Deep Cutz' last "column" ; The Writers

For just about 2 ½ years, I contributed 200 words each week to the Real Detroit Weekly under the ambiguous banner of ‘Deep Cutz.’ This amounted to about 125 consecutive weekly write ups featuring a plethora of local artists and musicians and trying to spur some humble shred of excitement in the lead up to any number of special events, be they album premiers, reunion shows, benefit shows or maybe just up-and-coming/just-getting-started acts that I would spend afternoons listening to demos of on their humble makeshift myspace pages.

But now, or at least for about two months-now…it, the column, hasn’t run. It has ended.

And, that’s about it. That’s about all I can say for certain. Because it is not my place, nor would I want it to be, to appraise the column’s worth or contribution to…whatever, the ether, the innards and the populace of the Detroit music community.

What I appreciated most about it was that I could usually write about anything – which most often meant ‘-about-anyone or any-band’ and it would be given a modest pedestal on the pages of thousands of stapled issues throughout coffee shops and salons and restaurants and bars everywhere.

There didn’t need to be a hook, necessarily; this didn’t need to be a band that was connected, or cool, or attractive. Sometimes it didn’t need to be a band that played their instruments that well or sometimes it could be a band that didn’t even play instruments at all… No precedent. No hipster cred. No favors. Just coverage.

But. As I write this, I know that the old always makes way for the new. And while some bands still seem to get covered more than others – I would try to assure that change comes slowly – and the myriad make up of scenester cred and editorial politics shifts; new bands come to local prominence and popularity – but on top of that – new music writers come as well – as they have to the current roster of Real Detroit and to the administrative roles of various commendable blogs.

These writers are, in the end, exactly what I was --through my role-- with the Deep Cutz column – enthusiasts! Music lovers! Mixed and mingled into the rabble of drink swishers at the edges of stages throughout Detroit, listening and being excited by the new sounds, by the new faces, the new styles – then going home and writing about it. Championing it.

Things change. Time goes on. Blah blah blah.

Deep Cutz was just 200 words by one guy. There are so many more outlets – new writers, heartfelt bloggers, all of them supporters, each uniquely talented.

So consider this the last proper/traditionally-perceived ‘deep cutz’ column (in the sense of the printed incarnation)... as a promotional rant not necessarily towards one band or many bands, but to all the other writers in this city, the words and the passions they bring, to support these bands.

~

And then of course, rest assured that – Deep Cutz isn’t over. It still continues – and I thank you greatly for reading. This way, too, we save paper.

And on that awkward note, I wrap up this post and head out to the next show……..well, that's not entirely true, but sounds dramatic... Eventualy, anyway, I'll be out at that next show. For now, I could use a nap. Maybe some dandelion tea to detoxify a bit. But, assuredly, I’ve got some shows to hit up.

See you there, hopefully.