Doug Spears: Blog

Yesterday (Sunday, March 4th) I went down and performed at the Myakka River Seafood Festival hosted by Clear Channel's KIX 98.9 FM radio at the Charlotte County Fairgrounds. What a blast! The show was put together by local Charlotte County musician and instrument builder, R. J. Malloy, (and one of my MySpace friends) and Kix 98.9's Downhome Cookin host, Larry Temko (also a MySpacer bud of mine). They did a great job putting together the show. The sound was superb (Thanks Wayne!!), the weather was perfect and the crowd was wonderful! The seafood was pretty good too!

You should tune in to Larry T's show - he's really playing some great music, including independents like yours truly. Read his blog at http://www.larryt989.blogspot.com/ . I'm looking forward to doing more shows with Larry in the future.

There was also a great write up promotion the festival in the Sun Herald by Chris Porter. You can still read that at
http://www.sun-herald.com/letsgo/LGNewsstory.cfm?pubdate=030207&story=lg12.htm&folder=NewsArchive
It was truly a wonderful day. Thanks to Kathie, my MySpace friend of the month, who brought her family all the way from Okeechobee (a 1 1/2 hour drive) just to see my performance - now THAT's a fan!!

The sound engineer, Wayne, recorded the show and if it came out well I'll try to post some clips when i get them.

THANKS FOR LISTENING!!

Doug Spears On The Road - Folk Alliance Diary - Day 4

Well, it’s a wrap. I made Judy drive for a while this morning I jotted down my thoughts (blearily I might add after another night of short sleep) and listened to some of the CD’s I picked up from various artists. We went downstairs this morning to get the last breakfast buffet, say our goodbyes and share last minute contact info with anyone we somehow missed. As always it’s a mixture of relief to be going home to get some rest and disappointment that its over.

Yesterday, the final day of music events, etc., was not a wind down, but a finale. Finally comfortable in my surroundings and used to the routine I was able to “work the room” much more effectively in the Exhibit Hall than I had any of the prior days and with great results. I met many wonderful people and left an impression with them of myself and my music that I think will stick, particularly with some follow up. I made many new friends that I can help get introduced to our folk scene in Florida and help bring their music to you - very exciting and satisfying.

You will be pleased to know that the perception of the Florida Folk community is very, very good. People who were at this conference like Gloria Holloway, Michael Stock, Randy Wynne, Cathy DeWitt and others have represented us so well over the years. I heard many others mentioned by name as folks who’ve been so active and have given us a truly sterling reputation. We owe much thanks to those I’ve mentioned as well as Robby Greenberg, Amy Carol Webb and many, many more who I’m too sleep deprived to name at the moment (and to whom I apologize for failing to give credit where so richly due) for putting our best Florida foot forward in past years.

It’s a little surprising to me that we are perceived as having such a wide spread, strong folk music market and community in Florida. Sure, I have always appreciated the number of well run festivals we have each year. But, I guess, as is human nature, I always imagined that the “folk grass” was greener elsewhere in terms of venues who regularly support this music on a weekly basis and house concert series with a lasting track record. I have come to appreciate, from listening to attendees from all over the country, that we are blessed with a vibrant folk community that, while it can always build and grow, we should be very proud of and should jealously protect. I repeatedly was asked about the Will McLean Festival, Gamble Rogers, the Florida Folk Festival and the South Florida Folk Festival. Many lamented the closing of Main Street Café’ in Homestead, but also heard a lot of encouragement regarding other venues, including Leu Gardens in Orlando and the many UU Church series’, including Octagon Arts that are so well regarded. I think I’m more happy than ever to be a native Florida Folk Musician.

As you might expect, the level of talent here is astonishing. So many great musicians, writers and amazing singers from all parts of the country, Canada and abroad. The is an ever growing wealth of diversity in musical roots, genres and styles that are finding a home under the folk banner. There were special tribute programs to Mickey Newberry, Townes Van Zant and a couple of others.

Well, so its over for a year. I’m definitely planning on returning next year now that I’ve “learned the ropes” a little. And, depending on other time commitments, I may try to hit one or more of the regional conferences - but I suspect that time will get too tight for that. I highly recommend the conference to all organizations, venues and promoters and fans of this music and to artists who are at the point where they want to take their career experience to the next level. It is not cheap by any means, but it is well worth the time and investment.

See you back at the ranch!

Doug Spears On The Road - Folk Alliance Diary - Day 3

I’m a little rushed this morning, so I’ll keep it pretty short. First, a GLARING omission in the Florida Folks I’ve bumped into since getting here. The very first, and most frequent, person I’ve seen here is WLRN’s Michael Stock. In fact, I saw Michael at registration the first day and he was the one who directed me to the health foods store to load up on herbal cold remedies. Thanks Michael! We all have seen and felt Michael’s enthusiasm for this music and its very apparent in his presence here.

We had a Southeastern Regional Folk Alliance meeting this morning at 9:30 am (sadistic!). Our region is now “officially” recognized and a conference is planned for April 2008. Likely venues seem to be Atlanta or the Asheville area. If you would like to be on the listserve for the SE region, send me an email (after I get home next week) and I’ll get the info to you so you can stay current and participate in the inaugural conference. The initial focus will be on gathering participation and commitment from the venue / presenter / promoter / consumer side of the equation. The artists, everyone agrees, are easy to get on board. Its having and nurturing the venues to long range success that is the key.

Yesterday was a good working day. The Exhibit Hall was much more active and I met a lot of very interesting people (presenters, venues, promoters, radio and print media, etc.) and handed out a lot of CD’s, DVD’s and promo materials. My showcase in the afternoon went very well and my voice held up fine, though I was singing everything a half step lower than usual - no problem hitting the low notes. I feel even better today, so my slots today should be fun. I have a slot on the Exhibit Hall stage (kind of a formal open mic set up so it’s a 15 min. set) in the afternoon and another guerilla showcase slot tonight at 1:30 am.

Saw a lot of great music yesterday and last night. My friends, Scott and Michelle Dalziel from Iowa (The Dalziels) are awesome - great energy, harmonies, writing and vibe. They are the whole package for sure. Zane Williams from Nashville was impressive with some of his award winning songs and I liked the energy and stage presence of Ken Gaines from Houston. Dave Potts also has a great deal of charm and unassuming with coupled with some great lyrics and skillful delivery.

Its still a very overwhelming gathering and I’m enjoying it immensely. It would be an easy thing to get caught up in the sheer numbers of tremendously talented artists out there and get paranoid about all of the things you could be doing, should be doing, are too late to do, etc. But, it would be a great mistake. There is so much to do and absorb you have to take what you can carry and leave the rest for another trip. If you ever make this trip as an artist and expect to come away with X number of new gigs or promotion commitments you are missing the big picture and you will likely be disappointed. This is about the experience and the exposure.

I hope to have time for my last entry in this diary tomorrow morning, but we will be in a push to get on the road towards home. So it may get delayed until tomorrow evening or Monday. But, I’ve made it this far so I’ll finish it one way or the other. Until then . . .

First, thanks for all the good wishes and recommendations for cold and throat remedies. I think they are working and I hope that the voice will be up to my Showcase today at 4 pm. I took some great advice from a good friend in south Florida who responded to my diary posting yesterday. A shining star of last year’s Florida Folk Festival and a veteran of many of these Folk Alliance events (I’m sure everyone now knows who she is), she said get to bed at a reasonable time and get some sleep - it’ll all still be there tomorrow. She was right - I feel much better today!

The second day of the conference (really the first “official day”) was a getting acclimated day for most. You can see artists trying to find their “rhythm” in the common area on the second floor of the hotel in the area around what is called “Performance Alley.” This is a series of a dozen or more meeting rooms where the official showcases of the conference take place in the evening and where many seminars, workshops and meetings are scheduled during the day. The area is plastered, and I mean PLASTERED, with posters from artists promoting their showcases, albums, etc. Even though I felt I was a little late in getting some of my materials posted, I now see that I was kind of at the end of the front of the pack. With the enormous amount of material that has now been posted I doubt that anyone reads or takes note of any of it. A poster has to be pretty distinctive to catch anyone’s eye.

The first day in the Exhibit Hall was a little slow, but we’ve been told to expect the crowds on Friday and Saturday. I’m having a little trouble turning on my “sales” persona and reaching out to people as the pass by my booth. If they show interest in my materials then I’m right on it, but I probably need to get more proactive today to pull in those who are breezing by too quickly. I have a fold out display board on an easel behind my table with pictures, posters, showcase schedule, press quotes, etc. on it. On my table I have my Truths & Lies CD displayed along with the video of my Octagon Arts performance (opening for Michael Smith) and a promo CD of studio rough cuts from my new CD project to be released later this year. I’ve got two CD players ready to go with headphones qued up to songs I want folks to hear. I also have print materials (a “one sheet” with press quotes, etc. and contact information), a printout of my SonicBids press kit, postcards with my showcase schedule, a jar with individual bags of homemade chex mix (thanks Mom), business cards, etc. It looks pretty good!

There was a special reception for Folk DJ’s in the afternoon. I was lucky to get to be one of the sponsors for the reception so I got to put CD’s etc. on a table at the entrance for the DJ’s to pick up and was recognized as a sponsor during the program (a little sucking up never hurts). The reception was like “speed dating” - Hi, how are you, what is your station’s call sign, what type of folk music do you like to play, can I give / send you a CD, nice to meet you, NEXT!! I gave away a lot of CD’s (20 or so) but really spent time with a few DJ’s that I found interesting to talk to - probably not the “recommended” approach, but I enjoyed it more.

I saw some great writers and performances yesterday and ran into more old friends and acquaintances. I’ve finally met, face to face, many of my artist MySpace friends from all over the country - very cool!

Good news for the Leu Gardens series. I’ve been selectively passing out a little flyer I made up for the series to artists I think would be a good fit. I think that David LaMotte is going to commit to play the series in December this year, and there is sincere interest so far from GREAT artists like Johnsmith, Tom Kimmel, Chuck Brodsky, Small Potatoes (they’ve been there before), Dierdre McCalla, The Dalzeils and more!

There’s a pretty good Florida contingent here - so far I’ve bumped into Glorira Holloway, Cathy DeWitt, Michael Stock, Randy Wynne, David & Leni Engels and Rich Pietrzak. I know there’s more and I’ll see them over the next couple of days.

Well, time to get back at it! I’m rarin’ to go!

Doug

Doug Spears On the Road - Folk Alliance Blog Day 1

I’m going to give this a run and see if I can keep up with it. For the uninitiated the Folk Alliance Conference is a four day gathering of folk artists, venue owners, festival organizers, promoters, agents, record labels, radio stations, publications and service providers. There are workshops, panel discussions, meetings, receptions and an exhibit hall during the day and performances from late afternoon through the early morning hours each night in dozens of separate showcase rooms throughout the hotel, The Marriott Memphis Downtown. It is an opportunity for folk artists like me to get seen and heard by people who might want to bring my music to a different part of the country to their radio station, venue, festival, etc. And, its an opportunity to learn from the veterans of the road and the music circuit - both in actual personal discussions and by just watching what they do. The “biggies” are here, like Pete Seeger, Tom Paxton, Buffy St. Marie and more, as well as the current “hot hands,” like David Wilcox, Johnsmith, David LaMotte, et. al. In other words - it’s a big deal for the folk music community.

We got into Memphis yesterday at about noon. I thought that would be early since registration for the conference didn’t start until after 1 pm and the Exhibit Hall Load in didn’t start until 3 pm. The Conference officially opens Thursday (today). Well, I was quite wrong.

It immediately became apparent that many people had been here for a full day or so already. I had been advised to put up posters for my showcase slots in the approved areas - almost all of the space was already gone! However, I managed to put up a dozen or so posters in semi-good spots. And, I got my Exhibit Hall Table set up without much hassle.

Now, the bad thing has been that I’ve had a bad cold for the last three days, so I’ve been pounding vitamins, herbal remedies and commercial cold remedies by the truckload. My first Showcase slot was last night at 1 am. My voice held out Ok until my last song, “This Old House,” and then it went out in a big way. So I’m headed back to the health food stare this morning to get some stuff to help my throat before my next showcase on Friday afternoon.

So far the conference is somewhat overwhelming. Last night for the opening showcases there were masses of people moving through the hotel and stepping in and out of ongoing performances. I saw Rosalie Sorrells (briefly), Johnsmith, Eric Schmidt, met Jim Photoglo (of “Fishin’ in the Dark” fame), saw some old friends and met some new folks. The tough thing about this for me is to remember that I’m not here to be an observer - I’m here to work the crowd and make contacts. Its hard for me to stay on track and make sure to get people’s names and organization affiliation, give them info on me, maybe a CD, etc. I’ll work harder at that today when the Exhibit Hall opens and I’m at my booth.

Well, I’ve got to get going to the health food store. Gotta heal up this throat!! More later.

Doug

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