Danny Gokey blasted his way through town on the way to ….

Observations …

– Literally, he was on the way to Emeryville for yet another appearance…

– Figuratively, if he keeps doing what he’s going (listening to his management group, connecting with the fan base he has, etc., etc.) … he is on his way to stardom in the world of country music.

– Although I am not a huge fan of the genre (Country … and by the way whatever happened to the & Western portion of that?) it works 110 percent for Gokey…

– This was not billed as a concert but more as an appearance. Well, I’ve seen (and paid for) worse concerts. Gokey sang 10 songs, interacted with the audience and genally, well, put on a good show.

– One of his band members explained it this way: “This is the way it’s done in country music. Hit all the country radio stations you can because these people won’t buy his records if they can’t hear them on the radio. And do you see these 200 or so pepole … they are gonna be Gokey fans for life.” I imagine he is right on the money (again, literally and figuratively.)

– Kudos to Froggy 92.9 and the Crome Lotus. Froggy for setting up the show and pulling it off without a hitch, the CL for providing a venue that showcased Gokey without giving the feeling that he was shielded from the fans.

– Kudos to Gokey for staying and signing every single request for an autograph and posing for every photo. By the end of the session he looked like he was tired of smiling.

– One of the band members also had this comment: “Danny is just great to work with. The only problem is that he sings too much. He’ll finish a tour stop, get in the van or on the airplane and start singing. He has to learn to rest his voice.”

– Country music, with its unabashed love of the fans, instantly reminds me of NASCAR. They have learned how to connect to a loyal fan base, win them over and keep them.

— Prediction: Gokey will not be a one-hit wonder. This upcoming tour with Sugarland (starting next month) will be huge for him. He won’t be just another faceless opening act.

Following is a link to a photo gallery of Gokey’s performance on Friday (March 19, 2010) in Santa Rosa:

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Avis=SR&Dato=20100319&Kategori=PHOTONEWS&Lopenr=319009993&Ref=PH&show=galleries