Mr. Moby,
Just wanted to take a minute to thank you for having the “marbles” to say something about the CMT Awards and country music, in general, not really being country music at all. For the last 8yrs I’ve been a full time country musician. I’ve had the opportunity to play with several legends in our industry and I’m very proud of what I’ve done. However, the state of country music right now literally turns my stomach. I want to just stop playing all together, but I have to support my family. I was talking to a friend of mine (Dave Macaffee, the drummer for Toby Keith and he also played on Jamey Johnson’s last project) about this and he said “you know how to tell if you music sucks? You’ll hear it on the radio” and he’s right. It’s so sad to think that something that I’ve put so much effort into, has really been reduced to
“how do you look?”
“How old are you?”
“how do you wear your hair?”
“oh, you’ve got talent? That will help”

I’m so sick of it. Shoot me!
Love your show, God Bless America, God Bless Country Music,
Yeah Baby Jeff Brewer

Hey Jeff,
I hear you, brother, I do understand your frustration, and I don't totally disagree with you.
Having given your email some serious time, I wanna share with you what I'm thinking.
Consultants, and bean counters have really overshadowed & homogenized the entertainment part of the entertainment business.
Executives in suits that cost more than the combined value of my first three cars are deciding what's valid art and what is not, and which cubby hole is fits in.
We're told that money can't buy happiness, but all too often it's been proven that it can buy stardom.
Yeah, the award show last week was many things, but it sure the heck wasn't country. I haven't heard a soul say that it was.
Refer back to the executives I mentioned. Nobody asked the country audience what they wanted, it was researched, analyzed, and decided for us what country was for that three hours.
I'd be much more comfortable if those decisions were made by somebody that could at least tune a fiddle or a banjo.
I've said many times over the years that talent was a very small portion of commercial success, and many times wasn't even required. If that's not true, I challenge those executives to explain the success of quite a few recent sensations, some of which were on the CMT Awards.
As you and Dave would agree, it's most often how old you are, how hot you look and your fashion sense that can get you out of the honky tonks, and ultimately on the air.
However, as cute as the line is, I take exception to your "How can you tell if your music sucks? It's on the radio." analogy.
If that's absolutely true, than have your drummer friend tell it to his bosses Toby Keith & Jamey Johnson. I'm pretty sure there'll be a butt-whoopin' comin'.
If having your music included in a radio stations playlist of songs it plays, explain Alan Jackson, Brooks & Dunn, & George Strait.
Those are some very established examples that disproves your "it sucks if it's on the radio" theory.
Also, I'd add to this that it certainly doesn't apply to Zac Brown, Josh Turner, Sugarland and so many others that have surfaced in the past few years.
I'll be the first to admit, there are some "hits" that make me scratch my head and ask how on earth?
But it's easy for musicians that haven't had that big break, or haven't adequately impressed the right gate keeper, to claim the entire industry unfair because they haven't made it to the big stage, the stadium audiences, and the brightest spotlights. In truth, there are very few crimes they wouldn't commit for their shot at a string of hits.
There are quite a few examples I've heard over the years that felt snubbed when the truth of the matter was they really just weren't good enough. A bitter truth, but a truth none the less.
In those cases, their close friends, their mamas, girlfriends, and groupies (everybody that can play three chords has groupies) have them totally convinced their lack of "a deal" and absence of fame and fortune is somebody else's fault.
To those superstar wannabes I say stop your whining, keep practicing, keep the fire burning, don't lose the passion, and accept the fact that most folks that want to be fighter pilots have to find happiness in the cockpit of a Cessna.
You don't get to go as fast, & you may get old before you get where you want to be, but you're still flyin'!!!
I need to thank you for inspiring a Small Town Soap Box.
Yeah baby,
MOBY