Inside this issue: - Kansas City Blues Society

K C B l u e s N e w s
An Abundance of Blues!
by Brock Alexander
Stop! Everyone take a moment and reminisce about the good ol’ days prior to iPhones, laptops, and DJs. Remember when people, not computers
played live music Remember when audiences expected to be entertained by the group of men/women on stage, rather than their
Smartphone's Or when couples hit the dance floor to the seductive groove of nameless musicians rather than celebrities with computers (who
do a fantastic job ‘acting’ like DJs...pun intended). I wish I could continue on about how great those times were
and how terrible things have become, but I never knew those times -- I grew up in the early ‘90s.
Those times are left only in the stories of old-timers who lived them and in the dreams of dreamers like myself.
However, I am also here to tell the opposite side of the same story.
Music has always been a guiding force in my life. Blessed to be brought up in a very nurturing musical environment,
I have been enjoying, studying, and performing music since age 5. I have also been blessed to have travelled
and lived in some amazing places, met some amazing people, and encountered amazing opportunities. Yet
through every fad, gag, and gimmick, through all of life’s peaks and valleys, regardless of my address, there has
been Blues music. In my opinion, there is no greater catharsis than what Blues does for me and my soul.
“...there is no greater
catharsis than what
Blues does for me and
my soul.”
A companion for the past 12 years, I have played the Blues wherever life has taken me. Blues jams are abundant
in nearly every city in America. Unlike every other genre of music, the Blues are both abundant and accessible -- meaning anyone from casual
listener to professional musicians can find a reason to pay attention. Trust me, even though you won’t see it on MTV or TMZ the Blues is alive
and well in Hollywood!
Life has dropped me in Kansas City since December of 2011 and while I’m sure we have our fair share of fist-pumping, DJ’ed dance clubs, Kansas
City maintains it’s reputation as a thriving environment for Blues music and musicians. Just look at the long list of Blues musicians and
groups in the Kansas City area! Not to mention the National, as well as International recognition garnered to acts like Samantha Fish, Trampled
Under Foot, and Levee Town.
Next time you think ‘there’s nothing to do tonight’ or you feel like staying home and watching last week’s SNL on your iPad, remember that there
are still lots of dreamers out there who don’t believe in music from computer speakers -- on behalf of my fellow musicians, I would like to say
that WE are still out here, unloading and loading gear, playing sweaty sets for sometimes empty rooms and tips, dreaming the only way WE
know how -- with the music alive and in front of you!
It might take more effort to put on your ‘high heel sneakers’ or your ‘wig hat’ on your head, but instead of dreaming about the good old days, or
watching them on YouTube, why not live in the present day -- where myself, and my fellow musicians are rejoicing and smiling in the sounds of
what’s regarded as melancholy music.
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