Is being an “invested” fan a plus or minus?

Is being an “invested” fan a plus or minus? What I mean is this. We all have several musicians that we enjoy. I have a taste for music in many different styles. I have at this time 4 musicians that I really enjoy listening to. Of course anyone reading this or anyone who knows me knows that Taylor Hicks is at the very top of that list. That list also includes an Indie Artist Judd Starr and country music stars Bucky Covington and Luke Bryan.

I am interested in what 4 men accomplish in their music careers. I support all 4 men differently and I feel differently about each. But am I overly invested in any of them or even all of them?

A fellow blogger/friend published a post called Keeping it Real, which as all fans of Taylor Hicks, know is also a title of one of his songs on his new album released March 10th called “The Distance”. So in this post she gives a list of items that can let you know if you are a casual fan or a fanatic. Neither is a bad thing though, in my opinion, unless of course you have crossed the line into stalking or ignoring your loved ones, who are really what matter in life anyway.

So I decided to see how the list relates to each musician that is ranking in my tops list.

So first I will cover Judd Starr. I am a fan of his for a few reasons. One - I love his voice/music, two - he is a dedicated musician, three – he is an awesome guy who really cares about and appreciates those who support him and enjoy his music. You will not find a musician who puts more time and effort into letting his fans know how much he truly appreciates what they do for him. Judd Starr is an independent artist and he has also created music for many television shows and movies. But do I qualify as a casual fan or a fanatic? So from Chills list these are the ones I can relate to in regards to my support of Judd Starr.


1).When one of his songs plays in a restaurant or supermarket, you have to suppress the impulse to tell everyone to, “Shhhh, listen, that’s Judd Starr,” and you can’t wait to tell your “Judd” buddies about it.
That hasn’t happened but if I did hear one of Judd’s songs I might just be tempted to do that. I would be so thrilled for him to hear him played I would want to hear the song not chatter or chopping carts. LOL I would come home and tell my family and yes I would tell online buddies. I would also write Judd and tell him. I would want to give the very good news to make his day.

2.You TIVO all of the television appearances within your Dish’s reach and go online to search for the ones you couldn’t get.
If he appears anywhere on TV you can bet I will. Again I would be so thrilled for him I would not miss seeing him on TV.


3.You bought a “few” copies of his new CD.
I have one of each CD. Does that count?


4. You have a Google alert on Judd’s name and anyone even remotely associated with him.

Just Judd. Hey I run a MySpace fan site about him. If there is some good news to discover I need to know so I can post it and then congratulate Judd.

5. Do you own a blog and/or Judd-related fan site?

As stated above a MySpace fan site. I have also written some blog entries at my blogs about him and interviewed him.

So am I casual fan or fanatic?

I think I am in between. I so want to see Judd succeed in all he does and share his talents with many, many people. If he were to hit the “big” time I would be jumping up and down and be so excited for him. But if I qualify as a fanatic then so be it. Nothing wrong with wishing the best for someone.

Next Bucky Covington, for those who stumbled on to this blog and have no clue who Bucky Covington is, he was on American Idol the same season as Taylor Hicks. I was not a fan of Bucky’s during the season. A few months after Idol was over I interviewed Bucky about his debut CD. Bucky was so funny and sweet during our phone conversation I purchased his album. I loved it and a few months later my daughter and I went to see Bucky in concert.

I was still not really into Bucky yet. I liked his CD but I went to the concert for two reasons. I got free tickets because I had interviewed him and my daughter and I needed some time together. The concert got rained out and Bucky could not put on a concert, however this did not stop Bucky. Well many were waiting in the bleachers thinking Bucky was just going to come in the stands and sign some autographs we were all pleasantly surprised. Bucky brought a guitar, his twin and another band member with another guitar into the stands.

Bucky did an acoustic set right there in the stands. I became a big fan that night. I was surprised to see that since the concert was canceled and Bucky could have just left. He did all that he could to please the fans that had withered the summer storm and played for us anyway. But am I a casual fan or a fanatic?

Here are the items from the list that describe me in regards to Bucky Covington.

4.You’ve worn hand-designed t-shirts to concerts because the commercial ones are not unique enough. If you did not go the t-shirt route, you scoured the closet in search for the top with the lowest cut neckline and pulled out the Miracle bra.

I made my daughter and I both tee shirts to wear to the 3rd concert of Bucky’s that we attended. We also each gave him a gift.


9.You TIVO all of the television appearances within your Dish’s reach and go online to search for the ones you couldn’t get.

I watch some shows Bucky is on when I know about them. If I am not missing a show I normally watch. But If I miss something on TV I will go to YouTube or Bucky’s MySpace looking for a video.


1. You bought a “few” copies of his new CD.

2 of his CD. One got all scratched up in a car wreck so I had to have another

3. When conversing with other fans, you refer to his band members by their first names *only* as if talking about absent friends.

I know his twin brother Rocky’s name and point him out to those who do not know about him. I also know he has a band member called Ducky. Though I cannot tell you what exactly he does.

4. You have a Google alert on Bucky’s name and anyone even remotely associated with him.

I have a Google alert but I don’t always check them all out.
Two more I will add. Whenever Bucky is near my town I make sure to go see him in concert.

I have a autographed CD and Picture and I have one more picture that I want to get autographed.

I think I am just a casual fan. But I sure can’t wait to get his new CD and hoping he schedules a show near us this summer, so maybe a little more than casual.

Luke Bryan

I received an email one day asking if I wanted to interview Luke Bryan. At the time I did not even know who he was. I Goggled him and found the song “All my Friends Say” I had heard this song before and loved it, I just did not know who sang it. I purchased Luke’s album after the interview and like each song on the album. So am I a casual fan or fanatic with Luke Bryan?

1.You’ve worn hand-designed t-shirts to concerts because the commercial ones are not unique enough.

Yes ok once again I had a shirt made special. It is now autographed.


2. You have a Google alert on Luke’s name and anyone even remotely associated with him.

Yes I have a Google alert on Luke to. If there is a concert in my area I do not want to miss it.

3. Do you own a blog and/or Taylor-related fan site?

I started a blog but haven’t kept up with it. Maybe I will start doing that.

Once again I am a casual fan, but will purchase new CD and go to any concerts near me.

Taylor Hicks

I think I know the answer before I begin but here goes

1.You’ve used vacation time to follow Taylor on tour.
If I had vacation time and the money I would do this. But I haven’t

2.You’ve paid $100 or more to upgrade your concert seat from 10th row to 3rd, just so he can see your hand-made signs and posters.
Not into signs and posters. But if I could afford it I would pay $100 extra for 3rd row. However the concert I went to I was front row for a lot less. I got lucky.


3. You’ve worn hand-designed t-shirts to concerts because the commercial ones are not unique enough.
Yea I wore a hand designed shirt.


4. You have pen-pals in foreign countries.
I know of fans in foreign countries and have posted alongside them on message boards

5. When one of his songs plays in a restaurant or supermarket, you have to suppress the impulse to tell everyone to, “Shhhh, listen, that’s Taylor Hicks,” and you can’t wait to tell your “Taylor” buddies about it.
I would tell those with me to shh listen Taylor is playing. As a matter of fact he was playing in Wal-mart once and my little girl said “Hey Mom Taylor is playing”. I stood still and listened with a big smile on my face. It was late at night and there was no one around us so no embarrassing episode.


6.You TIVO all of the television appearances within your Dish’s reach and go online to search for the ones you couldn’t get.
Yes

7. You’ve participated in a “cell cert.”
Yes, one time but want to join in more


8. You bought a “few” copies of his new CD.
I have the promotional copy I was sent, I bout from iTunes and Walmart. Need target copy yet.
I have 3 Taylor tee-shirts, a deck of playing cards with his face on them, a charm bracelet with pictures of Taylor, I have all magazines with Taylor in them, I have a scrapbook with all articles and interviews I have written about Taylor and lots more stuff.

9. You have a Google alert on Taylor’s name and anyone even remotely associated with him.
Only about Taylor

10. Do you spend more time on Taylor-related sites than you do with your job or family?

I spend quite a bit of time on them but mostly in daytime when everyone is gone and late in the evening.

11. Do you own a blog and/or Taylor-related fan site?

Yes you are there now

12. Do you post comments on a blog and/or Taylor-related fan site daily?

Yes, Yes

So in conclusion I can probably be classified as a fanatic over Taylor Hicks. However, I am hurting no one. I spend time with my kids and husband and every weekend I am at other family members homes. I enjoy all things related to Taylor and I love his music but I also love my family and they know it.

So is being an “invested” fan a plus or minus? I think it is plus. I love music and I follow some great musicians and it is part of who I am. If I am happy and enjoying life in all aspects it not only benefits me, it benefits my family. We go to concerts together so it gives us more time together as a family. That is a great thing.

But then there is one other side to the dilemma. While I have other musicians I like and some that I follow regularly to some extent. Taylor Hicks is the main one that I follow all the time. I know how many CD's he sales, I know whenever there is any news about Taylor. I know the bad things that are said along with the good. I know when sales are not their greatest or when someone just wants to take a pop shot at Taylor for no other reason than they think they are cleaver.

Sometimes knowing all that gets me upset when I read the put downs or out – right lies. I do not have this happen with other artists because I do not know that much about them.Besides Judd Starr.

I do not know when bad things are said about Bucky or Luke. I purchase their music and go to concerts but I don’t get pissed off about bad publicity or rude/untrue comments. Because I usually don't know about it.

So as all things there are good things and bad things to being an invested fan but for good or bad I am right here for the ride. It is most times an amazing and fun ride that I enjoy very much.

Indie Music

I have become very interested over the past couple years in learning more about Indie Music. The interest started when I discovered Taylor Hicks and realized that if it was not for American Idol I would have never heard his soulful voice and I would have never become some interested in music as I am now. I would have missed out on discovering other great musicians also. That brings me to another great Indie artist I discovered and interviewed around a year ago, Judd Starr I now consider Judd a friend and with following the careers of Judd and Taylor I am always reading about the Indie scene. A little while ago I read a article that I like very much.

It talks about the History of Indie music and a couple excepts I like a lot from the piece are these.

1) the Internet has provided a way to get the music out to fans that has never before been attempted. The result is accessible, quality music in almost every conceivable drama.

2) Two definitions of Indie music are
A) Established in the ’90s; an indie act is any one that is not signed on with the big three labels.

B) Another way to define the indie scene is in comparison to the acts signed by big labels, and played on the radio.

They go on to say that any recent listen to a local station should alarm music fans everywhere: the same artists or style of music is played over and over again, on every single radio station. Big labels laud themselves for being a mix, but the truth is there is a lot of R&B, even more pop, and a few dozen acts considered "rock" thrown in to appease those who do not know better. Fans who do not like the feeling of wanting to stick augers in their ears have turned en masse to the potential of the internet.

And the excerpt I like most is “ Perhaps now more than ever before, music has the opportunity to truly be judged (for the first time by both sides) by the quality instead of by the amount of sales.” I find this especially true for Judd Starr and Taylor Hicks and I am sure many, many more that I have yet to discover. But with Taylor and Judd I feel the quality of the music they make and the connection they have to their fans says it all. Read the rest of the article here.http://www.indieupdate.com/category/indie-music-history/





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How the Internet Changed Music

The internet is a huge place. There are no limits on where you can visit or what you can discover with the internet as your guide. The internet has changed music and continues to change it more every day. Before the internet and sites such as Face Book, MySpace, Live Journal and Yahoo Groups to name just a few getting your music out to those who would enjoy and appreciate it consisted of relying on a record contract or doing live gigs and getting a following that way. With the internet you can post your music online and get it out to many more people. Even if you do not have a record deal you can still get a large fan base that love and appreciate what you do. The internet has changed music so much.

The artist can interact more with their supporters though blogging, emails, journal entries and so many more ways. You build a more intimate relationship with you fans with the help of the internet than ever before. The fans feel more connected to the artist and are very supportive of everything they do. It almost builds a friendship of sorts between the artist and the fans. An artist who spends their time building the fan base and devoting some of their free time becoming personally involved on some level with the fans reaps the benefits for the rest of their career.

Many artists use the internet for this very purpose. For examples I will name a few that I follow.

Taylor Hicks is the first artist that I started keeping track of on the internet. There was a site Gray Charles that posted almost daily about Taylor. Taylor would check in now and then to leave audio blogs for his fans about things going on in his career. Fans loved every audio blog that Taylor left and talked together about the goings on in Taylor’s career. Taylor still leaves blogs now and then at other sites such as his MySpace about what is going in his career and so forth. His fan base has created many fan montages of Taylor and there are many fan run websites that keep up with all things Taylor Hicks. The fans have become friends with one another and meet when concerts are going on to go together, sometimes having pre concert parties or going to dinner together and the talk is Taylor Hicks.

Go here to read the rest.





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