The Language of Art and Music:

 

I just wanted to ask ... if music was an art ... or some kind of separate art?

 

Very strange ... very strange!

Another interesting note is to think about the music industry as a whole. Why is it that the "mega-music-marts" only sell a fraction of what is out there and basically ignore the foreign music markets? In fact, if one wants to find what is "out there" in the world of music, one has to "self educate" and find it on their own because it is almost as if there are more barriers that only allow certain countries access to the market. The fact is - if "bridging the gap" in the arts were really about international interests then why is "profiteering & the commerce of it all" (well said!) what is obviously central to the industry vs. an integrity that caters to people & cultural diversity? 

The people don't trust the leadership in these instances because there are too many strings attached from invisible interests. They've learned from history what happened to countries that had a natural resource that some greedy corporation wanted & what is currently happening around the globe in sweat shops and to immigrants in the very richest places on earth let alone the shanty towns. 

Progressive rock/music has such a necessary role to play and it is a fortunate setting for anyone on the "inside". I can go into a club and hear an act unknown to me or hear an album and not judge the group by band member looks or age, social status or the size of the venue or hits, radio play, or any other commercial factors except for technical ability & originality. I react to everything by the music/content because it is foremost in my mind. So much of what society and popularity entertain themselves with is a kind of living through seeing someone who is wealthy, well known/famous, or credited by sales, popular songs, and awards. Millions of people are impressed by a fake image and will pay $20 of the CD, $30 for the DVD, and $40-$100 for the concert where they'll get T-shirts, key chains, buttons, & bumper stickers to tell the world they were there. Progressive rock is almost the antithesis of this. It's a community of "word of mouth" fans & almost better not be known by the squares who just wanna dance in 4/4 and have their verse, chorus, verse, chorus, guitar solo, chorus until the song dies formula. I think we represent the ears of those who listen beyond the current fad or pop moment wrapped in yet another formula or extreme. When classical & jazz music began, many wanted to hear popular twists in the opera or at the dance parlor, these are not what has been remembered. Beethoven's quartets were too much for the masses, Mozart was too complex and Be Bop'ers like Coltrane were the heavy metal of the day. To think that a little caravan with a two fingered gypsy guitarist would influence so many throughout the world is unimaginable - and this is exactly why I wonder about the foreign music masters that should be more visible. The world without Django Reinhardt would be that much more empty. 

This is what I was getting at in terms of foreign markets. I'm sure there's unknown brilliance out there that has little chance to blossom. When guitarists like Steve Morse leave the music industry because it's more profitable for them to become a pilot than after 5 years of accolades from the public & industry pro's like "best guitarist" (whatever that means) than it's likely that those in foreign markets will have even less of a chance. Here in the twin cities I've been to a few shows (Tony McAlpine, Scott Henderson, among others...) where they were basically playing to an empty room while people like Garth Brooks or Neil Diamond sell out 9 consecutive shows in a 15,000 seated hockey stadium. 

I'm convinced that many of the local people/bands far exceed the MTV hype. I can't imagine the music scene in places like Boston or parts of CA, NY, FL, WA, and numerous cities where there's an abundance of talented locals. But this is just the U.S.  I imagine other parts of the globe are more importantly unique and could add new dimensions to the limitless boundaries of modern recorded & live music. 

I'm not purely an underdog person. I'm grateful to bands like The Police, Toto, Supertramp, Styx, Rush, Yes, and any groups who did some pop that enabled such a market to still exist. It's amazing when you see how big Iron Maiden & Rush are in other countries still - huge turn out's (80,000!) and how those populations have really embraced such bands while places like the U.S. only noticed them during successful selling albums or marketing campaigns. Talk about culture, what about throw away culture that treats art/music like interior design or one that believes the hype & buys into the image? There are serious implications in a society when areas of passion & beauty are treated like Ikea furniture. A Band like Rush is a good platform for a multicultural exchange but the reality is that they are not pawns like the next Hootie & The Hypes that will dance for invisible interests.