ColdTowne Theater
Conflict of Interest?
RECEIVED Tue., March 10, 2009
Margaret Moser,
Re: “School Jam Daze” [Earache! Music blog, March 2]: My name is Kathy Hollier. My son, Jacob, is the drummer for Blankberry. I thought a response was necessary to the article you wrote on SchoolJam Texas Battle of the Bands.
I can't believe you actually agreed to judge this competition. You knew many of the competitors personally! There is no way to be completely objective when you form your opinions and write down your scores.
We're not talking about being unfair to adults here. These are high school kids. Could we possibly leave out the politics?!
I am a music teacher in a public school. I'm also a member of Texas Music Educators Association. I can't believe the National Association of Music Merchants and TMEA allowed this to happen. This was an unethical decision on your part.
I was offended by your blog about SchoolJam. You didn't bother to mention that Blankberry received third place. You didn't even list their names. You said you couldn't remember them. Wouldn't a reporter take the time (about 30 seconds) to look up their names? Also, your statement about being surprised that this caliber of talent could come out of Southeast Texas was condescending. Again, a good reporter would research their comments. I can think of a few people who have done fairly well for themselves in the music business from our immediate area – George Jones, the Winter Brothers, Larry Graham, Janis Joplin, Tex Ritter, the Big Bopper, Tracy Byrd, Mark Chesnutt … just off the top of my head.
Our children were disappointed that they didn't win first place. However, the biggest disappointment was that the competition wasn't completely fair.
Re: “School Jam Daze” [Earache! Music blog, March 2]: My name is Kathy Hollier. My son, Jacob, is the drummer for Blankberry. I thought a response was necessary to the article you wrote on SchoolJam Texas Battle of the Bands.
I can't believe you actually agreed to judge this competition. You knew many of the competitors personally! There is no way to be completely objective when you form your opinions and write down your scores.
We're not talking about being unfair to adults here. These are high school kids. Could we possibly leave out the politics?!
I am a music teacher in a public school. I'm also a member of Texas Music Educators Association. I can't believe the National Association of Music Merchants and TMEA allowed this to happen. This was an unethical decision on your part.
I was offended by your blog about SchoolJam. You didn't bother to mention that Blankberry received third place. You didn't even list their names. You said you couldn't remember them. Wouldn't a reporter take the time (about 30 seconds) to look up their names? Also, your statement about being surprised that this caliber of talent could come out of Southeast Texas was condescending. Again, a good reporter would research their comments. I can think of a few people who have done fairly well for themselves in the music business from our immediate area – George Jones, the Winter Brothers, Larry Graham, Janis Joplin, Tex Ritter, the Big Bopper, Tracy Byrd, Mark Chesnutt … just off the top of my head.
Our children were disappointed that they didn't win first place. However, the biggest disappointment was that the competition wasn't completely fair.
Kathy Hollier
Nederland
Nederland
[Margaret Moser replies: I'm sorry for your son's loss in SchoolJam Texas. After writing about music in Austin for 33 years, yes, I know musicians of all ages. The nature of blogs is that they're casual, and as such, they aren't held to the front-page standard; in fact, I didn't know the names of the teens from Vidor's the Standing or Plano's While the World Sleeps, either, but that didn't stop me from acknowledging them or your son's band as terrific performers in the competition. I wish your son luck in the business.]
