LIVE MUSIC IN RURAL AMERICA (IN THE 21st CENTURY)

LIVE MUSIC IN RURAL AMERICA (IN THE 21^st CENTURY)

As a working musician here in the Upper Midwest, I'm one of a handful of musicians in the tri-state area who gigs full-time. I've been at it for 53 years now, so I feel I have a bit of “cred” when it comes to making observations regarding the current, live-music scene in this rural area of Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota.

Back when I started out in the '60s, there were a lot of venues featuring live music here in eastern Iowa, southern Minnesota and western Wisconsin. We routinely booked the Ramada Inns, Holiday Inns, Best Western Inns, supper clubs, ballrooms and dance halls. It wasn't unusual to play seven nights a week; and during the Christmas season, we'd book parties solid for three/four/five weeks at a time!

Those were the “good old days” as now things have changed dramatically. Since the advent of the '80 tech revolution, the public has become progressively jaded regarding its appreciation of live music. The public is now relentlessly bombarded by auto-tuned/auto-corrected “music” pouring out of digital devices and streaming services from every conceivable nook and cranny!

Entertainment alternatives now include more home-based options, e.g., theater-style TVs, computer games, social media, smartphones, etc. And in the clubs, live musicians have been replaced by DJs, Karaoke, jumbo TV screens and Internet jukeboxes.

Amid the ubiquitous sensory overload and countless, high-tech entertainment options, the allure of the live musician nowadays has been noticeably blunted – diminished oftentimes to merely a glorified jukebox. So we, as gigging musicians, must become inventive in creating an atmosphere and environment that offers something fresh and a bit out of the ordinary for our dance community. (That's what spawned many of our Sunday dances as well as the mid-week, two-hour dances.)

Gone are the days when a musical group would audition for a club manager and hopefully be scheduled as one of a dozen other bands for the venue's yearly, entertainment lineup. Other than a handful of VFWs, American Legions and service clubs, live-music venues have become fewer and fewer in this rural area.

So presently we musicians must take the initiative by finding a prospective venue (e.g., good acoustics, spacious dance area, receptive management, geographically suitable, etc.) and then convincing the powers-that-be that they should try some public dances.

As many of the Memory Brothers' fans know, this is how our affiliation with the Servicemens Club, Mabel Legion, Brickhouse Ballroom Dances, Cedar Rapids VFW, Club 316, Longbranch and Nob Hill Ballroom started out – as experiments in which the band, club owners and public were all on the same page. Without any one of those three elements (band, management and public) being on-board, the long-term success nowadays would be marginal.

So as we enter a new year, I want to extend a big “Thank you” to you all - the dance community - for your continued support of live music (not just the Memory Brothers but of all the local bands.) It's your loyalty that allows us to do what we love - playing music for you!

Wednesday, January 2, 2019

Doug Koempel | Memory Brothers