Music with Jameson & Lone Star: Final Transmission.

Well folks. I've sure had a great time here at the Free Press. I've met a lot of great people, made some wonderful friends, and have been inspired by many local artists. It's been a lot of hard work and it's been fun but the fact is there has been a sea change over the years and it shouldn't be documented by some guy who actually saw the Replacements play Lawndale back in the 5th century BC. No, it should be documented by someone in the eye of the storm. So, I'll finish up this Really Red article I'm working on for the next issue but beyond that I'm just going to go back to writing my dumb little stoner rock songs with my little band and glory in our irrelevancy and the fact that only stoners in the E.U. like our music. (That's a picture of my band taken by Rosa Guerrero at Terrastock this last Summer; I'm in the shadows on the left) But someone out there in our fair city should pick up the mantle and here is all you have to do:

1) Write a preview for upcoming shows every week.
2) Go out to one show every week and take pictures then post a review every Monday.
3) Interview a band every month for a feature in the print paper (which you also will post on line).
4) On occasion do an e-mail interview of touring bands that will be coming in to town as a way to get people interested.

That's it. Sounds like fun doesn’t it? Well, it is but here are my self-appointed ground rules:

1) Take the musicians and their art seriously.
2) Get out to a show once a week and create a historical record with reviews and pictures.
3) If you don't like a band don't mention them. An opinion is simply that and just because you don't like something does not mean it is bad; it means it just wasn't meant for you. Plus, what worse insult is there but to be ignored.
4) Never insult or put down any band just because you have the microphone.
5) You can't discover the scene from behind a desk or through Myspace - get out!
6) Drink copious amounts of alcohol.

Why do I mention my own ground rules? Well, let’s just say that as great as things are right now just a few years back things were pretty awful for local music coverage. Nowhere was this more obvious than at the Houston Press who almost seemed to thumb its nose at those “hipsters” and their music but their snarkiness eventually gave way to some real and honest coverage. I can’t help to think that that was largely a response to blogs like this, Skyline, Space City Rock, NAP, and others doing what The Houston Press should have been doing all those years. And that explosion of blogs has been great for the local scene. Hey, now you could have a band and people now will actually give a shit! Imagine that - bands are being taken seriously, they are getting coverage for their music and not their sales or how sexy the lead singer is, writers aren’t “discovering” the scene from behind a desk, and the writing has moved past schoolyard insults as a measuring stick. That is pretty damn great if you ask me.

So keep up the good work kids. Keep it DIY and left of the dial.