Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/3ksc4jbb

YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/2zrk2ju7

It’s a cross between Pure Prairie League, New Riders of the Purple Sage and the Grateful Dead.

It’s really all about the second Pure Prairie League album, with Craig Fuller’s vocals. At this point, “Falling In and Out of Love” and “Amie” are classics, but the album being released on RCA they didn’t get the attention they deserved upon release in 1972, and it wasn’t long thereafter that FM radio switched from a cornucopia of soft and loud to loud and homogenized and compromised, but you did hear these two every once in a while, and now they’re staples, at least on SiriusXM, people know them, more than did back then.

I’ll argue it’s all about the first New Riders album, in retrospect, it’s better than any Dead LP other than the “Workingman’s Dead” and “American Beauty” twins, at least when the Dead dwelled in this country rock idiom.

As for that idiom, it was dominated by Jerry Garcia’s laid back plaintive vocals, Jerry wasn’t singing to dominate, but to get his message across, you held your hand to your ear, you wanted to listen…

And bask in the sound.

Today concerts are all about the fan experience. The music is nearly secondary. If you went with your friends and had a good time, that’s what counts most. And the truth is too often the music is rote, on hard drive, and the production is nearly as important as what comes out of the speakers.

But it didn’t used to be this way.

This was the San Francisco experience, the ballroom experience, getting together with like-minded people at the Fillmore and other ballrooms to immerse yourself in the sound and have the music wash over you and take you away, drifting to a place of happiness.

Like with Lord Huron’s “Mine Forever.”

It’s important to tell you that I discovered it via Jeff Pollack’s weekly e-mail, Jeff only includes five tracks, and although most I only want to hear once, if that, I check them all out, the longer playlists…it’s too much work.

And when I heard “Mine Forever,” I turned my head to see who it was. Lord Huron? I know the name, but the act has never done something that has stuck with me. Then again, when I went on Spotify it turned out their track “The Night We Met” had 714,393,145 streams…that’s almost a BILLION! Further research told me its success was driven by its inclusion on the soundtrack of “13 Reasons Why.” But, interestingly, it only has 197,238,628 views on YouTube, proving, once again, YouTube is not the home of active listeners, if you’re really into music you have a streaming subscription and you listen there, and it is all about listening, what goes in the ears as opposed to what you see.

So what appealed to me about “Mine Forever”?

To tell you the truth it was halfway through the song when it went on an instrumental adventure, this was the essence of the Grateful Dead, the song was just a setup, a jumping off point, to improvisation and exploration, a trip, which you rode shotgun on. Sure, there were other people at the show but its success depended upon you linking up to the music first, and with it in your ears you looked into the eyes of others also infected and began to transcend.

And transcendence is what it’s all about. Don’t forget, the late sixties were not that different from today, it was an era of turmoil. Then again, a lot of this music was made in the seventies, when we were licking our wounds, which is kind of like today, we’re wondering what comes next, who would have thought what came next way back when was a mercenary streak that ran throughout the boomer population, people became eager to sell out and make money, what will happen now that the Trump train has been temporarily stopped? Well, maybe first we’re gonna listen to music.

You’re never going to hear “Mine Forever” on Top 40 radio.

Then again, you never heard the Grateful Dead on Top 40 radio. All three bands, Pure Prairie League, the New Riders and the Dead were not made for Top 40 radio, their music wasn’t even made for radio at all, they bypassed that waystation and went directly into people’s hearts, if radio played ’em, great, but they depended upon the people, the culture, to spread the word.

So the truth is you want “Mine Forever” to envelop you. You want to play it on the big rig. You need the sound to penetrate every nook and cranny, squeeze out what was there before, replace it with a mood, an excursion you can only get from music.

“Mine Forever” is not a one listen smash, something you hear and believe will be ubiquitous, but you’ll want to hear it again, and again, to return to that mood, that feeling. And sometime you’ll be listening and someone else will feel the magic and they’ll be infected and eventually the word will spread.

And the truth is music, now more than ever, is not really about recordings.

We hear too much about recordings, when the truth is there’s been a sea change since Napster, music, more than ever, is live, which is kinda funny when more of the recordings have become robotic and fake, unlike life.

“Mine Forever” is made for the gig. You already know it, but you know the act will sustain it, it’s just a framework for exploration, and you’re eager to take the trip.

This is an alternative universe, this is the heartbeat of the music business, not what you see in the Spotify Top 50, we’re returning to the sixties, when it’s not about what’s popular on AM radio, what’s obvious, but something more underground on FM, something that demands a bit more, something that does not slide off your shoulders, but sticks with you.

Sometime this afternoon, when you’ve already worked long hours, when your body is tired, pull up “Mine Forever,” it will rejuvenate you…

And you’ll be thrilled this spirit is still alive, and it really didn’t die in 1969.

Tune in today, March 30th, to Volume 106, 7 PM East, 4 PM West.

Phone #: 844-6-VOLUME, 844-686-5863

Twitter: @lefsetz or @siriusxmvolume/#lefsetzlive

Hear the episode live on SiriusXM VOLUME: siriusxm.us/HearLefsetzLive

If you miss the episode, you can hear it on demand on the SiriusXM app: siriusxm.us/LefsetzLive

I’ve written about John Dick and his polling company CivicScience and even had him on my podcast: https://apple.co/2QEJdXd

Anyway, John has started a podcast himself, “The Dumbest Guy in the Room,” and this week I’m on it: https://spoti.fi/39qeR1m

I cover a lot of ground re today’s landscape and we address topics not covered in the newsletter, so you might want to check it out.

In any event, be sure to sign up for John’s weekly e-mail full of insights if you haven’t already: https://bit.ly/3rI45df

Speak from the heart, not the head. Go with what feels right.

The more you think about it, the greater the chance you’re sacrificing your authenticity.

You can play to the audience or yourself. The audience changes, you don’t. Either draw people to you for who you truly are, a unique individual, or get left behind when tastes change.

Go for the long money, not the short. The news is always about the short money, influencers, people whoring themselves out for cash, the long story is not sexy enough for the news.

You can’t oversell. Either people are drawn to you or they are not. Your work is the advertisement, people either resonate with it or they don’t.

The more fake the news is, the more sold out politicians are, the more people are searching for truth, this is what you deliver.

Don’t lie about the past to make yourself supposedly look good. Don’t say you grew up poor if you didn’t. Don’t say it was God’s plan, it never was. Own the hard work you put in. You’re a beacon, a lesson, people know when you’re obfuscating.

The entertainment business is built on hype. Everybody will want you to cave to the machine. Not only news outlets, but your record label, your agent and quite possibly your manager. Your team only gets paid when you get paid. Acts come and go, you’re one and done if you screw up. It’s hard to stand up to the experienced, but you must.

Don’t posit you’re better than anybody else, you’re not.

Let the art speak for you. Clothes and other imaging take away from this. Yes, the fashion shoot gets you more attention and free clothes, but people know that’s exactly why you did it, and they don’t have the same opportunities, and you and your work resonate best when you’re seen as equal to them.

Own the fruits of your labor. If you fly private, you earned it. Don’t try to hide the truth, there’s no benefit.

Are you into lifestyle or art? Sure, you can take a vacation. But if you hang with people just because they are rich, or famous, you’re doing a disservice to not only your image, but your fans. People resent billionaires. Sure, they want to be them, but they know that really there’s no chance, especially in today’s America. But if you go on the yacht, if you’re seen hanging with the titans of industry, it’s going to work against you.

Speak truth to power. Never hold back.

Don’t constantly weigh in on what’s going on unless that’s part of your art.

Don’t complain about your hard life, no one wants to hear it.

You’re someone who came from nowhere and made it. You’re not someone who made it to Hollywood and forgot your old friends and where you came from.

Collaboration muddies credibility/authenticity. It’s one thing if it’s a charity project, but if you’re bringing in ringers to have a hit, believe me, the audience knows this. If you can’t write a hit song, then fine, but you haven’t got any credibility to begin with. Do not equate stardom with credibility. There are plenty of stars who have no credibility.

Credible artists can sell tickets off cycle, they don’t need a hit to draw their fans, their fans are bonded to them all the time.

Admit your mistakes.

Ignore the rabble-rousers. People will bait you, try to get you to react, it’s a no-win game.

Love and loss, that’s what life is about. Feel free to write about it and talk about it.

Success delivers opportunities that the hoi polloi are not privileged to get. If they relate to who you are, go for it. If not, hold back.

Your inner tuning fork is everything, if it doesn’t feel right, it isn’t.

You channel truth. That’s your job. 24/7.

There’s nothing wrong with humor, but people should be able to get the joke.

Don’t brag.

Don’t constantly thank your fan base. You generated the success, not them. Own your success, you did it, in a world where it’s nearly impossible to do.

You’re not in a popularity contest.

Chances are you’ll be denigrated and ignored, for not playing the game the way everybody else does. People hate it when you go your own way.

You’re gong to suffer, both personally and commercially. It’s the nature of life. It’s much easier to sell out and play the game, but then you don’t have a lasting career.

In today’s marketplace the hardest thing to do is sustain. Anybody can have momentary stardom, people like to watch the car crash. But when the wreckage is pulled from the highway, they stop thinking about it.

Don’t be attached to old paradigms. Adjust or you die. Albums are for statements, if you’re not making one long one don’t hold back until you’ve got ten or twelve songs to have a release, drop material more frequently, there’s nothing a fan wants more than more material, deliver it, forget conventional wisdom, publicity, you’re building your fan base one by one, it’s an edifice, which only you can construct and you can own, don’t expect everyone else to pay attention.

Don’t pander.

Do the hard work, don’t cut corners.

Your work is everything. Don’t do something just because the experienced producer tells you to. They move on, you own the final product, forever.

Take chances, now, more than ever, your failures don’t haunt you.

You’re human, you react, you don’t want to be media-trained to the point where your rough edges are sanded off, then again, the media is always out to get you and always gets it wrong.

You’re making music for the loner lying in bed at night listening to your music to prevent suicide, not the team captain hanging with his buddies. Music is inherently personal. The broader it gets, the less authentic and credible it is. If you’re making music for the masses, for the playlists, to fit in, you’re doing it wrong.

Fans must feel like they own you, but don’t be controlled by them.

Everybody’s so different, but you haven’t changed. That’s success. And better not to change. More money means better meals and better wheels, for everybody, it doesn’t mean you’re fabulous and go to all the trendy spots and hang out.

Manipulation is obvious. Everybody knows reality television is fake, everybody knows the Kardashians have had plastic surgery. They’re selling a fantasy, there’s nothing credible or authentic about it. But when they’re gone, they’re done, your music should last forever, it should ride shotgun in the fans’ lives always.

Try to be nice to everybody, but if you’re overburdened or someone takes advantage, feel free to bark back. Ironically, the more you do this, the more credible and authentic you appear. People know you’re being hounded. Actually, fans tend to be respectful, it’s the loonies who stalk you, who want personal attention, ten percent of the public are loonies, and you never know who they are, and they’re in all fields, don’t play to them, but those who understand and respect you.

Do interviews/podcasts with those who have a reputation for credibility and authenticity. This is why an appearance on Howard Stern means so much, not because of the size of his audience, but because of the bond his audience has to him.

Constantly experiment and evolve. Staying in a rut is death. Furthermore, everybody experiments and evolves, that’s the nature of life, you don’t want to be seen as someone people listened to way back when, you don’t want to be stuck in time.

If you wear glasses off stage, wear them on stage, or wear contacts. Don’t stumble through life not seeing just to look better.

How you look can help you, but that’s not what you’re selling. The Beatles were beautiful, but they would have been successful even if they were ugly.

Live life. You can’t be authentic if you’re detached. Read the news, watch television, it’s inspiring. It’s in your down moments, when you’re not working, when you’re off the clock, that you’re most inspired.

Your job is to create art, not to be a star.

Don’t be swayed by trends, they’ll kill your career overnight. People still hate Rod Stewart for “Do Ya Think I’m Sexy?,” never mind his “American Songbook” records. He forgot who his core audience is, and now he wants hit core audience to still care, most don’t.

Be organic, don’t manipulate the game. Don’t try to get someone on some new platform to use your material to create a success. Leave it to your fans.

You’re an artist, not a business person. We don’t want to hear about your tech investments, unless they’re passion projects. If you’re in it to get rich, you’re in the wrong game. You can make a lot of money in music, but nowhere near that of the Silicon Valley and tech titans. But, do it right and you can make the titans nervous. Facebook ruins the world but no artist will stand up to the platform for fear of alienating Zuckerberg, putting a dent in their exposure and future. You can attack bad actors, just don’t make it a crusade, that’s someone else’s job.

Don’t get behind every charity project unless that’s part of your image, part of your art.

Products are inert, art is not. So be wary of attaching yourself to products.

Endorsements are off the table, unless you truly believe in something and use it constantly. Which means chances are it’s not going to be one of the big products always looking for a celebrity endorser, but something more personal. Endorse Genesee, not Budweiser. Genesee is crap, but if you grew up in upstate New York and it was your beer of choice and you still drink it, go for it. An endorsement must be almost a joke, like “they’re paying me to say I use it, I use it all the time already!”

Let your fan club buy tickets early, not Amex holders.

Don’t worry about keeping ticket prices down, diehard fans will pay anything to see you, you’re worth it, don’t bitch about scalpers. But that does not mean you cannot say you’re using platinum to get rid of scalpers. Sometimes you have to explain high ticket prices. And also, like the ten percent of the public who are loonies, ten percent always think they should be able to sit in the front row for every show for almost nothing, ignore them.

Festivals… Play ’em. It’s a good way to reach a new audience. It may be the only way to reach a mass audience. There’s no stigma anymore. But if you’re gonna go on first, you must be just starting out, because almost no one will see you.

Don’t be afraid to live the life of a musician. You do it to get high and get laid, don’t stop, just don’t take undue advantage, don’t cross the line, assume everything is being filmed and act accordingly.

Drugs are not cool, your music is cool. If you’re working so hard you need drugs to cope, get off the road, stay home, chill out.

Your feelings are everything. Channel them in music and lyrics.