PLANNING FOR THE ROOTS MUSIC ASSOCIATION’S CONVENTION and MUSIC FEST ‘08 UNDERWAY

“Help a child and support the music” 

For immediate release (October 2nd, 2008 – Wimberley, Texas) Planning for the Roots Music Association’s inaugural Convention, Radio Seminar and Music Festival is now underway which will take place June 26-29, 2008 in San Antonio in the middle of the beautiful Hill Country of Texas. RMA is the fastest growing international music association that actively promotes, supports and celebrates roots music. 

The RMA is committed to providing an international voice and forum for all roots based music formats in an alliance that will strive for the advancement of independent artists and will continue to encourage radio stations to play music outside of mainstream Top 40 charts. We strive to work in collaboration with any association or entity that shares our goals and vision towards the advancement of roots music. Organizers are excited about the support the event is receiving from all corners of the music industry and business community and promises to be a memorable one with great music, special guests and a multitude of memory making moments.  

“The interest in our very first event is extremely high and we’re working to pull out all the stops. It’ll be a memorable time for everyone who attends. We’ve got some great talent lined up and some very exciting tricks up our sleeves as well!” says Robert Bartosh, one of the organization’s founding directors. The 3 day event will also include a series of interactive and educational panels, a trade fair, once in a lifetime events and networking opportunities geared toward all facets of the music industry. The radio seminar portion of the event will draw an international panel of music programmers and personalities to discuss issues and concerns pertinent to the broadcasting industry.  

The convention stream will provide opportunities for artists, musicians and industry professionals to network and educate each other through a series of interactive panels and presentations. The music festival will provide multiple stages which showcase performers to both the conference and seminar attendees as well as the general public. Expect to hear music from artists that range from established headliners to exciting up and coming newcomers across a multitude of roots based genres including, but not limited to, Blues, Bluegrass, Americana/Country, Western Swing, Western, Roots Rock, Reggae, Folk, Cajun/Zydeco, Jazz, Christian/Gospel and Tejano. The initial lineup of performers will be announced soon.  

The theme for the 2008 is “Music United” and speaks to the holistic, inclusive and universal approach the RMA uses to support its membership base and their collective vision. The event will be attended by radio broadcasters, promoters, publicist, artists, musicians, songwriters, label executives and more.  The Convention and Music Festival will be held at the Alzafar Shrine Center in San Antonio. The center is located on approximately 20 wooded acres, at the edge of the Texas Hill Country.  

The RMA is honored at the opportunity presented to work with the Shrine organization towards their end goals of supporting children and their families. There are approximately 410,000 Shriners now across the United States, Mexico and Canada. There are 22 Shriners Hosptials for Children – 18 orthopaedic hospitals, three burn hospitals and one hospital that provides orthopaedic, burn and spinal injury care. These hospitals have cured or substantially helped more than 600,000 children – at no cost to parent or child – since the first Shriners Hospital opened in 1922. Bartosh extends a hospitable Texas welcome to those considering attending. “We encourage our music industry colleagues to stand united and join us under the hot sun in picturesque Texas Hill Country next June for three fabulous days they won’t forget.” 

For information on registration, sponsorship opportunities or submitting for performance consideration please contact the RMA at 888-391-0983 or rma@rootsmusicassociation.org.   

More information about the Roots Music Association can be found at www.rootsmusicassociation.org

Merle Haggard To Support Hillary

from www.allaboutcountry.com

Merle Haggard has always had his guitar hardwired to the gutbucket pulse of Middle America. Back in the Vietnam era, he seemed the essence of a historic political migration: white males fleeing the feminized, antiwar, politically correct Democratic Party. He was your basic Reagan Democrat, fully loaded with a resonant, iron-edged voice and the ability to write razor lyrics that stuck in the mind and the craw. His brilliant anthem—Okie from Muskogee—became a rallying cry for those who were disgusted by the “hippies out in San Francisco” smoking marijuana and burning draft cards. His next patriotic volley had this chorus: “When they’re runnin’ down my country, man, you’re walkin’ on the fightin’ side of me,” writes Joe Klien for Time.com. And so when he heard that Haggard had written a song endorsing Hillary Clinton for President, which you can hear him sing on TIME.com, he was more than curious about the motivation for his apparent left turn. And Merle let me know that he was more than happy to talk politics, given that he has a new album, The Bluegrass Sessions, which seems a political and musical return to his family’s Okie and New Deal Democratic roots. What happened, where did America go?” A vague populist annoyance with big stores and big shots is one of the themes that have led Haggard to “change labels,” as he told me with a laugh. “The folks don’t have a say-so anymore. They’re being force-fed—music, yeah, but every other darn thing too. I supported George W. I’m not exactly a liberal. But I know how that Texas thing works, who those oil folks are and what they wanted in Iraq… I’m a born-again Christian too, but the longer I live, the more afraid I get of some of these religious groups that have so much influence on the Republicans and want to tell us how to live our lives.” But Haggard’s greatest complaint is a matter of pride—and pride, in his hardscrabble past and his country, has always been his favorite song. “The thing that gets under my skin most about George W. is his intention to install fear in people,” he said, after walking me down a hallway lined with gold and platinum records. “This is America. We’re proud. We’re not afraid of a bunch of terrorists. But this government is all about terror alerts and scaring us at airports. We’re changing the Constitution out of fear. We spend all our time looking up each other’s dresses. Fear’s the only issue the Republican Party has. Vote for them, or the terrorists will win. That’s not what Reagan was about. I hate to think about our soldiers over in Iraq fighting for a country that’s slipping away.” So, the question: Is Merle Haggard indicative of a larger movement among his white male country brethren? This is a key to the next election, the subject of a new book by David Paul Kuhn, The Neglected Voter: White Men and the Democratic Dilemma. Kuhn accurately links the Republican dominance of the past 40 years to the loss of the Haggard vote. The percentage of white males identifying themselves as Democrats has declined from 47% in 1952 to about 25% in 2004. Much of that decline was an unavoidable consequence of two honorable positions the party took in the 1960s: in favor of civil rights and against the war in Vietnam. But civil rights slid into special preferences (for everyone, it seemed, but white men), and Vietnam slouched, all too often, into reflexive pacifism and a distrust of the military. Is it possible now, with the Republicans diving into foolish militarism and the indulgence of Thou-shalt-not killjoys, that Reagan Democrats might be tempted to come home?

They will have to be wooed, of course. Kuhn wisely suggests a ploy similar to John Kennedy’s in 1960: Make the argument that we’re weaker because of the Republicans.

But there is also a matter of style, of political correctness. Haggard sensed a certain reluctance among the Hillarians to embrace his endorsement—in part, I imagine, because he’s not shy about saying that one of the biggest things Hillary has going for her is Bill, who ranks up with Reagan in the Haggard pantheon and not only because the former President used to have a pickup truck with Astroturf in the back. “He cared about this country, about our problems,” Haggard said, with a twinkle. “And I figure that whatever she doesn’t know, he does.”

Ya’ll Come! – Ray Price to celebrate is 82nd birthday

We’re pleased to say we’ll be covering the event below. One of my personal highlights over the years has been my interview with Ray Price and thankfully in mid November we’ll be repeating the experience again. Stay tuned!

You can read my last interview here

Ray Price’s  82nd Birthday Concert7pm Sat. January 12, 2008Caldwell Auditorium – 300 S. College Street – Tyler, TXSeating is General AdmissionAdvance $35    Door $40Ticket locations: Baskin’s Dept. Stores in Tyler, Longview & MarshallTickets w/credit cards  and info toll-free 877-560-0098 Country Music Hall of Fame Member Ray Price will perform in concert on his 82nd birthday  at 7pm, Saturday, January 12, 2008  at Caldwell Auditorium, 300 S. College Street in Tyler, Texas. Born Noble Ray Price in Perryville, Texas, on January 12, 1926, he worked on his family farm in East Texas during his early years.  The family later moved to Dallas when Ray was a  teenager.  He attended North Texas Agricultural College in Arlington, Texas, where he studied veterinary medicine, but left college to join the Marines in World War II. In 1946, Ray resumed his college studies, but his love of music could not keep him away from playing as much as he could.  He left his veterinary studies to pursue his dream of music.  After leaving college, Ray landed a spot on the prestigious “Big D Jamboree”, where he gained national exposure when parts of the show were broadcast over the CBS Radio Network.  Ray’s continued success on the program gave him his first major break and he was signed by Columbia Records in 1951.   He then moved to Nashville and became close friends with Hank Williams.  Together they co-wrote the hit song “Weary Blues from Waitin’”. Ray performed on many shows with Williams and filled in for him many times when he was unable to perform.  At one time Ray and Hank shared a house in Nashville.  Hank Williams is credited for helping Price to gain a spot on the Grand Ole Opry and paving the way for him to become one of the most-significant artists in the history of Country Music.  Ray’s band, “The Cherokee Cowboys” has been a training ground for legendary artists and musicians.  Some of the artists who have worked in Price’s band include; Willie Nelson, Roger Miller, Johnny Paycheck, Darrel McCall, Johnny Bush, Frenchie Burke, Buddy Emmons and Jimmy  Day.   From 1952 to the present, Ray has compiled one of the most distinguished lists of hit records in Country Music.  He is credited with producing the most emotional “honky tonk” music ever recorded.  His lushly-arranged Country-Pop ballads have now become standards in Country Music.  His hits include; “For The Good Times”, “Release Me”, “Night Life”, “Crazy Arms”, “Heartaches By The Numbers”, “City Lights”, “Danny Boy”, and hundreds more. He continues to play to sold-out audiences throughout the world, performing more than 100 concerts each year.  He is still one of the most-active touring artists in all of Country Music, taking his music to The White House, Symphonys, Performing Arts Centers, Fairs, Casinos, Nightclubs and Arenas. in 1996, Ray Price received the highest honor in Country Music, when he was inducted into The Country Music Hall of Fame.  He was presented the award by his long-time friend, Kris Kristofferson, whe termed Ray “A living link between Hank Williams and the country singers of today”.   He was placed in The Texas Music Hall of Fame in 2000, and was honored  with the 2004
“Pioneer Award” from the Academy of Country Music. Ray continues to record, and with the release of his newest solo  album , “Time”, he continues to receive critical acclaim by the major music trade papers, live audiences, and his peers.  His new album is pure, traditional country.  “You don’t hear a lot of that on the radio these days”, he says. He recently recorded an album with his friends Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard.  Titled “Last of The Breed”, the CD  has received critical acclaim and the trio completed a 40 -city sold-out tour in September of 2007 To say that Ray Price helped make revolutionary changes, sometimes controversial changes,  in Country Music would be an understatement.  Ray Price still has the velvety voice and it has remained remarkably unchanged.  He has stayed with his sound throughout the years and commands the respect of the young artists of today’s Country Music. Seating is General Admisson.  Advance tickets are priced at $35 and will be $40 at the door.  For information and credit card orders, please phone toll-free 877-560-0098.  The event is presented by Landmark Productions and KKUS Radio, “The Ranch”,  of Tyler, TX.

The Night That The Lights Went Out

Figures. Just when we get on a roll we broke some elusive terms of service rule. We’ve got a message into support but until then we’ve created this space to keep you informed and we’ll try our best to mind our p’s and q’s while the issues get sorted out. Suppose I’m a rebel after all…in the meantime you’ll find a review of Walt Wilkins cd on TCB’s main page as well as our interview with Roger Wallace. (www.takecountryback.com)

I had the pleasure of hearing Walt live last night at Cheatham’s Street Warehouse in San Marcos. He’s as good as they come – and a genuinely nice guy to boot. You can visit Walt at www.myspace.com/waltwilkins

Posting this with all fingers and toes crossed that I haven’t inadvertently broken another rule…

Sigh….if anything stuff like this keeps me grounded and humble…

In meantime we ask for you patience as we try and remember what the heck we had  on the last blog so we can recreate things here….(minus unknown faux pas’ of course)