A warm welcome from Tyrannosaurus Lester Bangs

Tyrannosaurus Lester Bangs, in the flesh.

Years ago as a journalist-in-training in college, I stumbled across a quote from Frank Zappa that has come to define my approach as a music writer: "Most rock journalism is people who can't write, interviewing people who can't talk, for people who can't read."

I'm not saying you can't read, or that the many musicians I've interviewed over the years couldn't talk. Many times they've given me insights that have stuck with me for years.

I'm saying that Zappa is right. Too often I (and probably you) read puff pieces about pop stars pontificating about anything but the craft of creating music and performing onstage. Rather than deep dives into the songwriting process, life on the road or the ever-evolving music industry, many music journalists go full gossip-columnist in their coverage. It's who's with who, who knows who, who knows me, and a list of hoary name-drops too esoteric to have any bearing on the average listener. Case in point: I once spent an hour on a conference call with a very-popular-at-the-time rising boy band, listening to journalists from across the country ask the boys about their clothing choices instead of the just-released album they were touring behind.

Not to say fashion isn't an art form worth celebrating; I'm just not celebrating that here.

What this blog will do is cover music from a musical perspective -- what I've tried to do for more than a decade as a music journalist at various newspapers and magazines across the country. Expect reviews of new recordings, videos, concerts and live streams (given the COVID-19 pandemic, you'll see more live streams at the moment), plus Q&A's with musicians and music industry types and insights into the latest news and trends in the business. My publishing schedule will be whenever I have something good to share with you all -- so whenever the hell I want to. That said, I hope to publish at least once a week

Central Oregon is where I've lived and worked for the past five years, and at least for now, Central Oregon's music scene will be my focus. As music reporter for the Bend Bulletin's weekly arts publication, GO! Magazine, I've watched this scene grow by leaps and bounds over the last five years. Bend's population boom includes a constant influx of new artists, who in turn bring fresh perspectives and sounds into this small but thriving musical community. Along with huge scenes for jam bands, folk, country, bluegrass and classic rock, the area supports tight-knit subcultures around punk, hip-hop, electronica, metal and just about any other genre your ears might desire. I hope to continue covering all of these amazing artists, who deserve far more attention than they receive.

I've laid out my intentions -- my mission statement, in a sense. But I can't do this without you, the readers and musicians who made my time at GO! Magazine so incredible. Please comment below or email me at brian.mcelhiney@gmail.com and tell me what you would like to see me cover in this blog. If you've got a recording, a streaming show, a video, or any other project that you'd like to see reviewed, regardless of release date, please send it my way. If you're a musician or music industry worker and would like to chat, about anything, please feel free to reach out. I know a lot of you are struggling with the pandemic, and I want to hear your stories.

A note on the blog title: "Mr. B's Ballroom" is an awesome song by Devo from the 1980 album, "Freedom of Choice."