Ray Benson of Asleep At The Wheel Calls out Luke Bryan / Modern Country. “There’s No Originality”
The songwriter, singer, guitar player, and frontman for the legendary Western Swing and classic country band Asleep At The Wheel had some harsh things to say about today’s country music in a recent interview, and specifically about the reigning CMA and ACM Entertainer of the Year, Luke Bryan. Speaking to the Lowell Sun ahead of an appearance at the Bull Run Restaurant in Shirley, Massachusetts Sunday night (9-27), Ray Benson left no ambiguity when asked about what he thought about modern country.
“You can relate to picking up girls, drinking beer and hot pants. The thematic stuff is what bothers me,” Benson said by phone. “I don’t like Luke Bryan and those guys, because there’s no originality. Every song follows pretty much the same chord progression. That’s not a bad thing, in and of itself. Hank Williams used the same four chords, but there’s no melodic integrity and the words are just silly. You listen to Hank Williams, Merle Haggard, Patsy Cline or Willie Nelson. None sound like the other. It’s individuality at its best. Patsy Cline was a pop singer, but with country sensibilities.”
Ray Benson has long been a supporter of substance in country, and preserving the traditions of the music through his work with Asleep At The Wheel, and as an artist manager and producer behind-the-scenes. Recently Benson was announced as the new Master of Ceremonies for Dale Watson’s Ameripolitan Awards happening in Austin in February. Maybe some of Watson’s firebrand rhetoric has worn off on Ray lately.
“I try not to throw stones too hard, but I am very fortunate of having a legacy of music we’ve created that I can sit back and say I’ve done this with great pride and great success. No, I don’t own a house in the Bahamas and Telluride, but I make a living and have a great time doing it.”
But Ray Benson says today’s country music is not all bad.
“Let me qualify this by saying there’s great country music made today by lots of people, it’s just not getting on mainstream radio.”
Ray’s words come in a new wave of dissent originating from older artist who are getting tired of seeing a style of music they helped build into one of American music’s most popular genres getting trounced by today’s artists. Merle Haggard recently called modern country “Crap,” and “Screwing on a pickup tailgate,” and later said it was all “The same band, the same sound.“
Country Hall of Famer Emmylou Harris also recently said that modern country wasn’t “Washed in the blood.” And Don Henley, who recently released a classic country album of his own, said to Rolling Stone Country, “[There is] a lot of bad songwriting going on, really sloppy stuff. Not that country music is supposed to be an intellectual exercise, but it could be better than it is.”
September 28, 2015 @ 11:00 am
All these Metro-Bro guys have the same non-country sound and say the same lyrics. Even the arena rock solos they all like are so generic I honestly can’t tell what song it is until the start singing, maybe not even then. And not just the rock guitars, but the stupid EDM beats are also indistinguishable. Nothing is original, it’s just the same recycled computer generated mashup and cliche lyrics over and over again.
September 28, 2015 @ 12:17 pm
As a guitar player and a big rock fan myself, you’d think I’d enjoy all the rock-guitar influences. But they’re so generic. The tone, the effects, the scales they use. It’s like they use guitar solo clips from TGI Fridays commercials.
September 28, 2015 @ 5:48 pm
Totally nailed it (guitar player and musician myself).
September 30, 2015 @ 3:30 pm
Agreed! I’m a guitarist as well. I’ve been wondering what the hell happened to the blues in country music. Obviously, it’s a distinct genre, but its influence has been felt from Hank Williams Sr. to George Strait and to Chris Stapleton. But as far as the mainstream goes, it’s entirely gone. There’s nothing that could be construed as thoughtful or an indication of any sort of strife in the artist’s life beyond “will that girl hook up with me if I get her drunk enough?”
September 28, 2015 @ 11:48 am
Ray has always done his own thing. He has had an amazing career that anybody would be proud of. His group has never been the mainstream so of course this kind of talk plays well with his audience. I would like to point out that Hank, Willie, Patsy and Merle all started their careers in different decades (30’s, 40’s, 50’s and 60’s) so it would only make sense that they don’t sound so much alike. It would be like saying someone from the 80’s doesn’t sound like the 90’s or the 2000’s or 2015. One could make the argument that Luke Bryan is actually original and others are copying his bro country, teeny bopper ways. Regardless, Ray didn’t invent western swing but for those who like it, no one these days does it better (honorably mention: George Strait)
September 28, 2015 @ 4:20 pm
You forgot the 70s!
September 28, 2015 @ 10:18 pm
I didn’t forget them, it’s just that it didn’t make sense mathematically to mention them.
September 28, 2015 @ 11:51 am
A rootsy artist doesn’t like modern country? SHOCKING!!!!!
September 28, 2015 @ 1:03 pm
Ray is a little bit more than just a “rootsy artist”. Besides being the front man for Asleep at the Wheel, he’s the host of the Texas Music Series TV program which hosts all sorts of Texas artists, and he’s also produced a number of albums for other artists. Notably, he produced most of Aaron Watson’s records until this last one. So besides being a roots artist, you could easily make the case that he’s an ‘elder statesman’ and representative of Texas roots/country music more generally.
September 28, 2015 @ 1:58 pm
An ‘elder statesman’ and representative of Texas roots/country music doesn’t like modern country? SHOCKING!!!!
You missed the point James- this is a tired, beaten up, theme. The old guard of country music doesn’t like modern country????? Zzzzzzz… Zzzzzz…. Zzzzzz….
September 28, 2015 @ 2:08 pm
Not quite. I would say you missed the point.
Ray Benson is still quite involved in modern music, as compared to other older artists who occupy a place more outside of today’s music.
September 28, 2015 @ 2:45 pm
“_________________ says country music isn’t what it used to be”
Familiar formula?
This worn out war on pop country isn’t any less worn out because you say Ray Benson holds some ‘modern music’ credential.
When Jason Aldean or FGL comes out and says this, maybe it’ll be interesting. Until then… Zzzzz… Zzzzzz…. Zzzzz…
September 28, 2015 @ 3:14 pm
“_________________ says country music isn”™t what it used to be”
Familiar formula?
After you wake up, you might want to read Ray’s words again. His main complaint about the pop country he hears is that it lacks originality, not that “it isn’t what it used to be.”
September 28, 2015 @ 3:26 pm
You’re right- modern country lacking originality is a brand new argument.
September 28, 2015 @ 3:41 pm
Way to change the subject.
September 28, 2015 @ 4:00 pm
The point is- Pop country music is a villain made of straw. Attacking it is a tired, tired, TIRED effort.
Speaking of tired efforts… I made my point, pick it apart as you will.
September 30, 2015 @ 6:26 am
Kevin, we get it…. you like being a sheep and you like to defend the life of being a sheep. There is a big beautiful world outside your pen.
September 30, 2015 @ 2:32 pm
…and the daisy chain gets bigger…
September 28, 2015 @ 5:49 pm
Of course the old guard doesn’t like modern country. Modern country is, almost exclusively, garbage.
September 28, 2015 @ 7:37 pm
Look, most every time an artist comes out and has something critical to say about modern country, I’m probably going to report on it. You might not find it particularly interesting or important, but many others do. The name of the website is “savingcountrymusic.com,” so you can’t find that particularly surprising. I think it is important that artists speak out.
September 30, 2015 @ 11:21 pm
BTW I wonder how many sissy YouTubers are gonna call to oust Ray Benson from Texas Music Series. Texas Music, probably the most Outlaw genre in Country Music they ain’t gonna oust him worth a shit.
September 28, 2015 @ 8:21 pm
He said he loves great and original modern country:
But Ray Benson says today”™s country music is not all bad.
“Let me qualify this by saying there”™s great country music made today by lots of people, it”™s just not getting on mainstream radio.”
September 28, 2015 @ 12:57 pm
Noooo….not Luke Bryan you don’t say…Wow! Next Please!
September 28, 2015 @ 3:22 pm
Next please indeed
September 28, 2015 @ 1:02 pm
I’m particularly interested in what he said about Patsy Cline. “A pop singer with country sensibilities”.
Finally someone who says this.
I LOVE Patsy’s music, but I consider it pretty much pop. Just like Patti Page. VERY GOOD pop with a hint of country, but still pop.
Confronted with Kitty Wells, Jean Shepard and Loretta Lynn, she is a popstar.
September 29, 2015 @ 9:41 pm
I know it’s heresy, but I am not a huge fan of Patsy Cline. I AM a huge fan of classic country. She has one or two good songs, but I find her voice grating after a while, as it always stays the same. She’s the classic country equivalent of Monotone Anne Murray.
Quite honestly, I find that the legend of Patsy Cline supercedes her actual music. I find her overrated, and while she may have been a pioneer, much better, more capable female artists took up the torch from her in the years that followed. Her death was tragic, to be sure, and it’s a shame we didn’t hear more from her. Musically, however, I find her no get shakes. Your mileage may vary.
September 28, 2015 @ 1:27 pm
The downside to older artists or “indie” artists saying these things though is that the people who support Bryan, FGL, Aldean, etc. will just view it as sour grapes and not give it much thought.
As much as I agree with what Benson, Haggard and Harris all have to say….it really will not matter until a established artist takes a stand and backs up his words with actions and material. We have heard similar comments from artists like Jake Owen and Zac Brown and all they have done is sell out even further than they ever had previously. It’s going to take a group of artists who take a stand and take the industry to task while also releasing material that represents the writing, production, etc. sound they want to industry to move in.
Sadly I don’t see that happening. The best shot traditionalist Country fans have is the big corporations become bored with Country music and abandon the genre.
September 28, 2015 @ 1:37 pm
Trigger, on a not really related note…I don’t really see much (if any) bluegrass coverage or reviews on your site. Any chance or does it just not fit in with your format?
September 28, 2015 @ 1:53 pm
I will and have covered bluegrass in the past, and am not opposed to covering it in the future. The thing is, I’m only one person and unfortunately can’t cover everything. I’m already working 14 to 15-hour days. What’s good about bluegrass is there’s many online outlets for it, as opposed to Texas country or underground country, for example. I try to cover what other people are not covering, or say what nobody else can or will say in the country realm. Bluegrass enjoys such great support from all sectors, I’ll pick an album here or there and cover the important stories, but I just don’t have the resources for day to day coverage. Maybe in the future. It’s sort of like rockabilly. You can have an entire site dedicated to it, and there’s many of them. I’m always trying to find the stuff that’s cool, and that nobody else is talking about.
September 28, 2015 @ 2:09 pm
Trigger, what do you think about the idea of getting guest writers to post on a regular basis, in order to take some of the load off your own shoulders? Given the large and fast increasing size of the SCM audience, there are quite a few obscure bloggers who could use the SCM coat tails…
September 28, 2015 @ 7:41 pm
Saving Country Music is completely open to contributors, and has featured contributors in the past. However, a level of quality has to be maintained, and sometimes trying to wrangle a gaggle of writers, especially when you don’t have the funds to pay them, can be just as much work as writing the articles yourself.
September 28, 2015 @ 10:48 pm
The size of the SCM audience means that you do not have to pay them. They will want to post articles here just to advertise their own websites on a large platform.
September 28, 2015 @ 11:25 pm
Well it sounds like you have it all figured out Eric.
I appreciate the suggestion, but I feel everyone should be compensated for their efforts. If someone wants to write for Saving Country Music for the exposure, then the door is wide open. But I am not going to go out in the market trying to convince people why they should write for me for free.
Saving Country Music is not out for world domination. Posting more articles doesn’t necessarily serve anyone’s better interests.
September 28, 2015 @ 11:40 pm
No need to write more articles. Bringing in other people would give you more time to relax or support yourself through side jobs.
On the other hand, I definitely understand the moral problems with not compensating the writers. The ultimate solution might be to run ads more expansively, rather than curb them as some other commenters have been recently suggesting.
September 28, 2015 @ 2:12 pm
Right on. I think I’d die laughing hearing what Joe Mullins and the Radio Ramblers thinks about Luke Bryan, etc. Although, they’re probably too nice to say it. Anyway, this site is fine…I was just wondering.
September 29, 2015 @ 12:25 pm
You know Joe Mullins covered a Bob Wills song last year. And hi from IBMA.
September 28, 2015 @ 2:06 pm
“The downside to older artists or “indie” artists saying these things though is that the people who support Bryan, FGL, Aldean, etc. will just view it as sour grapes and not give it much thought.”
Earlier today, my 27 year old son and myself were doing a few errands in his car. On his iPod he has a mix of songs which include Toto , The Doobies , Yes , Michael McDonald’s solo stuff , Donald Fagen and Steely Dan, Hall and Oates .. etc.. AND George Jones . He totally GETS IT when it comes to the Artistry , the creativity , the musicality and the sheer heart of all these acts and cannot handle ” modern ” pop or country whatsoever . Did I mention he is 27 years old ? Not 57 ….27 …and he GETS IT . I have always suspected that there are many, many more young listeners than we might think who would ‘get it ‘ given the kind of new material that’s available but not playlisted anywhere on commercial radio . I think the material and the powers that be have been watered down far below the lowest common denominator , if that’s even possible and the backlash in terms of fans and the financial impact will ultimately catch up , as we see in recent music biz articles. You’ve got to maintain a degree of integrity , whatever your business . You would hope that anyone no matter what his business , would want to do that just to preserve their own sense of self-worth if not a company’s good name ( Volkswagen ).
September 28, 2015 @ 2:15 pm
It was the young (especially male) audience that drove the rise of bro-country because they thought that melodic and emotionally deep songs were “wussy”. Taylor Swift, Lady Antebellum, and Rascal Flatts were too country for these guys. Unfortunately, your son (and the rest of us melodic music and real country fans in that age range) are exceptions, not the norm.
September 28, 2015 @ 4:14 pm
My point is that I believe there are far more young people who would appreciate NOT being pandered to with such awful LCD music than the media seems to want or cares to acknowledge . Yes ..its business ..I understand . But with all of the support and accolades people like Isbell , Sturgell, Ortega , Musgraves , and countless others are receiving , it should be apparent that these artist have at least as significant a following ( fan base ) as many of the radio-acts who are not getting the attention labels had hoped they might . That is to say, there is most certainly room on commercial radio for many more acts of integrity than the industry seems to think and there would be far fewer people complaining about the inferior music they are currently subjected to than the industry might think . Hell …even bro-fans have to grow up sometime and this R and B influenced crap certainly isn’t allowing them to do that .
September 28, 2015 @ 6:23 pm
I like Rascal Flatts, but on the average, they and Taylor Swift were no where near deep and were in danger of turning country music into 9th grade elevator music for impressionable teenage girls.
September 28, 2015 @ 9:32 pm
Well, they were way more emotionally deep than what came after them. Their depth level was far closer to classic country than to bro-country or metro-bro.
The rise of bro-country represented perhaps the single sharpest shift away from emotional depth and melody in the history of commercial country music.
September 28, 2015 @ 9:34 pm
Not arguing that. But a two inch puddle is not much deeper than an one inch puddle.
September 28, 2015 @ 11:31 pm
As I said, Taylor Swift and Rascal Flatts were much closer to classic country in terms of depth than to bro-country or metro-bro. If bro-country is 1 inch deep and classic country was 10 inches deep, then Taylor and RF (in their pre-2012 iterations) were 8 inches deep.
September 29, 2015 @ 9:48 am
I will be generous and grant an allotment of 4 inches with occasional exceptions for a few songs. But seriously, a teenage girl’s drama or fantasy is no deeper or more concrete than a drunk college student’s girl chasing.
September 29, 2015 @ 8:50 pm
We can disagree on the depth of the lyrical themes, but I hope you would agree that the music in Taylor’s first album was far closer to classic country than to bro-country.
September 28, 2015 @ 2:10 pm
As I have said elsewhere, that”™s an interesting quote from Ray Benson ”” interesting in the sense that he can”™t really be dismissed as a bitter old fart, because Asleep at the Wheel never went for mainstream appeal to begin with. I”™m sure the old worn out “evolution of the music” card will be played yet again in response to his remarks, but that doesn”™t make him any less right.
September 28, 2015 @ 2:39 pm
We get it. The older generation of country music doesn’t like the current music that is being played on country radio, specifically Luke Bryan. How many more of these articles do you think we will get over the next six months? I assume someone still needs to ask Don Williams, Charley Pride, or Kris Kristofferson on their thoughts on the current state of country music.
September 28, 2015 @ 3:22 pm
Agreed. Yet another case of a wannabe music “journalist” that can’t think of any real questions to ask an aging entertainer. Asking them about a radio format you know they don’t listen to is not interesting and it’s certainly not news. These articles actually hurt people like Merle Haggard, Emmylou Harris and Ray Benson more than they help them by making them look like bitter old farts. The older generation has been bellyaching about how they were better than the younger generation forever. Who cares what they think? Enough of the negative nonsense about what people don’t like and more about what’s new and worthwhile. That might be tough to do as the music released these last few months has been abysmal (I haven’t gotten excited over anything I’ve heard in the second half of 2015).
September 28, 2015 @ 3:29 pm
I understand your point , Jim . But the option to speaking up is to roll over and pretend that all is fine in musicland and that things are NOT , in fact , getting worse by the day when it comes to the lack of creativity , artistry , direction and respect for the songwriters , musicians , artists and labels who really DO care about things like integrity ,the value of traditions and the markets they hope to engage.
September 28, 2015 @ 3:49 pm
Sadly it’s the clickbait age we live in. An article about Ray Benson talking about a new project he is working on or a new band or artist he is producing isnt going to catch the eye of many people outside of people who know who Ray Benson is. Now…..add in the mention of Luke Bryan and you pull in a ton more people. It’s a problem with more and more journalists in both print and digital media.
Not that I can blame Trigger or any other people who engage in it….look at how many comments this and the Emmylou Harris thread has in comparison to the Erik Strickland thread.
September 28, 2015 @ 7:54 pm
The job of the writer for the Lowell Sun was to promote Asleep at the Wheel’s upcoming gig. They asked a question that created a national buzz, and promoted the gig. One of the reasons I very rarely interview artists is because I don’t want to be their patsy. It’s not my job to promote anything. If I happen to promote an artist inadvertently, that’s fine. But that’s not my job.
September 28, 2015 @ 7:50 pm
Jim,
I’m glad Ray was asked the question, and I’m glad he answered it as he did. But it is interesting that if you go to the article that the quote was pulled from. That was really the only question Ray Benson was asked. I do think that’s fairly lazy journalism, but I also think it is yet another sign that people are frustrated and angry out there about what has happened to country music, and are looking for answers. Criticism for country is such a big narrative right now because that’s the state we’re in. I think there’s probably more people who are unhappy about the state of country than there is happy at the moment.
I also agree with you about finding difficulty trying to be positive, because there just hasn’t been that many great projects in 2015. It’s been a terribly down year for music in my opinion, by volume. I’m listening to twice as many albums, and writing half as many positive reviews.
September 28, 2015 @ 4:26 pm
Sometimes I wonder if George Strait has ever said anything about the current state of country music, I’m not sure if it’d be in his best interest to do it though.
September 28, 2015 @ 4:40 pm
He sang “Murder on Music Row.” Other than that he pretty much keeps his mouth shut unless he’s singing.
September 30, 2015 @ 6:16 am
Nobody has written it down for him to say yet. Just like his songs. Great ear for a hit but not much in way of original thought.
September 28, 2015 @ 7:45 pm
Look, if I had waited a week to post this story, the subject of me posting it would never have come up. It is called the news cycle, and I can tell Ray Benson and Emmylou Harris that they need to coordinate their critical comments better some my commenters won’t bitch. Sometimes six month or longer passes without one of these stories. Sometimes country music takes such a turn that there’s one every other day. A few months ago, I was reporting on a death every other day. It wasn’t because I made a conscious decision to report on so many deaths, it was because so many people were dying. I don;t control the news, I just report it.
September 28, 2015 @ 8:55 pm
“How many more of these articles do you think we will get over the next six months?”
How many more awful bro-country and metro-bro generic pure pop songs that use the same five songwriters and copy the same awful lyrics and music over and over do you think we’ll get in the next six months? This war was never about old vs. young and many young artists have spoken and written songs about it. It’s good music vs. bad and pop country vs. pure pop.
October 28, 2015 @ 11:14 am
Well if you get it, then stop playing the current crisp that is on mainstream country radio and get some good stuff on the airwaves. Problem solved.
September 28, 2015 @ 3:30 pm
I”™m already working 14 to 15-hour days. *uck that!
September 28, 2015 @ 6:01 pm
I think the point is that Luke Bryan, FGL, Sam Hunt, Thomas Rhett, whoever SHOULD be upset if a legend calls you out. Seriously, if Eddy Van Halen says that you’re a shitty guitar player, you’re a shitty guitar player. If Jesus says you’re a shitty Christian, You’re a shitty Christian. If Dolly says your boobs are too big, Your boobs are too big and if Ray Benson calls your music shitty, it’s shitty. Learn to accept expert advice!
September 29, 2015 @ 9:34 pm
Agreed on all counts except Eddie Van Halen. To quote a friend of mine, he’s “an amazing guitar player with shitty taste in music”. I agree.
September 28, 2015 @ 6:17 pm
I know that there is usually a point in every generation where music enjoyed by younger people is just noise but i didn’t expect it to happen while I was in my 30’s.
September 28, 2015 @ 8:28 pm
I agree completely. I actually have a pretty wide taste when it comes to music, but if I’m in the mood for country music, I want country music, not pop or rock or rap trying to pass itself off as country.
September 28, 2015 @ 8:49 pm
I saw a Jason Eady interview on YouTube recently where he is asked about today’s “country music”.Jason says there has always been progressive artists,but when you remove traditional music from the airwaves it takes away the anchor & without the anchor to keep it grounded the genre it’s self is adrift.I think that’s a pretty good way to describe country music nowadays.
September 29, 2015 @ 6:03 pm
THIS, exactly. Seems most everything is skewing so young now, it’s ridiculous. I resent having to feel old when I’m not yet!
September 28, 2015 @ 6:19 pm
What a surprise!!! Ray Benson has taste in music!!!!
September 28, 2015 @ 6:38 pm
Ok so to me this really isn’t complicated. What is on ‘Country Radio’, for the most part, is not country music. All these guys should be bitching more at the establishment than the artist. As Ray correctly points out, there is a lot of good country music out here…. You just gotta know where to find it. As stated many times before, I can’t blame guys like LB taking easy money from folks. It just amazes me how many people like it. Until people stop buying it, nothing changes.
September 28, 2015 @ 7:10 pm
Ray Benson is too cool. Just saying.
September 28, 2015 @ 8:14 pm
Josh Turner is still on the country train:
“I think there”™s too much gratuitous [music] out there right now. That”™s what gets old to me,” Turner tells The Boot. “I”™ve always tried to make my music positive, but life is not always positive, so I”™ve always just tried to write and record songs about real life. There”™s some things I refuse to sing about, but overall, when I make a record, I want people to walk away from that record feeling better about life and about themselves than they did before they heard the record.”
September 29, 2015 @ 9:54 am
And that is why Josh Turner is my favorite singer. He has some heartbreaking songs (“Pallbearer” on his last album goes very dark), but I always leave his albums happy and refreshed. It is rather ironic that in an era of feel good songs, that the current king of joyful country music is not on the number one throne.
He would have been a superstar in the 90’s. Josh Turner might have been the country singer most harmed by the rise of bro-country.
September 28, 2015 @ 8:43 pm
First of all, let’s make a distinction between country music and country radio. They are not the same.
I’m a fan of country music. And rock music. And pop music. Lot’s of different stuff. Mostly just a fan of good music. Haven’t actively listened to the radio in, oh, maybe three years now. It’s all garbage. My 15 year old daughter stopped listening to the radio as well. She was a fan of country radio until about 18 months ago. So, yeah, even the young ones are getting tired of this BS.
You would be just as likely to catch me listening to Iron Maiden as George Strait. But I’m also listening to new stuff. Artists you’ve probably never heard of. Good stuff. And just so you know, rock isn’t dead. It’s just not played on the radio, much like country.
As it relates to another article here about Cumulus, country radio needs to implode. The sooner the better. And not just because it’s not country. Because the music is horrible, regardless of genre.
September 28, 2015 @ 9:37 pm
“And just so you know, rock isn”™t dead. It”™s just not played on the radio, much like country.”
Same with jazz and classical.
September 28, 2015 @ 10:31 pm
I’m getting a kick out of these sponsored ads.
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September 28, 2015 @ 11:21 pm
Look, I think it was Lincoln who said, “When shit doesn’t make money, shit goes away.”
We are currently working on the ads on the site, and testing different things. The ultimate goal is to make the ads LESS intrusive, and MORE topical to the site. In the end this may be like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic, but I’m trying to do what I can to make the site survive. It may take some time to get there, and I appreciate everyone’s patience in this matter.
Thank you.
September 29, 2015 @ 7:50 am
I don’t mind the Asian dating stuff, or the homeowners mortgage this and thats, but I DO mind Luke Bryan, and as long as that ad goes away you can put any other ad you want on here.
September 29, 2015 @ 8:30 am
I don’t mind the ads. I need to remember to use the Amazon link next time I use Amazon. 4 of the last 5 CDs I bought were from the Local Record Shop, though. And 1 was from Best Buy, because I had a gift card.
You get a lot of musicians here. What about adding links to Musician’s Friend, American Musical, Zzounds, Sam Ash, Sweetwater Sound, etc? I know at least a couple of them have Affiliate Programs.
September 29, 2015 @ 8:58 am
I’m actually working on a new affiliate program that will hopefully be a lot more appealing to folks. Like I said, that whole side of the site is currently under construction and there’s some big things going on. Stay tuned.
September 29, 2015 @ 8:42 am
Ray Benson is right about modern country and Luke Bryan. I saw Ray and Asleep at the Wheel in 1995 at Lake Tahoe and it was great!