Dressing Up

Mark Metdker · Post by **Mark Metdker** » 1 Feb 2006 5:05 am

Here is a little band by the name of Cross Canadian Ragweed. They are some of the sloppiest looking dudes you will ever see on stage. They also sell out every venue they play, including BIG places like Billy Bob's. They currently make about $20 grand a show.

Have you seen Dierk's Bently's band lately? They don't dress quite this sloppily, but they are pretty relaxed on stage. I don't think the look he has chosen to throw down on stage has hurt him much. Maybe it has with the older crowd, but I don't think he cares. The younger folks are his main supporters, same with Cross Canadian Ragweed.

This has nothing to do with self-respect....it has everything to do with fan expectations and making $$$. If these types of bands decided to come out wearing old school uniforms, their audiences would probably be shocked and disappointed. You can't generalize this topic. You can't lump every band into the same category, or genre. That includes not only the type of music a band plays, but the type of dress also. If you don't like something about a particular band, then don't support them. It's a shame people discriminate over this type of thing, but then again, I go for the music, not the wardrobe.

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[This message was edited by Mark Metdker on 01 February 2006 at 05:07 AM.]

Theresa Galbraith · Post by **Theresa Galbraith** » 1 Feb 2006 6:06 am

I think steel players & guitar players play better when they DRESS UP!

)))))

James Morehead · Post by **James Morehead** » 1 Feb 2006 6:44 am

I wonder how big of a crowd Cross Canadian Ragweed would draw if they dressed up and had a neet appearance. Would their fans be predjudice and not hear their music anymore and quit coming? or would they draw a different crowd? or just a bigger crowd yet? If their current crowd doesn't care what they look like, then they wouldn't care anyways, and CCR would ADD to their crowd by being classy, right?

Gerald Menke · Post by **Gerald Menke** » 1 Feb 2006 6:56 am

I have a personal policy of trying to never wear jeans and a tee shirt on stage, always a decent condition vintage western shirt and a pair of pressed Levi's rancher pants. Sometimes cowboy boots, sometimes not. For me it has nothing to do with respecting the audience, it's purely a visual thing, I just think it looks better to make an effort to not look like you just changed the oil on your El Camino. My country heroes all dressed nice when they played, and being traditionally minded, I try to uphold that tradition for myself. To each his own...

James Morehead · Post by **James Morehead** » 1 Feb 2006 7:31 am

I feel that the crowd looks up to the performers. If the performers look sloppy, that's the message the crowd gradually accepts. If the performers look neat, that's the message the crowd grows to accept. It's called gradualism. The performers are really "trend-setters".

When the kids that idolise Cross Canadian Ragweed age a little and start their own band, who do you think they will want to dress like? What if CCR dressed neat and classy? Thus Gerald's comment makes perfect sense to me. Brian Epstien, promoter of the Beatles knew this, too.

Jon Jaffe · Post by **Jon Jaffe** » 1 Feb 2006 7:35 am

There is nothing classy about dressing up for the stage. It is a costume. People act like ducks and tend to wear the same costume when flocked together.
There is a tuba player for the Austin Symphony who goes from a softball game to the symphony, changes to a tux, finishes with the symphony, dresses back to jeans, t-shirt and ball cap and plays bass with an excellent country band. He is a superb musician, regardless of the clothes. Fortunately, when I have seen him in this circumstance, I do not have canine olfactory senses.

Jim Blakey · Post by **Jim Blakey** » 1 Feb 2006 7:36 am

I don't know, but we have had a lot of one hit wonders in the last 20 years. I just can't imagine why that is. I know that in SA where I lived for 35 years, until last year, when I moved to Ruidoso, the bands I knew didn't look like a bunch of bums, and they do have some fine muscians in south Texas. I'm glad George Strait and all the other good bands are keeping it alive and well.

James Morehead · Post by **James Morehead** » 1 Feb 2006 7:58 am

When I see a band play, I see the WHOLE picture, which includes personal appearance. I like to see a band dressed up. Seeing a band look like slobs is kinda like driving up to someones house to find out they dump trash out in their yard and mow the lawn with goats, that also live in the garage. I thought they were nice folks, but now I doubt it a little. They now have this negative to overcome to convince me they are really ok. Sorry, I don't buy this, that it's not about class. What you look like tells me a little what you are really all about.

Mark Metdker · Post by **Mark Metdker** » 1 Feb 2006 8:23 am

Recent inductee into the Grand Old Opry.

I think Dierks now gets about $40 grand a show.[This message was edited by Mark Metdker on 01 February 2006 at 08:24 AM.]

Marlin Smoot · Post by **Marlin Smoot** » 1 Feb 2006 8:28 am

I guess doing 300 dates a year can be hard on a pair of jeans.

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 1 Feb 2006 8:31 am

Looks like Nick Nolte when he got arrested.

Mark Metdker · Post by **Mark Metdker** » 1 Feb 2006 8:35 am

LOL! You boys are great.

Mark Metdker · Post by **Mark Metdker** » 1 Feb 2006 8:39 am

James, I hear you bro'. And I'm gonna go out on a limb and say YES, I think CCR would lose some of their fans if they cleaned up their look. Their fans expect them to look that way, and their music reflects their look. Very loose and rock-ish. Don't get me wrong, the clean look is cool with me, just like the sloppy look. Two of my all time favorite bands dress up. The Derailers and Bobby Flores both look great on stage. And their songs are very tight, with great musicianship.

James Morehead · Post by **James Morehead** » 1 Feb 2006 8:41 am

The steel player looks neat, So Dierks must be ok.

Mark Metdker · Post by **Mark Metdker** » 1 Feb 2006 8:53 am

Yep, Gary always looked good.

Robby Springfield · Post by **Robby Springfield** » 1 Feb 2006 9:11 am

I guess I fall into the category of the dumb because I still believe that it is about the MUSIC! It’s about conveying emotion to the public…It’s about whether or not my performance touched someone’s life and if it made a positive difference, even for a brief moment. There IS a difference in being dirty and dressing the way you feel good about yourself, whether that is in a suit OR a jockstrap and a bowtie. People CAN tell the difference between a phony and a real person and you can’t cover either up with cloths or the lack thereof!

I once played a job for a sit down and listen audience and was dressed to the hilt in my cowboy getup. The guy on the other end of the stage was in rags and a cowboy hat that looked like the donkey and the wagon had run over it. Come time for the solos and I blow everything I know in 16 bars and received a polite response from the crowd. On the other hand, ragman on the opposite end of the stage blows 3 notes, (literally 3 notes), through the entire 16 bar harp solo and the crowd went nuts. What was the difference? While my solo was technically advanced, it lacked the emotion and realism that the other guy was able to touch the audience with.

Two lessons here. Cloths don’t matter and being real does. Use a little common sense. Don’t go swimming naked in front of the preacher.

Dave Grafe · Post by **Dave Grafe** » 1 Feb 2006 9:17 am

My dad always told me "Some folks can afford to dress however they want, the rest of us have to mind our manners."

Years ago when I was of the opinion that looks didn't matter I behaved accordingly. Now all I have to show for it is a bunch of pictures of myself that I can't stand to look at (BTW that T-shirt Dierks is wearing is a rare classic, so really that's "dressing up" after a fashion).[This message was edited by Dave Grafe on 01 February 2006 at 09:19 AM.]

Gene Jones · Post by **Gene Jones** » 1 Feb 2006 9:31 am

The late Merl Lindsay, who I once worked for, was obsessed with his musicians being "neat" and "sober". He even inspected for haircuts and demanded that they were neat and short. Others who at one time were a part the Merl Lindsay "bootcamp" were Jim Murphy and Reece Anderson.

We "dissed" his arcane requirements at the time, but most of us realized in later stages of our careers that Merl was close to "right on" in his assessment of what the public expected of the entertainers who they paid to patronize.

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Ben Jones · Post by **Ben Jones** » 1 Feb 2006 9:33 am

for 40K a show, I would wear an asbestos suit, and sandpaper underwear

Larry Strawn · Post by **Larry Strawn** » 1 Feb 2006 9:35 am

Theresa,,
I don't think dressing up helps me play any better [I'm a lost cause] but it sure makes me feel better if I look nice! lol..

Larry

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Jon Jaffe · Post by **Jon Jaffe** » 1 Feb 2006 9:47 am

Hey Mark, you do not need to post Dierks. Here you are, Texas casual.

I looked all over Nordstrom's and could not find that shirt![This message was edited by Jon Jaffe on 01 February 2006 at 10:01 AM.]

Gordon Borland · Post by **Gordon Borland** » 1 Feb 2006 10:02 am

The bill goes to front.
Your "cool" look with torn jeans offends me.
It is supposed to.
"out with the old, in with the new".
People like people who are more like themselvs.
We are imprinted and that dont change!
Because you are offensive to me does not mean you are offensive. It does mean that part of your paycheck stays in my back pocket.

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Gordon Borland
MSA D10,FENDER STEEL KING,

Calvin Walley · Post by **Calvin Walley** » 1 Feb 2006 10:06 am

There is a tuba player for the Austin Symphony who goes from a softball game to the symphony, changes to a tux,
hmmmm i wonder why he did that?
maybe it was because he wanted to look like a professional. 'those that say its just about the music...think about why this guy puts on a tux. to perform...its because if these guys wore T shirts and jeans how long do you think it would take before no one would pay to see them....it's SHOW BUSINESS not radio. thats why

Steve Waltz · Post by **Steve Waltz** » 1 Feb 2006 10:38 am

Check out the nudie suit and Roy clarks' old band uniforms. The steel player has a new look. These were taken at Bimbo's 365 club in San Francisco this month playing with Wanda Jackson. http://www.johnnydilks.com/photos.php?page=0&imageBase=dilks

If you think there is no point to how you dress, try to conince yourself that major label acts don't have stylists. Quickly look at the pictures in the recent thread of photos of bands. See if you don't have a quick judgment based on the photos alone. Then try to tell yourself that people don't care how your band looks. Try to tell yourself that people aren't attracted to attractive people and that good clothes don't help to make anyone look more attractive. If looking attractive is not important....why are so many major acts fronted by attractive people? Guys or galls. I know it's not all acts, but most, and almost all. The only person offended by dressing up is the person who doesn't want to do it.

BTW I'm not saying that we look great, the jackets are a bit funky, but the overal look was fun.

[This message was edited by Steve Walz on 01 February 2006 at 10:43 AM.]

Post by **Dave Mudgett** » 1 Feb 2006 10:48 am

Honestly, I'm just amazed how much "legs" this topic has. I guess that is because it is about the "cultural war" going on in the country, especially for the hearts and minds of younger people. People worry they are slipping away from older values, and are desperate for something - anything - that they can use to identify others of like mind.

The only thing I can say is that clothes, hair length, and other aspects of "the look" really have nothing to do with musical content, or to be broader, the content of a person's character. They have everything to do with projecting an image to find favor with a particular audience. As I get older, I find this kind of posturing less and less relevant. Sure, "When in Rome ..." goes without saying. But I don't take it seriously.

Any of us are completely free to dislike any "look", and say whatever we please. But then, one opinion deserves another and before long, we have split along completely superficial lines. I don't see how this is constructive.

For me it's about music. YMMV.