OK, this is really easy to procrastinate. We're not really "up and running" yet, so it's alright, but once we are, I'm going to have to poke and prod myself to get these written in regular fashion.

Played another couple of rounds at It's All Good this week. David Lee Slate and I have co-written a couple of songs, and I do his writer's nights from time to time. The last two nights I've been there, it's been very slow, but I've gotten to play some new stuff, which has gone over well. Mike Larson joined me tonight, along with someone I didn't know, who was added at the last minute to make it a three person round. Fun times. Last week, I got to play with two of the most talented young female writers in town, Amy Courts and Kristen Cothron. We played in front of two people and the bartenders. Another slow night, apparently. But those 4 people got a great show.

Recently, I've been playing at Douglas Corner with Amy, Jordan Burris and Melissa Cartoun. We get play together because we wait until the end of the night. It's a great round, and I honestly have just about as much fun playing with those folks as I do with the band. Just about. But not quite. So the band still isn't playing a lot right now. We're in the "looking for a manager or booking agent" phase now. And when Jim (the producer) gets back from Colorado, we'll be in the "looking for a label" phase. And the "constant gigging" phase will follow closely (knock on wood). In all, still a long process, constantly longer than we had planned, but a process in any case, so we can't complain. Hundreds of bands would give their drummer's left foot to be going through "the process."

Speaking of Jim, he and I will be backing up his daughter, Jessie Clark for some gigs this summer, starting June 29th at the French Quarter. So if you're in town, come and see us. Jessie has a great voice, and is a really special personality. Sort of a Susan Tedeschi-style voice. Definitely worth a trip to East Nashville (unless you're coming from the upper-midwest, of course, in which case it's probably not worth the trip unless you're related).

That's all the news for now. Thanks ya'll for being patient and hanging with us. We will all be rewarded soon.

Peace, Love, and Sweet Harmony,
Koop

In response to the brew going on in the guestbook (by the way guys, you can do that over here, hint hint...) over selling out, street cred, and Todd Snider:

Mike and Amy are both right to a certain extent. It's almost impossible to make a living anymore in music without selling out to some degree. But there is a fine line between cashing in and selling out, just as there is a fine line between good pop (or "commercial") and cliche. Bands that fly under the radar (king's x and the Jayhawks are my two favorite examples) usually go through an attempt to cash in without selling out. The Jayhawks did it with Smile (a great album), and king's x did it with Ear Candy (a great album). Neither was a big success on the cashing-in end, however, and instead of crossing the line and selling out, both went back to doing what they really wanted to do with their next albums.

One problem for us and bands and artists like us is that these days it's a LOT harder to make an impact without a commercial sound than it was 10-15 years ago. Would Radiohead sell millions of albums if they were making Hail to the Thief or Kid A before they had established themselves as commercial rock superstars with The Bends? I doubt those albums could have been made before the Bends these days. In 2004, you pretty much have to start commercial and go back.

Now we're pretty mainstream to begin with. I'm not writing progressive rock with dissonant chords and mid-eastern instrumentation or anything like that. At this point, we are a pretty straight-up rock and roll band. It'd be hard to convince me that anything on the upcoming album is selling out, because these are songs like we've always done. The two songs that we were most hesitant to include (Legs and There She Goes) are the most "pop," but they are also two of the oldest songs (dating back to '97) that we do. so I'm comfortable with it.

For most writers and performers, the ideal, the holy grail, is to establish a wide commercial appeal doing songs that you love to do. I don't just write songs for myself, I write so that people can relate to them. I want people to connect to them. It makes me so happy to hear people comment on how a song means something to them, whether that is what it means to me or not. So yes, I want commercial appeal. I want to cash in. But I'm not going to sell out. For me, selling out would be writing and performing songs that I don't like for the sake of making money. If it's stuff that I like as an artist, it's not selling out. From that point, it doesn't matter how big it gets.

I love the discussion, though. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this one. Post comments to this blog, and I'll get as many as I can up here. You can start by listing off your favorite artists who haven't sold out, and are still under the radar...

My list off the very top of my head to get you started - The Jayhawks, king's x, Gillian Welch (thanks, Mike), Matthew Ryan, Angie Aparo, Paul Westerburg, Matthew Sweet.

Alright, enough for now. Be back soon. Peace, love, and street credibility,
Koop

"What time is it? It's four-thirty. It's not late, no, no, it's just early, early."

Alright, I'm back from a night of hell. VFW gigs are painful, but when they happen in Ashland City, TN, they are about unbearable. I can't wait to be doing this out in places where live music is appreciated. (Note: There are people in Ashland City that I like, including some who hang out at the VFW. And if you're reading this it means you give a **** and took the time to look us up, and that means that I like you.) Even in TN, it's hard to get people to accpet that you don't play "Can't You See?" or " Turn the Page." New songs are dangerous. This is a microcosm of the real reccording industy. Industry people don't really want anything new right now. Thay want safe. It's why Uncle Kracker gets to make albums. It's a safe bet that he's going to write at least one silly song per album that's going to remind people of something else, and the radio people are going to love it because they think the public is stupid and can't comprehend new ideas. And if radio loves it, it will get shoved down your throats until you demand that they quit. (Hey, no offense Uncle - you seem like a great dude, and I respect a guy that's just trying to make a living doing what he loves, but come on. Tweaking your last hit and making it into a duet with Kenny Chesney? That's pretty silly.)

Anyway, personally I've been insanely busy, which is why there hasn't been blog action. I've worked 10 out of 11 days bartending at the pools of the Opryland Hotel, which is a hoot. And I've played every single night this week: at writer's nights Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, and Doulgas Corner open mic on Tuesday, then with the band at the V Cafe last night. Tonight is the big show at the Boardwalk Cafe in Nashville (It's on Nolensville Pike in the Tusculum area), we're on at 7:30 opening for some other acts. I've also been hanging out with a couple of my new best friends down here. We're kicking around ideas regarding a complilation album featuring writer's in our circle. (I think I can almost classify my group of writer-friends as a "circle" but definitely not a clique. I am not that bitter about high school rejection.) And that's something that I will keep you posted on in the future.

When we got back from Ashland City this morning (at around 3 o'clock) I made an attempt at starting this blog. I had to stop because I kept nodding off and my sentences would run on and make very little sense, kind of like this where that makes a rummy ends doubl eeven tw.

So that was kind of dumb and I just quit and went to bed. Today is a day off of sorts, because I'm not working, and we're not playing until 7:30. So I'm going to go out to the pool myself here is a second. Thanks for sticking with us, guys. Peace, Love and Lots of Rays.

Koop

First day on a new blog site. When everything is up and running (regarding the band), this will be the spot for interaction with the band. So when we start playing out this summer, we're going to really start pushing this website.

I'm heading over to a friend's songwriter's night tonight. Tina Countryman has been running a couple of these nights over in Bellvue recently, and they are just starting to catch on. The quality is very high. On Mondays, she's over at the new Top of the Barrel restaurant in the Bellvue mall, and on Wednesday, she's at the Bellvue Pub just off of Old Hickory and Highway 70S.

One more reminder for anyone who may live in Nashville and may check out our site before Wednesday - we will be at the 5 Spot in East Nashville on Wednesday, starting about 9 PM. This is a really cool place with some really cool atmosphere (and beer), and we're looking forward to it. Irene Goodnight is splitting the night with us. Please come check us out if you're in the area. We may have a surprise...

That's all for today. As we play more, I will post more. But this is a good way to get started, since we'll be starting this week. Peace, Love and Sweet Harmony,
Koop