Author Archives: Shauna "WhiskeyChick" Castorena

In an industry that tightly crams artists into commercialized categories, what happens to the outcasts? Over the years the definitions of country music and rock and roll have shifted so greatly that it’s hard to tell the difference anymore. We’ve got Kid Rock and Bon Jovi on our local country station, and Taylor Swift is pop’s favorite princess. The Daily Beast did an excellent job drawing conclusions that it’s the genres that have bent, and not the artists themselves. Above that, the radio stations have started to blur together just to get the highest ratings regardless of what their genre-market is. But what about those artists that don’t fit in either category? The ones that are too rock for country and too country for rock? We’re talking about groundbreaking performers like Shooter Jennings, Lucero, Drive By Truckers, Blackberry Smoke, Old Crow Medicine Show, and practically any band that fits in the Americana, Rockabilly, Red Dirt, and DIY Rock families? Shouldn’t they have an opportunity to be heard? Shouldn’t they have categories on the award shows, and sections in the record stores, and genre classes in the magical little iTunes app? I sense a civil unrest in the music industry. Country die-hards want authentic music. They want that dirty southern sound of Lynard Skynard and David Allan Coe. They want the play-till-it-bleeds passion of Hank III, Honky and Tiger Army. They even want the homegrown comfort of Reckless Kelly, MotorTrain and Scott H Biram and the regional sounds of Dolly Parton and Dwight Yoakam. I know I do! That is why I signed the petition at www.givememyxxx.com. I want the industry to know that even us “mainstreamers” are ready for a musical revolution. Give Me My XXX is a grassroots movement to give “outer-edge” artists a home. To bring them to the forefront of commercial music distribution and recognition. To celebrate their talent and fanbase. Many thanks to Shooter Jennings for lighting the fire of the music industry riot that is about to unfold!