I sent this email to my fan list yesterday:
It was probably back in 2004 or 2005 that I started going to see the Denver band, The Railbenders. I liked their electric guitar-based, old school style of country music, with original songs by bandleader Jim Dalton. Soon after, Jim started a weekly series of acoustic music on Tuesday nights, which he named, oddly enough, Acoustic Tuesdays. I began attending those on a regular basis, and got to know Jim as well as many of the hardcore Railbender fans.
By then, I was attending almost every Railbender gig not only for the music, but to hang out with the new friends I had made. There was a sense of camaraderie among the core Railbender fans; a sense of community.
Since then I have gone through various encarnations of my own bands. However, I haven’t seen that same sense of community among fans developing when I play. I want to change that. I want to develop this community further, for both my acoustic band, Scupanon, and with Electric Poetry, my new electric band. It struck me that I have friends from various sources who have never met. They should. I know they would like each other. I would like to use my music as a way of bringing them together.
So from now on, I’m going to make a conscious effort to encourage my friends and fans to come to my shows not only for the music, but for the opportunity to hang out with friends, and make new friends. Like I did with the Railbenders. Ever since my friend Kurt Loken labeled me “the troubadour of the misfit” back in 2009, my mission has to create and perform music for misfits. What better way to bring misfits together, than at my shows?
A community of misfits? It seems like an oxymoron. Afterall, misfits, by definition, don’t fit in. But maybe it could be done, if the music served them. What do you think?
The next gathering of the misfits will take place on February 8 at Herman’s Hideaway in Denver. Electric Poetry is playing, along with 4 other bands. Your new friends will be waiting there to meet you.
Your fellow misfit,
Rob