Opening for John Cougar Mellencamp????

Thanks very much for all that information, Tom. You are doing a fantastic job and I really appreciate it!

Tom — if you wore a suit would it be “Mr. Overby”? — it’s great that you give us these insider insights here, as IJ or otherwise. Thank you. And thanks for recognizing that our comments are totally about “the love and support of Lucinda”.

I doubt any of us are qualified to second guess management decisions in the rapidly changing music business (but we can talk about it like sports). I don’t have a problem with Lu opening for JCM (even though in my mind SHE should be the headliner). I don’t know if I want to pay for a JCM show to see 50 minutes of Lucinda. But I have no doubt that her opening set would be worth it. However (and here are my suggestions), I hope Lucinda will be giving us more solo shows and intimate venues this year. Last year’s tour, much of it on small stages and in old theatres, was great, and reading all the posts I wish I had been able to see her more. Pairing Lucinda with somebody like Charlie Louvin last year was inspired — I enjoyed that. Maybe in the future part of a tour could be with a rising soul/blues artist like Ruthie Foster or Bettye LaVette, who have also covered her songs?

Gravel Roads, I wouldn’t say the comments posted here are preposterous. I think what comes across is that everyone holds Lucinda in such high regard that we are surprised/pained that she should open for anyone. As I said i think JCM is OK — i even enjoy his tunes — but I can’t put him in the “great” category, where Lucinda certainly belongs. But we all have our own criteria (including the RRHOF) and that does make it interesting.

You know, part of our respect and admiration for Lucinda is because, for her entire career, she has had amazing integrity in her work. As far as I know, she hasn’t sold songs for commercials, she hasn’t changed words in her songs for radio or video play, she hasn’t bent to the marketing demands of Nashville or the industry. She has written and sung what is true to her soul, and honest. Today that is more admirable than ever. Her great songwriting and music, her career, stands on its own. That’s the high regard I’m talking about. It’s almost like an unspoken matter of trust between Lucinda and her true fans. I’m sure that won’t ever change.

As for comments re: the website, Tom — just keep the Forum going! Sometimes the discussion gets spirited, sometimes it even goes over the edge, but it’s good. No one is censored (even crazy people!) and it’s enlightening and entertaining. Maybe a search feature would be useful addition. I’d also suggest that the site store offer fans a few more items like concert posters, etc.

And let us know when we can place those advance orders for the new album, whatever it’s called! 8)

“I know some suits on her management team are trying to broaden her fan base, but John Cougar Mellencamp? What the @#!*#@
Excuse me while I throw-up. I’ll be sitting this one out ladies…”

sorry, but i find this tasteless and rude.

I see you got the hint about the new CD title too, Pit Bull. I think that would be a fine title, though. She did that song before the last CD came out, in Malibu maybe. It was a good song.

I still dont understand why it is such a crime to try to make a dime in a business that constantly does not pay some of the greatest talents out there. I thought the Wilco songs on the VW commercials this year were perfect. Why must John Mellencamp and others get crucified for this. Mellencamp is a very good artist. He did it his way and has never went corporate. Sure you dont like him better than Lucinda. I went to see her last year open for Don Henley. All the Henley fans were in the back of outdoor arena. If only one Henley fan was turned on it would be a good gig for Lucinda. Her fans got to see her and someone was turned on. This is a tough business. I believe it is THE TOUGHEST out there right now.

Good point about making a dime. No disrespect to mr. mellencamp, Gavinsdad, and I agree with you that the music biz today is tough. Great talent should be well compensated. We all have to pay rent or a mortgage or truck loans. Even singer-songwriters should be able to afford creature comforts! My rather mild comment about the Chevy truck commercial was not meant to “crucify” him, but simply to note that some choose to take the “dime” and others (very few) choose not to, for some reason. It’s a choice, if you’re lucky enough. Is earning dimes from record companies (or from selling ringtones) morally superior to earning dimes from marketing trucks? I don’t know.

What i am saying is there’s a subtle price you pay as an artist. The association between John Mellencamp’s song and a truck commercial is firmly planted in my subconscious. (Just what Chevrolet’s advertising people wanted! — proof of a truly great commercial!) And maybe that’s only a tiny little price for a big payday. I still like his music allright. Might even go see his show! I also like VWs, and Wilco. Those are cool commercials. (And we can talk on and on about great commercials as an art form, too.) But in the end, if you are an artist, do you want to be remembered for your music — or for that music to be associated with something else?

Since the Car Wheels release, I’ll bet Lucinda has had a few financially attractive offers. Would it affect my love of her music if she licensed a song for a commercial? Yes, I think it would. A lot? I don’t know. It wouldn’t change the quality of her work, but I believe it would color my perception of it, diminish the music in some way. (Hmmm… how about an ad for Zoloft? or Cialis? I can pick out the songs now!)

I know that in the past she has sacrificed and fought tooth and nail with the industry for the integrity of her songs. For me, knowing this adds an indefinable element of beauty to her work. I have additional respect for her as an artist. I think she is courageous for what she has not done, when all the powerful forces of our so-called culture are pushing her to do things just like everyone else.

Also, illbeyou, what is the definition of “success” anyway? Is it money and fame — or can it be about more than that? Lucinda could have probably had “success” much earlier — and supported herself in a much more comfortable life — before Car Wheels, if she had made compromises with the music industry. But she didn’t want to “sell out.”

Probably most people couldn’t care less about any of this. Maybe i shouldn’t either. You gotta do what you gotta do, and I’m not trying to make value judgments for anyone else — I’m just putting Lucinda in a rarefied place above our commercial-pop culture. Maybe some day she will disappoint me.

None of this reflects on her opening for JCM. And I’m not saying that JCM is unworthy of our respect, either. I know he’s paid his dues, deserves all his awards, and has long ago proven he is talented, but I couldn’t keep myself from jumping back up on the “Admire Lucinda for Her Integrity Soapbox”. OK, see you at the shows. R.O.C.K. in the U.S.A.! 🙂

John Mellencamp is not as bad as you might think. I had tix given to me a couple years back for a show in OKC and I was pleasently surprised. It didn’t hurt that the tix were 1st row, BUT way off to the side, but still!

I am VERY EXCITED to have found out that LW is out on the road again. I need to get my rear in gear and get tix, but like most shows at larger venue I’ll be f*#ed to tears, because wheelchair seating is *usually* in a galaxy, far, far away from the stage.

Great news aboutthe new album and tour late in the year. Don’t forget us on Oklahoma. I know we’re a secondary market, but we’ll still give you praise, applause and $$$.

Good point about Neil, DreamingMan.

The only JCM album I liked was the one with the fiddle player. Blood on a scarecrow, rain on a scarecrow, something was up with a scarecrow but I forget what. Some good songs there.

Have fun at the show.