by Bryan Adeline

I will admit without shame that I watch the Grammys most years. I don't generally pay much attention to them when they happen but I check out the performances and listen to categories with acts that I'm interested in. I also keep an ear open for anyone that I suspect could say something humorous or shocking (which to me would be humorous). Usually, I'm greatly disappointed by the whole affair and always end up questioning why in the world I wasted the time even having the TV on when there were any other dozen or so things I could be doing, and certainly at least a handful that I should be doing. But that is not why I write today (tonight if I am to be accurate). I write to add my particular skew to the view posed by Benji Eisen's article on the same topic. See: De-Jamming the Grammys http://www.jambands.com/kitchensink/kitchensink9.html.

That he was compelled to write on Jambands and the Grammys illustrates what I often see as a basic problem within the communal psyche of this crowd ¾ that we all in some degree wish to be accepted by that which we despise, namely, the corporate/popular mu sic industry. Because the Industry has always controlled what we hear on the radio, see on TV, and generally read about in music magazines, the information and approval bestowed by the Industry is deemed to be the authority on the subject ¾ politically c orrect if you will. It's easy to forget, in the commercial onslaught spewed forth by the Industry, that the mere existence of the Jamband scene and what it represents is a fairly bold rejection of the Industry and what it represents. What is important t o the Industry and what is important to the Jamband scene are very different and in most respects contrary to each. Jambands, with very few exceptions, don't sell the same product the Industry sells. The Industry sells packaged music, Jambands sell live music. Don't be deceived by the music part of the equation. That's not where the difference is.

The Industry invests in its artists. It wants a return on that investment. In order to do that it needs to be sure that it can sell something that a lot of folks will buy. It wants its artists to spend that investment using lots of time and money in r ecording studios, creating sonically perfect versions of songs so that they will be immediately pleasing, generally undemanding, and somehow familiar to the listener. These songs are often tied up with and packaged in a such a way to reflect certain fash ions and language that will appeal to the target fan who is these days a teenager of indeterminate disaffection belonging to any number of groups of conglomerated outcast wannabes. These kids have money pouring out of their pockets to spend on overpriced CDs (catch the recent headlines about price-fixing?), and are suckers for slick marketing whether it be music, food, wrestling, or other brightly colored but bland products (notice I didn't mention cigarettes). The Industry is happy to satisfy their mar ket demands.

Jambands sell concert tickets and merchandise. These are not products produced by the Industry. Jambands are live, in the moment, rarely able to capture in the studio what goes on on stage. The importance of the live experience is common knowledge to all of us. Unlike the Industry version, the music is not prepackaged, pre-choreographed (except maybe for Phish and the trampoline moves), and generally is not planned. It is subject to the successes and pitfalls of that approach. It does not fit the p arameters of usual radio airplay, and the attitude, hippified as it may or may not actually be, is nevertheless too idealistic and stereotyped to be taken seriously by Industry-types who are not always interested in taking music seriously or artistically. Because of these factors, huge sums of cash are not made in places that Industry-types see where they can get their hunk o' pie. As a result, the Jamband scene exists essentially under the radar of most mainstream music outlets and so has had the benef it of developing its incredibly varied selection of musical delights.

I don't mean to be scornful of the Industry and its musical products. There are plenty of acts that are great that fit in quite well with the way the Industry works. Also, there are Jambands that are utter crap. It's a matter of taste. I don't begr udge people their musical interests. I'm reminded of the article a few months back detailing one of our colleague's musical evolution from Poison to Phish. See "What Turned You On?" http://www.jambands.com/apr00/features/turnon.html. However music manages t o transport someone is just fine with me. I only feel bad for those who never experience that transportation at all. But I digress.

Ultimately of course, the biggest difference at the retail level is money. Selling CDs in bulk makes more money than touring and selling tickets unless and until a band breaks big. The Dead, Phish, Panic, Blues Traveler, DMB, and a few others made that leap. Others are close. Most will never come close, but that's true in any category of music. The difficult question then is what is it that a band is looking for in its musical career? Do the members want to play their music their way or do they want to be forced to compromise in order to "get signed" and sell millions of CDs? Compromise is in the nature of being in a band, in a collective unit, but what about letting others in to contribute to those musical decisions? Sometimes outside advice is h elpful, sometimes disastrous. What does it mean to be true to your muse? How do you get enough gas money to get the van to the next gig and what will you eat when you get there? And where will you sleep? Will you sleep?

I've had this conversation with several bands and countless musicians over the years. The potential lure of rock stardom seems delicious. The hassles of the road are well-documented. No one is ever quite sure how to answer this question. Lotsa mone y without any musical compromise. The rarest gem in music. My thoughts generally run in the realm of suggesting that we be happy with what we are. The Jamband community comes together to reaffirm certain common values the Industry doesn't share. In som e cases they scorn those values as we scorn some of theirs. As a musician, be glad that you are lucky enough to have dancing, spinning, smiling fans out there making the effort to come out to see you. Play your hearts out. That's why you started this i n the first place and that's why the fans are there. As fans, show up, and if the music hits you, don't hesitate to let it show. That's why you went there in the first place and that's why you go back. If the folks who grant the Grammys can't recognize a good thing when they see it, that's ok. Keep playing and dancing to the sounds of your own musically winning category. Don't look for recognition from those who wouldn't even know what they were looking at. You know what's good without being told.

Bryan Adeline is very tired now but still has some conjuring to do.