In all over thirty years working at First Avenue, I had the opportunity in working with thousands of musicians, but in the over twelve years since departing First Avenue, I have been fortunate to continue to work with a multitude of artists at various levels of their careers.  In the last several years, out of the First Avenue spotlight, I can better distinguish talent over marketing success in a much clearer fashion.  And as artists names rise and fall in the trendy world of music marketing, certain veteran artists, continue to improve in performance, songwriting, and status in various music industry circles. Of course, veterans like Prince and Bob Dylan gained the mainstream popularity and commercial success that have placed them in ranks of "national" and "international" music renown. Then, you have other musicians, such as, Willie Murphy and Koerner, Ray, & Glover, and Curtiss A who gained the respect of the local music scene and gained "cult" status outside the state, but never gained the mainstream or commercial success of the Prince's or Dylan's.  Newer artists such as Owl City and Bon Iver, who have certainly gained both national prominence and commercial success, still have to gain career longevity to prove the "legendary" status granted the before mentioned artists.

 

But, then there are those many musicians locally, who have the talent and the longevity, and are still improving performance, songwriting, and continue to evolve their music careers actively working the local scene, without ever "cracking" or having the "marketing" success to find the acknowledgement or recognition they truly deserve.  JAMES LONEY with his newest project, LoLo's Ghost is one such local artist and his new music project is the proof of his his efforts constantly improving his "trade".

 

Stephen McClellan