At a recent Shepherdstown Super Bowl Party a sixty-five year old man says to one of the young ladies in attendance; “you know what the worst thing about Super Bowl Forty-one is… I remember Super Bowl I.” After all these years we are still watching. Just in case the game turns out to be a dud, the NFL guarantees us a reason to stay tuned for two thirds of the broadcast, which nets hundreds of thousands of dollars per second, by booking the Crème de la Crème of the music industry. It must be working because this year’s ratings were the highest ever.
There is no coincidence that the NFL has turned to the over-forty rock crowd to headline its premier event six of the last seven years. We all know what happened the year they branched out from this formula; it used to be called flashing but the PC term is wardrobe malfunction. Here’s the list: Aerosmith, Sting, Paul McCartney, U2, The Rolling Stones, and the idol formerly known as the artist formerly known as Prince. There ain’t no disco and there ain’t no fooling around. Straight up Rock-n-Roll squeezed into small snippets. Medleys at mid field designed to make us feel comfortable.
The Super Bowl is as much about entertainment and brands as it is sport. This formula extends to the halftime show as well. Name recognition and international appeal are significant selection criteria but not the whole story. There is a longevity to the Super Bowl. At any super bowl party the glory or agony of past Super bowls can be heard in conversation. Great plays and players are discussed in detail. The Super Bowl like the halftime entertainers has a back catalogue of hits that mean something to the viewers. Just as there is Satisfaction and Purple Rain there is the ’84 Bear’s defense or Pittsburg’s Steel Curtain. Aerosmith and Paul McCartney have walls of gold records and the‘49s, and New England has multiple Lombardi trophies. There are the quarterbacks and the front men, Montanna/Jagger, Sting/Brady, the side men, the MVPs and yes, replacement players and breakups. Can anyone say the team formerly know as the team formerly know as the Baltimore Colts?
Most of the albums released by these artists have 20 years on the athletes never mind the musicians themselves. However the audience is another story. On his last tour the over-forty Prince commented to his audience, “you’re all back to see me the only difference is you all look different but I still look the same.” Not the least bit discouraged the crowd roared with delight. First, because it was true, and second, because the nice thing about being American is that our lives are so satisfactory that we don’t need to live vicariously through the lives of our aging rock stars: Not! Prince does look the same and we love him for it, even if he is rumored to be having hip replacement surgery. We demand a youthful appearance. We want to see Steven Tyler draped in scarves, Mick Jagger fit and trim and Sting still blond and able to hit the high notes even from the lotus position. But underneath the surface, these guys are smack in the middle of the greatest show on turf because they are seasoned musicians who can deliver the goods, familiar goods with added sentimental value.
We can argue all day whether these artists are still making relevant music, but the Super Bowl is a live event, and when it comes to live shows these are the masters. Stadiums are their club gigs. Like the athletes on the field, they have mastered the game plan and execute it to perfection. And the fans? We keep coming back for more. More of the same, maybe, but for all our hollering about being different there is a desire for the familiar in our humanity. After all these years we are still watching. So who’s next? The who, who are now two? John Mellencamp? Or maybe The Boss, the ultimate regular guy’s musician headlining America’s New Favorite Pastime. Talk about halftime adjustments, Can anyone say, Born to Run.
Felker and The I Steadies Come To Play
The i steadies are headed our way again! The once regular outfit will be performing at the Clarion Auditorium on March 10. While they may or may not be busily rehearsing for their 22nd anniversary get together celebration, most of us should be limbering up, preparing ourselves to bust the moves. If this event is anything like their 20th anniversary you may have to elbow your way onto the crowded parcay. TSO Audio caught up with founding member and Shepherdtonian Sam Felker resulting in the following sitdown:
TSO: If you could be a song what would you be called?
SF: I can’t answer that question. Next.
TSO: Why do you think the i-steadies are so popular in Shepherdstown?
SF: Because we play popular dance music and people like to dance. They have a good time when they hear us.
TSO: What is your favorite thing about getting together?
SF: The four of us always played well together and there is always a good energy when we play.
TSO: And your least favorite?
SF: I don’t know. We haven’t really haven’t gotten together yet.
TSO: Why do musicians say being in a band is like being in a marriage.
SF: We are more like brothers, actually. We fight like brohers and we love like brothers.
TSO: How old were you when you played your first song all the way through?
SF: Probably fourteen or thirteen.
TSO: And the song was?
SF: I can’t remember, that was over forty years ago.
TSO: Where do you draw the line between what you will or won’t play?
SF: It depends on whether or not I can do a good version of it and if I enjoy playing it.
TSO:You used to drive a bus for a living?
SF: Yes.
TSO: How is driving a bus like playing music?
SF: Nothing really but I was able to learn a lot of lyrics while drinving the bus
TSO: Let’s play a little word association. Give me an example of a blues song?
SF: My mind doesn’t work that way.
TSO: At a birthday party do you prefer pin the tale on the donkey or a pinata?
SF: Pinatas, they seem a little more dangerous.
TSO: Can you identify this: Dantdantdan ...dantdant..dadan...dantdantdan...dant dan?
SF: Smoke on the water.
TSO: And this? Dantdan dantdantdan dadantdan?
SF: Satisfaction. How about this? (Felker sings out the guitar riff to Led Zepplin’s Black Dog)
TSO: “Say hey mama with way you move....”
SF: This seems like a teen beat inteview.
Sam Felker is a musician who can be seen& heard in many local venues and hosts the open mic at the Mecklenburg Inn once a month. Sam also has a daytime gig at Ellworth Music in Charles Town.
