The modern country scene is today's version of what hair metal was in the 80's...it's where the party is. Ever wondered what happened to all of the fun, groupies, craziness, etc that seemed to disappear in the early 90's? It came back as modern country. And just like 80's metal, there are a few good acts and a bunch of lame ones. As was mentioned, some of the guitar work is stellar.
Having been raised on classic rock and metal, I started gigging in the 80's and as a performer have done everything from the music I just mentioned, to thrash metal, to classic punk, to blues, to funk, to R&B. Fast forward to last summer when an old friend and fixture on the local rock scene asked me if I'd be interested in forming a cover band doing a mix of rock and modern country. Initially it was "no way!" but my blues rock band was having trouble keeping a steady lineup together and all the club owners kept telling me they wanted modern country...and I knew he was in a position where he needed the income so I eventually caved and agreed to do give it a shot.
I had never really listened to it (and still don't) but figured "how hard could it be?"...a lot harder than I anticipated. A lot of it is simple hard rock/metal with somebody singing about pickup trucks, keg parties in the woods, or catfish dinners in a redneck drawl, but a lot of it is very challenging with oddball changes, non-repeating riffs, and difficult vocal harmonies. The level of musicianship is very high in general. I absolutely hate the hip-hop/country stuff that's popping up garbage but we don't do any of that.
I've been called a "sell-out" by friends, but what have I sold out? I'm no longer in the game of trying to "make it" as a musician...that ship sailed a long time ago. I now play for fun, period. Playing live for me is fun. Playing live in front of packed houses who know all the songs and words and sing them back to you like it's a rock concert is even more fun...the energy in the room is off the charts every time and everywhere we play. Having to turn down gigs because of demand is a great problem to have. I still get to use some awesome guitar tones (twang? what's that?
) and play a lot of ripping solos. I'll take that over doing Moore/Hendrix/Trower/Clapton/ZZ/SRV covers to a half full room of bikers and drunks watching you with their arms crossed or playing pool and bitching because we're too loud for them carry on a conversation.
Bottom line is that if you want to recapture some of the good time party atmosphere of the 80's (especially those of you who missed it and wish you could have been there), check out the modern country scene. I'm not a fan of the music myself (it's more fun to play than it is to listen to for me), but the overall scene in general offers a much better time than pretentious blues and jazz heads, or angry metal dudes, or shoe-gazing chugga chugga djent stuff, or just about any other music scene I can think of. I don't listen to it my spare time, but I get it.
