James Otto will be in Italy on December 7th for a single tour date in Pordenone, at the Country Christmas. Born in 1973 in Fort Lewis, Washington State and has released up to now three albums: “Days Of Our Lives” (Mercury Nashville 2004), “Sunset Man” (produced by John Rich and Jay De Marcus for Warner Bros. in 2008) and “Shake What God Gave Ya” (Warner Bros 2010). Original member of the MuzikMafia, (Cowboy Troy, Shannon Lawson, John Anderson and Shanna Crooks), a group of country musicians whose aim was to make country music without all the prejudice. He achieved success with the hit single “Just Got Started Lovin’ You” ( from “Sunset Man”) which climbed to the top spot of the Billboard in 2008. A concert definitely worth seeing, maybe not completely country, but it will satisfy those who like good music. Surely this year the shameful situation which occurred last year will be avoided, when the live show was relegated to the secondary pavilion, whilst in the main pavilion, at the same time, the DJ’s were playing their music. Therefore, it is unexplainable why they go to all that trouble in booking a singer from the States and then not reserve him the proper attention he deserves, (as is the case all over the world). Surely the “technical staff” will take example from the festival in Voghera, where, during Trent Willmon’s show everyone stopped to listen to the concert. It is a matter of showing respect towards the singer (who at his return home will tell of how he was treated in Italy), and above all emphasising the fact that the evenings spent dancing are Ok, but the real star is the music and those who play it.
Having a DJ playing at the same time as a concert is like inviting a friend home to talk about his life, his problems and joys, and then whilst he is doing this, thinking that he has your sincere heartfelt attention, you put on your headset and start playing with the playstation. If you do not care to listen, why invite him? We are confident that the bad examples set over the last few years remain as such, and that the “technical staff” this year will do things in a proper way, that is, suspend each sideshow (evening with DJ’s and various events) and give the right emphasis to James Otto and his band. If this will not be the case, but, we are confident and sure that it will be, we are then led to believe that, anything related to country music is irrelevant, and that everything is targeted exclusively to support the money-making business that revolves around dance classes. The concert would thus become a kind of sop to those who really believe, a kind of fig leaf behind which to hide other interests. But, as we hope this will not be the case, we are confident that the concert will receive all the attention it deserves, I say to you, go to see James Otto, you will have a good time, listening to good music. Of course we’ll be there to inform you of how things went. (Gianluca Sitta)
Thank to gactv.com for the picture
