Much has been made of the fact that each of the eighteen tracks on Moby's Play has appeared in commercials. But even if Moby monopolizes the advertising airwaves, there are still plenty of "background noise wanted" openings for musicians. For example, MTV still plays music, albeit largely as a backdrop for its dramas, so enterprising acts can hear their tunes on such programs as Real World/Road Rules: Extreme Challenge. These artists seldom are acknowledged for their work, but listeners who find a song to their liking can e-mail the station to learn the identity of these anonymous creators of soundtrack fodder. Thus, a few more fortunate souls can stumble upon Gooding, the funky Wichita-based multi-instrumentalist whose 2000 disc, 3X, continues to pick up steam due to keen product placement of singles such as "Division Station" and "Licorice and Grape Kool-Aid." The end of his mammoth national tour is still a distant landmark, with dates set well into late May, but Gooding avoids homesickness by looping through Wichita for a couple of dates each month. After one such two-day stint, Gooding hits the Jazzhaus and the Grand Emporium before heading to Texas, then the West Coast. Road Rules couldn't have picked a better musical mascot.
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