The Other Side of the 45

A message for the next generation of working musicians

Mitchell Walsmith playing a set at The Black Angel in Iowa City, we shared a show there on May 4th 2024

“The burnouts are loud but they never last” said a listener when he came up to talk to me after the show. I had just finished playing a show at a brewery in Burlington, Iowa on a Saturday night. (The brewery is called The Busted Cup and even though I no longer drink alcohol, I highly recommend it. I recommend it if even if only for their food, friendly staff and willingness to host live (original) music.) My set started rough. The doubts were flowing through my head and the signals were literally flying at me from all directions. A man was playing ladders right next to the “stage” and at one point he let the bola (2 golf balls connected by a rope) fly, missed, and it came bouncing towards me landing at my feet. There was a kettle of vultures circling over my head, reminding me that while my songs may live forever my stage presence will not. There was a cover band playing across the street (separated by a building) that was drowning out my solo acoustic guitar. It also happened to be cruise night in Burlington so every few minutes, invariably as I would reveal a quiet moment in a song, someone in a muscle car, or a crotch rocket or a JDM import would light ‘em up when leaving the stop sign adjacent to the venue. The roar would momentarily overtake my sound to the point I was forgetting lyrics to my own songs.

All of these things taken into consideration, there was no place I would rather be and nothing I would rather be doing.

The manager was incredibly welcoming as was the staff. The crowd was enthusiastic and generous. The setting was warm and inviting. The mood was laid back, casual and go-with-the-flow. The food was remarkable and deserving of its own article. The load in was easy. The parking was adjacent. The lodging was close, easy and luxurious. I felt appreciated by fans old and new. The best part was that my son, Mitchell was along for the ride and played the opening set.

It was so great seeing him up there on “stage” warming up the audience and breaking the ice. He was trying out new material. He was fearless and entertaining. Sharing the gig with him was made it all worth it.

“The Other side of the 45” by The Nadas is a song written for the next generation of musicians that are navigating the mean streets of the music business.

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“The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side.”

―Hunter S. Thompson

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You could say the song is a bit of advice or maybe wisdom for our children. Mike Butterworth, my musical partner of 30 years, has a daughter who is out there, making her way, writing, recording, releasing and playing original music while trying to earn a living. It is a tricky moving target and always has been. Since they are our children it is easier to get the message through if we hide it in lyrics of a song than it is to just toss bossy advice their way and hope the message lands in their already fatigued ears.

Mike Butterworth, Jerry Floyd, Mitchell Walsmith back stage at The Maintenance Shop in Ames, Iowa April 19th 2024.

“When you were born, we were already bored, waiting for the door to open. We all played for the TV screens and bought our beers with tokens”

Many of the venues we used to play would insist on leaving the TVs on with the sports ball du jour because they feared people would leave if they couldn’t stare at screens. Also many of them would forgo the simple hospitality of providing refreshments backstage in lieu of wooden nickels or tickets for us to use at the bar where we would often have to wait in line behind the same people who were impatiently waiting for us to start playing.

“Driving hard we were moving fast, sometimes in the right direction. Choking down Milwaukees best, stale pretzels and a hard rejection”

One time after a show somewhere in Wyoming or Utah, we were making our way across the high desert west of the Rockies. We had all gone to bed in our bunks except the driver of the bus. We woke up hours later at a fuel stop in the early morning break of dawn only to find out our driver had gone about 4 hours in the wrong direction. We still made it to our gig. I would also like to point out that “best” is not capitalized, notating that I could be talking about any Milwaukee, Wisconsin brewed beer, creating an ambiguity, a distinction I wish I could make when singing the lyrics to the song.

“No one gets to do this for the first time anymore. We’re all in the business of what’s been done before. If you hang on long enough, and you’re the lucky kind, you get to hear the other side of the 45”

This is the chorus of the song so it repeats a few times. It does sort of feel like what ever you do and how ever you do it, someone somewhere has done it before you. Quite often when writing a song, you are interrupted by the exercise of trying to see if it sounds too much like another song you may or may not have heard before. It also quite often feels like a roller coaster that you just have to hold on as tight as you can and try not to lose your grip or be thrown from the ride. Not many, if any of the bands that we were peers with when we started out are still around today. There are older bands and musicians for sure but most of them had some sort of record deal or breakout success. Consequently it feels like quite an accomplishment to still be doing it after we have surpassed a certain age. The other side of the 45 is also a reference to the “b-side” of the record. Sometimes the better songs are hidden on the b-sides.

“Out of the nest, ahead of the rest, held up by a constant updraft. Sunny skies can tantalize but beware of the voodoo witchcraft. When they ask, just say yes, even if it feels frightening. You’ve gotta stand out in the rain if you’re gonna get touched by lightening”

We are kicking these little birds out of their nests but luckily with the support of family and friends and loyal fans who give them support as well. I have always had a tendency to overthink offers and opportunities for shows over the years but as a general policy we just try to say “yes”. Our longtime friend and business manager always says, “you can’t get struck by lighting if you aren’t out in the rain” meaning we have to be out in the mix for good things to happen. Quite often they say you are more likely to be struck by lightning than to find a break in the music business.

Mitchell Walsmith opened for The Nadas Duo for a sold out show at The Maintenance Shop in Ames, Iowa April 19th 2024.

“So bon voyage, fare thee well, go chase your momentum. Forge ahead, carry on and count your accolades as you get them”

It is time we watch our kids and the musicians of the next generation go off into unknown territory to be kicked around and ripped off, shut down and discouraged but also to have the most magical and rewarding time making music, building communities, breaking new ground. All we can hope is that their hard work and talent is recognized and appreciated and that they remember to be gracious and that they sooner realize the difference it makes in the world. I hope that they are rewarded in kind, just like I have been for all of these years. It helps if you keep in mind that the burnouts are loud, but they never last.

I’m proud to be a member of the Iowa Writers Collabortive:

Nicole Baart: This Stays Here, Sioux Center

Ray Young Bear: From Red Earth Drive, Meskwaki Settlement

Laura Belin: Iowa Politics with Laura Belin, Windsor Heights

Tory Brecht: Brecht’s Beat, Quad Cities

Dartanyan L. Brown: My Integrated Live, Des Moines

Jane Burns: The Crossover, Des Moines

Dave Busiek: Dave Busiek on Media, Des Moines

Iowa Writers Collaborative: Roundup 

Steph C: It Was Never a Dress, Johnston

Art Cullen: Art Cullen’s Notebook, Storm Lake

Suzanna de Baca: Dispatches from the Heartland, Huxley

Debra Engle: A Whole New World, Madison County

Randy Evans: Stray Thoughts, Des Moines via Bloomfield

Daniel P. Finney: Paragraph Stacker, Des Moines

Arnold Garson: Second Thoughts, Okoboji and Sioux Falls

Julie Gammack: Julie Gammack’s Iowa Potluck, Des Moines and Okoboji

Fern Kupfer and Joe Geha: Fern and Joe, Ames

Jody Gifford: Benign Inspiration, West Des Moines

Rob Gray's Area: Rob Gray’s Area, Ankeny

Avery Gregurich: The Five and Dime, Marengo

Nik Heftman:  The Seven Times, Iowa

Beth Hoffman: In the Dirt, Lovilla

Iowa Capital Dispatch, an alliance with IWC

Iowa Podcasters' Collaborative

Black Iowa News: Dana James, Iowa

Chris Jones: Chris’s Substack, Iowa City

Pat Kinney: View from Cedar Valley, Waterloo

Robert Leonard: Deep Midwest: Politics and Culture, Bussey

Letters From Iowans: Iowa

Darcy Maulsby: Keepin’ It Rural, Calhoun County

Hola Iowa: Iowa

Iowa Writers’ Collaborative

Alison McGaughey: The Inquisitive Quad Citizen, Quad Cities

Kurtis Meyer: Showing Up, St. Ansgar

Vicki Minor: Relatively Minor, Winterset

Wini Moranville: Wini’s Food Stories, Des Moines

Jeff Morrison: Between Two Rivers, Cedar Rapids

Kyle Munson: Kyle Munson’s Main Street, Des Moines

Jane Nguyen: The Asian Iowan, West Des Moines

John Naughton: My Life in Color, Des Moines

Chuck Offenburger: Iowa Boy Chuck Offenburger, Jefferson and Des Moines

Barry Piatt: Piatt on Politics Behind the Curtain, Washington, D.C.

Dave Price: Dave Price’s Perspective, Des Moines

Steve Semken : Ice Cube Press, LLC; The Pulse of A Heartland Publisher, North Liberty

Macey Shofroth: The Midwest Creative, Norwalk

Larry Stone: Listening to the Land, Elkader

Mary Swander: Mary Swander’s Buggy Land, Kalona

Mary Swander's Emerging Voices: Emerging Voices, Kalona

Cheryl Tevis: Unfinished Business, Boone County

Ed Tibbetts: Along the Mississippi, Davenport

Jason Walsmith: The Racontourist, Earlham

Kali White VanBaale: 988: Mental Healthcare in Iowa, Bondurant

Teresa Zilk: Talking Good, Des Moines

I highly recommend checking out these other fine publications.