MARSHALL – In an age where there’s instant everything and people’s taste change as often as their clothes, it is difficult to find something that lasts through decades, especially in the ever splintering field of music.

Over the course of the last 60 years, we have gone from a basic big band sound versus old school country western music to a shattered looking glass of choices ranging from crossovers to techno as well as retro and country that’s often more pop than “twang.”

Thinking more locally than globally, back when the Blue Moon was still a favorite hot spot in Marshall, there were local and semi-local bands that took the stage and played either classic country music, rockabilly (like Elvis first introduced) or rock ‘n’ roll in all its subtleties.

What happened to the local live bands from the ’70s and ’80s?

With the onset of disc jockeys (DJs) who tend to be less expensive than even a three-piece band, many bands have either retired or simply folded due either to pricing, change in music interests, band members getting other jobs or band members retiring or dying. Back in the 1970s one could hire a local five- to seven-piece band for less than $200 a night. These days, it would cost up to seven times that to book a live band of the same size while local DJs run anywhere from $200 to $600 and will follow your playlist (provided they have the CDs).

In addition to pricing, the type of music played is a key factor. Many local bands played the music of their day in either the country western or the rock genre. If they didn’t update their music and conform to current trends in taste, they fell out of favor with the larger crowds.

In defense of those who did not change much, certain bands had their own style of playing in spite of being classified as a one type of music or another. For example, the Happy Wanderers of Echo had a more melodic and fluid style of “old-tyme country music” that seemed to have more “give” than the distinctively choppy music played by most polka bands of the same era, but even they eventually wound down to just occasional golden wedding anniversaries and 80th birthday parties, which may have been a testimony to the age-group factor. However, the fact that the newest tune in their repertoire was the “Bird Dance” and runner up was “Paper Roses” by Marie Osmond should give one a good idea of dated music, even though they still played into the 2010 era.

Other bands like The Johnny Holm Band learned to adapt. Instead of playing his traditional bluegrass-redneck country music, after a while his band transitioned to a more modern country rock and rock music. As members of the band retired, it seemed they were replaced by musicians who specialized rock ‘n’ roll throughout the ages. The band continues to appeal to younger and younger crowds. It should be mentioned that he is not strictly “local” in the sense of living in southwest Minnesota (he lives in Chaska), and his band has always been willing to travel throughout the Upper Midwest, whereas the “local” bands often stuck to a radius that allowed them to come home each night after a gig.

Who’s still singing, and who’s singing a different tune?

Bands like Johnny Holm continue to rock because they change with the crowds and like to travel. Of course, they also have some classic cover songs that really rock any generation.

Some performers go solo, like Guy Stevermer of Sacred Heart, former lead guitarist and vocalist for The Sheiks of Ivanhoe. He keeps bouncing back, like a rubber ball, through hard work and updating his repertoire.

“People don’t realize how much work it is for musicians to keep up their craft and to learn new music,” Stevermer said. “It takes a lot of time and practice.”

The Sheiks are still strumming away, too.

“We’re not playing quite as much as before,” band leader Tommy Sik said, “but pretty regularly, like every Fourth of July in Wilno.”

They still play a variety of music including country and ’50s and ’60s music, adding some new music along the way.

Some other bands or band members might still perform in community musical programs, like John and Ellen Lenz of Cottonwood from the retired band Southern Comfort, but are pretty much retired from band life and tend to like it that way.

“We just got tired of missing out on so many things, including family time, on weekends,” John Lenz said. Performing regularly over a span of decades is a huge, time-consuming commitment.