Alayne at Ballydoyle's

Here's a shot of Alayne at her Rock Academy gig at Ballydoyle's in Downers Grove, IL. The name of her band is Hospital Bill, so the wrap on her wrist is part of the outfit.

She's just shy of 13 but looked like a seasoned pro up there. Great job, kiddo!

I'll post the info for their next session when I get it.

Gamer Geek Post

I've come to the conclusion that perhaps I need to create a WoW-related blog. Both my wife and I have started playing again, and the happenings in our crazy little guild could probably provide me with enough information for about 3 additional blogs. Stay tuned for that.

On a related note, one of my favorite WoW blogs is closing down.

BRK/Daniel, if you happen to read this, you'll be missed.

On a music note, I've got a flurry of shows coming up in the next couple of months. There's a lot of stress happening in the JB house at the moment, so I'm looking forward to the opportunity to take out some aggression on stage.

I Shall Call Her...Mini-Me

My oldest stepdaughter, Alayne, played a Rock Academy gig today. She was awesome. Sounded great, had a lot of poise on the stage, and acted like she plays to standing-room only crowds all the time. I'm really proud.

I'm sure this is just the beginning for this one.

Stay tuned.

Yet Another AI Rant

It's Grand Ole Opry Week.

Are you kidding me?

Look, I know you're going to ask, "If you hate the show so much, why do you watch it?" Well, the fact of the matter is that once in a great while something worthwhile happens on this weekly karaoke contest that I actually enjoy. Secondly, I'm an avid reader of Vote for the Worst, and my enjoyment of that website would not be as great if I were not properly primed for the commentary.

Here's the deal. I love country music. Some people don't, and I get that. In fact, I respect that. I'm not going to cram anything down anybody's throat. If you don't like country, I'm not offended. It's cool. People enjoy what they enjoy and there's no sense in trying to change that.

I, however, was raised on country music. It's in my blood and I'm proud to carry the flag of what I consider to be a great American art form. As a result, I'm less than enthusiastic about the prospect of 11 contestants and 4 judges defecating on the music I love.

In my opinion, they should do away with country week altogether. I've seen it in seasons past, and it's rarely pretty. Aside from one and a half notable exceptions (Kelly Clarkson being the half, as she leans country on occasion), AI is looking for a commercial pop star. Why even bother making country music look bad by having these people hack through a genre they likely won't ever touch professionally? Having a range is one thing, but if you're never going to sing a country song in your professional career what does is matter if you can or not? As far as I'm concerned, it's pointless and damaging to the genre.

Benefield out.

Addendum: I watched the show tonight and felt that some of the contestants did a fantastic job. They really dug into the tunes, told the stories, and felt the emotion upon which country music is built. I'm incredibly relieved that this wasn't as gimmicky as I feared it would be when I wrote this blog earlier today. All I asked for was respect and, for the most part, I saw that.

The Wrath of J has been averted......for now.

Renovation

So it seems that the Batcave will be renovated, waterproof, and ready to use by Thursday. That's good, because I have quite a bit of work to do.

I'm trying to maintain some songwriting momentum so I can keep pumping out new material, I need to chart Colleen Wild's songs as I'm now her "official" accompanyist, and I also have my own gigs coming up.

On a side note, if you live in Illinois and are a country music fan/artist, please check out the ICMA. Membership is cheap and the benefits are great. The crappy economy is hurting this great organization that has given so many opportunities to myself and others. Most of the action happens in Central IL, but there is a Southern IL chapter and I'd love to see more activity up here in the Northern third of the state. Let's take country back!

"It's fine being artistic, just not on this show."

Thank you, Simon, for confirming my decision to never audition for American Idol.

That being said, support local music! The people truly paving the musical landscape of this country are in your own hometown.

Mini-rant over.

Relapse

As I mentioned previously, I'm a recovering WoW addict....well, no longer recovering. I've taken to playing again, albeit not as often as I used to.

So, if you're roaming around the Bloodhoof server and you happen upon a n00b human prot warrior named Misneach, feel free to start the intervention.

Holy 2 Inches of Water, Batman!

My little slice of Illinois was hit with a good deal of rain this past weekend, which led to a flooded basement. Unfortunately for me, flooded basement = flooded Batcave. Mercifully, all of my instruments which are not in cases are hanging on the wall.

The bad news is that I'm prevented from having a kid-free place to work on some music. The good news is that Colleen texted me with a charity show opportunity that I'm very excited about. Once the deal's finalized, I'll be posting about it.

In the meantime, stop by and see me on Myspace, Facebook, and www.jasonbenefield.com.