Remember your Texas artists

I heard something from a radio talk show host the other day that sort of ticked me off ... but the more I thought about it, the more it made a little sense.

He was discussing the supposed farewell tour being planned by the Rolling Stones. After 50 years in the business, they are hanging it up. The tour will no doubt be a multi-million dollar production and from what I understand, it will almost take two years to complete.

He said he would probably attend -- not because he's that much of a fan of the Rolling Stones anymore, but because he owes it to them.

Wait. He owes them?

At first I thought, "Time out. That's backwards." If anything, the Stones owe us as music fans one final kick you-know-what tour where they play a two hour blistering set per night of their best stuff. They need to come out and play an unpredictable mix of their mainstream hits as well as some of the hidden gems that only true Stones fans appreciate and love.

Besides, if anybody owes the fans something in the way of a killer farewell tour, it's the Rolling Stones. Let's face it. That bunch has been mailing it in for the past 30 years. That performance ... if you want to call it that ... for the Super Bowl halftime show a coupe of years ago was one the most uninspired, disinterested displays I think I've ever seen.

But the talk show host further explained himself. He said he owed it to the Stones because as a young boy and young teen, the Stones provided a lot of great songs and a lot of great memories for him.

So, I began to ask myself about some of our Texas artists that we feature at the festival ... or those we'd like to feature.

It's been a common fan reaction to move onto something else when their favorite band or artist starts to hit it big ... if they land a major label deal or get picked up on a major artist's tour. All of a sudden, that favorite band or artist starts getting paid ... which was the dream in the first place. They all go into the business to land that big deal. They want to be rock stars. They don't like starving and wondering where the next paycheck is coming from.

But once these artists realize their dream, they are labeled as a sell out ... or they "forget where they came from." In some instances, that may very well be the case.

Still, it got me to thinking about "owing" artists and bands something for the memories and great times they provided for us. Although the two bands have next to nothing in common, owing the Rolling Stones on this farewell tour drew comparisons to the recent announcement of Cross Canadian Ragweed.

As everyone is probably aware, Cross Canadian Ragweed announced an indefinite break from touring. Speculation is that once this final rounds of shows concludes, CCR may just call it quits and go their separate ways.

What if that happens? I've seen a where a couple of venues have booked Cody Canada for some acoustic shows. Are people attending? Are the CCR fans supporting Cody in this endeavor?

Or, are they basically taking the stance that without CCR, Cody Canada fails to maintain relevancy?

I hope it's the former because like my radio host example, fans of Texas music and CCR owe Cody Canada continued support ... or Grady Cross or any of the other members of CCR who may or may not become involved in other projects. We're not saying CCR is breaking up, but we hope folks will continue to support them collectively or as individuals.

After all, CCR helped shape the current the Texas music culture and in time, will probably be considered one of the most influential bands of the Texas Red Dirt scene.

So, I agree with the radio host. The Rolling Stones should be supported on their farewell tour when they roll through Cowboys Stadium as they invariably will.

I "owe" the Stones myself -- just not at the $300 or more ticket price this thing might command. But I won't get on that soapbox again.