Looks like it’s going to be another Sydney weekend…
Tonight at The Sydney in Benson, Japanese-American costumed punkers Peelander-Z take the stage. I have a friend who lives out of state who describes them as “if The Ramones and the Power Rangers had a baby. Costumes, choreography – hard to imagine them in a tiny space like Sydney.”
Meanwhile, wiki says “Peelander-Z has a complex stage act, which involves hand-written signs, costumes, and audience participation. The signs often contain the lyrics to their songs. At some of their shows they also bring people from outside of the band on stage to play their instruments as they do a stage act.”
Oh boy! It sounds like The Sydney is the perfect place for this show. 9 p.m., $15.
Meanwhile, The Waiting Room has the more serious folk of Shovels & Rope. The husband and wife team of Michael Trent and Cary Ann Hearst are on the road playing songs off their new album, Something Is Working Up Above My Head (Dualtone), which “finds Hearst and Trent leaning heavier into the rock and punk roots that have always been foundational to the signature sound.” Al Olender opens the show at 8 p.m. $30.
Tomorrow night (Saturday) it’s back to The Sydney for Wichita “post-bubblegrunge” band Breeding Brainbow. Their latest EP, Or Do You Hate Me, came out last November on Shiprek Records. Providing support is our very own Bad Self Portraits and Uh Oh. $10, 9 p.m.
And that’s all I got. If I missed your show, put it in the comments section. Have a great weekend.
I get a lot of requests from publicists. Anyone who runs a music blog gets them — dozens/hundreds of PR requests per day to hype an artist’s latest album, tour, what have you. Almost all get the delete-key treatment. There has to be a hook to make the request relevant.
In Stavro’s case, the hook is that he’s from here. According to the one-sheet “Stavro is a singer-songwriter hailing from Omaha’s storied indie scene.” Now, I don’t pretend to know every indie artist in our fair city, but I have been covering the Omaha/Nebraska indie music scene for over 30 years, and I never heard of Stavro.
I had, however, heard of Ben Brodin at ARC Studios and Hand Branch Studio, who produced Stavro’s new LP, You Turning World, to be self-released Oct. 25. So I asked the publicist (the super-talented Caroline Borolla of the Clarion Call agency) for Stavro’s contact information.
Turns out Stavro was born and raised right here in River City. He’s just been gone for the past few years, earning his undergraduate degree in Boston. Now he’s back in town attending law school at Creighton.
“I’d been writing music throughout my undergrad without committing to a serious recording strategy,” Stavro said (he prefers not to use his full name). “When I moved back (to Omaha), I wanted to do my best to get into some sort of recording studio with some type of professional who could shepherd me through the process. My friends who were musicians led me to Ben at the B Room at ARC.”
The new album is actually Stavro’s third LP. The first was released in 2019 on the cusp of the pandemic. The second was a “collaborative experiment” with some Greek American musicians.
“I spent a lot of my last year in school songwriting,” he said. After discovering that Brodin was about to relocate to Los Angeles, Stavro wanted to get into the studio with him before he left.
“(The album) is the culmination of work with Ben, the most intensive collaboration that we’ve had together,” Stavro said. “It took five or six months to write and took us from the first scratch tracks to final mixes something north of a year to record.”
The track premiering today, “What Might It Feel Like?,” reminds me of a couple of my favorite singer/songwriters from the ‘90s — Michael Penn and Matthew Sweet. Surprisingly (or maybe not so surprisingly), Stavro wasn’t familiar with either of them, but that’s OK considering I wasn’t familiar with Stavro.
Because apparently he has played in a number of Omaha venues over the years. “I did a residency at the Barley Street Tavern and played a couple times in Slowdown’s front room,” he said. He’s also played smaller rooms, like Blackstone Social.
“My goal is to gig the new album locally to start, beginning with an album release show at the end of October,” Stavro said. He wants to share a bill with his pal Jack McLaughlin (Spector Poetics), hopefully at Pageturners, but the details haven’t been worked out yet. He’s also considering putting together a band. If so, he better hurry up, because that Oct. 25 drop date is just around the corner.
Here’s the premier of “What Might It Feel Like?” from Stavro, off his upcoming album, You Turning World:
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The music of St. Louis band Foxing, who is playing tonight at Slowdown, has been described as indie, post-rock and even emo. Songs like the ethereal 8-minute “Greyhound” off the band’s latest self-titled album shift from a variety of dense tonal settings and can be quite a journey, but on songs like the opening track (“Secret History”) and “Hell 99,” frontman Conor Murphy has a way of cutting through the pretty stuff with his screeching yell-vocals. So, maybe screamo? That’s too limiting considering when it comes to vocals, Murphy is all over the map. Find out tonight at Slowdown. Joining Foxing are Indian Lanes and Treanne. 8 p.m., $25.
I admit I wasn’t that aware of Cincinnati band WHY? before last night’s show at Slowdown was announced a few months ago. WHY?’s publicist had reached out asking for coverage and I offered a Ten Questions survey, which frontman Yoni Wolf masterfully filled out. For the write-up, I listened to WHY? for the first time.
Their bio, including their Wiki page, suggested WHY? was a hip-hop project, but there was very little rapping on recent release, The Well I Fell Into, the band’s eighth studio album, produced by Brian Joseph (who has worked in the past with Sufjan Stevens and Bon Iver). The record vacillates between dour heartbreak songs and more upbeat keyboard-driven bouncers, and rewards repeated listens.
Playing as a four-piece, WHY? gave new life to the album last night, providing a more lively interpretation. Wolf’s nasal vocals had a similar hang-dog style as Silver Jew’s Dave Berman or Magnetic Fields’ Stephin Merritt (and when combined with guitarist Mol Sullivan’s harmonies, even recalled Timbuk 3’s acoustic moments). The band, filled out by Josiah Wolf on drums and Doug McDiarmid on keyboards and bass, fell into a solid, relaxed groove.
After about an hour, WHY? left the stage but returned for a three-song encore performed standing in front of a single microphone, where Yoni finally got a chance to strut his rhyming skills, performing “Early Whitney” off 2003’s Oaklandazulasylum, “Fatalist Palmistry” from 2008’s Alopecia and “Paper Hearts,” off 2012’s Mumps, Etc., while a hand-clapping crowd of around 75 looked on with glee.
NNAMDÏ at Slowdown, Sept. 24, 2024.
Opener, Chicago’s NNAMDÏ performed solo backed by his laptop, singing with an auto-tune pedal Travis Scott-style. A handful of his fans stood in front of the stage and sang along to every word. The set ascended to the next level when he busted out an electric guitar and riffed over the tracks.
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It’s a trip back to ’78 tonight at The Admiral Theater as Descendents headline with support from Buzzcocks. Descendents’ current line-up is Bill Stevenson, drums, Karl Alvarez, bass; Stephen Egerton, guitar, and Milo Aukerman, vocals. While Steve Diggle is the only remaining original member of Buzzcocks playing tonight. Bay-area punk band Grumpster kicks things off at 7:30 p.m. $37-$75.
A few notes to pass along from the in-box (and other places)…
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In addition to releasing a new album with his band Cursive, Tim Kasher has a new feature-length horror film about to make the festival rounds called Who’s Watching.
“Who’s Watching is a story I first conceived way back in 2010, as I had yet to see a movie approach the stalker trope from this particular angle,” Kasher said in an article in horror film blog Bloody Disgusting. “After passing the script around to little interest, I set it aside before returning to it around 2018, realizing that STILL no one had told this story in such a fashion. A few bumpy years followed (as well as a pandemic) but we eventually got it shot in late summer of 2023, in and around Omaha, Nebraska where I was born and raised.”
The film was written and directed by Kasher, who also composed the film’s music. While it doesn’t have a release date, Who’s Watching will be shown at Beyond Fest and the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival. Can a world premiere at Film Streams be far behind?
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Has Saddle Creek Records’ high-flying act Indigo De Souza left our hometown label? In a surprise move last week (to me, anyway) De Souza released her new EP, Wholesome Evil Fantasy, via Loma Vista Recordings. If you go to the Loma Vista website you’ll find plenty of Indigo De Souza content. However, click to Indigo’s personal website and she still lists Saddle Creek as her label contact. Hmm?
The 3-song electro-pop auto-tuner-driven EP is a departure from the usual indie-rock heard on De Souza’s past Saddle Creek releases. Is this a one-off experiment or a permanent change of pace (and change of label) for one of Saddle Creek’s most popular artists?
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Post-Omaha singer/songwriter Anna McClellan announced last week via Terrorbird PR that her new album, Electric Bouquet, will be released Oct. 25 via Father/Daughter Records.
Co-produced with long-time collaborator Ryan McKeever and ARC Studios engineer Adam Roberts, the album was recorded both in Baltimore and Omaha. “While writing the album, Anna attended trade school, apprenticing to become an electrician to escape the service industry grind and secure a foundational career alongside music. Eager to break free from Omaha, she decided to take her newfound electrical skills to pursue a career in the film industry in Los Angeles, CA where she’s now based,” reads the one-sheet.
The 11-track LP includes a send-off of sorts to her hometown — “the grungy “Omaha” sees McClellan delving into her complex relationship with her hometown, navigating between identity, sense of place, and self-groundedness: ‘Wilting til I rot / Is it me or is it Omaha?’”
Check out the video for the first single, “Endlessly,” released Sept. 10…
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Tonight at Slowdown Cinci band WHY? headlines on the frontroom stage. Check out the Ten Questions survey taken by frontman Yoni Wolf before you head down to the show. Joining them is Chicago multiple instrumentalist/songwriter NNAMDÏ (Secretly Canadian Records). $25, 8 p.m.
Indian Caves achieved its highest level of dreaminess about halfway through their set Friday night at Slowdown. The fourpiece, fronted by singer/songwriter Leslie Wells, play an alt-rock-verging-on-prog style reminiscent of ‘90s bands like Smashing Pumpkins with Wells at times sounding like a midwestern version of Billy Corgan.
The rhythm section really drove their live sound, with bassist Dan Krueger taking the lead, or maybe it was just the initial mix hiding the guitars behind bass and drums. Things leveled out later in the set.
The band closed out the evening in front of a crowd of around 50 with a cover of Talk Talk’s “It’s My Life” that, again, had me wondering if it was a Smashing Pumpkins cover. Oh, to hear them try “Bullet with Butterfly Wing.”
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Tonight at The Waiting Room it’s the return of M. Ward, which has me wondering what M. Ward has been up to lately.
His last studio album was Supernatural Thing (2023, Anti-), which featured guest appearances by a plethora of indie notables including Neko Case, First Aid Kit, Jim James and Shovels & Rope (who themselves will be playing The Waiting Room this Friday night).
Merge Records earlier this month also issued For Beginners: The Best of M. Ward, and no doubt tonight’s performance will feature a collection of Ward’s “best,” such as “Chinese Translation” and “Never Had Nobody Like You.”
Opening for Ward tonight is singer/songwriter Leslie Stevens, whose recent video for single “Blue Roses” featured Hollywood veteran Jon Hamm as a gristled, cowboy-hat-wearing cooze hound. Stevens will also join Ward on a few songs during his set. $35, 8 p.m.
Tonight at Slowdown, local alt/indie band Indian Caves is hosting their album release party for their new album, The Song Becomes the Curse.
Fronted by singer/guitarist Leslie Wells (ex-Flyover Country) with Joe Ranne (Arbor Vitae, The Atlas) on guitars; Dan Krueger (Someday Stories, Fine Fine Automobiles, Coyote Bones) on bass/synths; and Kyle Moeller (Adam Weaver and the Ghosts, Saltwater Sanctuary) on drums/synths, the album pushes more toward alt than indie, recalling mid-era Smashing Pumpkins. Wells even (at times) has ol’ baldy’s snarl, especially on album standouts, “Joanne” and “Math.” In fact, the entire back half of the 7-track, 35-minute LP reminds me of Mellon Collie anthems, though Caves pushes the prog envelope on 8-plus-minute “Seeds.”
Krueger said the album was a true DIY effort, recorded in homes and rehearsal spaces throughout Omaha by edge-pushing genius Ian Aeillo. It’s a digital-only release for now, but Wells said they hope to press vinyl “down the road.”
Joining Indian Caves tonight at Slowdown’s front room are Dear Neighbor and Mild Temps, and Krueger said watch out for a special guest as well. $12, 8 p.m.
Also tonight (Friday), local indie band Bug Heaven is hosting a farewell show at Reverb Lounge because one of the band members is moving to Philadelphia. Helping say goodbye is opening band Ghostlike. $10, 9 p.m.
Tomorrow night (Saturday) is the big Built to Spill show at The Waiting Room. It’s the There’s Nothing Wrong with Love 30th Anniversary Tour, so expect to hear the album performed in its entirety (and in track order), along with random career selections as the encore (including “Time Trap”). Get there early to see seminal ‘90s indie band Quasi, who, having seen B2S too many times, is the real draw for me (Featuring ‘Birds’ is one of my all-time favorite albums, though it looks like they’re only doing “You Fucked Yourself” from that album on this tour). $30, 8 p.m.
And that’s all I got. If I missed your show, put it in the comments section. Have a great weekend.
A small but attentive crowd intensely listened to songs and stories from wandering troubadour/author David Dondero at Ming Toy Gallery last night.
Sitting in the center of the gallery with guitar and microphone he performed tunes from his latest album, 2023’s Immersion Therapy, before diving into a reading from his novel Chaos the Cat. The night’s emcee and Q&A leader, Rob Walters, joined in the reading along with a volunteer from the crowd, backed scene-setting recording of Dondero playing acoustic guitar.
Dondero, who has been cited by a number of artists (including Bright Eyes’ Conor Oberst) as a musical influence, talked about his life traveling around the country both performing music and working in odd jobs. The novel, which chronicles the people surrounding a pot-growing operation in California, is no doubt semi-autobiographical, as is most of Dondero’s songs.
David Dondero reads from his novel, Chaos the Cat, at Ming Toy Gallery Sept. 18, 2024.
The night concluded with a rendition of his song “Bacon, Eggs and Beer,” from his 2017 album Inside the Cat’s Eye – which tied directly to the novel, forming a perfect circle of sorts. A fun night indeed.
While a lot people RSVP-ed for the performance on Facebook, the turnout was disappointing, possibly because there were no pre-show ticket sales (despite a number of requests). Buying a ticket can be a sort of commitment – without one, it’s easier for potential patrons to instead stay home on their Wednesday night and finish their TV shows or YouTube videos or whatever they do to unwind. Dondero said he might return to Ming Toy for a more music-driven show, and if it happens, we’ll figure out a way to sell pre-show tickets…
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Yesterday afternoon, Bright Eyes posted on social media that the band has cancelled three upcoming record-release shows, including an appearance at Riotfest Saturday and Sunday’s show at Steelhouse Omaha.
“The warm up shows we played earlier this week resulted in Conor losing his voice and, on the advice of doctors, we’ve made the difficult but sensible decision to prioritize rest and recuperation for the remainder of the month,” the post read. It went onto say they’re working to reschedule the dates.
Youtube videos shot at the warmup shows in Cleveland and Chicago featured a froggy, groggy-looking Oberst. Hopefully he’ll find a cure for what ails him because Bright Eyes has a very busy six months ahead. The band has three dates scheduled for mid-October as well as a 9-date European tour in mid-November followed by West Coast dates in January. That leads into an enormous 34-date U.S. theater tour that kicks off Feb. 26 in Fayetteville.
The band’s new album, Five Dice, All Threes, comes out tomorrow on Dead Oceans.
The day has arrived: Tonight at Ming Toy Gallery, 6066 Maple Street in Benson, singer/songwriter/author David Dondero performs music and reads from his new novel, Chaos the Cat.
– This is a limited-capacity engagement – only 40 people will be allowed in. Showtime is 7 p.m. We’ll be there after 6 p.m. preparing the space, so arrive early and check out the art.
– There are no pre-show ticket sales. A $15 donation is requested at entry, but for $25 you’ll also get a copy of the book. A big, burly, very tough bouncer will be at the door (named Craig).
– Ming Toy doesn’t provide seating. We’ll have some fold-out stools available (courtesy of BFF), but bring your own chair if you want to guarantee the ability to sit down. Or sit on the floor. Or stand.
– The program consists of music, then reading, then Q&A (moderated by the very tall Rob Walters) followed by more music. Not sure how long it’ll last but it’ll definitely wrap up by 10.
– BYOB. We’ll have a cooler of ice water on hand.
– Check out the art! The current show is called “Vox Humana” and is curated by Mari Dailey. Here’s a brief video that explains the show. If you want more info or want to purchase anything, see me or Teresa.
Need more info? Click here. Should be a tons of fun. See you tonight!
When the project first emerged in the mid-2000s, WHY? was classified as an “alternative hip-hop” band fronted by Cincinnati rapper/singer Yoni Wolf. And there certainly was plenty of rap to go around on their 2008 breakthrough album Alopecia (Joyful Noise Records).
And while there’s very little rap to be heard on WHY?’s latest, The Well I Fell Into (2024, Waterlines), the songs’ rhyme and meter often sound like sung rap lyrics, with their tumble-on lines that could have been spoken over a thick beat instead of sung atop the often dense, bouncing arrangements (produced by Brian Joseph of Sufjan Stevens/Bon Iver fame).
In some ways, WHY? has evolved along a similar path as Beck, whose early nonsense lyrics left people scratching their heads at their meaning, which sometimes happens with these lyrics, though the album’s overshadowing theme involves moving through life with a broken heart, or as the one-sheet explains: “The new LP is an autopsy of heartbreak as it charts the ups and downs of a devastating breakup while trading bitterness for healing.”
While some tracks are slow-burn pain anthems (the forlorn “Marigold,” the downcast “Jump”), the album’s center pieces consist of more upbeat slow-burn pain anthems. At their best (“Atreyu,” “The Letters, Etc.”), the songwriting recalls Magnetic Fields or even Sufjan.
In addition to usual bandmates Josiah Wolf, Doug McDiarmid and Andrew Broder, that album includes collaborations with indie up-and-comers Ada Lea, Gia Margaret, Finom’s Macie Stewart, as well as Lala Lala’s Lillie West and Serengeti.
In support of the Sept. 24 headlining show at Slowdown, we caught up with WHY?, who agreed to take the infamous Ten Questions survey. Here are the answers (presumably provided by Yoni himself):
1. What is your favorite album?
The Range of Light Wilderness s/t.
2. What is your least favorite song?
Some kind of loud white blues rock guitar shit that feels like it should accompany a commercial for Fireball or Jack Daniel’s.
3. What do you enjoy most about being in a band?
Sitting in a van listening to audiobooks.
4. What do you hate about being in a band?
Sitting in a van after my AirPods die.
5. What is your favorite substance (legal or illegal)?
Spring water.
6. In what city or town do you love to perform (and why)?
Omaha of course because it is objectively the greatest city in the world.
7. What city or town did you have your worst gig (and why)?
Small town in Slovenia called Murska Sobota. We played for about 10 teenage boys at a tiny rec center, or maybe a halfway house with grease-stained walls. They were making fun of us the whole time and there was a threatening air about the place. Runner up would be the time we played a Quiznos in a student center in Michigan.
8. Are you able to support yourself through your music? If so, how long did it take to get there; if not, how do you pay your bills?
Yes, I am. It only took a few years to be able to do this but I am very frugal and lived off of cans of beans for the first decade.
9. What one profession other than music would you like to attempt; what one profession would you absolutely hate to do?
I think I’d like being a therapist or a visual artist. I wouldn’t be good as a cop or anyone that works in a hospital (phobias).
10. What stories have you heard about Omaha, Nebraska
I just know about Warren Buffett, Conor Oberst, Saddle Creek, lots of steak, flatness, cows (alive), and people drinking a lot. It’s like a secular, sinful Salt Lake City.
WHY? plays with NNAMDÏ Tuesday, Sept. 24, at Slowdown. Tickets are $20; showtime is 8 p.m.
Professional musicians play music for a whole variety of reasons – whether it’s for the love of song, to meet chicks (or dudes) or to try to make a living (the true dreamers!).
And some do it for the sheer joy of sharing a moment with their family, friends and fellow musicians.
Midwest Dilemma falls into that last category. Frontman/singer/songwriter Justin Lamoureux always has surrounded himself with friends when performing on stage, all the way back to the very early days of his career 20 or so years ago. That again was the case Friday night when his band played an album release show at The Benson Theatre. There, center stage, was Justin, surrounded by 10 fellow musicians, all having the time of their lives.
Instrumentation varied from cello to flute to tuba to stringed things I didn’t recognize. Musicians either intensely focused on their sheet music or danced alongside Lamoureux as he played songs from his new album, whose style ranges from upbeat indie rock to baroque shanty tunes to folk in its purest form, all seemingly powered by their glowing smiles. While below, seated or dancing, an adoring capacity crowd shared in the joy of the moment. It wasn’t so much a rock concert as a community gathering of friends, family and fans, brought together to celebrate Lamoureux’s music.
Kyle Harvey at The Benson Theatre, Sept. 13, 2024.Brad Hoshaw at The Benson Theatre, Sept. 13, 2024.
Sharing in the evening were openers Kyle Harvey and Brad Hoshaw. Kyle brought his classic moody acoustic folk that highlights simple song structures and his brilliant voice for a collection of mid-tempo heartbreakers accentuated by his own funny between-song storytelling.
Like Harvey, Hoshaw used the show to unveil a number of new songs that, while in keeping with his knack for creating hook-filled melodies, stretched their stories beyond the usual whiskey-soaked elegies that characterize his early songwriting. The former Omahan has found new life in Nashville, no doubt to the lament of an army of Benson barkeeps.
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Head of Femur at Little Bo Backyard Bash, Sept. 14, 2024.
To my surprise, they moved this year’s Little Bo Backyard Bash from last year’s location in the parking lot and green space east of 13th Street to a blocked-off William Street west of 13th stretching to 14th. I preferred last year’s location to the rather tight confines of the caged-in street. Tents and picnic benches were crammed between the curbs overlooked by abandoned buildings, with the Omaha Mobile Stage parked on one end.
Not to be outdone by Midwest Dilemma, Head of Femur boasted seven musicians for their set, all crushed inside the tiny converted shipping container. Maybe it was the great weather or the mixed drinks or the overall camaraderie from the middle-aged hipster crowd (and their children) but it was one of the most enjoyable sets I’ve heard from Matt Focht and Company. A standout was the amazing violin that added soaring solos that lifted the entire set. Hey, who needs a lead electric guitar when you’ve got that in your arsonal? No doubt we’ll be seeing more of Femur as Focht said from stage that the band will soon be getting a retrospective box set released by a very reputable indie label, who also will be releasing new material.
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Finally, last night someone on the Friends of the Drumstick Lincoln, NE Facebook page posted that singer/songwriter Charlie Burton passed away yesterday morning.
I only knew Burton from having seen him perform at the Howard Street Tavern in the ‘90s and having interviewed him after he had moved to Austin. Though far from over, Burton reflected on his career in that interview, conducted in 1998, summing it up in this story about a run-in with a record exec following an appearance at the annual South By Southwest Festival in Austin.
From the article:
Burton sums up the festival with a story that is so good, he was afraid it would dominate the article. At first, he didn’t want to tell me, either because he doesn’t want to come off as glum or because he doesn’t want it to be a metaphor for his entire career.
“It was right after last year’s South by Southwest festival,” he said. “We played very well, and my friends from all over came to see me. It inflated my ego, stroked it, and then it was over. Suddenly it was Sunday and I had to go back to work at ABCD’s (an Austin CD store). As I opened up that morning, these lyrics just kept running through my mind — the line from P.F. Sloan’s “Eve of Destruction,” as sung by Barry McGuire: ‘You might leave for four days in space, but when you return it’s the same old place.’ It was like the day after Christmas, when you’ve opened all your presents and are already bored with them.
“So this guy walks in the store and asks for the Charlie Burton CD. ‘Do we have it?,’ I said, ‘as a matter of fact I am Charlie Burton!’ He says, ‘I saw your first 45 reviewed in Cream magazine in 1977. You sent me an autographed copy. I ordered more and gave them to all my friends. It’s still one of my favorites of all time.’
“He walks up with a copy of Rustic Fixer Upper and I offer to sign it for him. He gives me his card so I know who to write it to and the guy’s the vice president of A&R for Warner Bros. I said, ‘How come I have all these big fans in the record business and I’m starving out here?’ His response, basically was ‘You’re not 24 anymore, are you Charlie? And that’s what I’m looking for.'”
Burton sold him the CD and also sent a copy of the single “Spare me the Details,” (which will be on the One Man’s Trash compilation) along with a letter. “I realized that I had an opportunity to kiss the guy’s ass, but missed it. I haven’t even received so much as a ‘thank you.’
“I don’t know what those guys want anyway. Back when I was a kid, you either liked the Beatles or the Stones or both. Now the music buying public is so fractionalized, they want lounge or swing or urban… Yesterday’s gothic Trent Reznor kid is tomorrow’s rockabilly Dale Watson fan. The trends are run down their throats. They haven’t figured out they are being taken advantage of.”
Despite the angst, Burton knows that there’s no other kind of music he can — or wants — to play. “I still believe in myself, but the bottom line is that the industry wags know when they see a money-losing proposition. Maybe they’re right; maybe I never made it because I don’t deserve to.”
No, Charlie, they were wrong. And judging by the avalanche of loving rememberances pouring out over social media this morning, you definitely “made it.”
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