George Ducas has a regional country hit with "Cowtown." But it is, by his own admission, far from his best work. In this week's music feature, Kelly Dearmore explains how he called out Ducas on Twitter for what he viewed as a bottom-feeding song and how an online back-and-forth with the singer ended with an invitation to share a couple beers at a show. The way the exchange evolved says a lot about the way artists navigate the world of social media and its amicable conclusion is a good reminder, I think, of the common ground music fans share that is often lost in the reduction and one-upmanship of the Internet.
Here are some key points from the exchange that started all this.
Love George Ducas, but his "Kicking it in Cowtown" song displays all that's wrong with modern country music. #pandering #cliche #corny
— Kelly Dearmore (@KellyDearmore) December 17, 2012
To fans of "Texas country" or "Red Dirt" music: Demand quality, regardless of where the artist is from. Don't allow an artist to patronize u
— Kelly Dearmore (@KellyDearmore) December 17, 2012
If u listened 2 "Cowtown" by @george_ducas & almost any Aldean tune side by side, would u b able 2 identify which one is on the TX chart?
— Kelly Dearmore (@KellyDearmore) December 17, 2012
Lol I think I just got my first random "hater" tweet from a complete unknown! Now THAT's the holiday spirit, dude! twitter.com/kellydearmore/...
— George Ducas (@George_Ducas) December 20, 2012
@george_ducas Sorry. U missed the earlier tweet that said "Cowtown" represents everything that's wrong with country music today. Just FYI...
— Kelly Dearmore (@KellyDearmore) December 21, 2012
@kellydearmore glad they made you CEO of Texas music, brother. You're opinionated though, I do like that. Come to a show, have a beer w/ me.
— George Ducas (@George_Ducas) December 21, 2012
@george_ducas Didnt know "they" had either :-) I'd love to have a beer. I think ur a hell of a talent and I dig many of ur songs, FWIW.
— Kelly Dearmore (@KellyDearmore) December 21, 2012
@kellydearmore I'm aware, now. So, tweet bout the ones you dig just as loud! 'Preciate the subsequent kind words. 2013 beers & a show on me.
— George Ducas (@George_Ducas) December 21, 2012
@george_ducas Looking forward to it. Hell, next time you swing through D/FW, I'll do what I can to help spread the word on ur show...
— Kelly Dearmore (@KellyDearmore) December 21, 2012
@kellydearmore Thank you much, my man. Hell, out of all this came a probable amigo..Folks can't like everything you do. Thankful for Top 10.
— George Ducas (@George_Ducas) December 21, 2012
@george_ducas Amen, George. I know my wife likes very little of what I do :-) but that's a different topic...
— Kelly Dearmore (@KellyDearmore) December 21, 2012
@kellydearmore lol! This is about to go pm...! Or will need to, for my sake, before I insert foot in mouth. ;)
— George Ducas (@George_Ducas) December 21, 2012