Creepier than Halloween. . .

. . . and actually quite tragic.

from This Week In Texas
2009-02-04 / Local History
by Bartee Haile

". . . Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa in the dead of winter were a sub-zero ice box that took an awful toll on man and machine. On any given night, half of the stage talent and support staff were sick - "Goose" Bunch's feet actually froze! - and the tour bus gave up the ghost in the middle of nowhere.

By the time the road show reached Clear Lake, Iowa, on Feb. 3, Holly had had it with all-night rides on the latest mass transit - a converted school bus with a broken heater. He chartered a private airplane to fly him and two passengers to Fargo, N.D.

Ritchie Valens won one seat on a coin flip with Tommy Allsup, and Buddy assigned the other to his Panhandle pal. But soft-hearted Waylon gave his spot on the warm plane to Richardson, who had come down with the flu.

"You're not going with me tonight, huh?" Holly joked at Jennings' expense. "Did you chicken out?" Waylon explained fear had nothing to do with it, that he was just doing the Big Bopper a favor.

"Well," Buddy said in obvious jest, "I hope your damned bus freezes up again." Waylon answered in kind, "I hope your old plane crashes."

And that was what it did less than 10 minutes after take-off, killing all on-board.

"I just wanted to go home," Jennings recalled 37 years later, "but they wouldn't stop the tour." The grief-stricken guitarist had to wait until he collected his pay after the final performance to return to Lubbock.

Waylon Jennings made the most of the 43 years that an act of kindness on a cold Iowa night bought him. At his death in 2002, he was a full-fledged legend in his own right with more than 60 albums and 16 No. 1 country-music hits.

Buddy would have been proud. . . "




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There's no business. . .

. . . like Show Business (that's TWO words you know) . . .

There are so many folks out there so ready, willing and able to 'help' the struggling artist that it boggles the mind. The latest one I've encountered led me merrily around the mulberry bush about being featured on their syndicated radio show in August. Many emails (and mp3 transfers) later, turns out they couldn't fit me in. But September was right around the corner. Several emails regarding September have transpired when finally this week, I am informed that in order to be featured, I must purchase 30-seconds of commercial time for $300, at the end of my feature. Unfortunately, after consulting with my accountant and business manager (this in reality, took very little time since I hold both positions personally), it was determined that $300. was not in the budget. When informing this firm of my decision on the newly-revealed $300 commercial requirement, which was never mentioned in my correspondence with this 'helpful' group which began on July 31st, this is what I got in response:

"I don't know why you are surprised. A syndicated radio show has the following cost:
* studio time
* engineer
* editor
* host (for us- 2 for each format)
* scriptwriter
* Booker
And that is just to do the show, not the online magazine, the charts, etc. So, are they suppose to work for free?

Show Business is two words. [We have] been around for seven years, helping Indie artist get more exposure. Everyone connected has a track record of working with some of the best in the industry. That is why it has been successful because everyone is good at their careers and a quality product is produced. But just like any aspect in the media ----TV, magazine, newspapers, radio --- commercials and advertising keep them running.

[We try] to keep the cost down for the Indie artists and everyone knows that $300. for a commercial that airs that length of time on a syndicated radio show is extremely reasonable. [We] also know that in this day and age the economy is hard and some Indie artist do not have it. We understand budget restrictions.

Just out of curiosity, why do you think people should work for free? I have never understood that concept.

Best of luck to you and your music."

. . . and after the aforementioned consultation with my 'staff', we have determined that (after meticulous analysis of incoming vs outgoing) my books prove that I, for one, do indeed
WORK FOR FREE!





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