Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Creamtastic Mayor Dean Taps Emmylou Harris, Kix Brooks & Jack White for Music Business Council
Posted by Adam Gold on Tue, May 12, 2009 at 10:18 AM
The Mayor and the Chamber of Commerce have brought together a 46 member Music Business Council. The panel will include some big names, including country stars Emmy Lou Harris, Kix Brooks and guitarist Jack White. The goal of the council is to keep and attract creative people to Nashville. Members will also advise the mayor on projects including a new downtown amphitheater, expanding the CMA Music Festival, and creating a new, non-country music festival.Well, first of all, we already have a non-country music festival. It's called Next Big Nashville. The White Stripes, or Raconteurs, or Dead Weather or whatever Jack White is up to come September should play it. That would be a start. As far as a new amphitheater goes--the city could definitely use one. Let's just hope the process of building it doesn't result in an arduous big-ticket boondoggle. All in all, I'm really looking forward to our city finally capitalizing on its musical heritage to draw in tourism. Can I donate money to this...like...besides tax dollars?
Comments (14)
Showing 1-14 of 14
Kix Brooks
Jack White
Emmylou Harris
yeah, that new non-country festival is going to be really non-country.
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No artist that is established is going to play Next Big Nashville until they change the fucking name already...seriously!
I thought everything in Nashville had to the word Nashville in it?
Mayor Dean should just start a record label that signs non-country, non-christian, non-singer/songboring type artists. What do they call those agains, bands?
Whatever, My faith lies with the "Non"-country Jack White. Hopefully he can keep some kind of Rock/multi genre thing going. I would really like to see an ampitheatre with proper fire sprinkles of course. Don't forget young festivals Like the Crawfish boil, Boots fest and Localpalooza. Rock on Ethan!
Bravo!
What better mission could there be than to keep and attract creative people to Nashville... that is the core of what we need. That and a revitalization plan for Music Row, a lot of riverfront development (promenade, restaurants, clubs, cute but good shops) and a vital downtown.
I want to serve on this council!
define "established", UH... I feel like Superdrag, Landon Pigg, Paper Route, American Bang, Erin McCarley, Cage the Elephant, The Features and others are "established". Are they not? Did you mean to say "famous" or "rich"?
Just as I have always suspected, there is an actual inside illuminati conspiracy to lure unsuspecting artists from other states to live here, and this is the perfect ploy. This is very carefully thought out and advised choice of individuals and the psychology of the choice is undeniable. Kix Brooks seems to be anxious to build as much credibility outside the country genre as possible as a foundation layer for the new wave of supposed "Country Soul" artists moving in. Jack White? Apparently they want to fill the town with a bunch of rich snotty hipsters. Just what I need one more rich 20-30 something neighbor who never speaks to me. How warm and fuzzy. Then they want to attract hordes of wannabes to buy homes and condos they over built, pay taxes and live here to fuel the lives a chosen few with an endless audience. You overeducate to many music students, you lure people with promises of a quality of life that doesn't exist, then when they get here every hand is out looking for cash.
Emmylou of course is irreproachable is she not? The pairing of her with White is not lost on me. Dare I say a thing lest I be hung by a tree limb? Funny I was just thinking the other day Jack White would make the perfect Gram in Bio flick. In the meantime none of these people have to contend with what today's new artists have to at street level, and moving here to Nashville is the worst thing most people could do for their supposed "careers". We need a panel on advising people on who should be moving here and at what phase they should be doing that. In the meantime I doubt we need a panel to lure any more Taylor Swifts into the fold. Undoubtedly there's been an influx of families with prodigious 14 year olds forgoing NY or LA to move to the area and take it to the top. Yawn.
Disclaimer: I am a fan of both Jack White and Mayor Karl Dean, though not a "superfan" of either.
I read a related story on this issue in NCP (i.e. White and Dean met at the Oak Bar) and wondered, "How is Jack White going to help the music industry?" I thought he got to where he is today by being original and idiosyncratic, blah blah blah. Then I remembered, oh yeah, THAT music industry. CDs are too expensive and iTunes is jacking up their prices by 100%. The newer mainstream artists these days SUCK and are not worth buying. They have earned their collective loss in revenues due to illegal downloading. Nowadays, a 10-year-old with Garage Band, etc., can record music that is more listenable than what is recycled on the radio. Hell, The Shaggs are more listenable than what's been on the radio (but that SHOULD go without saying).
Today's aspiring artists must do more than have a pretty face, cowboy hat, and like to sing cheesy music. They need to ADAPT by understanding marketing, recording, instrumentation, arrangement, mixing, touring, and management. The lure of "being discovered," as in American Idol, or "getting a record deal" is appealing to many, but I believe the ones who find "success" (that actually HAVE artistic merit) in this day and age will understand that there's more to it than knowing how to perform on a karaoke stage.
I agree with the posts by uh and Zac, but take issue with a few of Birdbreath's comments. I'm not sure what BB has against "rich snotty hipsters" or the next generation of Taylor Swifts moving to our fair city. Maybe these "rich 20-30 something neighbor who never speaks to me" don't speak to you because you have already made up your mind about them. Being a neighbor does not require you to be sociable, although it would be nice.
Frankly, though, we need as many suckers, I mean new transplants, contributing to the tax base as possible. Sit back, relax, and laugh at the spectacle ("You're gonna be a star!!"). Some artists need a hard lesson in reality and Nashville is just the town to give it to them. While you're thinking about moving to Nashville (and your parents still have money), consider buying a condo in the Gulch or SoBro!!! I hear they still have a few units available... ~This town's small enough as it is.
looking down the list of names on the council, one popped out to me right away: Jason Moon Wilkins (co-founder of Next Big Nashville). so we got that goin for us... which is nice.
"...young festivals like the crawfish boil..."
absolutely.
nothing more awesome than trying to sleep with The Offspring and Candlebox blaring over the entire east side.
I know they had to move it because of rain, but last night (and presumably tonight!! I AM STOKED ABOUT HOOBASTANK AND GAVIN ROSSDALE KEEPING ME AWAKE) was and will be the greatest experience of my trying-to-get-some-sleep-without-terrible-90's-music-invading-my-dreams life.
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