Thursday follow-up and rule 4

Well... as is important in the field I work in... you get a much needed lesson in humility from time to time. My interview with Maia Sharp seemed pretty cool. She was fun and the story about the oboe sounded like pay dirt, like a little anecdote she didn't often repeat, like I was getting a real treat --except, I wasn't. The Daily Mail ran pretty much the same bit with maybe a slightly variant on the focus and if they got it and I got it, everybody gets it. Ta-da! It's fucking magic.

So, rule 4 -You're always getting leftovers. 9 times out of 10, you're going to find yourself asking the same questions others have always asked a dozen or a hundred times. This means you will often get the same answers, the same stories that have been repeated a hundred times. While repetition, to a degree, is expected, even necessary, the goal of music writing is to try and bring something new or new to the reader out. It doesn't have to be world changing, but it should stimulate a little. Old material, parroted too often, tends to gloss over.

I liked my article, but I kind of failed...

In retrospect, there was one question I should have asked but didn't. This would be the question: Has sexual politics been a help or hindrance with getting your music across to musicians? Basically, how hard is it for a talented lesbian to get a song covered by the Dixie Chicks or Trisha Yearwood? I think I could have gotten a better bead on Country music's brain, which may not match the image they project.

I'll scratch that one up to be completely charmed by her oboe story and the Darth Vader t-shirt, which I do covet. My own damned fault. Sometimes, I suck.

Still, even if I had gone that route, chances are it's already been covered and many times. Probably, the Advocate article(s) on her have wailed on the subject, but the average Gazz reader likely hasn't picked up a copy of the Advocate in a while.

Meanwhile... Marcia Ball. Well, she was a sweetheart and warm on the phone. I just wished I liked her album, but I don't. I even sent notes to friends who might be able to explain to me what I wasn't getting. As it happened, they were just as puzzled as I was about anyone being excited about her music.

I don't know. She might be hell on wheels live, which is what I'm betting. Otherwise, the folks at Mountain Stage wouldn't keep inviting her back.