There's a popular coffee table book out called, "The Book of If." You may be familiar with this collection of "If" questions like:

"If you were sentenced and scheduled for execution, what would you choose as your last meal?"
(I wouldn't care, as long as I could cook it)
"If you could go back into the past and kill one historical figure, who would it be?"
(I would choose Yoko Ono)
"If you could go into the future and kill one person, who would it be?"
(Probably not really among the questions in the book)
"If you could exchange your rectangular front door for a door of any other shape, what shape would it be?"
(Mobius strip)
"If you could take one unwieldy item and make it portable, what item would that be?"
(I would choose a javelina. Also known as the peccary or musk hog, this 80-200-pound wild pig is native to the American Southwest and parts of Mexico. Cursed by Nature with tusks much longer than its attention span, this creature, in briefcase or pocket edition could, in my opinion, liven up the dullest social affairs. Why, you might as well throw those coffee table books away once L'il Musky gets down to business amidst the guests at your next suburban soirée).
"If you could teach one thing to your local entertainment decision makers, what would it be?"
(I would choose to teach them what Terry Robb already knows, which is that if they promote and support real blues, theyll get one hundred percent of the five percent of the population that cares about real blues, and theyll get them every weekend, whereas, if they book general purpose cover rock/pop stuff to appeal to the general public, theyll get five percent of the one hundred percent that constitutes the general population, which adds up to the same number of patrons, but they wont get them every weekend).


That's right. Terry Robb, whose understated passion, devotion, material selection and delivery I've admired since Hell was no bigger than Portland, Oregon, simply doesnt give a damn about people who don't give a damn about what he gives a damn about, which is nailing great roots music. He doesn't step out of character or personal interest to entertain anyone. His market consists of people who know and love authentic, exquisitely delivered, traditional blues and ragtime. The critics's job is to encourage those people to seek his recordings and performances. Only if a large percentage of that small part of the general population knows about him and supports him can we teach entertainment decision makers what they need to know about refined, specialty music.