Yesterday I had the opportunity to do one of my favorite things, sit in conversation with pastors and talk about how today’s rapidly changing world and shifting culture is affecting their ministry. We talked about that culture and how churches tend to respond.
The conversation turned for a while to the way that entertainment seems to drive many segments of the culture. We have become a people who expect to be entertained.
If we, as a culture, are driven by entertainment, that should bode well for performing musicians. However, the entertainment culture tends to work against folk and acoustic musicians, folks who stake out their territory with what I call “traditional music.”
Let’s face it; folk musicians aren’t real exciting. Consider the coverage that came out of Japan this week. So many people are still unaccounted for, but rescue workers are like acoustic musicians, just not very exciting. So instead of focusing our attention on the human story, we’re riveted to the potential danger of a damaged nuclear power plant. What my wife, a science teacher for almost 30 years, has said still holds true: The students’ interest in any experiment is exponentially related to the risk of the teacher dying.
So for entertainment, we seek acts and performers that are more outrageous, more off-the-hook, more over the top. And so Stefani Germanotta (see her on video), a talented musician and writer in her own right, becomes Lady Gaga.
We’ll never be very exciting, us folksinger, bluegrass picker, acoustic music types, but there are still lots of folks who enjoy, appreciate and want to hear live acoustic music. I’ll play for a few of them tonight at Muddy Boots Cafe in Nashville, Ind.
The issue I see with some who stake out their territory in “traditional” music is that they don’t entertain, or engage with their listeners. They mumble into the mike, don’t make eye contact, don’t tell the “story” behind why they play a certain piece. No matter what kind of music you play, there needs to be some connection with the audience. Not that Dean is guilty of any of the above, but some will disparage performing because ‘no one appreciates’ what they are doing. Which raises the question, did they appreciate the people who were there to hear them?
That’s a good point, Gail, and I agree. The onus is really on us as performers. We’re the ones who should be working and consistently evaluating our work, and we do need to appreciate those who come to hear us. I make it a point to be glad for the people who are there rather than get bothered about the ones who aren’t. Folk and acoustic music appeals to a niche market, so when we find those folks, we need to make a connection.
Very good point by Gail and very good response by Dean.
You know, it is hard to find folk/acoustic musicians who want to do covers. They want to do their own stuff – much of which is good, but it doesn’t line up with Neil Young or James Taylor or Cat Stevens or George Harrison or Johnny Cash or Donovan or Dylan or Joni Mitchell or Pete Seeger or Arlo Guthrie or Dan Fogleburg or even George Jones, Waylon Jennings (“Lukenback, Texas”) or John Mellencamp.
What is in common with these legendary musicians is that the music touches our hearts. Most folk/acoustic music I hear in the Indiana area does not touch my heart and soul. If it doesn’t touch my heart and soul, then I’m better staying home and watching movies on the Turner Classic Network or playing “keep-away-bone” with my dachshunds.
Many young people I know really love those musicians from the ’60s and ’70s, including my own teenage son. He wouldn’t give you a quarter for Lady Gaga, but he could listen to John Lennon, Cat Stevens and Donovan for hours.