We spent a good portion of last weekend at the Regina Folk Festival. That event has become a "must do" ritual in our tiny household for the past decade or so and one of the main reasons it attracts me is the fact that one gets to see and hear several emerging musical stars and a smattering of true-blue established entertainers in a wild eclectic musical mash up over three days.
Some stars get born there. Others never do get their musical footing, but it's not for the lack of trying. It's like every profession, there are the mega stars, the darn good ones, the has-beens and then a whole roster of never was and never were. And even some of them are still worth listening to and you get them all at the Queen City festival.
Sometimes the names of the groups or branding of a solo performer are enough to attract you to their act. It's sort of like being attracted to a book because of its title and cover art. Not a fool proof bait-and-hook combination, after all, the musical names such as The Beatles or The Rolling Stones are not particularly clever or inventive, but then they had obvious talent and didn't require any tricky monikers to attract a fan base.
I attended a dance a few weeks ago with music supplied by a country and western eight-some out of Saskatoon with the unpretentious name of the Better Than Nothing group. I guess they weren't that ambitious, but if they ever do hit it big ... I think that's a great name...
Some musical name combinations defy logic, description and explanation. But the name alone can suck the unsuspecting fan into the fold.
So that had me thinking about the aforementioned book titles and how they attract potential readers. Are they really, really classical reading, or did we just make them that because they had a neat title and some great art work on the cover? And I'm not referring to those bodice ripping romance novels, I'm talking about our classics dear diary.
I mean, would it have really been a classic novel if it had been entitled A Tale of One City?
Would Moby Dick have been as great a read if it had been released as Moby Richard or perhaps One Big Fish?
How about that guy Dumas and his book? Would it still be wonderful as The Two Musketeers And That Other Guy?
Who Hasn't Seen the Wind? Was good old W.O. one word removed from has-been status?
Or what if he had selected Wind? What Wind? as the working title? We'll never know.
How about War and Continual Friction?
Could Harper Lee have penned such a remarkable novel under the title To Maim a Cockatoo?
Probably, but I bet it wouldn't have sold as many copies.
Would Hemingway have made it as big with The Senior Citizen and the Sea?
OK, I believe that's enough for today diary. We're all getting a little tired.
Next week we'll discuss more important topics like Tiger Woods and Oprah Winfrey.
Park is a shameless name dropper and you can express your disgust by contacting him at: normpark@estevanmercury.ca or leaving a message on the www.estevanmercury.ca website in the cyberspace dedicated entirely to expressing one's feelings ... the comment box.
