RTP-area local music and culture

["Sakura-San" <sorren23 AT nc.rr.com>]

I do think you are on to something Richard.  At the same time when I do go 
to a national act, it is packed with people I have never seen before.  They 
do live here, where are they most of the time.  are people too stressed by 
information overload to leave their houses? wink

looking forward to your thoughts on older rockers.  My idea so far is that 
babies spouses and jobs have them pretty busy.

Rachel
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Allen, Richard" <RAllen AT WWNORTON.com>
Newsgroups: alt.music.chapel-hill
Sent: Tuesday, December 21, 2004 1:26 PM
Subject: RE: Ch-scene Digest, Vol 14, Issue 20


> This may be a good time to raise some questions I have wanted to ask from 
> afar:
>
> First, is there overall lower show attendance in CH?
>
> Second, if there is, is a demographic issue to blame?
>
> More specifically, do undergrads go to a lot fewer shows these days?
>
> I know they've never been a consistent show-going audience, because 
> they're under 21 and their tastes change like the wind, but when I was in 
> school, you could expect a big (non-XYC-staff) undergrad crowd at the 
> Cradle for a) the Archers and similarly popular local indie rock bands and 
> b) all those Southern-jangle-rock bands that sprang from the spirit of the 
> Connells/REM. The common thread between these groups was that they were 
> quasi-local and could give you the feeling of being part of something cool 
> that people who lived further away wouldn't get to experience.
>
> Now it seems like tastes have fragmented (rock is not the default music 
> for college kids), the major media machine has penetrated even further 
> into the indie world (meaning that college-kid-friendly indie rock bands 
> often get major contracts and tour buses very quickly, leaving less room 
> for genuinely local rock in kids' brains??), and then of course you have 
> the iPod/DVD bubble which allows you to more effectively pretend you're at 
> a show without the inconvenience of leaving your dorm room.
>
> Is there any evidence for my theories, or am I barking up the wrong tree?
>
> (I have theories about older rock fans, too, which may follow if anyone's 
> interested.)
>
> RA
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