New Year’s Resolutions… Maybe

First of all, happy New Year’s to all my readers. I hope you had a fun and safe New Year’s Eve. I had a blast last night at the Longhorn Ballroom watching Old 97’s, The Drams, and Boys Named Sue. It was my first time at the venue, and the acoustics there are great, and there’s not really a bad seat in the house. I’d love to see some more shows there in the near future.

Now onto the part about the New Year’s resolutions. I’m reluctant to make them simply because my track record for keeping them is dismal. However, with the start of the New Year, it brings a time to reflect on what you’d like to accomplish. Whether these things are called “resolutions”, “goals”, or whatever other label I could come up with, the following are some things I would like to see happen in this coming year.

First of all, I would love to post music on my website. I’m having a hard time figuring out how best to do this, since Blogger doesn’t allow you to download mp3’s onto their site. Also, here’s the other trick: I’m trying to find ways of doing this free of charge. I may have to give in and spend some money here, but I am open for suggestions on the best way of doing this. I’m open for either allowing either mp3s for download on the site or some form of media player where the track could be heard but not downloaded. I welcome any and all suggestions on how best to do this free of charge. Along with that comes a request to the local artists. If you have any tracks you would like posted here, please send them to me thru my email address.

On a similar note, let me tell you that I’m in the works of compiling a Best of 2007 musical podcast. I know I’m a bit late on this, but I figure it’s better late than never. Thanks to all the artists I have talked to who have agreed to let their music be used in the podcast. I will try to get this prepared ASAP.

I would also love to bring you more shows in the New Year. The showcase at Opening Bell was a success, and I intend to bring you more good shows throughout 2008. I have no firm plans as of yet, but I will keep my readers informed as plans are set.

I also resolve to try to post more often. I have a full time job where I don’t have internet access throughout the day, so it doesn’t leave me as much time to post as I would like. There have been many articles that I wanted to do but simply have never had the time to finish. Either that, or when I had the time, it would be too late (it does little good to promote a show the day after it happens). Nevertheless, I would like to try to get posts out at least three times a week. I would like to do more, but I cannot even promise the three times a week goal. I will do my best to fulfill that goal.

I also resolve to do more album reviews. Scratch that. I resolve to review albums, as I have yet to write a full length album review. I received Macon Greyson’s 20th Century Accidents last September, and still have not given it the review it so deserves. I also hope to get out a review of The Slack’s Wishful Sinking by the end of the month. If you are a band or musician who would like their music reviewed, contact me through my email and I’ll give you a mailing address.

Finally, I leave you with some suggestions of what you can do in 2008. First and foremost, go to shows! I know I say that over and over, but a music scene lives and dies by its audience. Clubs book bands not by word of mouth, but by how many people they draw. Attending a show is the only way of making your musical taste be heard. Also, stop by the band’s merch table for some stickers, CD’s, t-shirts, or whatever else they might have to sell. It gives them some much needed (and deserved) moolah.

I would also encourage my readers to be more vocal with me. Let me know what local bands you’re digging right now. Let me know what shows you think are the best. Tell me the venues you like and don’t like. Let me know when you like an article I’ve written, and on the flip side, feel free to criticize me when I’m off base. I can stand the heat.

While I hate using the word “resolution”, I do hope that I can stick to some of the goals I have set out before me. I challenge you as the reader to follow my suggestions to you. Together we can create a killer year for the local music scene.