Dear Oat Central,
I enjoyed your letters page, there were some good points made and a lot of laughs. I don't
have anything clever to add except to say I listened to most of the music samples on your
site and was totally impressed by the quality of everything. Good for you! It's refreshing
to see there are companies out there who still care. Enjoy those three-hour lunches! 
                                                                               - Matt Cogan
                                                                                  Eugene, OR
Dear Matt,
Thanks. We were going to come up with one of our usual smart-ass responses, but we
couldn't think of anything. (OK, we could've asked if you knew the limerick that starts
"There once was a gal from Eugene/..."). As for the three-hour lunches, they're pretty
easy to enjoy. If you're ever in Nashville at lunchtime, give us a call ! 

Dear Oat Crew,
I've visited your site maybe three or four times since I found it a couple months ago. It's one
of the best things on the web, y'all are cool and I love your sense of humor. Until today tho',
I never heard any of your label's music, 'cos my Real Player was f*cked up and I don't know
how to fix computer things. But yesterday my friend fixed it for me, and I listened to some of
your clips. GREAT !!!! Especially loved Steve Haggard's "Ghost Town" and that song by the
King Of Crock ! Also Gig Michaels, Gail and the Tricksters, Mark Brine and Diesel. I'll be
buying some CDs from y'all soon. If your artists ever play here in Richmond, please tell me !! 
                                                                               - Melissa Rowe
                                                                                 Richmond, VA
Dear Melissa,
We appreciate the kind words... and we look forward to your CD purchases ! Seriously,
we try very hard to put out really good, original music, and are always glad when people
respond to it. And we'll definitely keep you posted on any Oat shows in Richmond. 

Dear Friends,
A day of infamy begins today... That's because I shipped you a bottle of the "Bald Head Diva Gourmet Steak Sauce" along with my publicity materials and CDs. Please tell the Wild Oats secretaries not to throw the  package into the Oats trash can. Be sure to use my sauce with some good meat that doesn't have the dreaded hoof and nose disease!
                                                                              - Jimmie R. Vestal
                                                                                 Pickin' oranges and my Telecaster in Florida!
Dear Jimmie,
Hello from the oatfields, and thanks for the sauce and the CDs. We'll be keeping an eye out 
for the package.  (Here at Oat Central, we're always glad to accept gifts !)  Amazingly,  we 
listen to every tape and CD that gets sent in... nothing goes into the famous Oats trash can
without being heard first. And as for the steak sauce, we grill 12 months a year here, so it
won't be long before your sauce finds its way onto a slab o' beef.

Dear Team Oat,
I just wanted to say hi and tell you that  I love Wild Oats Records more than I love life
itself ! Is that good enough to win me the free CD contest ? Really, I think it's great
that there's a renegade record label like Wild Oats. Music has gotten so corporate
and boring these days. Not just country, which is terrible and isn't really country
anyway,  but rock, too.  It seems like everything is pretty blah.  So it was great to
find your site, which isn't only funny but has some great music on it.  Thanks !
                                                                                      - Josie Mayfield 
                                                                                         Slidell, LA
Dear Josie,
Yes, you do win the free CD contest for April. Congratulations !! The CD that you
chose -- Steve Haggard's Make Your Move --  is on its way to scenic Slidell as we
write this.  As we often say,  we love hearing good things about Wild Oats Records,
even when they're not totally sincere. So even if you don't really love our label more
than life itself, it makes us happy just to have you say it. And as for your comments
on the boring, corporate, "blah"music that is infecting the airwaves these days,
we wholeheartedly agree.  Best wishes from Oat Central !!

Dear Wild Oats,
Thanks so much for e-mailing us. I did click on your link and enjoyed all I read.  I will have
to say that I think the Rockabilly Hall of Fame is a somewhat dubious honor.  I am a member,
and when first inducted into same was pleased.  I have since changed my mind, however, as the
list of members has grown to to include people who are not doing "Rockabilly" long enough
to be in any Hall of Fame.  Just needed to state my feelings,  sorry if I step on anyone's toes.
I enjoyed reading about your artists, and particularly enjoyed reading the letters you've
received,  and agree with all of them as to the state of today's "Top 40 Country",  which
(and I quote)  "a) isn't country; and b) sucks." Some artists, however, are wonderful,
no matter which stations play them. Nashville has the honor, I think, to be home to one
of my all-time favorite artists, although he receives little attention: Victor Mecyssne.
We plan to visit your website often.  Keep up your wonderful work of being "a lone
 voice in the Nashville wilderness."
                                                                                   - Ronnie Dawson 
                                                                                     Dallas, TX
Dear Ronnie,
Greetings from Nashville, and thanks for writing. One of the great things about our website
for us has been hearing from so many kindred spirits,  and from artists  (like you)  whose
music we really like.  We agree with you about the Rockabilly Hall of Fame,  but are none-
theless happy to see under-appreciated artists like Andy Starr get recognized by anyone,
anywhere, at any time. As for the lamentable state of modern so-called country, the sad part
is that there are so many really good artists out there, including the ones you mentioned,
who will never get heard in the bubblegum wasteland that is country radio these days.  But
that's life, and the real artists will still be around,  doing what they do so well,  when the
current swill has been forgotten. Thanks for your vote of confidence, and we look forward
to hearing some more great music from Ronnie Dawson in the near future ! (Editor's Note:
Sadly, both Ronnie Dawson and Frank "Andy" Starr have passed away since this letter was 
written back in 2002.)

Dear Wild Oats,
Just wanted to say that from time to time you send me updates on your goings on, and you
invite me over to your page.  Well,  I  finally wandered on over,  having just finished a four-
hour recording session.  What happy chance guided me in my tour of your pages.  You have
a GREAT approach and an equally great  page going here.  We may be hundreds of  miles
apart,  but our hearts are in the same place.  But  be warned,  fellow Capitalist Dog,  my
outfit is keen on "world  domination,"  too.  So down the road,  I foresee a  FINAL CONFLICT
between the Oat Gang and the Dawson Boys. May the better group of  nuts win.  Onward !
                                                                                   - Jim Dawson 
                                                                                     New York, NY
Dear Jim,
Thanks for your e-mail,  and for the kind  words.  While we appreciate the praise,  and admire
your talents -- for those not familiar with his music,  Jim Dawson is a fine singer/songwriter
 -- we aren't too concerned that  you'll  seriously threaten our  bid for world domination.  We
feel it only fair to warn you:  Wild Oats already has tactical nuclear weapons;  a spy network
that is so effective that we are able to find out the lunch special at Granite Falls the night
before; and effective control of  Vanuatu,  Kyrgyzstan,  the French province of Languedoc,
a couple of small towns in northern Minnesota, and one and a half acres in Nashville.  When
we do take over,  however,  you will be able to avoid destruction by the usual means of  paying
tribute;  i.e., buying us lunch.

Dear Wild Oats,
I need your opinion about a medical problem I've been having. Three times recently,  while
driving down the street,  listening to our local country station playing some of the current
hits (Lonestar, Chely Wright,  Toby Keith,  Kenny Chesney and the rest),  I've had to pull
 over to the curb, open the door and start  vomiting uncontrollably.  Do you think that I need
to see a doctor ? I feel fine most of the time,  it only happens when I listen to country radio.
                                                                                    - Concerned 
                                                                                       Nashville, TN
Dear Concerned,
We  don't normally give medical advice -- we did pretend to be doctors once,  but that's
another story -- but  in  your case we'll make a rare exception.  Your reaction sounds
perfectly normal to us,  kind of like a dog instinctively throwing up something that is
bad for it.  We think that if you just listen to music that is less horrible,  you'll be fine.

Dear Wild Oats,
Maybe it's my imagination, but it seems like most of the country music coming out on the
Nashville major labels a) ain't country; and b) sucks. What do you think  ? It must drive you
and some of the other really good independents, like Hightone and Dead Reckoning, crazy
that the music that you  put out can't get played on the big country stations. Your last Steve
Haggard CD was better than  99% of the fake-country that gets played these days, but you
never hear it on the radio. Will things ever change, or will mainstream country music keep
getting worse and worse ?
                                                                                 - Pissed Off 
                                                                                   Biloxi, MS
Dear Pissed Off,
The good news is that there's no way that mainstream country can get much worse. The bad
news is that there's no reason to think that the majors will suddenly start putting out anything
interesting.  To answer your beautifully and succinctly put questions: most of  it ain't country,
and most of it sucks. Glad you like what we're doing, and thanks for the kind words about Steve
Haggard's CD.

Dear Wild Oats Records Letter Page,
Will you only put my letter on the letters page if I say good things about Wild Oats ?  How 
about if  I wanted to say something negative ?  I don't, of course, 'cause I like what you're 
doing, But I was just wondering. Anyway,  keep up the good work !
                                                                                 - James P. Smith 
                                                                                   Charlottesville, VA
Dear James,
Excellent question ! No one has ever written us a negative letter -- word has probably gotten 
out about the Wild Oats Minister of Retaliation, and his particularly nasty and gruesome method of  dealing with crticism -- so it's hard to say. We'd probably print it if it was well- written or witty; and we'd definitely print it if we were slipped a few bucks. Greetings to 
Thomas Jefferson.

Dear Wild Oats,
What can I say ? I love your website !!! It's so nice to see  people having a good time in the
music business and not just trying to impress everybody. And the music is a really good 
mix. The Wild Oats artists fit right in with the kind of music I really like: Gram Parsons, Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle, Jason & The Scorchers, Wanda Jackson, Bob Dylan, BR-549, and people like that. I'd love to visit Oat Central when I visit Nashville later this year.
                                                                                - Shannon Medeiros 
                                                                                  Columbus, Ohio
Dear Shannon,
Glad that you like the website. Yes, we do know how to have a good time. Having a good time is
an important part of the Wild Oats philosophy.  (Come to think of it, having a good time is the
 entire Wild Oats philosophy.) We're happy to be included with the great artists you listed.
As for visiting Oat Central, it's very, very difficult to get a security clearance to enter our
hallowed halls. We live in constant fear of having our framed Joe Camel poster stolen, or of
 a crazed visitor destroying our prized collection of nude photos of United States senators.