Wilderness Road

Have you ever wondered how articles for magazines like this one are chosen?

CREEM decides to go national, with features on what’s happening around the country. Because the Creemers follow the underground press, they know that Wilderness Road is the hottest band in Chicago. Because CREEM is less concerned with its ‘definitiveness’ than Rolling Stone, because it likes to help deserving bands, and because scoops count even during our non-competitive Aquarian Age, a phone call appoints me official Tenderer of the true story of Wilderness Road.

Meanwhile, at about the same point in time, Wilderness Road is approaching several people in Chicago about national exposure. It seems that their hundreds of appearances, obvious talent, strong ties to the hip community and rave local reviews aren’t enough to win them a recording contract with money up front. They have been told that they need a “national article” to make it official. The ‘biz,’ where music is ‘product’ and the measure of a group is its ‘commercial potential,’ demands clippings more recent than even yesterday’s papers.