fCharlottesville's indie rock fans found themselves hungry last week, it may be because many bands traveled to New York last week for the CMJ Music Marathon. The festival was now in its 30th year, and blogs painted this as a time of transition for the festival, long a rite of passage for up-and-coming rock bands.
One of the big figures flying around this weekend was $495, which is how much it cost for an all-access pass to the festival. It seemed ridiculous, given that few bands are making serious money these days, and that many bands chose to augment their official CMJ schedule with free or cheap shows, sponsored by blogs and websites.
Jonny Corndawg is an Esmont native who plays in Charlottesville all the time (his website says he's in Nashville) and who I caught for the first time over the weekend. His square jaw was beard-covered and framed in a cowboy hat and huge sunglasses. The silly facade—"Jonny Corndawg" is inlayed on his acoustic guitar!—can only hide his chops for so long. If he didn't have chops, would he have written these lines:
