Manufactured Rockstars and Undiscovered Gems

Back in the day (for you youngsters out there, that's back when two separate channels coming over a radio was REVOLUTIONARY), we had no real idea where our rock stars came from, they were just THERE. There was no on-the-air evolution going on, these guys were hot right out of the gate. There were mysterious moguls behind the scenes selecting these bands out of the hinterlands and grooming them before they dared let them on the airwaves. And a DJ could kill you dead before the second note was uttered. Yep, DJ's were GOD in those days. It would be quite awhile before punk rockers could come anywhere near a radio station, because there were so many truly talented people fighting for the relative few spots available on the AM and FM radio dial. And, for the most part, there were no GENRE radio stations where you had to sound just like everybody else in order to get your five minutes of fame. EVERYBODY got a chance to strut their stuff, from the motown wonders to the psychedelic dreams to the flat out hard rockers, they all shared the same stage. One minute you could be listening to a Harry Chapin, the next, Steppenwolf. Harry Chapin wouldn't have a rats' chance in hell getting played these days, except perhaps on internet radio, and not alot of that talent is filtering thru to the airwaves. The corporate model has ruined FM when it comes to musical democracy.

Now, starting with American Idol and being copied with Rockstar (fill in the band) and The One, we have our rockstars being manufactured right in front of our eyes, no pretense whatsoever. Of course, the public is being led to believe that they are having a direct say in which one of these hopefuls is actually going to be declared a "rock" or "pop" star, but since the voting debacle that got Chris questionably kicked early from this last competition, I seriously doubt it's that cut and dried. And, it seems that no matter how "original", "fresh", or whatever "thing" these individuals are bringing to the table, they tend to get cooky cuttered before it's all over with, so determined are the powers that be that they be marketable to the biggest possible demographic. Taylor HIcks somehow survived Simon's efforts to have him dismissed as irrelevant and made it to the end, but whether we ever hear from him again, on the radio, remains to be seen. Anybody remember Clay Akin?

In my surfing thru Google to find pagan material, I happened to stumble over a band named "Gaia Consort", a group based in the Pacific Northwest that rivals any power group I ever heard on FM, only they write and perform music with a pagan flavor. They have been around for quite awhile now, and have produced about five albums, all of which you can actually purchase on the iTunes Music Store. The lead singer can often sound just like one of the lead singers of Bare Naked Ladies, and that resemblance adds alot of punch and smiles to many tracks. You might not exactly GET the lyrics to many of these songs, but if you really pay attention I guarantee they will speak to you on some level regardless. The main reason I mention this band in particular is that you will NEVER hear them on mainstream FM, simply because they decided years ago not to play the commercial game and went their own way, content to be really big fish in a really small pond, and have not made it BIG, accordingly. Which is a dirty rotten shame, if you ask me, because these are self-made artists who are every bit as talented as any I heard on FM, and I think the world suffers not being exposed to them more than it has. I'll include the link to their site, where they graciously allow you to download any of their songs you desire, with the hope that maybe you'll be impressed enough to do the right thing and buy and album or two. Try walking out of a music store with a free track from Metallica, I dare ya.

www.gaiaconsort.com