OnStage: for the Performing Musician
Interic Publishing ISSN 0884-4720

This new publication is from Primedia, the same folks who publish Mix and Electronic Musician. The two 74-page issues reviewed (February and March 2001) offered a good mix of technical articles and interviews targeted to the live performance interests of musicians. The magazine is not particularly roots oriented — the closest these issues came to that was an article on recording a live tape from guitarist Pat Kirtley and an interview with country star Clint Black — but nevertheless the stage performance tenor of the stories makes them useful across genres. Strong points are the good mix of technical and interview material, interviews with behind-the-scenes stage insights, and live album reviews. Weak points are underdeveloped music business columns and an awkward tendency toward first-person viewpoints/introductions of major stories. If the magazine is featuring an artist you want to know more about, the single issue is worth the $3.95 U.S. cover price because the interviews are likely to have an angle not found elsewhere. Whether it's worth subscribing to depends on your level of involvement in, and knowledge of, the touring music industry. With Primedia's clout behind it, this could turn into a thriving source of information, but it's still a bit early to tell how useful it will be to those involved professionally in the roots genres. [Subscriptions: $11.97 U.S. for 12 issues] - Kerry Dexter (Tallahassee, FL)

OnStage P.O. Box 12909/ Overland Park, KS 66282-9635; www.ontstagemag.com