The Midland Authenticity Dilemma
Look, I am a staunch proponent of the idea that anyone, anywhere can make good country music, and we all owe it to the individual artists to judge the music on its own merit first before ever considering what type of back story or port of origin the artist happens to hail from. Saving Country Music commonly feature artists from the northern regions of the United States, from Canada, Australia, the British Isles, Europe. SCM featured a country artist from Iran recently. Some artists are from rich families, some from poor. Some paid dues, others much less. Some are black, Hispanic, multi-racial, non gender specific, whatever. Ultimately you have to boil everything back down to the music and ask yourself, “Is it good?”
And it’s under this philosophy that I landed on the conclusion that when it comes to the music of Midland, the answer is, “Yes, it’s good.” It’s not great, but graded against its peers in the mainstream and housed on major labels, Midland is a really solid, throwback-sounding country band that makes you hopeful for the future of the genre and radio.
But as time has gone on, I find myself disliking these dudes more and more because I can’t beat back the obvious reality that we’re being misled about these guys. The band’s publicists want us to believe Midland is a collective of road wearied Texas country lifers who are finally getting their big break and deserve to be elevated in stature due to their raging authenticity and cowboy-esque ruggedness, and they have the photos to prove it. But unfortunately, this is just not true.
Instead Midland is a machination of the big Music Row industrial complex, no different than most major label artists, is signed to Scott Borcetta’s Big Machine Records (Taylor Swift, Florida Georgia Line, et al), with Shane McAnally—the Max Martin of country music (Sam Hunt, Old Dominion, et al)—writing the songs, producing the music, and pulling the strings behind-the-scenes. It’s all a facade, and the fact that they keep trying to ram Midland’s “authenticity” down our throats makes me never want to hear their music again.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: The only two artists out there that can truly boast 100% authenticity behind their music are James Hand and Spencer Cornett, and Big Machine isn’t rushing to sign either of those dudes. Authenticity arguments can be as tiring as the “what is country?” arguments. But there are layers of authenticity that can either endear the artist to the audience, or perhaps hold them back.
Luke Combs’ big breakout single “Hurricane” is godawful. But I think he’s probably a pretty authentic guy. He’s not trying to present himself as anything but what he is, which is a good ol’ American boy singing some country tunes. There are some other folks that are more or less authentic in the mainstream. But what is making Midland so unappetizing is the subterfuge behind their story of authenticity, and how it just screams of marketing.
A recent Taste of Country feature on the band includes the passage, “The group went through some pretty hard financial times before they finally hooked up with a big-time manager and got a record deal. They also learned ‘how to avoid trouble and how to get out of trouble,’ they say. Asked to cite an example of trouble, they laughingly say, ‘Getting arrested … helping to get your bandmate out of a choke hold by a six foot six … the guy that was the caretaker of the worst rehearsal space, it smelled just like urine, beer cans and garbage.'”
Sounds pretty authentic, doesn’t it? Clearly the marketeers are trying to marry the hardscrabble experiences found in the band’s lyrics (written by Shane McAnally) to the band’s back story. And this is just one of dozens of examples in the media.
The specifics are not the issue. We can assume they’re true to some extent. It’s how they’ve been embellished and presented along with the parade of promotional photos that seem aggrandizing. For those that don’t know Midland’s back story, the band claims to be from Dripping Springs, TX, via California, via Jackson Hole, Wyoming. They’re old buddies who played music in various other projects and ended up forming a band together when attending the wedding of bass player Cameron Duddy in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
Now that should be the first red flag on how authentic and road-weary Midland really is. Anybody who knows Jackson Hole, Wyoming—anyone who’s actually been there—knows this is a super posh, and extremely expensive piece of the American West. It’s where Dick Cheney lives. And to get married there? One can only imagine the bill. You have to be a member of the elite class to get married in Jackson Hole, WY folks, trust me.
But of course Jackson Hole sounds like this cowboy-esque, magical Western American Rocky Mountain landscape, and it is. It’s just one you and I could barely afford to stay a weekend in, let alone fly the whole family up to for an exchange of nuptials.
Remembering the part of the Midland back story where this wedding is where the band formed, I was trying to verify the date and details and such when I happened onto an article in People Magazine covering the wedding. That’s right, the wedding where Midland was formed? It was covered by People Magazine in September of 2013. Without delving into the back story of either of the other two members of the band, the fact that Cameron Duddy’s wedding, and the place where Midland was formed, was covered by People Magazine, should tell you just how bogus the idea is that Midland is a band of hard luck, hardscrabble characters. Cameron Duddy was a product of the ultra-rich and power elite even before Midland was formed.
“The groom, 27, and his bride, 31, opted for a cowboy chic theme for the nuptials, which were held at the sprawling Jackson Hole ranch owned by Duddy’s step-grandmother, actress Connie Stevens,” says the People Magazine article. “Duddy, who recently won an MTV Video Music Award for directing Bruno Mars’ “Locked Out of Heaven,” is the son of cinematographer Christopher Duddy and Renee Axotis. His father wed Stevens’ daughter, actress Joely Fisher, in 1996.”
Cameron Duddy’s winning MTV Music Awards for directing Bruno Mars videos in 2013? I thought he was supposed to be slagging it out in honky tonks at that time? That’s what we’re being told at least. He’s also directed videos for Fifth Harmony and Jennifer Lopez. And we haven’t even gotten to the part about the band’s frontman, Mark Wystrach, and his Soap Opera/underwear modeling career. But let’s stick to locations for a moment.
A lot has been made about how Midland is from Dripping Springs, TX. A passage from a recent Rolling Stone feature on the band states, “Later, the pair moved to the small town of Dripping Springs, about 30 minutes away [from Austin], to board their four horses. It’s in this town of less than 2,000 where Duddy and Wystrach relocated in 2014. In that wide-open country, they built a rehearsal space and started writing around the sound that they heard on the Jackson Hole porch, touring behind these new songs at any Texas honky-tonk that would have them.”
Just like Jackson Hole is portrayed, you would think Dripping Springs is some backwater with cowboys riding their horses down a crumbling Main Street. In reality, Dripping Springs is one of the most expensive white flight suburbs in the entire state of Texas. And nothing about it is “wide open country.” Once again, if you had been there, you would know. It’s 2,000 residents is a technicality due to the tiny city limits. Maybe Midland lived in a shack, but nobody relocates to Dripping Springs due to hardship. People leave it because it’s become so expensive since rich, California transplants like Midland keep moving there. If you’re familiar with the Nashville region, this would be the equivalent of claiming someone grew up on the mean streets of Franklin.
And anybody who actually knows about living in the country, knows that one of the most expensive things that one can own is a horse, unless it’s a rescue animal. And Midland had four of them when they moved to Dripping Springs.
One of the things that has really tweaked off a lot of folks in Texas who’ve been following this Midland narrative is the idea that, as the Rolling Stone article says, the band played “at any Texas honky-tonk that would have them” when virtually nobody in the Central Texas country scene and beyond can recall ever seeing Midland on a bill or a calendar. The Rolling Stone article also mentions, “Sharon Burke, owner of Poodies Hilltop Roadhouse in Austin, hired Midland in 2015 for a month-long residency in the sub-prime slot of Tuesday afternoons.”
That means they played four shows total at Poodies. Let’s not undersell their public appearances either, because Midland did play here and there during their time in the Austin area. It’s just the incredible embellishment of the narrative that gets you looking sideways at this entire project.
And what of the Midland frontman, Mark Wystrach? Yes, he was a male model for underwear among other things, and appeared on the NBC Soap Opera Passions, as well as other various TV shows. That doesn’t mean you’re immediately rolling in the dough by any stretch, or that you can’t play country music. But it also means you don’t have the ability to sell people on this idea of being destitute and doing all of these hard-wrought things that lend to the mystique Big Machine Records is trying to assign to this band, all while the other side of country media like Whiskey Riff is running dedicated articles of Wystrach glossies from his acting days, selling him as the hunkiest guy in country music.
It’s all marketing. It’s all image and “lifestyle branding.” Cameron Duddy and Mark Wystrach leveraged their high-level contacts in the entertainment business to launch a band. I can’t wait until the Midland-branded silver-plated, fake turquoise necklaces make it to Wal-Mart’s Panama Jack display. The lead guitar player, Jess Carson, who is originally from Oregon and moved to Austin, seems to be the only one with some true musical skins on the wall. But even his back story is foggy at best.
And I keep thinking back to the instance of another Big Machine Records outfit, Maddie & Tae, and how they admitted they were told to say things from a media trainer surrounding their “Girl In A Country Song” moment, and the drama it caused with fellow label mates, Florida Georgia Line. “We had a media trainer tell us to say we were kidding’ because they were worried people would be mad at us,” the girls said. “I don’t think anyone thought it would take off like it did but we didn’t say anything everyone else wasn’t thinking.”
Ultimately, what should all of this say about Midland’s music? It should say nothing. You should be able to erase everything I just said and simply worry about the music. But you can’t help but focus on how you’re being sold one thing, and seeing another with these guys when all you hear about is their authenticity. It precedes the music, because ultimately Midland’s music is secondary to selling them to the public as product. Midland’s big single “Drinkin’ Problem” was written by Shane McAnally and Josh Osborne, and produced by McAnally. Really, that’s all you need to know.
There are hundreds of artists in Texas and beyond who do play every honky tonk that will have them, struggle to get by, are burdened by hardship, but do the best they can with a quarter of the connections, opportunities, and resources Midland was bestowed through industry and familial contacts, and they do it all without trying to use their sob story as a chip on their shoulder because they know it’s a privilege to play music. Gram Parsons was a rich kid too. But he never tried to sell anyone on the idea that he was anything but himself. Every artist struggles. Every human struggles, especially in young adulthood when money is tight.
Look at Sam Outlaw, who has been out there just as long as Midland, and is still fighting for recognition. He’s from Southern California, and worked in an advertising agency before starting a country career. Compared to the story of Midland, it sounds like he has no authenticity. But Sam Outlaw is at least honest. And that’s what makes him more authentic than most in the mainstream, including Midland.
May 11, 2017 @ 7:58 am
TAKE THOSE DUMBASS BLANKETS OFF!
May 11, 2017 @ 8:20 am
It’s not their fault – it just always happens to be really cold when its time to have their picture made
November 21, 2018 @ 4:14 pm
I booked and managed James Hand on and off from 2002 to 2017 and have lived in Austin since 1961. I know every country club in the central Texas area and live a few miles from Dripping Springs. I have booked bands in virtually every country bar in central Texas. I pay attention to where all the bands play in Austin and what bands play at each club. I am also a huge country music fan.
Until the 2018 CMA awards a few days ago, I had never heard of Midland. Their backstory and bio is just BS.
November 13, 2019 @ 7:34 pm
Exactly people in Austin and Dripping know this band is Fake and not from here!
June 18, 2020 @ 2:34 pm
Hugh, the Family of James Hand would like to get his White Boots with the Flames and the couple outfits of his you have. Please write me.
hillgrassbluebilly.records@gmail.com
May 11, 2017 @ 8:02 am
Sounds like they’re being painted as more hardcore than they are, but regardless of how they have lived and who wrote “Drinkin’ Problem” it’s a good song, and the band is fairly country
May 11, 2017 @ 9:05 am
The problem with credibility is that when people realize you have none, you could release the best music you could ever make and still have no one listening. This is because we have a short attention span so when you (the artist) have a faulty premise, everything you do afterwards is perceived as calculated even when its not.
October 22, 2017 @ 8:33 am
Love the them I’ve got there CD . One hell of a group like the sound and there look. this is what you call good ass country music. Some people just hate to see awesome groups come along .
May 11, 2017 @ 8:04 am
I look at that photo and I think “that’s what Californians think Texans look like.”
I’ll pass on these jokers.
May 11, 2017 @ 5:20 pm
If you’re judging musicians based on what your eyes see rather than what your ears hear you’re doing music wrong.
May 11, 2017 @ 6:26 pm
I surely am doing music wrong, my friend. I surely am.
May 11, 2017 @ 8:07 am
Hey Trigger,
Just to defend the publicity a little bit (and perhaps push some blame to the media outlets covering them in glossing over their backgrounds), the very first sentence that was ever written to me about these dudes was in October 2016 and it came from a publicist at their label, and it said this: “I wanted to let you know early on about a Country trio we’ve signed named Midland. I think they are just spectacular. The twang these guys bring have made them one of my most favorite signings… They live in Texas and have very interesting backgrounds. One is a music video director for Bruno Mars and Britney Spears, one is a male model and the other is a damn good musician.”
Now, I’m not saying they’re backwoods guys that have muscled their way out of a trailer park or anything, and, of course, there’s always the possibility that the publicity strategy has changed drastically, but that felt pretty straightforward and honest to me 9 months ago. Or at least much more straightforward than the standard PR storytelling.
May 11, 2017 @ 8:36 am
Part of the problem with Midland is they’re trying to play both sides. I touched on this, but could probably have gone a little deeper into this in the article. It was already getting very long though..
I’m not trying to say Midland ishiding their flashy past in acting and video directing. I’ve seen that stuff mentioned out in the open in most of these promotional puff pieces on the band. The problem is it doesn’t jive with them saying they didn’t have two nickels to rub together, and were hitting the honky tonks hard for years. I’ll take them at their word that they didn’t have any money when they moved to Austin, but whose fault is that?
The title of the Rolling Stone article I quoted above is, “How Country Trio Midland Are Bridging the Country-Pop Divide.”
They’re trying to sell their authenticity to the true country/Americana crowd, and trying to sell them as Hollywood hunks connected to Bruno Mars to the pop crowd. So which one is it? They want to have it both ways. And you can’t.
September 23, 2017 @ 9:48 am
Whats everyones thoughts on this band with their debut album out? I think its refreshing, they just seem like dudes having a good time to me. Authenticity issues aside, i look at Midland like we do with Stapleton, mainstream and independent country fans alike can get behind them.
September 23, 2017 @ 10:30 am
I will have a review of the new Midland album soon.
October 13, 2017 @ 3:34 pm
I think Midlands 1st album is great!! Every song on it has some great lines. And some of them are very sex lines. When Mark sings them, I have no doubt I’m not the only woman who melts. But behind all that, the songs are so good. I don’t believe McNally & Osborne wrote every word.I know Jess is a fantastic songwriter. And WTF do you think Ìs gonna happen ? We’re all gonna stop listening becuz some so called critic says so? I don’t care what their backgrounds are! I love the songs. Mark has a great voice and Jess & Cam do some wonderful harmonies. So SHUT UP (or not), I don’t care about you asses who think you know it all. MIDLAND will last !
October 20, 2024 @ 7:20 am
It’s very interesting reading this 7 years later. I first heard of them in late 2018 early 2019 when my buddy turned me on to Electric Rodeo. Then, I listened to their latest stuff back then and WOW. Looking at it objectively now – I rate them a 7.8 on the Portnoy scale. They would’ve been an 8.1 – 8.2 b4 reading this. Authenticity counts. That’s why when I see a band fronted by two brothers who are 14 & 18 yr old living in Franklin TN hailing from SWFL (Naples) I smile. These guys write about true life stories of hunting pythons in the glades and are singing about it up here in Nash area. They are the future of country music and authenticity – New Outkaw Swamp Jerry Reed country music. IG = @thebandanabrothersofficial
Check out The Bandana Brothers and tell me what YOU think! That is badass country and authentic truth.
November 20, 2017 @ 7:26 am
Whole heartedly agree. Met these guys and they are straight dicks. Country isn’t just about the singing, it’s about the understanding, the living, and feeling of the song the artist is sharing with you. Country doesn’t need anymore pretty boys singing someone else’s songs.
September 28, 2017 @ 9:34 am
Straightforward and honest to you but deceiving and over embellished to the public – shame on Big Machine!!!! If they can’t make it on their own merit and music then why sign them? BMR is such a farce and only makes Borchetta rich!!
May 11, 2017 @ 8:07 am
Interesting, haven’t heard of these Midland guys yet. But 100% agree with you about how pointless “authenticity” is if the music is good. Gillian Welch has always been the prime example for me.
While its always cool to find someone who is “authentic,” I don’t care about it enough that its worth faking. And I have almost no interest in listening to these guys now that I know they are doing this.
I do think you leave someone off your actually authentic list—Ryan Bingham. He’s got a pretty intense life story—growing up in a rough situation, learning guitar from a mariachi player, leaving home to join the rodeo—that adds something to his songwriting and music.
May 11, 2017 @ 8:39 am
Add Ryan Bingham to that authenticity list too.
May 12, 2017 @ 9:28 pm
God, I wish Ryan Bingham would come out with a new album soon!
Any news that anybody knows about?
September 22, 2017 @ 4:33 am
Another Monkeys.
October 13, 2017 @ 3:42 pm
Try spelling it right. Monkees. You probably weren’t even conceived back then!, So don’t be saying something you have no idea about. I WAS THERE.
May 11, 2017 @ 8:08 am
There’s the proof that Nashville is more interested in selling image as opposed to the music. The part that makes this difficult is that I actually do like the music here. It would be easier to dismiss if the music was bad.
May 11, 2017 @ 8:11 am
I think some Big Machine folks paid this website a visit the first time you wrote about them. I commented on that post and asked if any Texans had actually seen them play in any of these honky-tonks, and got a few responses that raised red flags for me.
May 11, 2017 @ 8:51 am
Before Shakey Graves blew up and got his big break, he played months and months of residencies at Hole in the Wall and The White Horse in Austin. Same with Luke Bell before he was signed with WME. He played Hole in the Wall, The White Horse, and later Santa’s Pub in Nashville. Midland did play shows in Texas, but nothing like what is being portrayed in this romantic sense of struggling in obscurity by playing small rooms for months on end and waiting on your big break. Hey, some artists get found quicker than others, and that’s fine. Just don’t embellish your experience to try to act like you belong in the same sentence as folks that are out there paying dues, and still don’t have the same opportunities as you.
January 8, 2019 @ 1:52 pm
I know it’s been a minute, but I just went back and read both that article, the comments, and now this article and comments. I thought the exact same thing when I saw the replies to your comment
May 11, 2017 @ 8:13 am
I think the last two paragraphs sum it up perfectly for me. Even if the music is decent, I would rather support musicians who are sincere about who they are and where they are from and ones that have genuinely paid their dues and could use the support. The mainstream music industry is ridiculous – all the money that goes into marketing the illusion of authenticity could go into supporting musicians who actually have the backstory they are trying to sell to people.
May 11, 2017 @ 8:47 am
This story reminds me of Austin based rock/metal band The Sword and their mysterious beginnings and sudden record deal when they started.
May 11, 2017 @ 1:33 pm
Being from Austin and keeping up with a lot of the bands that come out of Austin, you would think I would have heard of this band before their record deal. I have only heard of them in the past month because of a song I heard on Koke FM. Being a country band from Austin that has been signed to a big record deal is rare in itself, but how do you go from being from Austin but nobody has heard of you? Let alone be part of the “Tx Scene”?
Lonestar Jam in Austin has pretty much booked every local country band around Austin at some point, Midland has never played it. I know, not the best gauge but it’s easy to see this band hasn’t done much around Austin. There have and still are numerous free music series around Austin, Unplugged At The Shady Grove being one of them. Midland hasn’t played that either.
May 11, 2017 @ 9:07 am
I don’t find Luke Combs authentic. He sings a song like Can I Get an Outlaw, which is about being pissed off about the state of country music, and then makes an album right after that that is exactly what he was condemning in his song. No different than Aaron Lewis, except that Lewis actually has some quality songs out there.
May 11, 2017 @ 1:50 pm
I know that Aaron Lewis has said some fairly contradictory things about country radio/mainstream, but all of his recordings (the two LP’s and the debut EP) are rather far from the mainstream marketplace. So where it matters, I think Aaron has retained his credibility, even if he is a bit too earnest and insistent about his country cred — which can get old quick. As for Luke Combs, he has blatantly contradicted himself where it matters: in the music itself. I’ve known about him for a couple years, because he’s from here in western NC. There’s no doubt that he’s a working class Southern boy. That’s authentic. But the music is full of pandering to Nashville trends.
May 11, 2017 @ 6:36 pm
Heard him in an interview on the radio today. His album that will be released was finished last march. Not sure if that’s a good or bad thing with the trends. Hopefully he took a more country traditional approach with the breakout of Stapleton.
May 12, 2017 @ 12:10 pm
I like all Luke’s tunes but I can understand what you’re saying. He talks out of both sides of his mouth. Some of his songs are quite poppy, 1 even reminds me of 38 Special….lol I saw him open for Brantley and he brang it. He’s playing a US*99 show here in Chicago @ Joe’s On Weed in a couple weeks.
Tickets + new album for $15.00. An easy purchase for me.
December 22, 2017 @ 1:33 pm
I hung out with Luke Combs at a bar called City Limits Saloon in Raleigh NC about 6 years ago, he is an authentic dude but kinda had an arrogance about him when he was still really unknown at that point. I knew when I first heard his voice he was destined for big things, there was no doubt in my mind. I hung out with Jason Michael Carroll at the same bar years before while he was a well known artist and he was the nicest, most humble guy you would ever meet. I think Luke is doing what gets him to the top and selling out to the machine, because back in the day his music evoked a certain feeling in you soul you didn’t just hear his music you felt it, his songs here lately are “ok” but I feel like the soul has been washed out of his music and replaced with a list of cliché words and phrases.
May 11, 2017 @ 9:09 am
Yeah, i have gone back and forth about these guys. The music is good, but i immediately knew the back story was fake when you reviewed the ep. But the album versions are no where near as good as the acoustic(obviously staged) youtube videos. If they hadnt claimed to be from my home state i might have let them make it, but “spoiled rich, handsome, and sheltered kids somehow beat the odds and make it” isnt a tx country narrative.
And the lying and fabrication is really just disrespectful to the fans. We knew someone was gonna try to bank on the independent music scene, it was inevitable. But gosh, they must think we are mindless sheep to buy the “Midland” story in the age of information. If they had just been honest and decided to earn it instead of going completely phony, we would have accepted them if the soul was in the music and not the hip lifestyle. POSERS!!!!
May 11, 2017 @ 9:09 am
I agree to some extent about overlooking certain things as long as the music is good, but the flipside for me is that usually, the music is good because the artist is authentic. It’s hard to convey heartache and misery in your lyrics if you’ve never really lived that lifestyle. There are some artists out there that can do that, but I tend to gravitate towards the ones that feel the most authentic to me.
For years I’ve felt the same way about Zane Williams. He writes decent material at times, but his “authenticity” just seems so forced and fake. I know tons of people love him, but I just get that Midland vibe from him as well.
May 11, 2017 @ 9:53 am
“the music is good because the artist is authentic. It’s hard to convey heartache and misery in your lyrics if you’ve never really lived that lifestyle”
BINGO.
May 11, 2017 @ 10:26 am
This is what I feel about their song “Drinkin’ Problem.” Is it old school country? Yes. Does is sound good? Sure. But people who truly have drinking problems, and the people who know people who have a problem with drinking, don’t make light of them. Drinking problems destroy homes, destroy careers, destroy lives. Nobody with an authentic “Drinkin’ Problem” would write a song like that. That’s where the lack of real world experience and authenticity interfaces with the music itself. It’s still a good song, but a great one is one that delves into the heartbreak and broken dreams that drinking problems can cause.
May 11, 2017 @ 10:44 am
I agree with this completely. Sure this song sounds great, is catchy, and I find my self singing along to it.
However, as a former heroin addict myself, who has destroyed his families finances, almost destroyed his career, and should be dead several times, its hard to get behind the words of the song. There is nothing light about a drinking or drug problem. In fact, a song like this, which seemingly makes less of it, sends a wrong message to younger people out there, or people who are debating internally if they even have a problem.
May 11, 2017 @ 10:52 am
This is what makes same day, different bottle by Lauren Alaina so excellent….
May 11, 2017 @ 10:53 am
“Nobody with an authentic “Drinkin’ Problem” would write a song like that.”
I dunno, people with real-life drinking problems making light of it in their songs seems like a fairly common occurrence in country – see the new Chris Janson song as an example.
May 11, 2017 @ 11:22 am
FFS – what a petty take. Drunks are never defiant about their vices?
May 11, 2017 @ 11:56 am
I like the song “Drinkin’ Problem.” I gave the song and MIdland’s EP a positive review. I’m simply making a nuanced point about perspective in music and how it interfaces with authenticity. See Ezra’s comment for perspective.
May 11, 2017 @ 9:11 am
Other than Trigger, who are these “lots of folks” in Texas who are tweaked off by this group? Just a few names will suffice
May 11, 2017 @ 10:26 am
Please see comments above.
May 11, 2017 @ 11:13 am
I didn’t see a list of Texas folks who are upset. Did I miss it? Is there an actual groundswell against this group or is Trigger playing loose with phrases to make it seem like there is?
May 11, 2017 @ 12:03 pm
One of the reasons a site like Saving Country Music even exists and has an audience is because someone has to say the things that other’s can’t because of the industry politics involved in the country music business.
As Scott points out, numerous people in this comments section, as well as the previous comments section for the Midland EP review have pointed out this discrepancy between what Midland’s Austin presence was, and how it is being sold. And they did so before I did. I have heard from numerous ARTISTS just today after posting this article thanking me, and saying they agree. I’m not at liberty to divulge their names, and they may not want to speak publicly because they don’t want to start some sort of public beef or be publicly critical. That’s my job.
May 11, 2017 @ 9:27 am
I’m all here for the what is country debate, but for me, the authenticity debate is just dumb. Playing honky tonks for a few years vs a few months doesn’t make you more or less authentic. Liking Bruno Mars (or working with him on a video), being an underwear model, doesn’t make you more or less authentic either. Heck even most of the “authentic” independant country/americana artists live in Nashville, which is a city.
Chris Stapleton tried Bluegrass and southern rock, before settling on country, clearly it was just because that’s where he could make money :eyeroll: the whole purity test thing is dumb. Be who you are as a person, that’s authentic..they did underwear model, they did live outside of Austin, they do seem to like a style of country music that I enjoy listening to.
May 11, 2017 @ 9:29 am
And hey maybe they are just pretending to like wearing jeans for their brand, but if I’m being honest, it feels like 90% of Americana artists are posers on some level…just trying to fit an image.
May 11, 2017 @ 10:30 am
Yeah, so why lie about it? That’s what I got from this article. It’s seems so needless. Oh, and thanks for clearing up that Nashville is a city thing. That had me stumped for a while…
May 11, 2017 @ 10:32 am
“Liking Bruno Mars (or working with him on a video), being an underwear model, doesn’t make you more or less authentic.”
Yeah, but it does when you’re telling folks how hard your life has been and how tight the money was. It’s bullshit.
May 11, 2017 @ 10:37 am
Most models are actually poor. It’s usually temporary contracts that doesn’t pay all that well, and LA is an expensive city. Doesn’t mean he was/is or has at any time been poor, but also doesn’t mean he hasn’t.
Now owning horses, that’s rich…
May 23, 2017 @ 10:20 am
Horse owner here, definitely not rich. If you own a lot of horses, you probably did come from money, to be fair, but you probably have less of it than the ones who came before you. Because, horses. I sell my soul to ride the dream. I should probably write some songs.
May 23, 2017 @ 10:34 am
Check out “Cows Around” by Corb Lund.
May 11, 2017 @ 12:39 pm
That seems to be the real issue. For ages there have been children of actors, singers and the just plain rich that have had success in the music industry in lots of genres but don’t try to paint yourself as something you are not.
If anything it will only hurt you in the long run because if by some chance you become wildly successful then people will start checking into these things and find problems in your story which be embarrassing at best.
May 11, 2017 @ 10:42 am
Have to agree. The whole I live in Nashville and not LA or Austin so that makes me ‘real country’ is hysterical when Nashville is basically a carbon copy of the former. Maybe 20 years ago you could use your Nashville residency to boost your authenticity but that’s long in the past.
Funny Trigger brought up turquoise jewelry because it seems to be a requirement for artists who travel in the same sphere as as Dave Cobb, that and expensive distressed jeans, band t shirts, long hair, facial hair and PBR.
Country like any other genre is all about marketing. Find what you enjoy because I wouldn’t be surprised if all the current favorite heroes have clay feet.
May 11, 2017 @ 9:53 am
As new artists emerge on the Nashville scene, I’m noticing a huge emphasis on image vs. music. If you take a look at the social media profiles of some of the starlets (Kelsea Ballerini, Thomas Rhett, etc.) you will see that they travel with photographers and videographers. It’s very posed to convey a candid, casual behind-the-scenes look, but you know there were makeup artists, choreographers etc. involved. And there are a handful of artists that are all about product placement. I understand giving shout-outs to music gear companies etc., but there are some that go overboard (take a peek at Jana Kramer’s Instagram.) with these sponsored ads. They are all chasing this “lifestyle” branding – everything from Florida Georgia Line’s newly announced restaurant, all the clothing lines from acts who probably are just lending their name, etc. And heaven forbid any of them have a baby or get married without People magazine capturing it all. I like a less-is-more approach to music. I don’t care what toothpaste or cereal they consume. Just give me the music.
May 11, 2017 @ 10:55 am
This is actually somewhat a response to the lack of music sales…or at least seems to be a direction a lot of musicians are going…the music brings them celebrity and then taking advantage of their celebrity to make money…since the music sales don’t bring in much money.
A (completely authentic) example is Chance the rapper, he only streams his music..you literally can’t buy it, so it’s accessible to everyone, but his brand/clothing sells out in half a second. It’s also allowed him to stay independent, no label contract.
May 11, 2017 @ 11:52 am
The whole money-hungry aspect is certainly rising within the music industry. I just feel like the last thing the mainstream labels are putting effort into is the actual music.
Numbers and money look great…but years from now what are all these “artists” going to leave as a legacy?
Take Thomas Rhett for example:
– He’s had multiple number one hits thanks to the label’s demand for “this is when we want this song to reach the top spot on the chart”
– Whatever campaigning Big Machine did to get him that undeserved Male Vocalist at the ACMs.
– The cover stories are largely due to his marriage. All of these country music website are constantly publishing articles, making a big deal out of nothing, any time his wife posts a phot online.
– His social media presence is full of picture-perfect moments that fall in place with a marketing plan.
– He’s admitted to using a chorographer for tour prep.
– The PR team lands high-profile gigs like hosting the CMA Fest special or being a presenter on the Grammys.
In the 90s, you had acts like Reba and Mark Chesnutt doing commercials for Fritos, Faith Hill on Pepsi commercials, etc. but these acts didn’t make a career out of hawking products, plus they have lasting music to back it up. Acts today are so desperate to get noticed that they’ll jump at any chance for a pre-planned Tweet from a brand or mention.
So yes, the team that the label has hired (publicists, stylists, etc.) are doing their jobs and producing results expected of them. But it’s all carefully planned out and didn’t happen naturally. It’s marketing, not music. What about the music? When looks fade and the crowds diminish, you are left with money and a brush with fame. With record labels rolling out these marketing plans as the new normal, they need to take a step back and look at musical longevity.
May 11, 2017 @ 1:23 pm
Goodness, you just reminded me that Thomas Rhett is the reigning ACM Male Vocalist of the Year. What a strange world we live in.
May 11, 2017 @ 1:38 pm
Of course, Chance also took a big chunk of change from Apple to make Coloring Book exclusive to Apple Music for the first two weeks.
I’d be much more forgiving of that if:
A) Coloring Book was anywhere near as good as Acid Rap or
B) He didn’t make such a big deal out of “not selling his music” in the run-up, and the album itself.
May 16, 2017 @ 9:27 am
“some of the starlets (Kelsea Ballerini, Thomas Rhett,”
You called Thomas Rhett a starlet and I almost fell out of my chair laughing! Good stuff.
May 11, 2017 @ 10:08 am
They have a posters for sale on their website from live performances at the Broken Spoke, the White Horse, Poodies, and the Roxy. Those could be fake for all I know, but I can’t help but like the music…except that gator boys song. I’m interested to see hear the whole album.
May 11, 2017 @ 10:31 am
People who play the White Horse on a regular basis don’t put posters up for sale on their websites from playing the White Horse, only people who want you to know how authentic they are would do something like that. Like I said, Midland did play around Austin a little bit before hitting it big. But they weren’t a mainstay in the local honky tonk scene by any stretch. The fact that they have posters for sale from those venues only validates the idea they’re trying to “sell” their authenticity.
May 11, 2017 @ 10:57 am
It could be worse. At least it’s not underwear modeling posters for sale…
May 11, 2017 @ 10:19 am
I have found the advent of Midland absolutely fascinating since I read Trigger’s article on them last year. Even though they are signed to Big Machine, they are far too country to ever be played on the horseshit that passes for country radio in my neck of the woods. Their music is certainly not earth shattering but I do think it is pretty good and – frankly – right down my alley in terms of what kind of country music I prefer. I would say their EP was somewhere on the country spectrum near Moe Bandy’s late 70’s honky-tonk output and that is not a bad place to be in my opinion. I like stuff that might sound like I walked into a dusty bar room in Elko, Nevada circa 1982.
Regarding their authenticity, the way they have been set up is lamentable, I guess, since it is definitely a strike against them. However, if a band of their background, even if the sexpot part is played up, is what it takes to worm authentic country music (forget a band’s authenticity) back into the mainstream than so be it. If they are able to help repopularize the traditional sound amongst the masses and even open the door for other more authentic traditional performers than so be it. Honestly, watching the videos for 14 Gears and Drinking Problem, the thing that strikes me about them is the cinematic quality to it all. Taken with some of their promo materials, both video and imagery, it comes across to me as being taken from a movie about a country band made 40 years ago. That’s a movie I would happily watch.
A few other things are worth pointing out:
If Big Machine sees the necessity to position a band with this sound into the place it is, then maybe they are seeing the currents within country music starting to shift back to real country. It seems like a lot of effort for nothing, otherwise.
Songs like Drinking Problem and Burnout are actually pretty well written songs. Given some of McAnally’s work with Kacey Musgraves and even Wade Bowen, it seems like a tragic waste of talent that he has generally thrown in with so much of the dreck that passes for country these days.
Based on what I saw in the People article that Trigger linked, it looks like Duddy’s wife is in the Drinking Problem video.
I appreciate it when a band shows up in a national park or some other place out west. In their case, it is Great Sand Dunes National Park. My life and my job has me tied to the land and the wilderness here in the West. One of the reasons I love country music is because it is also linked to the land in so many cases. Not many other forms of music have a sense of place the way country does.
Lastly, if a band is citing Gary Stewart as an influence, they can’t be that bad…
May 11, 2017 @ 11:42 am
Are they themselves citing Gary Stewart as an influence or is it the record label assigning the name Gary Stewart to the band as an influence because:
1) it’s not as cliche as citing Merle Haggard & George Jones as an influence
2) it adds to the band’s fabricated Austin-associated “hipster factor?”
May 11, 2017 @ 12:05 pm
I am not sure that it matters. The way it seems to me, Burn Out could very easily be a Gary Stewart song. Whether he is influencing the band or the other song writers organically or by label mandate, the proof seems to be in the music.
For what it is worth, I don’t want to come across as a total Midland apologist. I do like their songs and I find the whole project fascinating, both for what it says about what Big Machine is thinking but also because of the retro cinematic quality. I’ll call bogus on the music when they put out something crappy. Until then, they are an interesting phenomenon.
May 11, 2017 @ 6:06 pm
Or it could be taken as an obvious rip off. Soundd like empty glass and acting single mixed together.
May 11, 2017 @ 7:28 pm
I totally agree! That’s probably why it sounds like a decent song! Empty Glass is my favorite Gary Stewart song and Acting Single is a benchmark track! Seriously, how long has it been since we could say a major record release sounded like a mashup of two classic Gary Stewart songs? Isn’t that supposed to be a good thing?!?
May 11, 2017 @ 9:49 pm
Well, they basically blatantly ripped off Gary Stewart’s logo, so there’s that.
Gary Stewart: http://direct.rhapsody.com/imageserver/images/Alb.236766851/500×500.jpg
Midland: http://uploads.webflow.com/581b8899d304ef4d0bf50bcd/581ca580ac3e3c9b2619ace2_cover.jpg
May 11, 2017 @ 10:18 pm
Good eye. I did not even catch that!
May 11, 2017 @ 10:25 am
If I wanted to buy and listen to music based on back story of the artist, I’d be a massive Luke Bryan fan for the losses his family has had and his family taking in his nephews. But I don’t (and thank goodness for that). I buy and listen to music based on the music, and however, they did it, Midland made some dang good music. In fact, all “Drinkin’ Problem” being written by Shane McAnally and Josh Osborne, and produced by McAnally tells me is that I have a new respect for those guys actually being able to put out country music.
You don’t have to be loyal to an artist/band to be loyal to some of their music, and I am very loyal to the music they’ve put out so far.
May 11, 2017 @ 10:35 am
“If I wanted to buy and listen to music based on back story of the artist, I’d be a massive Luke Bryan fan for the losses his family has had and his family taking in his nephews.”
Good point.
May 11, 2017 @ 12:00 pm
Back story and authenticity isn’t everything. But, it is important to some people, as an element they take into consideration when choosing what artists to support. Plus, when you have a band like Midland who make music that is just OK, it factors more into the equation. Also, the fake “poor country boy” aspects of their marketing, and the ridiculous western costumes they wear, are just downright annoying. Regardless of how you feel about, or choose to ignore their back story, this whole situation is an interesting study on modern day marketing / PR / public image creation. It is also good to have all the cards on the table.
May 11, 2017 @ 10:15 pm
Good eye. I did not even catch that!
May 11, 2017 @ 10:17 pm
Scratch this. Meant to reply to a different comment.
May 11, 2017 @ 10:30 am
I like the song more than most on the radio. They are just as authentic as Hollywood child turned dust bowl dress wearing Gillian Welch or Bro-Country songwriter turned outlaw Chris Stapleton. As most of you would say about the later two, only the music matters. 🙂
May 11, 2017 @ 10:41 am
In fairness to Stapleton…he won a Grammy for best Bluegrass album before bro country existed.
May 11, 2017 @ 10:55 am
He was nominated while in the group but they didn’t win, they (after he left) won on the same night he won his ONLY two
May 11, 2017 @ 11:00 am
Damn. What the hell beat Reckless, haha?
May 11, 2017 @ 1:48 pm
If we ever reach the point where Stapleton is considered “outlaw”, we have an even more serious problem with real country music than I thought!
May 11, 2017 @ 10:36 am
I respect where you’re coming from but, at the end of the day, I just don’t care.
McAnally and Osborne also have cowrites on most of Same Trailer, Different Park and Pageant Material…but the music’s good, so I don’t care.
If BM had decided to start manufacturing throwback country bands, that’s a win.
May 11, 2017 @ 10:44 am
you piqued my interest, so I listened. So far, I like what I’ve heard. What I really wanna know is (are you gonna go my way), do they put on a good live show? Is there a link to some good live audio/video? Enquiring minds want to know…
May 11, 2017 @ 11:51 am
Nicely played lyric from country star Lenny Kravitz!
May 11, 2017 @ 12:29 pm
Coal-burning stove, Lenny Kravitz on wax. If that ain’t country, I’ll kiss yer ass
May 11, 2017 @ 11:05 am
Doug Moreland and friends had Midland as guests on their Behind The Lines radio show in December 2015 (you can listen here: https://soundcloud.com/the-other-stoney/midland-aired-12-8-15). The interview was that the band echoed zero of the marketing copy (if memory serves) and was very up front with the hosts about their soap opera/Bruno Mars/Connie Stevens/etc connections. I don’t disagree with Trigger’s analysis above that the marketing is an unabashed sham but them band seems less enthusiastic about that narrative. Honestly, selling a country throwback act as containing “former soap opera star and Bruno Mars video producer” is way more interesting than what the record is trying to sell.
May 11, 2017 @ 11:35 am
That picture brings to mind Faith + 1 (South Park reference in the house).
Before reading this, I didn’t know too much about them other than hearing “Drinking Problem” a couple of times on the radio. Not a bad song. I’d respect them if they were honest about their narrative of being well-connected and wanting to be country singers because they enjoy playing that genre.
I’m promise I’m not being political in pointing this out, but to your point about Dick Cheney living in Jackson Hole – I know you were trying to illustrate how ritzy Jackson Hole is, but when I hear Jackson Hole, my first thought is that Jackson Hole is where those Hollywood types go when they want to “rough it”. I think it would support your argument about Midlands’ landed background better if you used that as an example instead, or even said something to the effect of how both Dick Cheney and Harrison Ford live there.
May 11, 2017 @ 12:25 pm
Ha ha! Which one is Butters? I’d say Blanket Boy on the left is Token.
May 11, 2017 @ 11:47 am
THANK YOU for this Trigger. I have been saying this all along. Also, I think Duddy is still a music video director (his bio is still on some posh LA creative firm’s website). It is also interesting to look back at their instagram pages,……just a few years ago they were total LA hipsters.
Awesome writeup and so true!
May 11, 2017 @ 12:51 pm
Duddy directed the Drinkin Problem video which caught me by surprise when I found out. If you are a band just breaking into the business how do you get the ok to direct your first video?
May 11, 2017 @ 11:49 am
And also, it is really pathetic that they sing with such fake country accents. Not to mention that none of those pretty boy LA hipsters have ever had anything close to a “drinkin problem!”
May 11, 2017 @ 11:59 am
Great point!
I’ve never heard of any pretty person from LA developing a substance abuse problem!
May 11, 2017 @ 12:10 pm
You have proof that any of these guys had a substance abuse problem worth writing a country song about? It’s pretty tough to be a hot shot, successful creative director at an agency in LA and be hitting “rock bottom” (as the song mentions). Also, as trigger points out in the comments above, it’s odd that they seem to glorify their “drinkin problem” in the song. Also, people with big drinking problems usually aren’t able to convince pretty girls to marry them in a glitzy LA – meets – Jackson Hole wedding, which is featured in People magazine. Of course, this is all a bit of speculation and my own opinion, but is all seems so fake. Finally, maybe it wasn’t even written to be about them. If that is the case, then I would say it was a pure attempt to follow the bro country trend of writing songs about alcohol…..just because that crap is selling like hot cakes right now and they thought it would make for a good debut single.
May 11, 2017 @ 12:22 pm
…it’s literally the opposite of “the bro country trend of writing songs about alcohol.”
Bro country songs are, above all else, characterized by their consequence-free portrayals of alcohol. That’s not this song.
Complaining about well sung songs with solid lyrics and a good arrangement, in the name of some nebulous “authenticity,” is the definition of punching sideways.
May 11, 2017 @ 2:02 pm
I don’t see it as the opposite at all. Alcohol sells in country right now….and a song titled “drinkin problem” does just that, even if the lyrics might not be quite as utterly bad as some bro country songs on the subject. And, the lyrics don’t hint at consequence or any level of taking it all that seriously.
Nobody here is saying that authenticity should be the main thing considered when looking at country. But, the key point is that Midland and all of the manufactured image and back story BS kind of makes the authenticity conversation center stage. If their music wasn’t overly polished and formulaic for my taste, I admit that it would be a smaller issue for me. But, between the laughable press pics, the manufactured back story on the band members, and the music that isn’t anything special, Midland is a band that I will always steer clear of.
And, again, as it relates to a song like drinkin problem, I find it laughable that these dudes of all people put a song out like that as their lead single. Total marketing ploy. Of course, I am sure you feel differently, and that is just fine.
May 11, 2017 @ 2:12 pm
The whole reason I post articles like this is not to slam Midland because I think they’re posers, it’s to present a perspective that I believe others share that can hold a band like Midland back. I think a band like Midland could be a really important part to the effort to help the cause of country music. But if they’re going to do so, they need to resolve this issue hanging over the band. At least in my opinion.
May 11, 2017 @ 3:31 pm
Trigger – I get your intentions. I totally disagree that manufactured, Big Machine – backed novelty “classic country” bands have the ability to do much toward helping the cause of country music. Will they get more radio play due to their backers? Certainly. But it doesn’t really matter much, because as soon as the shine wears off, the label will be right there throwing them by the wayside for the next hot thing, and the radio listening public will be all to happy to cling on to the next thing. I personally predict that we won’t be hearing much from Midland in a few years. Things built on such a wobbly foundation tend to not last, but it will be interesting to see how it all plays out.
May 11, 2017 @ 12:51 pm
I listen to music as my soundtrack at the gym, at work and doing yard work…I never think about a band’s background or what some publicists put out, they are there to spin. I see stories about an artist having a “headlining” tour and it is obviously bs, but it doesnt hurt my enjoyment of the song. I can just say I enjoy when Midland’s songs come on and I look forward to hearing more
May 11, 2017 @ 4:02 pm
I listened to these guys a while back and didn’t really care for their music, now that I’ve heard this it makes me like them even less. Now sure I’ve heard worse but their music is just boring to me. I think they are just a McAnally side project.
May 11, 2017 @ 4:05 pm
Honestly, Midland is far from alone in the trappings between marketing and narrative to the extent I’m just numb to much of it.
The song is all too familiar. Justin Moore, aside from aggressively pushing a “good ole boy” posturing image since the onset of his career, has since pandered even musically to electronic and hip-hop trends. Kip Moore always likes to posit himself as an honest guy who “tells it like it is” and “keeps it real”, and now he’s pushing a shameless pandering foray with “More Girls Like You”. Chris Young is now going completely off the deep end into Sam Hunt persuasions with “Losing Sleep”.
I get how the clash between actual events and marketing is particularly problematic in this case in that it relies heavily on proper nouns and imagery as well as vague assertions of playing honky-tonks. All I’m saying is, this is really another case of the song remaining the same to my eyes and ears and, sadly, I can’t get all that worked up over this regardless of the reality there are more honest entertainers abound.
May 11, 2017 @ 4:36 pm
As the country music world turns…
Country music fans want an “authentic country sound” & BMLG delivers.
Will Midland have a second hit single? Or a hit album? Will a second single sound less country? BMLG will do what’s necessary & good for BMLG.
Country fans want an authentic country group & an authentic sound again? BMLG will deliver again.
Style over substance. Social media & glamour. Talent? As long as daddy is a famous songwriter. A good voice? As long as you look good. A designer shirt is important now. A new tattoo & facebook will go ga-ga. Two or three silly dance moves & the female fans will go crazy. “Fake” is the new “Authenticity”.
May 11, 2017 @ 4:57 pm
The band wrote the song with those two so really all 5 of them wrote the song, not just Josh and Shane like you said above. I personally like them a lot but it’s a shame that their image is apparently faked like this.
May 11, 2017 @ 5:20 pm
Authenticity means different things to different people. George Strait was raised by a single father on a ranch in Texas and played bars and honky tonks before hitting it big. Does that make him authentic, semi-authentic, or formerly authentic up until he hit it rich?
May 11, 2017 @ 5:26 pm
It means he was authentic at each of those stages in his life. Every person has different perspectives on things as we age and experience life. It doesn’t mean we are less authentic because we haven’t stayed the same as we were when we 25.
May 11, 2017 @ 8:14 pm
Was George Strait ever a part of a campaign to dress himself up in fake western wear, and to fabricate his past in order to cultivate a false image? I don’t think so. THAT is the big difference here. Also, George Strait is heads and tails above these guys from a song perspective.
May 11, 2017 @ 8:24 pm
I never intended to compare Strait and these guys, my comment came off wrong. To the extent that I understand the term, I would say that, George Strait is pretty authentic, I was mostly responding to Trigger’s line about there only being two authentic country music singers. Authenticity is a vague enough term that I don’t really even know exactly how to define it, except to say that midland ain’t it. I don’t see how James Hand could be any more authentic than Billy Jo Shaver though.
May 11, 2017 @ 8:44 pm
Trigg’s mentIon of those two as being the only two authentic country artists was done in a tongue in cheek way..,.and to introduce the point of how difficult and subjective the task of judging authenticity in county music is. And how it doesn’t really matter anymore, to a point. But, this whole midland thing clearly crossed that line of mattering.
May 11, 2017 @ 5:43 pm
Other than this line, that is complete and utter, merciless bullcrap,
“The only two artists out there that can truly boast 100% authenticity behind their music are James Hand and Spencer Cornett”,
this was a very informative article and I appreciate the heads up.
I like Midland’s sound at least 10 times better than the gods of SCM, Simpson and Stapleton, but unlike you, authenticity is extremely important to me. Without authenticity, I can’t even call it Country music. It’s merely an imitation of Country music. It’s acting. It’s not real.
So I guess I’m done with these bastards.
May 11, 2017 @ 8:24 pm
I was waiting to hear your take honky. I thought you might defend your boys in Midland, so I was a bit surprised. Thanks for the honesty. But how were you so fooled by them for so long? (Serious question). Second, if you value authenticity and honesty first and foremost, Sturgill should be the second coming for you. I know you will realize that someday : ). But I am glad that you seem to be done with biting the Big Machine lure of bs on the Midland thing. Also, if you Iike Midland’s sound 10x better than Sturgill’s, I can only conclude that you have to be a 60 year old femal Eagles super fan. No other explanation. And, don’t look at any of the recent videos on YouTube of Sturgill killing it on the lead guitar from his performances last weekend. It might be a little much right now, as you heal from the shock of finding out your favorite underwear models / music video exec country band were all just an act. : ). (I know you can take a joke!).
May 12, 2017 @ 8:13 pm
No matter how fake Midland is, they’ll always be better than Sturgill Simpson.
I agree with that Austin guy. You really need to get off Sturgill’s pole.
May 12, 2017 @ 9:16 pm
With a comment like that, I can only assume you get a kick out of trolling. Nobody in their right mind, except for a 14 year old girl who is into the prettt boy looks of a band over the substance of their music, could possible hold that view. If you think the band in the below video (singing out of key, in full cowboy dress up clothes) is good, please stop commenting here altogether. Seriously man, just come clean and admit that you have been trolling all along, and that statements line the one above are just for your own shits and giggles.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=iBvkuyN6uUA
May 13, 2017 @ 8:25 am
Dude, you are so delusionally in love with Sturgill Simpson, that you can’t even fathom the idea that other people can’t stand the guy.
For you, trolling = people-who-disagree-with-me
There’s nothing anyone can do to help you.
May 14, 2017 @ 3:26 pm
Not dleusioanlly in love with anyone. Just can’t fathom how any real country music fan could make such ridiculous statements (midland 10x better than Sturgill). Unless you are talking about their model good looks or their highly curated western costumes, i can’t fathom how any music fan could make that statement and be serious. I have every right to have that opinion. And I think most people around here would agree.
May 12, 2017 @ 11:00 pm
You wearing a pair of these right now honky?
https://bakdrop.com/products/midland
Or do you have a “limited edition” Midland thong you prefer over the socks?
May 11, 2017 @ 6:07 pm
Ha ha y’all keyboard warriors don’t have a fucking clue go see a show before you pass judgement. They did slug it out around here before they got a deal, they really do live in Dripping Springs, and they have busted ass to get to where they are now.
Their struggles are real, they haven’t hidden anything about their back story, and how in the hell are they supposed to control the nuances of the narrative put out by the gd PR machine anyway?
They write the songs (sure, some of them in collaboration with the label guys, who are pretty damn good btw) and they perform the hell out of them live too.
This “authenticity” takedown is so chickenshit. Go to therapy or something Trigger, you are saying you like the music but wait, no, you don’t really like it because you don’t like the spin the label PR puts on it??? Give me a fucking break!!! Wow, so brave of you to expose this major conspiracy!!!
You are making a ton of false assumptions based on what ya read on the internet. Why don’t you go see a show, and interview them yourself afterwards before you try to take em out with this little hit piece?
I’ve seen them live at Poudie’s, at Threadgills, at Nutty Brown as lowest part of the bill staring into the sun and in 100 degrees… they are finally getting some traction after a lot of hard work. What is the point of trying to take em down when you have never even met them or seen their show? They are the real deal go and see for yourself ya lazy ass hater.
May 11, 2017 @ 6:33 pm
If I employ the take down move on an artist or band or entity … you will know it.
If you think that driving home the hardship narrative behind a guy whose wedding was covered by People Magazine is effective marketing, then by all means navigate to your favorite social media platform and tell all your friends what a piece of shit I am.
I’m on record saying I like the music of Midland, and you don’t know that I haven’t seen them live.
May 11, 2017 @ 8:28 pm
This was totally a Big Machine intern who was tasked with writing this. You would think that with Midland’s close ties to the ritzy LA creative agency scene, they could find a better paid troll.
May 12, 2017 @ 6:50 am
Go back to the landmark you hipster keyboard warrior!
May 11, 2017 @ 7:19 pm
You spaz i don’t care whether it’s effective or not, i am saying judge them on the music and the performance not the marketing spin. Is there a set criteria for “authenticity” that you oh mighty music blogger are the keeper of? X amount of struggle, can’t be good looking, can’t buy stylish clothes for your album cover and stage shows, can’t have been successful at anything else. Oh give me a gd break who gives a shit what the PR spin is?
Wow what a surprise that the big industry label is trying to fashion a narrative that works with their existing methods and apparatus…
Ther are only 2 artists in the entire genre thay pass your “100% authenticity” test?
Cool, you saw em. Where? When? Let’s hear your review. Or you could just keep listening to the sniping of other un named local acts that haven’t signed yet.
May 11, 2017 @ 8:33 pm
Screw authenticity. It’s all about being liars and faking their county cred to sell records. Bar none. I don’t care if the next best country artist of our time is an Ethiopian immigrant from the lower east side of Manhattan. Actually, that would be pretty badass. BUT, if they were to make up a fake back story, dress up in over the top country costumes, etc etc etc, I would expect people to call bullshit. The fact that these guys (at least one or two of them) were successful LA industry people before deciding to do this money making country music scheme makes it all the worse.
May 11, 2017 @ 8:51 pm
They didn’t make up a backstory genius. The pr people are spinning components of their story like all pr people everywhere do. I am a just a fan that lives in Austin and have seen them play and work their way up, I don’t work for BM or any one else; I work for myself in a local business here in Austin.
You are the troll around here not me. Why don’t you get off Sturgill’s pole, come to a Midland show here in Texas and talk some of this shit you are spraying here on a comment board to their faces? If you don’t like the music that’s fine, don’t listen, but judging them based on the clothes they wear or the angle their label PR is taking is lazy and kinda like some high school mean girl shit. “Oh Honky i just knew you would come around and see that Sturgil is jesus” blah blah blah gimme a break!
May 11, 2017 @ 9:23 pm
You mean the clothes that their PR team told them to wear? And if they had any balls or backbone they wouldn’t wear those costumes or let their “PR People” put out fake crap. You could learn a lot about an artist doing it their own way (and having full creative control over amazing music that is light years better than Midland’s) by studying Sturgill’s career and music, but of course you won’t take the time to do that. Finally, I can only imagine the joy I would get out of speaking directly to those pretty, photo shopped model faces. They might just be too purdy for me to talk shit to, though. But, do they wear all that makeup in real life when they are hanging out in their recently adopted “home” state of TX, or do those losers just get all dolled up like that for thier Honey Boo Boo pageant (Big Machine) photo shoots?
May 11, 2017 @ 9:58 pm
I like Sturgill, never said I didn’t. Caught him at Stubb’s last year and really enjoyed it. I don’t give a flying fuck that he wears tennis shoes instead of boots or whatever who cares, I like the music and the way he sings.
Man you are the classic internet tough guy. Please please big talk, come on down to a show and tell Mark Wystrach that he has no balls nor backbone, that he’s not doing it his way, and that he has no creative control over his music. Reply here when you are on the way so I can be sure to be there and watch you get your ass handed to you. Or better yet, stop into The Steak Out, the local honky tonk in Sonoita Arizona that Mark’s family has owned and operated for 40 years or so. Express these bitch ass keyboard attacks down that way and we’ll see who the fucking poser is real quick.
And actually yeah they do dress like that every day, this is a small town you see them around at White Horse and and other local spots all the time. Who gives a shit what they dress like are you the fashion police? The only ones I ever hear talking about how they dress are the women trying to get up close to them at the shows… hmmm, you seem pretty obsessed about it too, I think I’m starting to figure out your deal…
May 11, 2017 @ 10:01 pm
Pretty sure ol Sturg even wrote a song about these clowns before they were ever even cooked up.
May 11, 2017 @ 10:13 pm
You beat me to it Adam. Perfect!
May 11, 2017 @ 10:27 pm
Absolutely laughable, “Austin” guy. You are calling me an internet tough guy, yet you are the one talking about fistfights with these LA hipsters? You are talking to someone who actually grew up in west TX (spent time during my high school summers working near the actual city of Midland, as a matter of fact) and SE New Mexico, so all of this is especially hilarious to me. It doesn’t matter to me what mark’s family has done. The fact is that he is now doing his family wrong by being part of the the most pathetic country hoax of the last several years. As far as the costumes go, of course those hipsters are forced to dress the part around town now that it’s the path big machine and them have chosen. What did you expect, them to go back to wearing the LA hipster / rocker clothes they were wearing a few years ago (check their instagram pages…,if they haven’t been deleted over the past few weeks)? Finally, I love the lame homophobic comment at the end of your post. If they are getting the ladies, maybe we should call PEOPLE Magazine and have them do a story on how the douche who got married in Jackson Hole (by way of LA) is cheating on his wife. Or, ARE you the wife, mija?
May 11, 2017 @ 10:53 pm
You are all talk talk talk buddy, keep it up. I’m not the one bashing and declaring what is inauthentic from upon high behind the computer screen, you are. If you are so confident about who is fake and who is real, well come on down and show us what you got mr. real midland local and we’ll just see about that. Awesome, you grew up in Texas, well so did I, born and raised and my family goes back 6 generations to this area, to 1830 in fact when it was still Mejico pendejo.
You are the bitch ass troll basing your conclusions on press release bullshit vs. seeing a show or actually doing some real research on the artists themselves. If you really were “country” then you would know that talk is cheap and spraying shit is just so much easier than actually making something yourself. Please put up some links to your awesome “real country” songs that you’ve written we’d love to hear them.
Midland is out there doing it, writing, touring, radio stops in crappy little towns and putting everything they have into it. You live in Portland don’t you? Do you work in a coffee shop and wear flannel shirts because you lived there 6 whole years now and you are a legit local right? You kinda wish you had your own little music blog to rain down your criticisms from don’t ya?
May 11, 2017 @ 11:20 pm
All my research on these tools has led me to the same conclusion…..total fake LA hipsters. But you know that. Also, their music, while admittedly better than Sam Hunt and others who they are trying to compete against, is not that good. Period. I don’t care if you are a direct descendent of Stephen Austin. This is a country music blog, and the fact is…..you have a horrible, commercial taste in music. Doesn’t matter who your pappy was. If you define “everything they have into it” as fake western clothes, fake southern drawls when they sing, and corny Eagles-like songs, then so be it. I must say that you are cut from a Texas cloth I have never seen.
Not sure where you are going with the off topic portland comments. I will say though, that Austin has every hipster cliche portland has, and then some. Including people like you, who are for some reason into modern day county boy bands for some odd reason……yet still convince themselves they are into real country music.
May 12, 2017 @ 9:58 am
I think it is interesting how someone keeps popping up and making all these agitated arguments about how authentic members of the band are. This has happened in other threads and inevitably they point to the Steak Out and all that. The thing is, that may all be true but the way these commenters, whoever they may be, are very off-putting. The arguments they make are so repetitive now that they are stating to weaken their own assertion of Midland’s authenticity. It’s really counterproductive at this point.
May 12, 2017 @ 1:10 pm
The fact that so many people are coming here to defend Midland, just like they did on the first article about them, proves how vulnerable they fear they are when it comes to narrative, and how important they believe narrative is to the marketing of this band. That is why their pushing their image and authenticity to the forefront as opposed to letting the music speak for itself.
I don’t want to hate these guys. I want to like them. I want to find what it is about them that I can identify with.
May 11, 2017 @ 7:37 pm
To borrow a cliche… long time reader, first time poster here!
I appreciate the different viewpoints, and can certainly understand why some might be rubbed the wrong way with how these guys are being presented, but boiling it down; the music I listen to, I listen to because I enjoy it, not “authenticity” or “credibility” or any other criteria.
Sure, the backstory being pushed on them can be kind of cringe-worthy at times, but I can say that I enjoy their songs, and that’s a lot more than I can say for a whole lot more “real” artists out there.
But hey, as Sly Stone once said, “Different strokes for different folks!” I guess.
– TJH
P.S. The situation kind of reminds me of another favorite band of mine, KISS (yeah, yeah, I probably lost some credibility myself there — Ha!); another band whose music got (rightly or wrongly) judged because of their image. As I once heard it said, the American flag handkerchief hanging out a pair of perfectly abused Levi’s jeans on a Bruce Springsteen album cover is no less contrived then the whiskers on Peter Criss’s face, and it’s kind of the same deal here. It’s all just entertainment at the end of the day, and maybe some individuals out there take a little joy in listening to these guys’ songs, so why take it away from them because it doesn’t meet your threshold of authenticity?
May 11, 2017 @ 8:36 pm
Mentioning KISS and Midland in the same sentence is apples and oranges. KISS were trailblazers, and had some damn good songs. The exact opposite, on both fronts, is true of Midland.
May 12, 2017 @ 8:56 am
Musically, KISS was not a trailblazer like, say , Led Zeppelin or even Queen. I guess they were visual trailblazers. I will give you that they had “some” very good songs. For example, I still love Deuce and Strutter, which kick off KISS Alive.
May 14, 2017 @ 3:48 am
Lick it up! Lick it up! (Oh wait, I kinda dig that song).
May 11, 2017 @ 8:51 pm
I can tell by that fucking picture that they’re full of shit. Wannabe fucking cowboys dressing like extras from Tombstone, I’m actually embarrassed by this.
May 11, 2017 @ 9:13 pm
Spot on. You said it all, and my feelings from day 1, in a hell of a lot fewer words than I have in these comment sections over the past few months!
May 12, 2017 @ 11:58 am
You want “real”? The album cover for Motorhead’s Ace Of Spades. Those are men. These look like poofter boys ala Chris Lane and Sam Hunt. All kidding aside I haven’t listened yet and I didn’t make it to the free show they played here in Chicago Monday night.
May 13, 2017 @ 7:20 am
RIP Lemmy, as authentic a musician and person as you’d ever meet, while on the subject of authenticity.
May 12, 2017 @ 12:38 am
Ok,OK now I know this maybe controversial opinion but does anyone else hear a bit of Keith Whitley and John Anderson in the lead singers voice in burnt out?
Anyway to the original post. IDK if they lied or not but it could be worse right at least they have a good sound better than hearing Jason Aldeans retarded self sing.
May 12, 2017 @ 2:56 am
Authenticity and origin are two different things.
No one can influence where he/she is born. Everyone can influence how he/she portrays him/herself.
I will not fault Midland for being high-class kids who have been interested and invested in other artforms, carreers and sounds. I myself like so much more than Country and as a European I could never call myself “authentic” (though my passion for music is very real).
One of my favorite musicians, UK folk singer Laura Marling, is of Baronet pedigree. Does that make her songs less impressive? It doesn’t. That lady is a stunning artist.
True, her label does not rub your face in the fact that she is high-born. BUT: At least she is not being presented as a working class lass from the docks who used to scrape by as a pickpocket and who could only change out of her potato sack-hewn clothes after she had played every Northumbrian fish-and-chips-shop.
This Midland marketing campaign feels like someone is trying to con us. If they told me “Hey, these guys dabbled in all sorts of things, but they really enjoy Country and they’re quite good at it” I would see no problem. But I don’t like being blatantly lied to and that puts Midland on the backfoot already.
May 12, 2017 @ 6:16 am
Dear Mr. Trigger,
I am Mark’s twin brother, I have never heard of your blog but a friend of mine sent me this link last night. I thought I would do my best to give you some additional facts, not that you are looking for them or care to use them in your writing but none-the-less as a twin I felt it was my obligation. I’m also not sure I get the point of your piece or how any of this relates to their music. It seems you may be personally conflicted by this as well. In first paragraph you say “Ultimately you have to boil everything back down to the music and ask yourself, ‘Is it good?’” but then you go into a few thousand word gossip piece? Again, confusing but perhaps it has something to do with the reality that you clearly do judge music by more than just the music. Maybe there is a come to Jesus moment for you in the future or maybe not but for now back to the facts:
1. Mark and I grew up on a working cattle ranch in a tiny town in Southern Arizona. We were born on the ranch and my parents still live there. We grew up feeding cattle, branding, riding horses, mending fences and pretty much everything that would label you a true “cowboy”. Mark became a country star I became business man (aka a suit).. I’m not sure what “authentic country” is in your book but even though I live in NYC, don’t own a horse and rarely wear boots I bet I got you beat on the country street cred and I know Mark has you beat, even with an “authentic country” name like Trigger.
2. My parents bought a honky-tonk bar and restaurant called The Steak Out, in Sonoita Arizona a few months after we were born. So literally Mark grew up in a honky-tonk. No sh*t, like grew up in a honky-tonk. If you want to fact check it (which I know you are big on) my parents still own it today and if you head there, chances are Midland will be playing on the radio as my Dad controls the music when he is there. Live country music every Friday and Saturday night for the last 37 years!
3. Cameron has two, not one, Moon Men, something he and everyone who knows him are very proud of. When I met Cameron 15 years ago he was working renting video cameras in LA. Like every artist in LA he was working his ass off trying to get a break. It finally came but not through his “family connections”. His longtime friend Aaron Bruno (lead singer of AWOL Nation) had just spent a boat load of money on his bands first video for their first ever single Sail. He hated the video and talked his label into giving him a few thousand more to shoot a new video. This is a fraction of what it takes to make a good music video. In steps Cameron who crushed it on no budget. And thus began an amazing career. Again, anyone who knows Cameron knows he is one of the hardest working, talented, nicest guys in the business. Not sure if that makes his music good or bad but he certainly didn’t get where he is through any “family connections”.
4. We agree that Jess has some serious musical skills and is a very talented song writer. I am not sure how to dispute the fact driven statement of “But even his back story is foggy at best.” He has horses, drives a truck, moved to the country to get away from the city life, will talk about old time country music to anyone who will listens, and has a passion for song writers that is borderline obsessive. Again, not sure if that makes him “authentic country” in your book, but anyone who talks to Jess for 5 minutes, picks up a guitar with him, or listens to his songs knows this guy is the real deal.
5. Shane McAnally & Josh Osborn are good friends, co-writers, and huge fans of Midland. Listen to any Midland interview, go to any show, and one of the very first things Midland will do is sing the praises of Shane & Josh. In no way has Midland ever tried to hide their work with Shane and Josh. In fact, they are extremely proud of writing with Shane & Josh. They love writing together because they all have the same love for country music. Drinking Problem (co-written by Mark, Cameron, Jess, Shane & Josh) was a result of that magic. Wait till you hear some of the new stuff….
6. They are far from rich! F*ck if they are rich then they have me fooled too because every time I am with them I have pick up the bill, and I have loaned money to pay rent on a few occasions. Again I don’t know if that makes their music more “authentic” but it does make their story true. Giving up your careers to follow your passion is most of the times not a finically sound decision. Something I, Mark, Cameron, and Jess’s family reminded them of constantly over the last few years. Looks like we may have been wrong but trust me it looked bleak at times.
7. Finally, I would also argue that anyone who knows someone that is truly “country” knows that nothing, certainly not money, gets in the way of a man / women and their horse. Stop by any rodeo and you will see this first hand. And as an FYI rescue horses often cost a shit ton more, but I’m guessing you never paid a vet bill. Again, no clue how this has anything to do with their music, but unlike some, I am stickler for facts or at least opinions based on actual knowledge.
I could go on and on boring you with facts but I guess the moral of the story is none of this really matters. Buy their music and/or come to their shows because you like their music and you want to have a great time with one of the best live acts in the business (I may have a biased opinion). If you don’t like their music no problem there are a sh*t of other artist to listen to.
But If you are going to judge them on their “authenticity” then either do your homework or better yet call the guys up, grab a beer with them and then write the article. If you did either of these before you wrote your article I’m confident your title would have read,
Midland, The Real F*cking Deal!
Mike Wystrach
May 12, 2017 @ 8:59 am
That may all very well be true, and it sounds like it is. But, Trigger’s article was about how the band is being marketed and portrayed, not around details that only someone who knows them personally would know, or about Trigger’s personal view of the guys after having a beer with them or even interviewing them. Did he make some observations and assumptions based on publicly known facts (like the whole People magazine thing, the LA careers, etc.)? Of course, but that is what you have to do as a writer sometimes. Trigger often writes about the business side of the music industry, and this article was certainly an interesting look at image management and marketing……and specifically how it can play into things in the realm of country, which is a segment of music that has many fans who are pretty passionate about their artists.
The fact still stands that their image to people looking in from the outside is one of overly done “look at how country we are”. Maybe that isn’t their preference, but it sure seems that it’s what the label wants. The gist of Trigger’s article, in my view, was basically “who cares about authenticity or where you grew up…it’s all about the music. BUT, it is much better to be who you are in the process, no matter your background.” In the case of Midland, the way the label is managing the PR side of things comes off as dishonest to many people, which is a real issue for many, especially those who get further invested with the artists they follow and support over the long haul, beyond just liking a band for a few months because they have a catchy song on the radio. If I were the band, I would put a stop to the of the over-the-top country photo shoots and would demand more control over the general direction of the PR side of things. But that and $2.50 will get you a cup of coffee! ; )
May 12, 2017 @ 9:37 am
Michael,
Well at least we agree that the music is good. And I think if you read the article in the way it was presented as opposed to the way it might have been presented to you when someone passed you a link, I think you would find that judging the music on its own merit is the ultimate moral. This article wasn’t titled, “Midland’s a Sham” or “Midland Has No Authenticity.” It is titled, “Midland’s Authenticity Dilemma” because I am actively speaking about the internal conflict this band evokes in me as I attempt to decide if it is something I am into, or if it’s something that I feel is slightly disingenuous on how it is being presented, even if I like the music. And the reason it has stimulated such in-depth conversation, including many folks agreeing with my assessment, is because this conflict wasn’t just my own. It was the conflict of many country fans. That is why I felt it was important to write so in-depth about it, and that is why it has touched such a nerve.
If someone was razzing on my twin brother, I probably would be a little angry and frustrated too. Another commenter defending Midland under the name “Austinlocalbornandraised” admitted last night that sure, there has been some marketing spin about the band, but that happens with every major label artist. And it’s the job of journalists to question that spin and try to present and offer more objective perspectives on music than what marketers and publicists are presenting. Nothing in this article is “gossip.” Nor did I ever say that the band was trying to hide their past efforts in entertainment or that they work with Shane McAnally. And if it’s your perspective that I am coming from a bias point-of-view, please understand I am already on record giving their music a very positive review, 8 out of 10 in fact (https://savingcountrymusic.com/midland-surprises-arouses-suspicion-with-big-machine-debut-ep/) and I reinforced that in this article. I’m not in the business of undercutting my own opinions.
This is very simple: I don’t care where the various members of Midland grew up, or in what circumstances. All I know is that it’s a bad look for a band that formed at a wedding in Jackson Hole that was covered in People Magazine, and who is now signed with Big Machine and has a Top 20 hit (that will be a #1) to rattle off to the press about how hard their way has been. Sorry, but there are THOUSANDS of artists who have worked way harder than Midland who will never get 10% of the money, recognition, or opportunity they ALREADY have. This isn’t me rearing back and kicking Midland in the nuts, this is me offering cool-headed advice to a group of guys who wants to court traditional and independent country fans. If you want to write me off as an asshole, that’s fine. But I’m telling you, Midland’s way will be harder if they continue to portray the sob story as opposed to being honest about their past, and letting the cards fall where they may.
Thanks for offering some more perspective and insight into the band’s past.
May 12, 2017 @ 8:58 pm
Mike – just as a curiosity, because it came up in these comments….is it safe to assume that none of the three have a real “drinkin problem”….. and that whole bit was cooked up because it sounded like the “country” thing to write about? I mean, I hope that is the case (not wishing alchoholism on anyone).
May 13, 2017 @ 1:42 pm
…but who gives a shit?
Johnny Cash is such a phony for cooking up that whole bit about shooting a man just to watch him die, because it sounded like the “country” thing to write about!
(Folsom Prison Blues was actually pretty wholesale ripped off from a Gordon Jenkins song, except for that line).
They’re “the real fucking deal” at singing and playing their instruments, regardless of what merchandise their label is selling for them (Anderson East actually sells socks on the same site, and Turnpike sells onesies on their online store).
Seriously…can we stop punching sideways? The fact that other people are more talented, make better music and have worked harder than Midland doesn’t change the fact that these guys are very talented, make good music and have worked their asses off to get where they are.
May 13, 2017 @ 2:38 pm
I agree, CLS. I understand the passion on both sides, but I ultimately feel that a mountain is being made out of a mole hill.
May 13, 2017 @ 7:31 pm
You are talking about song lyrics (Johnny Cash example) that are clearly about a fictional situation, vs a concerted marketing campaign to put out a false image of authenticity / band background (midland). And when Johnny Cash was cultivating his “badass” image, it was a pretty unique thing and was pretty original for the time. Drinkin Problem is the exact opposite. A song about the most trite and tired subject in country right now, AND, sung by a group of guys in western costumes for god’s sake. It seems like you are just too big of a Midland fan to see the clear difference in any of this. To be honest, as I said, I can’t stand their eagles “70s California Country” style (those words are dorectly from one of their many press releases), so I am going to be a bit harder on them than a group who’s music I respect. But even if they did put out music that I respected, I’m not sure I would get behind the way they have allowed themselves to be marketed.
May 15, 2017 @ 11:44 am
The thing is…I’m not even a Midland fan!
The only reason I’ve heard of them is everyone here complaining about their being posers. I then checked out their music, and it’s pretty good.
I agree with Trigger that the way they’ve been marketed was foolish, but they are so deeply removed from the actual problems in country that I’m not going to waste any time complaining about it.
May 12, 2017 @ 10:54 pm
Is this what you mean by the “real fking deal” Mike? https://bakdrop.com/products/midland
May 12, 2017 @ 6:34 am
Authenticity, what do you know about authenticity. I lived in Dripping Springs the last 20 yrs and it’s nothing like you describe which means you’ve never been here. Midland has played in dance halls and small venues for tips to name 1 Mercer dance hall in Dripping Springs. Also Midland has over 6 hrs of there own songs. Poodie’s was another tip venue. Before you write an article about authenticity you should make sure you are authentic with your research not just making a couple of phone calls.
May 12, 2017 @ 9:04 am
” I lived in Dripping Springs the last 20 yrs and it’s nothing like you describe which means you’ve never been here.”
That seems like a wild-eyed assumption. You know Saving Country Music is based in Austin, right? So what are the odds I’ve made it out to Dripping Springs at some point? For all you know, I once tried to buy property out there, perhaps years before Midland even showed up, and was slapped in the face with the reality of the egregious amount it costs for even a starter home in the area.
No phone calls were made in the writing of this article.
May 12, 2017 @ 10:05 am
Well trigger years before Midland got here there were no subdivisions with starter homes. Driving through Dripping Springs doesn’t mean you know Drippin. All the starter home subdivision just popped up in the last 2 years. Being based in Austin is definitely nothing to base your knowledge of country. Out here in the country we have more respect people we don’t go around bashing folks. Country comes from the heart not place of origin. Jess and his family are good people his wife is also a belt buckle where in champion cuttin horse rider. Who worked on a ranch to help out with the bills while Jess was playin these non existing honky-tonks. Give it up junior you know nothing about what country folk are or where they come from .
May 12, 2017 @ 12:33 pm
You missed the point of the article, obviously. You might want to read it again.
May 12, 2017 @ 1:06 pm
“Being based in Austin is definitely nothing to base your knowledge of country… Country comes from the heart not place of origin.”
Um, I think you just contradicted yourself there.
I don’t live in the City of Austin. I can’t afford it. Which means I definitely can’t afford to live in Dripping Springs. All those “starter” homes might be starter in size, but they’re extremely expensive from the part of town I hail from. I said I was based in Austin, which means there is a greater liklihood I know from personal experience about Dripping Springs, or at least that I know more than what the Rolling Stone reporter who portrayed it as “Wide open space” knows. I think we could both agree there is nothing about Dripping Springs that is “wide open country,” meaning prairies and big sky. I have been to, spent time in, and traveled through Dripping Springs dozens of times. I know the area very well, if for no other reason that I too once decided it would be nice to live there until I saw what an acre of land went for. So instead, I live in Del Valle/Garfield, which is literally the cheapest, most underserved area of Travis county because that’s all I can afford.
May 12, 2017 @ 7:06 pm
You ought to come back out west!
May 14, 2017 @ 7:31 am
Dripping? It’s crazy expensive. Kyle Chandler(Friday Night Lights TV Show) lives out there. Dripping, Bee Caves and Pretty much both 290 and 71 stretches into the hill country is crazy expensive. I live in south Austin on the green belt at the base of the Barton Skyway, but bought in 2002. I’m about to take advantage of over inflated Austin home values and buy a place in and around NB. Some people Trigger.. think they know it all.
May 12, 2017 @ 6:50 am
Anyone ever started a guitar trio before and called yourself a ‘band’? That should be the first clue that they are not in fact a band, but rather three dudes a label is pushing. They sould call the new album Midland: ‘One Direction’.
These guys show just how out of touch the BM really is. Overemphasis on the look in the excessive amount of promo photos, and over produced youtube videos is ridiculous and as Trigger rightly points out, suggests the opposite of authenticity. Why didn’t BM look at these dues, give them the cool songs that McNally couldn’t get the average Nashville artist to cut (all good tunes by as far as I’m concerned), and send em to Dave Cobb? Surely that would be the of the moment thing to do.
Once again this whole debacle proves that those who aren’t involved in the underground side of things, will never understand it.
May 12, 2017 @ 9:19 am
The music is good and it’s on the radio. Midland is either a victory for country music fans or a deception cooked up to make sure we keep tuning in to local radio. All we can do now is see what else comes down the mountain. There’s more good music on country radio than there has been since whichever year “Family Man” and “The Call” were big hits. The only problem is that the bad music on country radio gives me fond memories of bro country.
May 13, 2017 @ 6:40 am
2011 was the year, then FLG hit with Cruise late in 2012 and forever changed the genre for better or worse. I miss 2011, hell Luke Bryan had a couple decent songs then. Lol
May 12, 2017 @ 9:29 am
I’ll just say this for me FGL, as awful as they are, at least they are the stupid songs they sing. Where as guys like 40 yr old father Luke Bryan and Sober as a nun Brantley Gilbert are total fake crap…. It is like Miley Cyrus running around with fake grillz and chains, acting like she is Hip Hop, that understandable upsets fans and artists of that music. The same way Midland upsets fans of country.
May 12, 2017 @ 12:38 pm
This point has probably already been made a bunch of times above (I have to go out and can’t read all the comments right now), but I gotta say: Yes, it’s only the music that matters, and yes, authenticity is a tricky thing to pin down. Fact remains, though: authenticity is a major reason I love (real) country music, and phoniness in country music or anywhere else is one of the things I hate most in the world.
May 12, 2017 @ 1:44 pm
“white flight suburbs ”
Why the pejorative? White people gotta live somewhere.
May 12, 2017 @ 6:24 pm
I’d guess it’s because in most cases, white folks more often tend to leave the cities where minorities, who historically don’t earn as much money and can’t afford to do so, get stuck. That isn’t to say they do it to be racist, just that it’s more often white folks who do it.
Sorry if that hurts your feelings, snowflake.
May 13, 2017 @ 4:43 am
My feelings aren’t hurt. Just pushing back against the double standard. If blatant racial generalizations are wrong, they’re wrong.
May 17, 2017 @ 10:50 pm
You have failed to mention why it’s wrong.
May 12, 2017 @ 8:31 pm
Only James Hand and Spencer Cornett are authentic? Quite a statement. Corb Lund? The LeDoux’s?
May 12, 2017 @ 8:33 pm
I forgot to mention Tyler Childers. He’s pretty authentic.
May 12, 2017 @ 9:17 pm
I was more curious as to why James Hand and Spencer Cornett were considered the only 100% authentic artists out there. Maybe I missed the sarcasm? Been reading your site for years, love it, first time I added my commentary. Keep up the great work.
May 12, 2017 @ 11:03 pm
Thanks for reading David.
That’s just something I’ve been saying for years. I am sure there’s other truly authentic artists out there, but not many that are the real deal, plucked out of the country honest to goodness bumpkins that just barely have their stuff together enough to make country music.
May 12, 2017 @ 10:53 pm
https://bakdrop.com/products/midland
Nailed it Trigg!!!!
May 15, 2017 @ 1:48 pm
Ha! I bought some Johnny cash socks once. Just to watch them dye.
May 13, 2017 @ 4:41 am
First sentence in a review in the Washington Post yesterday of a Kris Kristofferson concert: “The premise — and the promise — of country music is that it tells the truth.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/a-kris-kristofferson-concert-that-felt-like-a-goodbye/2017/05/12/36bfe4b2-3725-11e7-b412-62beef8121f7_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-cards_hp-card-arts%3Ahomepage%2Fcard&utm_term=.d433ea807fca
May 14, 2017 @ 7:25 am
I follow Country music in Austkn closer than most, and I honestly never heard of Midland until Trigger started to cover them. I go on to many country Music shows in and around Austin, and never seen them on a bill until they were invited by Spotify to do a SXSW session. Big facade, yes.. But they don’t lack talent. They sure and the hell are not faking it. I like their music.
May 22, 2017 @ 2:50 pm
Hey Trigger,
I read your article and gave it some time to digest and now have to hit you with some truths. Truth that I, as a friend and family member of Midland know, and that you, as an internet blog journalist, can be very quick to gloss over in this age of Google.
As a rule of thumb, a reader or observer should never believe everything they see/read/hear right? As a journalist yourself, one would hope you know that kind of fact checking is more a requirement to avoid misinforming your subscribers. So with that being said, let me set the record straight on a few things you erred on in your critique/op-ed of my bro’s band.
Let’s start first with my brother’s wedding
Trigger’s Triggers- Cameron Duddy had an elite class wedding and was married in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
Truth: Cameron Duddy was married in Victor, ID at the Moose Creek Lodge near Driggs, ID where his mother in law lives. You ever been to Driggs or Victor? It’s quaint, rustic, western, affordable and a far cry from the posh lifestyle you’d see in Jackson Hole. If you tell someone you were married in Victor, they’d probably ask where that was. I assume you tell people you’re from Austin when asked, but in reality you live in your mother’s home, as your bio suggests, outside of Austin. Unfortunately nobody knows about Hutto or Pflugerville so it’s easier to just say Austin.
Trigger’s Triggers- The wedding was expensive, lavish and all bankrolled by Cameron’s megastar family
Truth: The wedding, as is generally tradition, was paid for by the bride’s parents. I paid, my way to Idaho along with my mom and our other brothers, family and friends and if you think for a second that Cameron’s “Ultra-Rich” family of Joely Fisher and Connie Steven’s (Who I doubt many readers here would know) footed the bill, you are sadly mistaken. Connie was gracious enough to host a welcome reception at a home she no longer owns in Jackson Hole and that was as close as the wedding ever got to that destination. The rehearsal dinner was at a hole in the wall tavern called the Knotted Pine, and both the ceremony and reception were in Victor.
Trigger’s Triggers- People magazine covered the wedding confirming Cameron Duddy is part of the mega rich elite.
Truth: The tabloids were there, quite uselessly, to spotlight Cameron’s stepmom Joely, not Cameron and not Harper, and they weren’t there for much more than the family photo ops.
I’ll leave the wedding talk at that. It was a personal affair and fact of the matter is that you weren’t there, so to make assumptions about it based on a google search, doesn’t do much to validate your article, it has the opposite effect. I on the other hand was there, I can talk to how authentic I thought Cameron, Mark, and Jess may have looked in their cowboy gear back then before I, or maybe even they knew exactly what was happening, but I was there to see it, I can also talk about how much fun it was jamming out with them each night, and in case you want to fact check a little more about those “formative moments” you always read so much about, I’ll happily oblige with video proof of when it all started. I have plenty of photos and a video or two.
I think a lot of your vitriol is based at the way mainstream country and the media is embracing this new ‘old’ sound and marketing, or rather, sensationalizing it in such a way that anyone can be an authentic cowboy country. Continue to give credit where it is due to Shane McAnally and the folks over at Big Machine, who are doing a hell of a job at what they are there to do, help musicians they have signed publish music, and promote said music to the audience in a way that is broad and appealing in an effort to, get this… sell the most records! You even said on a recent podcast that mainstream country music is picking up on the need for a more authentic sound. A now narrow minded view of bands meeting that need like Midland who are bridging the gap, like the Rolling Stone article suggests, makes you sound hypocritical and to say that they are simply a “machination” of the industrial complex discounts a lot of the hard work it takes any musician to get half as far as these guys have gotten. I mean, you act as if being mentioned in the same breath as Florida Georgia Line and Taylor Swift automatically discredits your authenticity? Is a ballplayer who signs with a storied franchise, say the Yankees who will market him in an effort to sell tickets/jerseys/etc., automatically discredited for the story of his rise through the ranks of the minor leagues no matter how interesting or bland it may have been?
I know you may not believe it, but these guys have paid their dues. Let me continue to elaborate.
Triggers Triggers- Midland has leveraged their high level entertainment contacts to launch a country band.
Truth: You know better than I do that country music has been yearning for the sound that these guys and their contemporaries like John Pardi and Chris Stapleton have, the studios know this too. But before McAnally or Big Machine had anything to do with the Midland, they had to go to Music Row and pitch their music, their brand, their style, and ultimately themselves. From, your article, I can tell you’ve never met them in person and you really should before you judge because it might change your opinion on them. The guys have a chemistry you don’t often see in a music collective and those bonds are something you can’t use “connections” to form and I can almost guarantee you is a redeeming quality the studio saw in them. Jess, as you correctly asserted, is a musical genius actually more than you give him credit for. I’ve watched him work at his craft and he takes it seriously and it shows in his writing, and he does write much of their music contrary to your claims. Cameron is as creative as it comes and his previous award winning work is only deserving of merit not contempt. The fact he is as accomplished a music video director/editor as he is probably lowered record label risk, and helped seal the deal. Then there’s Mark whose charisma, charm, and devilish good looks are only matched by his conviction to see his dream through to the end, and it’s no wonder he’s so likable. The kind of big break you’re assuming they were gifted solely based on soap opera appearances, underwear modeling, and a step parent who starred in Inspector Gadget the movie is simply a fallacious concept in the music industry. If it was Jakob Dylan or Sean Lennon you were lambasting, maybe then I’d give you that and even then, the notoriety rarely amounts to success.
Triggers Triggers- Midland is marketed as a road wearied destitute and penniless band just barely scraping by playing shows at any honky took that will have them.
Truth: The guys in Midland are by no means broke, they all have worked hard to get where they are though, side projects to give them the means to afford themselves the ability to heavily travel the road where they “now” make close to nothing, playing shows and entertaining radio DJs so that they can get their name out there. To give the impression they are raking in dollars playing shows at Poodies, as the smallest billed artist at Stagecoach, at some rinky-dink dive in Kuna Idaho, or opening for Dale Watson at the Broken Spoke is not accurate and maybe not what you’re saying, but the band busts their asses, spends time away from their growing families (both Jess and Cameron are first time fathers of 1 year olds and Jess a newborn) and turn away opportunities to spend time with close friends because they are “all-in” on this project. There is a difference between destitute and penniless and going all-in on something with whatever you have knowing that if it doesn’t work, you’re going to be in a jam. That is a more accurate way to describe what the “marketeers” are aiming for in my opinion.
Triggers Triggers- Accredited magazine articles portrayal of Midland’s supposed “authenticity”.
Truth: Besides, the wedding piece, this bothered me the most, not because the stories of the “where”, locations and key points in the bands formation are all true. I was bothered because it’s naive on your part to assume the media would spin their story any differently in order to sell it, much like you have done yourself here. While you prefer a nihilist approach and the media a more optimistic one, it’s only fair to assume that they are not going to invite a band in for an interview and cast doubt on a story that’s been given to them. Again, I invite you to bring the band in for an interview and see for yourself as Drip is only a stones throw from Austin.
Here’s a nutshell-
I know most about Cameron since I grew up with him. He was raised in San Ramon CA not LA, with his two brothers and his single mother, who had a heart big enough to adopt me as a 4th son after my mom passed away. She/we were never rich, let me set that record straight. We had what we needed and got by just fine though. After High School we both went to LA and it was even tougher there, eventually I moved back home, but he stuck it out. As for the other band mates, Mark went from Arizona to CA to TX, and Jess from Oregon to CA and ultimately to TX. I am not sure how being raised on a ranch like Mark, or currently having a farm to tend to and owning horses Like Cameron somehow casts doubt on their authenticity. I digress, they had all played together on various projects during their time in LA. Cameron was married in Victor ID, again, not Jackson Hole and the guys quite memorably all jammed out until the wee hours during the weekend festivities thus creating their desire to start a new kind of band together.
Here’s the last Truth Trigger. Truth is that they may not be the stuff of country music mystique, but I think its bands like Midland that are “Saving Country Music” not damaging it. So next time you get fired up about what rights one has in the quest to make a music career, save your scathing words for the media and give credit where it is due to a great band out to make name for themselves.
-Frank Colόn
May 24, 2017 @ 5:28 pm
Sounds like we have the makings of a country Milli Vanilli. Rest assured, if this group is a product of Nashville’s marketing machine, they will be the answer to a trivia question in about five years. While it takes time for real talent to shine through, fake talent has a nasty habit of withering on the vine when it’s exposed to the country music market.
May 24, 2017 @ 6:32 pm
I wish I could agree with you but the current state of country music is testimony that the “country music market” will slurp up just about anything that is dumped in its trough. Case in point: FGL, Cole Swindell, Rascal Flatts, etc.
May 25, 2017 @ 4:42 am
I agree with you. but do any of the named artists, including the ones in this article, have the staying power of George Strait or Reba McEntire or Willie Nelson? Time will tell. It’s doubtful. The market has a way or sorting these things out. Shania Twain anyone?
June 13, 2017 @ 12:15 pm
Midland’s frontman, Mark Wystrach, is my ex brother-in-law. I’ve known him long before his acting days and Midland success. His family, the Wystrachs, are as authentic as they come. They own a large range in near Sonita, Arizona and Mark (and his twin brother, Michael) were raised on that ranch riding horses, tending the ranch, and working in the family’s restaruant and saloon (the Steak Out). All the Wystrach children worked that ranch as kids, including many hours spent at the family Saloon.
At my wedding, Mark grabbed a guitar, and belted out old Johnny Cash tunes for everyone in a wonderful, spontaenous performance. I knew then that Mark was going to make it, someday. I have no idea what qualifies as “authenticity”, but Mark is no city boy, he was raised and bred in the ranches of Arizona.
Here’s fun fact: Mark has a connection to Secretariat, the horse. Yep. The restaurant and inn in Sonita, purchased by Mark family and run as a business throughout Mark’s childhood, was originally constructed by Penny Chenery, the owner of Secretariat. Penny build the Sonita Inn with Secretarit’s winnings, and to this day, the Sonita Inn is a museum to this famous horse, with much Secretariat memorabilia.
June 23, 2017 @ 1:58 pm
I really like the band Midland. I don’t care where they are from. Country music needs more music like what Midland provides. So why all the negative comments?
I could listen to their music all night long and dance.
I hope they are around for a very long time.
July 26, 2017 @ 7:43 am
Just heard them on NPR. They shut the subject down with class. “Why would someone show up to play the Ryman in a backwards baseball hat and a tee shirt?” They’re damn right. If they were construction workers before having a hit, and dressed like rappers, nobody would criticize. They’re dressing like 70’s hippy cowboys. We should be so lucky that 13wz Wranglers catch on again. Hats off to ya boys!! Harmonies are outstanding and the songs are COUNTRY. Leave them boys alone and let ’em sing their songs.
August 2, 2017 @ 5:34 pm
This is fantastic! Thanks 76er!
http://www.npr.org/sections/world-cafe/2017/07/26/539485533/world-cafe-nashville-midland
August 10, 2017 @ 9:32 pm
What pisses me off is that these people are claiming they are a Texas band…will go making hits as a Texas band…take credit as a Texas band…while all the REAL Texas bands are working there asses off doing the real deal on the road. These dudes are Unauthentic losers. I’m from Amarillo…never heard of them..I live in Nashville now. Douchebag city out here, this band smelled of a rotten Pussy, how I found out about this obscure rip off of my culture was my friend at big machine said to check this Texas band out….ok what Texas band? Being one pretty in the Texas music scene I know who’s around, and has BEEN around. He says midland….hmm…never heard of em….googled these assholes. when I told the person at big machine basically what everyone said they do well in Texas and toured Texas…lies….. I want to compare dates of Dale Watson, whiskey Meyers, Aaron Watson, Cody Johnson, Wade Bowen. Those dudes TOuR Texas. Stay on tour …those are the people who should be getting all this attention not these assholes.
I don’t think it would as bad if they wouldn’t claim to be a Texas band,…
SCAM artists.
August 14, 2017 @ 7:25 pm
” drinkin problem” sounds similar enough to David Balls “thinkin problem”.
July 19, 2018 @ 7:41 pm
Heres 2 my cents I don’t care where they came from I’ll support these guys because they sound more like authentic country then any of these poppers that need to be playing on the country station I would love to see country music get back to it’s Roots and these guys for the bill. Their like listening to dwight yoakman George strait Alan Jackson… Etc you get the point and they were real country artist. Even these guys dress like the real deal wearing jeans cowboy boots!
August 9, 2018 @ 4:22 pm
Victor and Driggs Idaho are full of Jackson Hole millionaires. Give me a break. Working class have been pushed out years ago. The Knotty Pine is a fake cowboy rich man hangout. Midland are frauds. But besides that, the music is bland at best. Their fake cowboy gear gave me hope but it was just false advertising.
January 3, 2019 @ 9:37 pm
They are the strokes of country
January 21, 2019 @ 8:58 am
Midland gets skunked at 2018 CMAs. Scott Borchetta bought a couple of nominations but they lost out to real artists. Thank you, CMA!
January 22, 2019 @ 9:59 pm
Bunch of west coast hipster tinhorns playing make believe and pretending to be Texans.
February 26, 2019 @ 8:07 am
Midland the band: Sombreros, ponchos, high water skinny jeans, and designer roach killer boots. “Cowboys” indeed. Lol.
June 29, 2021 @ 7:33 pm
I actually like their music, I think Mark sounds a lot like George Strait. Good lyrics ( regardless who penned them) good songs. A lot of hate in these comments. Setting aside authenticity, I dont care where the hell they are from, their music speaks to me on so many levels. Heartbreak being at the forefront 🙁 Some songs give me chills as they are singing my parts of my life and that is what I am connecting to, the lyrics, the music. Respectfully, fuck where they’re from, it’s about the music. It will always be about the music.
February 25, 2023 @ 12:18 pm
Who actually cares where they come from lol I know they weren’t down and out musicians before they formed midland because they actually put it out there that they were part of other bands before forming midland. And obviously Mark isn’t a poor country boy, he was a bloody model before and doesn’t shy away from that past. I don’t think they try to be anything they’re not, they’re a damn good country band who write great catchy songs and have some talent. I like artists like Luke combs, but he does kind of shove it down your throat in most of his songs how he came from humble beginnings and is now successful. In the end though I couldn’t care less where the origins of a bands members come from as long as they make great music!
October 20, 2024 @ 7:23 am
Check out 14 & 18 year old new Outlaw Swamp Country band from SWFL playing all over Franklin TN on IG @thebandanabrothersofficial
The Bandana Brothers are the FUTURE – this is authentic. All their songs are about experiences they’ve lived catching invasive pythons and their young love life. Badass!
January 26, 2025 @ 11:46 am
Much ado about nothing. The music is what matters.
Every artist has marketing gimmicks the sales teams develop but no need to get the ole panties in a twist over it.