Colorado Blues Society

[Bruce / Mission Amps]

I thought I'd post this link and see if any other States have a similar education program.
For that matter any other country who cares about the Blues.

I've know and played with many of the talented people in this video (even as recent as last night) and was the drummer for Rex Peoples blues band for quite a while but this video is really worth watching and sharing.
We really need to kick somebody's ass over the loss of American music education.


As a side note.... I need to get Mike off that crummy little Bronco amp!

Colorado Blues Society | Blues in the Schools

[Bill Moore]

Bruce, I don't have a clue how to get non musicians to support music either in or out of the schools. When my oldest was in the school band program, we got lucky, and got a teacher who was interested in advancing their abilities, and had all the kids fired up. He even raised enough money to take them to Disneyland. The football boosters didn't like his attitude, putting the band's competition,(they took 1st!), over showing up on time for a football game, and railroaded him out.
When my youngest got in the program, many of us fought to replace the 15 year old uniforms, and parents ended up paying most of the cost. The ball programs of course get new uniforms yearly.
My oldest grandaughter was in the junior high program last year,(she took a 1 in the regional sectionals), but the teacher,(who also taught her mother), is just burnt out, and now she wants nothing to do with the sax anymore.
I wish we had a program here in New Mexico, like the one in Colorado, but when budgets are lean, music is always the first thing to go.

[rudutch]

that is cool!

[overdrive]

Resources for various school music programs are often plagued by shrinking school district budgets and/or the lack of pro-active community fundraising efforts/interest.

The Colorado Blues Society is a terrific program. I have been acquainted with their work for over the past five years.

Getting back to the schoolyard...with money in short supply, the programs that actually generate some in-coming revenue will usually be the ones that get the attention of the key decision-makers. This practice begins with NCAA football on the collegiate level & then trickles downwards to kindergarten classes, both public & private.

Barring any federal assistance, pro-active community fundraising efforts for the creative arts now becomes the parent's & community responsibility. If the interest/concerns aren't there, certain extracuriccular programs will not emerge or survive.

Unfortunately, American culture seems to be gradually de-evolving into the prosaic with far too many inane examples to cite. During the 60s it was the Brits who introduced a good number of American babyboomers to blues music as well as R/B...most white American teenagers didn't listen to bare bones black music at the time but once this music got re-packaged & re-interpreted for white audiences, B.B. King along with a host of other obscure black musicians suddenly became household names. The same can probably be said of Hawaiian slack key music. To this day it still remains somewhat unknown to mainstream audiences...perhaps too regional, too ethnic for certain tastes. Until some Anglo-Saxon musician creates a mega #1 Grammy hit with a watered-down stylization of sorts, traditional slack key guitar will also remain somewhat obscure except to those with esoteric/eclectic leanings. Thus, the late Don Ho will probably remain the king of Hawaiian pop music to most older island guests from the mainland.

Based on the mass-mentality music that is successfully selling today & receiving various acolades (whether in rock, country, pop etc.) it will remain an ongoing challenge to promote the various forms of traditional American music that forged our cultural heritage. With the likes of hannah montana/the jonas brothers et al & the vapid eagle-esque style of country music now dominating the billboards, American pop music appears headed in the opposite direction of evolution.

[Bruce / Mission Amps]

Originally Posted by overdrive

...
Based on the mass-mentality music that is successfully selling today & receiving various acolades (whether in rock, country, pop etc.) it will remain an ongoing challenge to promote the various forms of traditional American music that forged our cultural heritage. With the likes of hannah montana/the jonas brothers et al & the vapid eagle-esque style of country music now dominating the billboards, American pop music appears headed in the opposite direction of evolution.

And what is weird is that anytime I play out, we hardly ever get asked to play any of that modern juvenile crap...95% of the mature listeners are asking for Chicago Blues, Memphis Blues, Texas Blues, Cajun Blues, Jump Band Blues, bluesy southern rock or bluesy ballads.
Yet the majority of club owners are reluctant to hire really good blues bands, and a very large portion of customers with any money are the very ones they are ignoring.
Scared little rabbits.

[gayler]

No blues societies in my neck of the woods.I wish there were. Bruce if you or any others get over in kansas you may want to check out Blues Masters At The Crossroads. It's a two night blues blowout held in an old gothic church in Salina every October The place only seats about 400 so you have to order tickets way early Blue Heaven Studios