Shooter Jennings Is My Hero...Part 2

Skydog Speaking...

Hello Folks,

  When I started this Blog as a part of the promotion strategy for Skydog's Red Dirt Radio, one of the things I promised to include is "Skydog" commentary. So here it is:

On a Personal Note:

Let me introduce you to the "Real" Skydog :

Meet Fred, my song expert for the last 13 years. If he likes the tune...the ears go up...sometimes he even sings along... If not :

What Do You Think?

Enough Said!

Bands submitting songs might take note!

Now back  to the Topic: Why IS Shooter Jennings my hero? 

  'Cause he tells it like it is about the whole music industry in general and "Country" music in particular !

  But first and foremost...Ol' Skydog ain't some "Shooter groupie" or nothing! I'm really not into his "Black Ribbons" type music of late; but purely love his earlier stuff..."Busted In Baylor Country" and "Fourth Of July" are classics!! I don't always agree with him...just highly respect his credentials for saying it!!!

  This is a quote from a recent article Shooter wrote from a site called Moon Runner's . The post is titled "Rock and Roll Is Dead" 

READ THE WHOLE POST HERE 

On "Country" Music these days, Shooter wrote:

"Which brings us to Country music. Country has never been “cool” per se. Sure to undergrounders etc, it’s cool and hip to do something not cool and hip so Country is cool. But what is happening now with Country is it’s broken into 3 categories in which there are very vague boundaries. First is the most popular form, “Pop Country” as we call it. This is what dominates the Clear Channel-controlled radio these days. One of good taste will listen to “Pop Country” radio for 24 hours and probably hear 3 songs that he/she enjoys. They are out there, but there is not near enough of them to make a change. Albums like Ronnie Dunn’s current solo offering, Miranda Lambert’s new album “Four The Record” as well as her side-project “Pistol Annies” are progressive, well-written and original and offer a glimmer of hope in the gloom and doom of the current state of mainstream country. People say mainstream music goes in cycles, but honestly we haven’t had radio and video formats long enough to prove this correct, and if Rock and Roll is going to have a “comeback” it’s going to take an entirely new approach and danger injected into the genre, so don’t hold your breath for a new “Outlaw Country” movement in mainstream."  (read more)

Preach On, Shooter...

"The second category of Country music is what I call the “Ship-jumpers”. This applies to two very different sects of people playing country now, neither of which gave a fuck about Country music at a previous time and now they all of a sudden do because it serves them. Lee Ann Womack (one of my favorite artists in the mainstream of country) said it best “Country isn’t a place for you to come and die”. This statement to me is aimed squarely at Jon Bon Jovi, Sheryl Crow, Aaron Lewis, Kid Rock and all the other rock and rollers who realize they are in a dying genre, and jump ship and start playing mainstream country because it’s easy to cash in on the fact that the Country audience is older by nature and contains a lot of folks who bought their records at a younger age. Nashville as a whole is usually very impressed by Hollywood, Hip-Hop, Rock and Roll, any big international money making entities, starfuckers to put it bluntly. This can be seen in the way that they will embrace any celebrity that decides to shine a bit of attention towards their humble home (see Jack White being given the keys to Nashville universe just for moving there, or Justin Beiber’s Rascal Flatt’s duet/CMT award appearance) And it’s just plain easy to have a few Nashville hit-makers, co-write with you or write for you a big dripping pop hit and disguise it with some fiddle and steel and BAM you're a bonafide Country star with a bonafide Country hit!"  (read more)

AND...

   " ...the third category are the “Outcasts”. Not to be confused with the “Ship-Jumper” the “Outcast” is someone who has an undying love for Country music and it’s roots and refuses to play by the rules of Nashville and with-or-without success will continue to play it. The “Outcasts” will always be cool in any genre, but in Country even more so. It’s why we started the XXX website over at www.GiveMeMyXXX.com. Because I think there is hope for this brand of folks to have their chance at the mainstream, but it won’t come through Country Music as a whole. Thanks to shifts in music that started with bands as early as Cracker or later with darker, more progressive artists like Hank 3, there is definitely a very strong foundation here for this type of music. It will come through an entirely different type of recognition, I believe. I’m not sure if it’ll come soon but I know it will come. I don’t think that it’ll be because of a movement like XXX or Anti-Country or any of the movements started before, but I think they all will help. These folks play what they want to play, bringing in influences from all across the board fearlessly and are creating a new Punk, a new Rock and Roll. That’s why it’s so exciting to watch because the scene is growing and growing and growing faster than ever. “Pop Country” doesn’t have a chance. This isn’t music that you’ll find on a kids show or in a Jack Black movie at any point in the near future. This is music much too real to be made into a novelty. And it’s dangerous. This is where the future of Rock and Roll lies in my opinion. "   read more

You know...Ol' Waylon would be proud...

Said like a true Outlaw ! !

That's Skydog's Opinion (and Fred's)

Now...go Crank up Skydog's Red Dirt Radio, Crack open a cold one...or whatever...

And Keep Spreadin' The Dirt !

(shot glass available at the Radio Swag Store)