By Brydon Brett

Do you like the catchy title of my blog?  Did it make you want to read more?  Good.  I’m going to get to the something that is “seriously wrong” part of the blog really soon but first, a quick editorial correction…

Briahna is still getting married, but it’s not happening until February 27.  In my first blog installment I mistakenly said that she is getting married on the 26th.  Yeah, I care about my sister’s life.  I’m just not great with dates and times.  She called me immediately and congratulated me on a great blog, and then awared (new word) me of my gross error.  I get the feeling she wouldn’t have called me if I hadn’t made the mistake.  Oh well.  She’s getting married still, and that’s what matters.

Now, on to the main reason I’m blogging this week.  Last weekend we did a show in St. Louis, MO at the beautiful Scottish Rite Cathedral.  It was really cool to learn more about the Scottish Rite and tour the facility, which was quite mammoth, antique, elaborate, and impressive.  Our old sound man, Chad (Andy William’s sound engineer), came along and he has a cackle-laugh that just echoed in the cavernous halls of the theater.  He’s a funny guy.

Anyway, we put on a great show.  I think the auditorium held 1,600 people or more, but here’s the sad part, 1,600 people did not come.  In fact, we, along with our Scottish Rite friends, were quite discouraged by the turnout.  We speculated about any number of things that might have kept the night from being a huge attendance success – insufficient promotion, conflicting events, etc.  But we couldn’t pinpoint it.  I think the people who came really enjoyed the show.  They left feeling uplifted, inspired and entertained – all the things we want them to feel when they leave.  But there just weren’t all that many people there.

So, we packed up after the show, having concluded that it was just a bad night or that the economy had kept people from seeking entertainment on a Saturday night.  Then, as we are waiting to load up all the equipment into our 14 ft. trailer I get a call from Dad, who was trying to back the trailer out of a back alley and pull up to the front of the building for easy loading, and he says he’s stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic.  At 10:30?!  He then told me that the traffic was due to all the people getting out from the theater across the street.  That was discouraging.  But here’s the kicker…while we’re at a beautiful theater struggling to present great family entertainment to a <i>small</i> crowd, there is a SOLD-OUT crowd across the street at what kind of show?  An “Adult” show.  The kind you can’t even take your kids to!  Now I am not unappreciative of all the wonderful people who came to our show, nor am I bitter about the economic outcomes of the night, but can you see why I think there is something seriously wrong here?!

This is an illuminating illustration of what I think is wrong with entertainment today.  Materialism, immorality, profanity, innuendo, crudeness, vulgarity, the base and carnal, etc., etc., etc.  All of these things dominate the airwaves, the world wide web, and the stages.  These are not the Andy Griffith Show days anymore.  Even “family” programming isn’t really family friendly anymore.  And perhaps the worst part is that those who are trying to do good in entertainment and media, don’t seem to make it mainstream or acquire a very large audience.  Our business slogan is, “Thank You for Supporting Great Family Entertainment.”  Our mission is to provide the most excellent, inspiring, and positive family entertainment experience possible.  We have amazing fans and friends who make it possible for us to do this, and we’ve made our small mark on the entertainment industry (and we have big plans to make a bigger mark!).  But here’s my question: WHAT IS KEEPING GREAT FAMILY ENTERTAINMENT FROM BECOMING MAINSTREAM?  Is it insufficient money, promotion, or quality of product?  What is it?  This question dominates my thinking, because I want The Brett Family to make a difference in the world.  I am EXTREMELY interested in your feedback, and I will respond to each of your responses personally.  Just comment and let me know your opinion.

Anyway, thanks for listening to me rant today, and thank you for supporting great family entertainment.

See y’all later!

P.S.  If you’d like to write your comments down, go ahead and do so on a $100 bill and send it in.  I’ll make sure to forward it on to management.