Mo Monkeys!

In keeping with my mental noodling on the subject of the power of a unified small blogger community and its similarities to rock and roll, I urge everyone to regard Super Happy Funland (SHF) in Houston, Texas.

They don't make any money, or pay the bands who play there, but they manage to sell a few sock puppets, as we see here, and keep their head above water.

Bands that don't function as human karioki machines have a real hard time finding venues. SHF invites musicians who play their original music, and wind up selling a few beers and pretzels. Many groups traveling from town to town find a welcome community of artists and fans and even a place to sleep if need be. A pot of vegetarian something is invariably simmering away. The walls are covered with work from local artists. Comfortable old couches are everywhere.

Sadly, listening parlors such as SHF are few and far between. The Red Room in San Antonio who moves from one empty space to the next relies on the kindness of others, having very little money to show for themselves, forbids smoking and shoes. You can bring your own liquor, but Red Room only sells water. There are a few "house party" 503C organizations that feature mostly folk singers, but even these are very much money-driven concerns.

When it comes down to it, money IS the root of all evil. People need to get over that. Very few, barely any, bloggers will ever make any cash, and once they do it is rather difficult to remain totally independent. I think Mr. Kos' ratings are going down because he has become MSM; not by nature of his shear size, but because he has been adopted by the powers at be as one of them.

What is true of small bloggers, though, is that they have a national forum in which to create without having to pay rent, or sell beers, or sock puppets.

Please embrace this gift and never take it for granted.