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Subject: RTP-area local music and culture

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  • From: grady <grady AT ibiblio.org>
  • To: RTP-area local music and culture <ch-scene AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: Durham music scene
  • Date: Wed, 18 Jan 2006 15:07:02 -0500

Back when I was a boy, there was only maybe one night a week that was "local show" night. Most of the time, I'd see local bands who were opening for out-of-town bands (or, if the out of town bands were less well-known than the local bands, then vice-versa).

That seems to happen less nowadays, but since I neither own nor book a club, I have no idea why that is. It seems to me that if the "kids" are into the higher-profile "indie-rock" bands, but aren't seeing the local bands, then maybe it would make sense to put some local bands onto the bill with the higher-profile outta-town "indie-rock" bands.

I must not go to the shows where the bandmembers are individually popular but their bands suck, because I can't even think of one example. Would you care to step up with some, or are you going to just make insinuations and leave it at that?

I routinely attend shows where the audience is basically me, Cy, and a bunch of people who are in bands, coming out to support other people who are in bands. I understand you're frustrated, but the rate of show-attendance for band people vs. show-attendance for random non-musician Triangle residents is pretty heavily skewed in favor of the band people. The band people aren't the folks you need to be picking on, unless your real point is that they all need to quit playing shows until they can find more people to come watch them. Which may be a valid point, from the POV of the clubowner. Certainly the people at the Library last night were probably wishing they'd just stayed home.

College radio doesn't play as much local music as it did in the 90s, and I say this as the local-music guy at a college radio station. College radio plays more international music than it did back in the 90s. I think this is a good thing, and I think it's symptomatic of a larger trend: there is just generally more stuff available to enjoy now, thanks to that goddamn Internet, than there was in 1993.

There's no turning off that particular spigot, though, and thus not much point in crying about it.

The thing I find most odd about this whole scenario is that there are currently more live-original-music venues in the Triangle than maybe ever before (or at least damn close to it). Let's break it down, shall we?

Raleigh:
Kings
Slim's Downtown
Lincoln Theater
Bickett Gallery
Pour House
Sadlack's, occasionally

Chapel Hill:
Cat's Cradle
Reservoir, occasionally
Local 506
Nightlight
Library
Wetlands

Durham:
Duke Coffeehouse
Joe & Jo's
Blayloc
Marvell Bldg.
Chaz's Bull City Records
305 South

That's SIX venues PER CITY, if you count those places that are booking shows at least 2-3 times a month. There are probably a half-dozen other punkrock houses and holes-in-the-wall that I'm forgetting right now. I'll have to rely on Tim Ross or Cy or some other photographic-memory type to tell me when/where there have been more simultaneous venues than that.

So if the scene is that moribund, then why so many venues springing up? Or is it just that Local 506 is feeling a pinch because there are 18 fucking venues competing for the same, yes, TINY audience? Hmm.

None of this makes any sense to me, which is why, yet again, I thank my lucky stars that I don't run a rockclub. As it is, I find it annoying enough that I have to check the schedules for all these fucking clubs every week to compile my list of stuff to do. Goddamnit Hepler, if you're gonna kill the scene, would you hurry up already?

Ross

Glenn Boothe / Local 506 wrote:
not everyone here knows that I've always had trouble defining the "scene".

I think part of the problem you may have defining the "scene" is
because one doesn't really exist here anymore. If you don't agree with
me, just ask yourself - when is the last time you went to see a local
band that you didn't actually know someone personally in the band?
Unfortunately, the so-called music scene here is a more of a popularity
contest where individual popularity outweighs artistic merit (with band
members working the service industry having a bigger advantage over
those who don't.)

And think about this, the so-called indie music scene nationally has
grown dramatically in recent years with breakout bands from Arcade Fire
to Clap Your Hands (not to mention, the major label graduates like
Death Cab, Decemberists and Modest Mouse) yet most locals bands don't
draw well outside their hometown, much less Atlanta or DC. Point
being, there is way more interest in this kind of music now than in the
90's when there was a scene here.

You know, if every band member attended one local show for every show
they played (and bought one local CD for each they made,) then this
would be a thriving local music community. That's all it would take;
however, instead, this local club has had to eliminate local music on
weekdays because of lack of support. And, you know what the real sad
part is, we were doing most of those shows for free.

glenn / local 506

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