How We Chose What We Post At So Many Roads

Over the 7 plus years we've running So Many Roads,, I’ve gotten numerous questions on how we choose what to post. I’ve also gotten several requests for certain bands or types of music. Given all that, I thought I’d take a minute to explain how we decide on what to post. I consider 3 things in deciding what bands/concerts to post at So Many Roads:

1. Sound Quality: Basically, no show gets posted unless the sound quality is top notch. Over 90% of what we post at So Many Roads are soundboard or FM broadcasts. When I first started this site some 7 & 1/2 years ago, I took the advice of Tunzmaster Dino, from the legendary D&P’s Bootleg Tunzworld, that no one wants to hear a show that sounds like it was recorded in your bathroom with the water running. Sound quality is king. And sound quality should never be confused with file type.  Just because a show is captured on FLAC files doesn't automatically mean it sounds good.  Dino's drunken rant on Guitars 101 on the FLAC vs MP3 debate is the stuff of legends! In any event, while we have increased the number of audience recordings over the years, we do our best to make sure they sound great. Occasionally, maybe 1 or 2% of the time, we’ll post a less than great sounding show for historical or sentimental reasons, but 99 out of 100 times, if not more, we’re bringing you a soundboard or broadcast quality show.


2. The Date: Given that this blog has evolved to feature a this date in history” approach, the show we post each day has to be from that day! So, if its November 22, then we’ll find a concert from November 22 from some year between 1955 and today. When you see posts such as Concerts From Today in History or some other type of announcement, it means I couldn’t find a show from that day that I felt was worth posting.


3. My Taste In Music: In the end, I post shows that feature music I enjoy. You see lots of shows at So Many Roads from the Grateful Dead, The Beatles, CSNY, Eric Clapton Van Morrison, the Allman Brothers, etc. because that’s what I listen to every day. I’m not a fan of heavy metal, grunge or progressive rock, so you don’t see any posts from bands that play those styles of music. I like the blues, but in small doses, which is why you only get occasional posts from artists such as Muddy Waters, Robert Cray or Stevie Ray Vaughn. I’m into live music, not studio outtakes, so you’ll see very few of the latter type of posts here at So Many Roads. I know that my musical tastes may differ from others, which is why I link to sites such as The New JDP, Reliquary, Arizona Jones and The Midnight Cafe, just to name a few, where you can often find music I may not post. By the way, the number of times I post a band usually reflects how much I enjoy their music but not always. You’d see far more Beatles posts, for example, but unfortunately, there are far too few high quality concert recordings available. Same goes for The Band from the Robbie Robertson era, Rockpile and Derek & The Dominos, just to name a few.

Hope all the above helps. Thanks for visiting So Many Roads and enjoy the tunz.