Miles To Dayton

I got an e-mail from a guy listening to this band saying he becomes so enraptured he misses his freeway exit.

And the imagery and the fact that this guy had no business involvement, he was just a fan, made me check it out.

And this stuff is always bad. Amateurs who’ve got no idea where the bar resides, and that they’re on the wrong side of it.

And the first thing I notice is the woman is fat and the band is old. And in the major label world, those are two no-nos, impossibilities.

But then they started to play, and gosh darn, THEY COULD!

The guitarist locked into a great acoustic sound, the vocals were better than CSN normally do live ,and then the brunette put her fiddle to her chin and the whole band was ROCKING!

So I go to the band’s website. Whereupon I find they’ve got one gig booked. And they’ve been at it for years.

In the old days, they would have given up.

If they hadn’t signed to a major label first. That’s the way it used to be, you were on the right side of the bar and got your chance or you slid into oblivion.

And if you got a deal, we all knew who you were, there was enough of an information network, fewer than 5,000 albums were released a year, and if you were lucky someone bought your record, played it for others or you received the holy grail, radio play, we were all addicted, if you got on FM, you sold.

And don’t think this sound is so outside that radio would never play it. There was this band Seatrain. Their first album on A&M stiffed, but the second one, on Capitol, got a lot of traction, with "13 Questions" and "Song Of Job". And, at the time, they had the most played cover of Lowell George’s "Willin’" (which they titled "I’m Willin’"). There was a plethora of acoustic music on FM radio, everything from British stuff like Fairport Convention to U.S. acts like Hot Tuna.

But today, if you’re lucky, you can hear this music on a non-comm station.

Is it because no one likes this music?

No, it’s because of radio consolidation. And the major labels only sign what’s on the radio, that’s where the most money is, and the public is the worse for it, musical diversity is out the window.

This is the game SOPA and all the anti-piracy efforts are trying to perpetuate.

Not that being Miles From Dayton is lucrative. Being good is not good enough. You’ve got to hang in there for years, you’ve got to get lucky. It’s easier to fantasize things would be better on a major label, if P2P piracy was eliminated.

But a major label would never sign Miles To Dayton.

And without YouTube and other Net tools, the band would go unheard by most, there would be absolutely no chance for the act to grow. But a guy I’ve never met e-mailed me about a band located on Long Island and on the west coast, three thousand miles away, I checked it out and liked it, and I’m telling YOU!

And once upon a time, this could be the band’s big break.

But I’m not that powerful. Today no one is.

It’s just another brick laid down on the road to wherever they’re going, which may be nowhere, but watch this video, they seem to be having a blast playing music, AND AIN’T THAT WHAT IT’S ALL ABOUT?

And the other half of the equation is the listening. I’ve got multiple invites to go to gigs tomorrow night, I’ve said no to all, the acts have even got major label deals, but if someone told me Miles To Dayton was in town, I’d be THERE!

Because their music touched me, I was energized by it.

Not that I thought the new album, which I listened to on Rhapsody, which was unavailable on Spotify, was so fantastic it could convert nonbelievers, but because I’m a fan of music, especially that made by real people with talent, who perform not for the money, but the pure JOY!

So, in this Internet era, we lose something. But we gain advantages too. In the old days, Miles To Dayton might get signed, the label would invest in them, all interested parties would be aware of them. In the new days they can make their music, distribute it, and fans can find it. But the odds of getting rich, giving up their day jobs? Piss-poor. But at least they can do it, because there’s no label in creation that’d take a flyer on band who can sing and play…which is old and performs folk rock.

But I like it.

And I’m not the only one.

One Response to Miles To Dayton


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  1. Pingback by Miles to Dayton » Palain.com | 2012/02/05 at 16:41:02

    […] his e-mail newsletter is the best thing around.) And Lefsetz starts talking about this band called Miles to Dayton. Now, when Lefsetz mentions something he always gives you a link to check it out yourself. […]


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  1. Pingback by Miles to Dayton » Palain.com | 2012/02/05 at 16:41:02

    […] his e-mail newsletter is the best thing around.) And Lefsetz starts talking about this band called Miles to Dayton. Now, when Lefsetz mentions something he always gives you a link to check it out yourself. […]

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