SnowGhost Music

I have friends who have trained for and completed marathons. I am very proud of them, and in most cases, I am even a bit impressed. Running without stopping for 26.3 miles is certainly not something someone does on a whim, much less without a bit of training and a really nice pair of shoes. But at the same time, I could totally do it. If I was being chased by a gang of deadly chainsaw-toting toddlers that never surpassed the pace of a nine-minute mile, or perhaps a swarm of deadly bees that insisted on chasing me at safe speeds at or around 6 miles per hour, I could probably go at least 30 miles before I’d give up. I’d probably even have time for an emergency roadside poop. Regardless, there is no chance that I’ll ever willingly run in a marathon, barring unforeseen charitable circumstances. I will, however, freely submit myself to a nearly-weeklong MUSIC MARATHON, and I might even train for it!

That’s right, I just used an exclamation point to end the previous paragraph because I could think of no other punctuation mark that could capture my level of excitement for my upcoming participation in this week’s CMJ Music Marathon. I guess the preceding paragraph might prepare you for some sort of bold statement like, ‘I’m going to see at least 20 bands per day, thus witnessing approximately one thousandth of all available shows!’ That would be quite a feat, on par perhaps with running an actual marathon or participating in some sort of promotional stunt that involved consecutive days touching something or doing something. Alas, the festival is not about seeing your favorite 10 bands in one convenient place. It’s more about seeing 20 new bands you’ve never heard of in places you’ve never been to and meeting 50 people you haven’t ever met but you’re glad that you did.

It’s all about the networking, for fans and bands alike. It’s kind of like a job fair for bands, a DIY showcase where nobody has anything to lose. Yes, there are definitely great shows to be seen, and some of the best bands of the past 20 years have all been a part of the CMJ. I guess the best analogy I can think of is this: imagine you are a huge fan of amateur science, and you’ve just gotten a pass to the National Collegiate Science Fair Championships (The NCSFCs dude!!), featuring exhibits from thousands of the nation’s best amateur scientists. How pumped would you be? You’d be polishing your Bunsen burner and starching the collar of your lab coat, not to mention revising your theorems and exercising your pointing instrument, which you would use for pointing at interesting things. And it would totally break from all the interested pointing.

So I’m packing my bag, for 2 bags would be very pricey with baggage fees and such, and I’m headed for the blitz. I’m going to schmooze, cruise, use, and booze for the rest of the week, and I’ll write all about it. I’ve even decided to bring my running shoes, just in case I need to jog between venues and meet and greets. I may even need to emergency poop in an alley. Whatever happens, I’ll be sure to write about it over the next few days. So be prepared for a very productive period of blogging, or at least several typo-laced ramblings. It’s going to be a very enjoyable marathon…