who has never received mainstream radio airplay and whose setlists consist of Johnny Bush, Ray Price and Bob Wills, had triple the crowd on Saturday night that Sammy did on Sunday night.
That’s the thing about fans. Real fans. They don’t care if you’ve got #1 hit records. They don’t care if you’re playing old country or rock-n-roll. They’re into YOU. Embrace them and you’ve got fans for life.
Reprinted with permission. For more info on Miss Leslie & Her Juke-Jointers visit missleslie.typepad.com/
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RIP The9513.com and Willie's Place
By Miss Leslie
So far this year, there have been quite a few deaths. And there are 2 more that happened this last week that I’m rather mournful about. First, the death of www.the9513.com.
To be honest, I’m not sure how I first heard about the website. I know that it was either end of 2008 or beginning 2009 - I had released “Between the Whiskey and the
Wine” on July 15, 2008. The reviews were incredible. I was on cloud 9 – kind of. I had hoped that a major record label would pick it up. Now, as far-fetched as that sounds, I was talking to a major label. I gave them the album. But “honky tonk doesn’t sell”, so I released it on my own.
And I had this great album with amazing reviews and it wasn’t selling the numbers I wanted. I wanted people to HEAR it. So, I decided to give it away for FREE. I figured, if I still wasn’t going to make any money, at least I could gain new fans. And gain them I did. I was flooded with requests (yeah – those of you that think that there’s a lot of people out there that want to pay for music. Think again.). . . . and I think that’s where I came into contact with www.the9513.com. They reported that the CD was available for free to anyone that requested it. A guy from the Washington Post contacted me about doing an article. I got tons of requests from that site and it peaked my interest.
And I discovered this blogsite run by fans. If you read me AT ALL, you know that I love fans. I love their pure passion for music. I love their enthusiasm and their fierce loyalty. OK yeah it’s annoying when they are in love with someone that sucks, but hey, that’s the joy of being a fan. And that really is the joy of having fans. They’re not critics – they’re not judging you or looking for your faults. They love you, and yeah you may have a couple of cuts on an album that aren’t their favorite, but they still love you. Cause they’re fans.
But back to the site – The 9513 also had reviews and some things written by good writers (I hate to make a distinction between a fan and a writer – blogsites by nature are not intended to be major journalistic endeavors and honestly, I don’t know everyone’s credentials on that site). I started posting thoughts about certain things, and while reading my blogsite, Jim Malec asked if I would come on board and write for them.
Unfortunately, it was in the middle of a downward spiral for me. I became incredibly discouraged with what was going on with my music career. Between that and getting laid off from a job, and struggling to work contract for a place that was having me travel and be away from home 3 days a week, my enthusiasm and energy was drained. I just couldn’t keep writing.
BUT, I always stopped by The 9513 regularly - maybe not to post, but at least to read. And what I loved about the site was also what I hated about the site – there was a level playing field. This is something that has been missing in music in general for a long time. The independent labels of the 1990s certainly helped artists that played more “roots-showing” music to gain footing on a national and international level, but if you want to have a successful music career, you’ve got to make it to the majors, baby. And everyone else is way under the radar and completely ignored by radio.
But The 9513 had reviews for Rascal Flatts alongside reviews for Lucas Hudgins and Dale Watson. The 9513 would have a post about a glittery glam Nashville artist and people would respond to the post with statements about their preferences for music – mentioning artists like Brennen Leigh and Sunny Sweeney.
And on May 2, 2011, the site shut down. Jim Malec had left awhile ago and Brady and Brody Vercher were left running the ship on their own. They stated in their last post that they no longer had the time to run the site properly because the time constraints of their day jobs were too demanding, but folks you gotta read through the lines on that one – the site didn’t make enough money for them to keep it up.
We’ve all watched print media switch from paper to online exclusivity. And the reality is that the online sites are still struggling to stay afloat. Like a lot of things in the entertainment world. We’re all struggling with the question, “How do I get paid for this?” Downloads are free, and people don’t want to pay for news, information, music, or much of anything anymore.
My hope is that The 9513 finds a way to reincarnate. That maybe it can be taken over by someone with the resources to give it new life. I’m not sure it will happen, but I will say that I miss The 9513. Best memory? The live blog for the ACM Awards in 2010. THAT was a fun night – and I wasn’t even drinking alcohol. . . .
Speaking of reincarnation, the other death is of Willie’s Place on Sirius/XM radio. If you are a subscriber and a hardcore country music fan, you know what I’m talking about. If you’re not a subscriber, Willie’s Place was a channel that actually played roots country by artists that aren’t dead. Don’t get me wrong – I’m a huge classic country nut, but if people want to “keep this music alive”, the artists that are making new recordings of this music need to get some kind of exposure. And Willie’s Place was a great forum for a lot of artists – most notably, those signed to Heart of Texas records.
And now Willie’s Place is Willie’s Roadhouse. And the Texas artists are dropped from the roster. Including myself. Yeah, I’m weeping a little bit – I actually started getting some airplay on the channel, and I have to admit that the royalty checks saved me from many a macaroni-and-cheese dinner. . . . yes it's nice when you write your own music. . . .
But I’m curious as to what will happen in the future for this music. It’s not included in Americana. It’s obviously not Bluegrass. It can’t fit in with Singer Songwriters since the artists are generally covering old songs – or we don’t play a folk rock beat behind our lyrics on originals. Willie’s Place was the largest broadcaster for this music. What will happen to this music now?
The only good thing about Death is that no matter what you believe about it, Death is always a passage into some new Life. I try to look at Death as something that will still bring about something good and evolutionary. Time will tell what will happen, but it would be nice if there could be a mouthpiece for traditional country music – whether it’s in blogsite form or, the more powerful form, radio.
So, goodbye 9513 and goodbye Willie’s Place. Thanks for letting people hear me and for reminding all of us that good music is just good music – no matter what you call it and no matter whether it’s commercially viable or acceptable.
Cheers. For the good times.
Reprinted with permission. For more info on Miss Leslie & Her Juke-Jointers visit missleslie.typepad.com/
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So, is that all you do?
In the course of my day to day encounters with random people, meaningless small talk sometimes morphs into the random person asking me something to the effect of “So, you play in a band, is that all you do? I mean, what do you do for a full time job?” I do understand why a person who works the standard 32-40 hour per week job would not understand what goes in to being a self employed entrepreneur. Cloud the issue with thoughts of “the music business / playing in a band” and there is just no way in hell that the random person is going to be able to comprehend the long answer to their short question. The random person probably assumes one of 2 things. Their first assumption would be that I work a “normal” job during the week, at some kind of shipping / receiving warehouse, or installing cable. You know some type of low paying semi-unskilled job where everyone who works there smokes and is on probation. The second assumption would be that my lifestyle consists strictly of age inappropriate elements and behavior that would indicate a stunted emotional growth. There may be variations on these assumptions, but the general theme is “this guy is 40 years old and says that he plays in a band, so there must be something really wrong with him.”
Well , “Random Person”, guess what? I don’t have a day job at some irrelevant receiving warehouse. I don’t smoke, don’t drink, and am not on probation. I don’t live with my parents, I am not on grandmother’s trust fund payroll, I don’t have a roommate. My non-existent roommate is not a waiter, bartender, or drug dealer. I don’t own a futon, I don’t eat ramen, and I sure as hell don’t live in an apartment. Smoking weed & playing video games, also not on my to-do list. I don’t make a living with (insert random activity here), go to Wednesday night rehearsals with a group of burnouts, and use that as a qualifier for my “dude in a band” status. Anything else that pops in to “Random Person’s” head while they attempt to give thought to what “dude in a band” does with his life, probably does not apply to me.
Considering the fact that anyone who would ask me the “So, is that all you do” question (1) Doesn’t deserve my valuable time necessary for an honest answer, and (2) wouldn’t understand the answer anyway; I will often times just answer with “I work at a print shop during the week”. Yeah, I know, that is a pretty weak lie, but hey, it does put an end to yet another irrelevant encounter with a random person.
So far, I have given a general description of the lifestyle, or at least contributing elements of said lifestyle, that I do not have. If you have read this far, then you may wonder: if this guy doesn’t sit on a futon watching mixed martial arts and smoking weed, what could he possibly be doing with all the free time that he must have? Allow me to break it down…
The band I play with is has been functioning as a business since 1999. The 90 min spent on stage 2-4 times per week is the fun part, a rewarding creative experience that I would do for free. Everything else that goes into keeping the wheels rolling (literally and figuratively) involves a certain amount of work. A brief description of my duties as managing partner of the business would include: financial manager, online systems manager, online store manager / operator (including all duties from merchandise design concepts to shipping product, and everything in between), warehouse manager, travel coordinator, booking coordinator, vehicle & trailer mechanic, and a host of other mundane / non-glamorous administrative activities. This behind the scenes weekday job consumes 20-30 hours of my time per week.
When the weekend arrives, I become the tour manager, main driver, and on premise merch guy. On a typical weekend, leaving at 10am on Friday and getting back Sunday morning, a minimum of 40 hours is spent on the road with the band. If the band is booked for Thursday and / or Sunday, add that to the minimum 40 hours spent on a typical Friday & Saturday out with the band. As you can see, between my weekly admin / manager duties plus the time involved traveling and performing with the band, a minimum of 60 hours of my time each week is devoted to the band. The time that I spend on the band is financially and creatively rewarding, so I am (for the most part) happy with the balance that presents itself as it relates to everything that I put in to the band.
I seriously doubt that “Random Person” would understand my situation as I just described it, so let me introduce a few more variables…
As an offshoot of my participation in what is regionally (and beyond) considered a successful and desirable band, I have been lucky enough to secure a weekly position as co-host of a live radio show, every Wednesday. The weekly radio show is broadcast live, 7pm-9pm every Wednesday on 95.3 FM KHYI (in the Dallas TX area). The live broadcast takes place at a popular restaurant / music venue in Grapevine TX. In addition to the 2 hours on air, set up, prep time, audio editing, and everything involved in making this happen each week, I spend at least 10 hours per week on the radio show. This is a really cool 10 hour per week part time job!
Completely unrelated to my participation in the music business, I am co-owner and property manager of a rental property. Lucky for me, I was able to refurbish the property and (through my realtor friend, Smitty) rent the place to a nice young couple. On the other hand, I have spent many 10 hour days starting at 6am on Sunday, remodeling the property, as well as the occasional early morning repair visit to the property. Managing a rental property isn’t bad, but is still a responsibility that consumes my time, often at the worst possible time.
Also unrelated to my participation in the music business is my part time antique business oldstuffandoddities.com/. I have been selling on eBay since 1999, and will be launching my own vendor space at Cobwebs Antique Mall on the downtown square in Plano TX, this June. I have the luxury of spending as much or as little time with this endeavor as I choose. At the very least, I may spend 6 hours per week buying, and 6 hours selling. This is a really enjoyable distraction from the music business, and it also satisfies my gambling desires (selling a $2 item for $150 gives me a bit of a rush.)
Heck in addition to the min 80 hours per week that I work at any of my 4 part time jobs, I have the “normal” issues of the never ending repair and maintenance of my own home (which I can never catch up with), as well as the abstract / creative aspects of being a musician that often slip through the cracks. Never mind that my hobby of old cars gets little attention, and that my small circle of friends rarely even offers the trips to the gun range or baseball game anymore, because they know that I will decline the offer (even if they don’t fully understand why).
With all this said, do I have the time or the desire to explain to the lady at the bank “what I do for a living”? Probably not.
This piece is from Steve Berg, founding member and bass player for Dallas, Tx-based band Eleven Hundred Springs. It is reprinted from his blog stevenfberg.blogspot.com/ with permission.
HONKY TONK
On a wall in my home hangs a framed piece of family memorabilia dated 1936. It’s a U.S. Treasury Department, Bureau of Internal Revenue document that spells out applicable U.S. regulations for the retail sale of liquor. It originally belonged to my Daddy and Granddaddy.
The year was 1949 when the two of them went into cahoots and opened a Honky-Tonk / Juke Joint alongside highway 84 in Adams County Mississippi. They rented a ratty old building with two rooms on the front. As was common in those days one room served as a Honky-Tonk for whites and the other as a Juke-Joint for blacks.
At the time I was eleven years old but Daddy would let me hang around when business was slow. I spent most of the time outside throwing rocks at a Jax beer sign nailed to a utility pole near the gravel parking area. Their liquor license only allowed for the sale of beer, however, there were times when they would place a bottle on the bar and sell whiskey by the shot. Some guys would pour a small amount of Coke out of a bottle and replace it with a shot or two of whiskey, place their thumb on the top and shake it up. This was the only mixed drink available.
One night while sharpening my aim on the Jax beer sign a car pulled into the parking lot and slowed to a stop. While keeping the motor running the driver rolled his window down and said, “Son, go tell your Daddy to get that whiskey bottle off the bar, the Sheriff will be stopping by later tonight”. As he drove away I ran inside and told Daddy what he'd said. He smiled and said, “Do you know who that man is”? I said, “No”. He responded, “That is the Sheriff”. At that moment I began to understand politics.
When it came to the proper use of profanity, Daddy was peerless. He could skillfully inject cuss words into conversations when least expected. In those days we never owned a dog or cat but we owned a lot of damn dogs and damn cats. His favorite cuss word of all time was “sumbitch”. He referred to everyone on the planet as a “sumbitch”. He referred to people he didn’t like as “no good sumbitches”, “worthless sumbitches” and “good for nothing sumbitches”. With the aid of his easy to understand classification system I could distinguish the people he liked from those he didn’t. To his credit he never used cuss words in the presence of females or preachers.
By the time I was eleven there wasn’t much in the way of profanity I didn’t understand. At least that's what I thought until the Saturday night I stowed away in a storeroom to read comic books. Back then, as now, Honky-Tonks provide a venue for guys to hone their cussing skills while waxing eloquently about their latest roll in the hay. On this night as the liquor began to take hold, the jokes became more raucous and their romantic exploits more vivid. They used words I’d never heard before. Next day I discussed the latest additions to my vocabulary with an older cousin and he provided graphic definitions. I’m sure glad I discussed it with him rather than my Momma.
Another honky-tonk in my early life was situated on the Adams County side of the Adams and Franklin County line. Franklin County where I lived was a dry county while Adams County was wet. The Leesdale Honky-Tonk, as it was called, occupied a dilapidated frame building painted barn red. When Daddy would stop by for a beer and I was along for the ride, he’d let me go inside for my favorite big orange drink. Honky-Tonks aren’t likely to have windows so Leesdale was almost as dark as the inside of a drum and smelled of sweat, spilled beer and cigarette smoke. During the hot summer months there was one osculating fan straining to move the hot air around. It sat at the bar alongside big glass jars of boiled pigs' feet and pickled eggs. I’d sit and gaze wistfully at those strange delicacies and wonder how they would taste with my big orange drink.
Every Mama living in the surrounding area warned their children about the Leesdale Honky-Tonk. Without question it was a wild and wicked place. So naturally, when I was old enough to drink beer I'd stop by. I was always careful to park my vehicle out back where it couldn’t be seen from the highway. The last thing I needed in my life was for someone to tell Mama they saw my car parked at a Honky-Tonk.
Leesdale is where I discovered the best tasting swig of beer is always in the top of the bottle and boiled pigs' feet taste as bad as they look. On the other hand pickled eggs taste pretty good. Today Leesdale, alas, is long gone. Nothing left but weeds, old beer bottles and rusty cans. I’m sure Mama is looking down from Heaven saying, "Good riddance!"
Recalling those old Honky-tonks got me to wondering where the term "Honky-Tonk" originated. The Oxford English Dictionary reports it's origin as unknown. It’s commonly agreed that the term is an Americanism and was first mentioned in an 1894 Oklahoma newspaper. While its origin is unknown its components are well known: booze, second hand smoke, music, dancing, loud noise, cussing, romance and fighting. In short, RAUCOUS FUN!
My google research revealed that some of the first Honky-Tonk music was ragtime piano. That’s interesting because during the 1900's a piano manufacturer by the name of William Tonk built upright pianos that were associated with honky-tonks. Some folks are convinced this solves the Tonk part of the mystery but others claim the term “Honky-Tonk” predates the William Tonk piano.
One of many theories suggests the origin on the word Honky comes from the derogatory words bohunk and hunky used to describe certain groups of European immigrants to America. Another theory suggests the term was coined to imitate the sounds created inside a honky-tonk. Yet another attributes honky to the Choctaw word for ball ground, "hetoka” and a slang dictionary suggests it originated from the New England dialect word "honk" which means "to idle about". This is much too confusing for me so I think I’ll go along with the mysterious Oxford English Dictionary position….”unknown”.
Originally published by Take Country Back. Reprinted with author's permission.
