Hey, this blog put me in contact with some cool dudes who have a band called Squat the Condos. You can download their EP here:
http://squatthecondos.bandcamp.com/
It's really groovy music, check it out! I'm partial to track 2 myself, but it's all worthy. "We Should Be Together" is pretty funny, too.
The Chicago Music Scene
Monday, June 27, 2011
Is Live Music A Commodity? Playing Music For Free
So, in the past couple days a debate has been raging on the Craigslist postings for Chicago musicians about playing music for free. This seems to have been sparked by an ad posted looking for musicians to pay in some coffee shop somewhere. The ad promises no compensation but free coffee or tea.
So now they are arguing, again. Should bands be offended by offers to play for no compensation, or a pittance? Is it the natural order of things? Is it "moral?" I'd like to espouse my thoughts on the matter.
The first thing that needs to be discussed is the question that I titled this article with: Is live music a commodity? A commodity is something with commercial value. Ticket prices to concerts seem to argue that live music is definitely a commodity, however the argument could be made that the reason big concerts cost money is that you're paying to see a FAMOUS band, with songs on the radio and Wikipedia articles. Then the value would be in seeing a personal favorite of yours, not in the live music itself. I think this argument holds; nobody goes to see a band they hate just for the value of live music. So, does live music in itself, regardless of your personal tastes, have intrinsic value?
The answer could be subjective based on the talent of those performing. Is talent subjective? I think the short answer is no. Even the musician that I think is the most overrated (Thom Yorke) has to be talented at SOMETHING, I'll give him that. Real talent and dedication show, they radiate from a performer and a performance, and if you're being open-minded, you can see it even in music that you hate. So if the band or group you're seeing has objective talent, then perhaps the live music has value in and of itself. But why? So this band spent a lot of time crafting this song and performance, and the lyrics and musicianship show natural talent and dedication to the performance? Why should we care?
First, the argument from the perspective of the intrinsic value of art in general. Some posit that art is the only thing (or most important thing) that makes life worth living for, and I'm not saying I disagree completely, however consider this: Are three teenagers playing four power chords way too fast and screeching about cutting their arms really creating "art?" If you don't like that example, there are a million others of bands that straight-up create shitty music, and the only people who would ever disagree are shitty hipsters who style themselves contrarians. I simply cannot call some music art, live or not, and I reject this argument out of hand.
Even if the music is horrifically bad, there's still a chance that the musicians are good people and worked hard on it. Does this matter? I think not; I can spend hours making a dot drawing of a giant penis and it would still be juvenile and retarded. The art should be separate from the artist. It's fine if you're a huge fan of some artist (using the broad definition of "artist") and learn about them as people, but it does not and should not affect the value (or lack thereof) of whatever art that person creates. Chris Martin is arrogant and pretentious, but Coldplay is a pretty good band. Inversely, Ricky Gervais is not funny at all, but he's a good person and doesn't deserve to be hated on. Just as Coldplay doesn't deserve a bad rap for Chris Martin's exploits into douchebaggery, Ricky Gervais doesn't deserve to be lauded even though he's an alright guy (I know a lot of people will disagree with me about Gervais but fuck those people and their strange British senses of humor.)
So, if a band or musician is objectively talented, then their music does have some degree of intrinsic value; however, if a band is objectively untalented, then their music does not have any intrinsic value. Therefore, I posit that live music does not have any intrinsic value from an artistic point of view. I'm not even going to talk about why something doesn't need to have artistic value to be a commodity. So, can crappy live music be worth something?
Venues book bands so that bands can bring people in who will spend money. In other words, venues book bands to make money. There is nothing wrong with this, it's supply and demand, straight-up capitalism. There are free modes of expression available to anyone, so don't even give me your "art-shouldn't-have-a-price" bullshit. If you want to make it in the music industry, clubs and bars and coffeehouses and all the other businesses that book bands are your training grounds; they're where you learn to play live, learn to work an audience, meet other bands, make connections, and have fun (in an ideal world every band would have to spend a couple years in the club scene before making it big.) There is nothing unfair about the general idea of making money off of live music. If your band sucks, but you bring a big crowd anyways, the venue makes money, you make money, and everyone's happy. Your music is a commodity. If your crappy band brings nobody in, however, then the venue loses money and you fail to uphold your end of the business transaction. You bring the goods, but they're worthless. Sure, bands have good nights and bad nights, but on your bad nights, your music is worthless. You are not a commodity.
Live music is only a commodity if you are able to bring out enough people to make your sponsors (the club or bar or whatever) money. If not, they might as well have closed down for the night.
Alright, so what if you play at a place like the aforementioned coffee shop that doesn't pay the bands, and you bring a massive crowd? The venue makes a ton of money, and you make squat. Doesn't seem fair, does it? Here's the thing: if you can draw massive crowds to any place, you have no business playing in a coffee shop unless you want to. The people who want to aren't complaining. The people complaining are the ones who don't want to and aren't, and as I've demonstrated, they have no ground to stand on. It is the coffee shop's prerogative not to pay bands, and there is nothing wrong with that, because no band can guarantee a large draw. Wouldn't that be nice, to know exactly how many people you can bring to any show at any given time? Well, you can't. You don't know if any real fans will show up (if you have them) and God only knows how many of your friends and family members are actually total flakes. Venues have to contend with this, which is why many pay based on draw alone.
You can't fault the venues for not paying bands; with so many disposable local bands who lie about their draw or have no idea (not to mention the economy) it is just horrible for business to promise to pay bands that may or may not deserve it. Don't be so presumptuous to assume that your band deserves some kind of compensation. There's no way to know if you deserve it or not, because A.) Your band might suck, and B.) You might not make the venue (AKA the people paying you) any money. Why would you get paid if you don't do your job? It makes no sense.
So, to recap: Live music CAN be a commodity, but not always, and there is no way to prove that your band is a worthwhile investment for a venue unless you have a relationship with them for some time. So, really, stop bitching about having to play for free.
There ya go. It is not immoral to not pay bands that play at your venue. Yes, it is always nice to offer some compensation but that's not what venues are there for. They cater to the audience, not the band. Now that I mention it, that's what the band should be catering to as well. The audience. Not themselves, as so many seem to do nowadays. Stop worrying about getting paid and concentrate on not being terrible! That's how you get paid!
So now they are arguing, again. Should bands be offended by offers to play for no compensation, or a pittance? Is it the natural order of things? Is it "moral?" I'd like to espouse my thoughts on the matter.
The first thing that needs to be discussed is the question that I titled this article with: Is live music a commodity? A commodity is something with commercial value. Ticket prices to concerts seem to argue that live music is definitely a commodity, however the argument could be made that the reason big concerts cost money is that you're paying to see a FAMOUS band, with songs on the radio and Wikipedia articles. Then the value would be in seeing a personal favorite of yours, not in the live music itself. I think this argument holds; nobody goes to see a band they hate just for the value of live music. So, does live music in itself, regardless of your personal tastes, have intrinsic value?
The answer could be subjective based on the talent of those performing. Is talent subjective? I think the short answer is no. Even the musician that I think is the most overrated (Thom Yorke) has to be talented at SOMETHING, I'll give him that. Real talent and dedication show, they radiate from a performer and a performance, and if you're being open-minded, you can see it even in music that you hate. So if the band or group you're seeing has objective talent, then perhaps the live music has value in and of itself. But why? So this band spent a lot of time crafting this song and performance, and the lyrics and musicianship show natural talent and dedication to the performance? Why should we care?
First, the argument from the perspective of the intrinsic value of art in general. Some posit that art is the only thing (or most important thing) that makes life worth living for, and I'm not saying I disagree completely, however consider this: Are three teenagers playing four power chords way too fast and screeching about cutting their arms really creating "art?" If you don't like that example, there are a million others of bands that straight-up create shitty music, and the only people who would ever disagree are shitty hipsters who style themselves contrarians. I simply cannot call some music art, live or not, and I reject this argument out of hand.
Even if the music is horrifically bad, there's still a chance that the musicians are good people and worked hard on it. Does this matter? I think not; I can spend hours making a dot drawing of a giant penis and it would still be juvenile and retarded. The art should be separate from the artist. It's fine if you're a huge fan of some artist (using the broad definition of "artist") and learn about them as people, but it does not and should not affect the value (or lack thereof) of whatever art that person creates. Chris Martin is arrogant and pretentious, but Coldplay is a pretty good band. Inversely, Ricky Gervais is not funny at all, but he's a good person and doesn't deserve to be hated on. Just as Coldplay doesn't deserve a bad rap for Chris Martin's exploits into douchebaggery, Ricky Gervais doesn't deserve to be lauded even though he's an alright guy (I know a lot of people will disagree with me about Gervais but fuck those people and their strange British senses of humor.)
So, if a band or musician is objectively talented, then their music does have some degree of intrinsic value; however, if a band is objectively untalented, then their music does not have any intrinsic value. Therefore, I posit that live music does not have any intrinsic value from an artistic point of view. I'm not even going to talk about why something doesn't need to have artistic value to be a commodity. So, can crappy live music be worth something?
Venues book bands so that bands can bring people in who will spend money. In other words, venues book bands to make money. There is nothing wrong with this, it's supply and demand, straight-up capitalism. There are free modes of expression available to anyone, so don't even give me your "art-shouldn't-have-a-price" bullshit. If you want to make it in the music industry, clubs and bars and coffeehouses and all the other businesses that book bands are your training grounds; they're where you learn to play live, learn to work an audience, meet other bands, make connections, and have fun (in an ideal world every band would have to spend a couple years in the club scene before making it big.) There is nothing unfair about the general idea of making money off of live music. If your band sucks, but you bring a big crowd anyways, the venue makes money, you make money, and everyone's happy. Your music is a commodity. If your crappy band brings nobody in, however, then the venue loses money and you fail to uphold your end of the business transaction. You bring the goods, but they're worthless. Sure, bands have good nights and bad nights, but on your bad nights, your music is worthless. You are not a commodity.
Live music is only a commodity if you are able to bring out enough people to make your sponsors (the club or bar or whatever) money. If not, they might as well have closed down for the night.
Alright, so what if you play at a place like the aforementioned coffee shop that doesn't pay the bands, and you bring a massive crowd? The venue makes a ton of money, and you make squat. Doesn't seem fair, does it? Here's the thing: if you can draw massive crowds to any place, you have no business playing in a coffee shop unless you want to. The people who want to aren't complaining. The people complaining are the ones who don't want to and aren't, and as I've demonstrated, they have no ground to stand on. It is the coffee shop's prerogative not to pay bands, and there is nothing wrong with that, because no band can guarantee a large draw. Wouldn't that be nice, to know exactly how many people you can bring to any show at any given time? Well, you can't. You don't know if any real fans will show up (if you have them) and God only knows how many of your friends and family members are actually total flakes. Venues have to contend with this, which is why many pay based on draw alone.
You can't fault the venues for not paying bands; with so many disposable local bands who lie about their draw or have no idea (not to mention the economy) it is just horrible for business to promise to pay bands that may or may not deserve it. Don't be so presumptuous to assume that your band deserves some kind of compensation. There's no way to know if you deserve it or not, because A.) Your band might suck, and B.) You might not make the venue (AKA the people paying you) any money. Why would you get paid if you don't do your job? It makes no sense.
So, to recap: Live music CAN be a commodity, but not always, and there is no way to prove that your band is a worthwhile investment for a venue unless you have a relationship with them for some time. So, really, stop bitching about having to play for free.
There ya go. It is not immoral to not pay bands that play at your venue. Yes, it is always nice to offer some compensation but that's not what venues are there for. They cater to the audience, not the band. Now that I mention it, that's what the band should be catering to as well. The audience. Not themselves, as so many seem to do nowadays. Stop worrying about getting paid and concentrate on not being terrible! That's how you get paid!
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
My New "Job"
I haven't been updating this blog nearly as often as I told myself I would. That's to be expected. But I'm going to try to do better from now on. I am doing this in light of a position I have received writing for a website called windycityrock.net , sort of a better version of what I'm trying to do on this blog. They do reviews, news, and all that good stuff. Check it out!
So now I'll be writing for two Chicago music webzines. Awesome. If anything, I believe that this more legit gig writing for windy city rock will help keep things with his blog fresh and keep me sharp. Stay tuned!
So now I'll be writing for two Chicago music webzines. Awesome. If anything, I believe that this more legit gig writing for windy city rock will help keep things with his blog fresh and keep me sharp. Stay tuned!
Monday, January 31, 2011
Musician's Etiquette for Shows (The Ten Commandments)
Howdy, y'all. I'm sick and fucking tired of douchebag musicians coming to shows, acting like they're hot shit, and ruining the experience for anybody who's serious. It's time to face the fact, there are certain ways to behave at local shows. I'm gonna lay down a few commandments. Here we go!!
THOU SHALT NOT PERFORM WHILST ON DRUGS OR ALCOHOL
This one should be easy. Back in the day, yeah, everybody did it. And look what happened to them. Do you want to be Keith Moon, so fucked up that they have to pull a replacement from the audience? Stay sober on stage. Drink or do your thing afterwards. You owe it to yourself, and you owe it to your band. Plus, it might make the music sound better to you, but to everyone listening who isn't an idiot, you'll just sound like shit. Guaranteed.
THOU SHALT NOT SMOKE ONSTAGE
When Keith Richards does this, it looks incredibly badass. When you do this, you look like an asshole. You also look like a total poser, and a Keith Richards wannabe (Unless of course you are Keith Richards. In which case...YOU. ARE. A. GOD.) It's the 21st century. Smoking isn't "cool" anymore. It never was. You don't look like a badass. You look like somebody who is going to die before me. Keep it off the stage.
THOU SHALT NOT THINK THAT HEADLINING MAKES YOU BETTER THAN OTHER BANDS
It doesn't. You're headlining because you have more friends than the other bands. That's it. Don't flatter yourselves. If the show starts at 8, and you go on at 11, guess what? You should show up at 8. And if you honestly show up for the soundcheck, then leave and not come back until you're on, I will never respect you again unless you have a very legitimate excuse. You're not going to support the show that you're on? Is your life really that important? The other bands are most likely standing around waiting for you. And don't tell your "fans" not to show up until you go on, either. Musicians are supposed to stick together. Support EACH OTHER. Your karma will thank you.
THOU SHALT NOT LEAVE DIRECTLY AFTER YOUR SET, EITHER
I know a band semi-personally. I've gotten them 5 shows, including their first ever gig. I don't do it because I like their music. Quite frankly, they suck. But I went to high school with them, they're my friends, and I don't mind. They do this thing that irks the shit out of me and everyone else I've talked to who's played with them. They show up, bring some "fans" (their friends,) play their set, and then they all leave. They have done this at every single show I've gotten them. Don't be them. It's the same thing as the previous rule. Support the other acts.
THOU SHALT NOT BE AN ARROGANT PRICK
Honestly, unless you are selling records or consistently getting complete strangers to come out to your shows and give you positive feedback, just get over yourself. I was in an argument with a guy in another band once, at a show. I wanted to switch set times with him (I was headlining) because most of the people there were there to see his band. I figured many would leave after they played, so I wanted to play before them. Sounds fair. But this dude wouldn't have it. He said things like "I don't even want to be here," and told me to "Get my own fans."
Woah, there, buddy. I won't give you all the details, but this was a band that I knew on a personal level. None of the people there were their fans. Know the difference between a friend and a fan. A fan is somebody who would be there even if they hated you personally. Somebody who doesn't even know you. Someone who went to your show without you asking them to. Somebody who supports you in their spare time, because THEY want to. None of your friends are your fans. None of your family are your fans. Get this through your thick, inflated heads. My next point...
THOU SHALT WANT TO BE THERE
If you don't want to play a show, DON'T FUCKING PLAY IT. The audience can tell. Your band can tell. And the show will suffer for it. You shouldn't need a reason to want to play any show. You're playing music, the most cathartic experience life has to offer! Buck up! What the fuck do you have to complain about? Again, GET OVER YOURSELF.
THOU SHALT GET OVER YOURSELF
The whole "arrogant rock star" thing is very old. Just stop. It's not befitting of anybody, it doesn't give you "attitude" and none of the things you use to inflate your ego are actually substantial. Learn how to be a mature, kind person. That personality will show so much more.
THOU SHALT NOT FLIP A SHIT OVER A BAD GIG
Every band has bad nights. Don't sweat it. If it's such a big deal, nobody will begrudge you explaining what went wrong after the show. Just keep your head in the game for the next one. Bad shows are learning experiences.
THOU SHALT HAVE A LITTLE CLASS IN YOUR STAGE SHOW/PERSONAS
I saw this band the other day, and right in the middle of a guitar solo, the singer gets on his knees and pantomimes blowing the guitar player. I think he thought everyone would laugh, but if not for their shitty music, you would've heard crickets. Shit like this is not funny, it's not cute. Furthermore, keep personal shit off the stage. Inside jokes, personal feuds...nobody knows, and nobody cares. It's not funny and it's not interesting. It's memorable only in the sense that people will remember you as "the band that has poor perception of how other people think." Lose it, and develop a real stage persona. Not just "that goof who babbles and is a lot less interesting than he thinks."
Whew. Alright, I'm almost done. Finally...
THOU SHALT REMEMBER WHAT YOU'RE THERE FOR
The audience. The crowd. They paid money to see you. So give them something to see! Make a personal connection. Make eye contact with them, talk to them (on and off the stage,) make them remember you as a human being. That'll increase their chances of remembering you infinitely. It's what you're there for, it's why we do this crazy thing. Whether it's to seek approval, or to show off, or to look for critiques, the audience is your muse. At your shows, remember that they are the only reason that you're there. Treat them with respect, and they will do the same to you. Who knows? You might even make some new friends, or learn something new. Music is about growing and learning, and the only way to do that is to remember why you're doing it. The audience.
Well folks, that's all for now. Stay tuned!
THOU SHALT NOT PERFORM WHILST ON DRUGS OR ALCOHOL
This one should be easy. Back in the day, yeah, everybody did it. And look what happened to them. Do you want to be Keith Moon, so fucked up that they have to pull a replacement from the audience? Stay sober on stage. Drink or do your thing afterwards. You owe it to yourself, and you owe it to your band. Plus, it might make the music sound better to you, but to everyone listening who isn't an idiot, you'll just sound like shit. Guaranteed.
THOU SHALT NOT SMOKE ONSTAGE
When Keith Richards does this, it looks incredibly badass. When you do this, you look like an asshole. You also look like a total poser, and a Keith Richards wannabe (Unless of course you are Keith Richards. In which case...YOU. ARE. A. GOD.) It's the 21st century. Smoking isn't "cool" anymore. It never was. You don't look like a badass. You look like somebody who is going to die before me. Keep it off the stage.
THOU SHALT NOT THINK THAT HEADLINING MAKES YOU BETTER THAN OTHER BANDS
It doesn't. You're headlining because you have more friends than the other bands. That's it. Don't flatter yourselves. If the show starts at 8, and you go on at 11, guess what? You should show up at 8. And if you honestly show up for the soundcheck, then leave and not come back until you're on, I will never respect you again unless you have a very legitimate excuse. You're not going to support the show that you're on? Is your life really that important? The other bands are most likely standing around waiting for you. And don't tell your "fans" not to show up until you go on, either. Musicians are supposed to stick together. Support EACH OTHER. Your karma will thank you.
THOU SHALT NOT LEAVE DIRECTLY AFTER YOUR SET, EITHER
I know a band semi-personally. I've gotten them 5 shows, including their first ever gig. I don't do it because I like their music. Quite frankly, they suck. But I went to high school with them, they're my friends, and I don't mind. They do this thing that irks the shit out of me and everyone else I've talked to who's played with them. They show up, bring some "fans" (their friends,) play their set, and then they all leave. They have done this at every single show I've gotten them. Don't be them. It's the same thing as the previous rule. Support the other acts.
THOU SHALT NOT BE AN ARROGANT PRICK
Honestly, unless you are selling records or consistently getting complete strangers to come out to your shows and give you positive feedback, just get over yourself. I was in an argument with a guy in another band once, at a show. I wanted to switch set times with him (I was headlining) because most of the people there were there to see his band. I figured many would leave after they played, so I wanted to play before them. Sounds fair. But this dude wouldn't have it. He said things like "I don't even want to be here," and told me to "Get my own fans."
Woah, there, buddy. I won't give you all the details, but this was a band that I knew on a personal level. None of the people there were their fans. Know the difference between a friend and a fan. A fan is somebody who would be there even if they hated you personally. Somebody who doesn't even know you. Someone who went to your show without you asking them to. Somebody who supports you in their spare time, because THEY want to. None of your friends are your fans. None of your family are your fans. Get this through your thick, inflated heads. My next point...
THOU SHALT WANT TO BE THERE
If you don't want to play a show, DON'T FUCKING PLAY IT. The audience can tell. Your band can tell. And the show will suffer for it. You shouldn't need a reason to want to play any show. You're playing music, the most cathartic experience life has to offer! Buck up! What the fuck do you have to complain about? Again, GET OVER YOURSELF.
THOU SHALT GET OVER YOURSELF
The whole "arrogant rock star" thing is very old. Just stop. It's not befitting of anybody, it doesn't give you "attitude" and none of the things you use to inflate your ego are actually substantial. Learn how to be a mature, kind person. That personality will show so much more.
THOU SHALT NOT FLIP A SHIT OVER A BAD GIG
Every band has bad nights. Don't sweat it. If it's such a big deal, nobody will begrudge you explaining what went wrong after the show. Just keep your head in the game for the next one. Bad shows are learning experiences.
THOU SHALT HAVE A LITTLE CLASS IN YOUR STAGE SHOW/PERSONAS
I saw this band the other day, and right in the middle of a guitar solo, the singer gets on his knees and pantomimes blowing the guitar player. I think he thought everyone would laugh, but if not for their shitty music, you would've heard crickets. Shit like this is not funny, it's not cute. Furthermore, keep personal shit off the stage. Inside jokes, personal feuds...nobody knows, and nobody cares. It's not funny and it's not interesting. It's memorable only in the sense that people will remember you as "the band that has poor perception of how other people think." Lose it, and develop a real stage persona. Not just "that goof who babbles and is a lot less interesting than he thinks."
Whew. Alright, I'm almost done. Finally...
THOU SHALT REMEMBER WHAT YOU'RE THERE FOR
The audience. The crowd. They paid money to see you. So give them something to see! Make a personal connection. Make eye contact with them, talk to them (on and off the stage,) make them remember you as a human being. That'll increase their chances of remembering you infinitely. It's what you're there for, it's why we do this crazy thing. Whether it's to seek approval, or to show off, or to look for critiques, the audience is your muse. At your shows, remember that they are the only reason that you're there. Treat them with respect, and they will do the same to you. Who knows? You might even make some new friends, or learn something new. Music is about growing and learning, and the only way to do that is to remember why you're doing it. The audience.
Well folks, that's all for now. Stay tuned!
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Review of Reggie's
Hey, I know it's a bit late, but last Friday my band played a local showcase at Reggie's Rock Club. I'm gonna tell you all a bit about what we saw.
First off, Reggie's is a cool place. I have no problems with the club, except for they dicked us around about our set time a few times. We were supposed to headline, and have 45 minutes, but about three days before the show they put us on earlier and bumped us down to 30. Oh well, it happens.
We played with three other bands: Letters From Us, a two-piece pop/punk band featuring two Columbia students, Panther Style, a hard rock type band that stole the entire show, and Papa Jupiter. At the beginning of the show, I was most excited to see Papa Jupiter, mostly based on what music of theirs I had heard on their myspace, and a very promising soundcheck. More on that in a minute.
The night started off well in terms of load-in and sound-check. All of the other bands were friendly enough, but Panther Style get their first honrable mention of this article for being the friendliest. :D
At 9:00 PM, Letters From Us took the stage. Honestly, I felt bad for the guys. Also, to be perfectly honest, I thought they were going to suck. I'm not a big fan of that type of music, and two-piece bands really bug me. However, I was pleasantly surprised by them. Unlike most similar acts, their singer could actually sing, and wasn't a half-bad guitar player, either. Their drummer was also very skilled, and they played enough original material to satisfy me, ending it with a decent cover of Jimmy Eat World's "A Praise Chorus." However, there was virtually nobody there to see their set except for the bands, and the few people that my band managed to bring out that early.
Letters From Us didn't truly stand out as "great artists," in my opinion, but they showed talent and potential, which are the two most important traits. I give their overall performance, all things considered, a B.
My band, The Shakedown, played next. We pleasantly had enough time to add an extra unplanned song to our set, which was good. In the beginning, we only had a few people there to see us, but as the set went on, more people started coming in, and I think we played a decent show, minus one or two fuckups.
For their second honorable mention, Panther Style took the stage at around 10:30, and boy, did they ever kick ass. The female-fronted rock band bashed their way through quite an energetic 45 minute set, and I really wish I'd taken notes. One thing I do have to mention is that their lead guitarist is a brave enough soul to play a Flying V. Kudos!
Their songs were good, the performace was fully charged, and they even shouted-out to my band. I am proud to give Panther Style a near-perfect A grade, and to add them to our "Bands to Watch For" list.
Papa Jupiter was a slight disappointment. Granted, Panther Style is probably a very hard act to follow, and Papa Jupiter played their instruments great. The problem I had was that during their sound-check, they played as a 4-piece, but when it was time to play, some guy who I'd assumed was a spectator jumped onstage as their lead vocalist. He just plain wasn't as good as the guitarist, who sang backup, harmonies, and secondary lead vocals on some songs. Their "lead" vocalist was more of a screamer than a singer, so maybe I'm biased, but after being built up as this great new talent, it was disappointing to see that Papa Jupiter is just another semi-progressive hard rock act. I give them a B. Their performance was top-notch musically, but they had nothing new to offer.
Also, this is a warning to any bands who want to play at Reggie's. DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES PAY TO HAVE THEM RECORD YOUR SHOW. They amped up their new "studio" and all of its technical effects, lauding it as the best live recording in Chicago. They wanted to charge us $100, even though the website says $40. I refused to go above 40, and what they gave us was an unmixed piece of garbage on a CD with only one track, no equalization, and terrible quality. Do not pay them $100, they are pirates.
That's all I have to say for now about the subject.
www.myspace.com/theshakedown0
www.myspace.com/pantherstylemusic
http://www.myspace.com/papajupiter1
First off, Reggie's is a cool place. I have no problems with the club, except for they dicked us around about our set time a few times. We were supposed to headline, and have 45 minutes, but about three days before the show they put us on earlier and bumped us down to 30. Oh well, it happens.
We played with three other bands: Letters From Us, a two-piece pop/punk band featuring two Columbia students, Panther Style, a hard rock type band that stole the entire show, and Papa Jupiter. At the beginning of the show, I was most excited to see Papa Jupiter, mostly based on what music of theirs I had heard on their myspace, and a very promising soundcheck. More on that in a minute.
The night started off well in terms of load-in and sound-check. All of the other bands were friendly enough, but Panther Style get their first honrable mention of this article for being the friendliest. :D
At 9:00 PM, Letters From Us took the stage. Honestly, I felt bad for the guys. Also, to be perfectly honest, I thought they were going to suck. I'm not a big fan of that type of music, and two-piece bands really bug me. However, I was pleasantly surprised by them. Unlike most similar acts, their singer could actually sing, and wasn't a half-bad guitar player, either. Their drummer was also very skilled, and they played enough original material to satisfy me, ending it with a decent cover of Jimmy Eat World's "A Praise Chorus." However, there was virtually nobody there to see their set except for the bands, and the few people that my band managed to bring out that early.
Letters From Us didn't truly stand out as "great artists," in my opinion, but they showed talent and potential, which are the two most important traits. I give their overall performance, all things considered, a B.
My band, The Shakedown, played next. We pleasantly had enough time to add an extra unplanned song to our set, which was good. In the beginning, we only had a few people there to see us, but as the set went on, more people started coming in, and I think we played a decent show, minus one or two fuckups.
For their second honorable mention, Panther Style took the stage at around 10:30, and boy, did they ever kick ass. The female-fronted rock band bashed their way through quite an energetic 45 minute set, and I really wish I'd taken notes. One thing I do have to mention is that their lead guitarist is a brave enough soul to play a Flying V. Kudos!
Their songs were good, the performace was fully charged, and they even shouted-out to my band. I am proud to give Panther Style a near-perfect A grade, and to add them to our "Bands to Watch For" list.
Papa Jupiter was a slight disappointment. Granted, Panther Style is probably a very hard act to follow, and Papa Jupiter played their instruments great. The problem I had was that during their sound-check, they played as a 4-piece, but when it was time to play, some guy who I'd assumed was a spectator jumped onstage as their lead vocalist. He just plain wasn't as good as the guitarist, who sang backup, harmonies, and secondary lead vocals on some songs. Their "lead" vocalist was more of a screamer than a singer, so maybe I'm biased, but after being built up as this great new talent, it was disappointing to see that Papa Jupiter is just another semi-progressive hard rock act. I give them a B. Their performance was top-notch musically, but they had nothing new to offer.
Also, this is a warning to any bands who want to play at Reggie's. DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES PAY TO HAVE THEM RECORD YOUR SHOW. They amped up their new "studio" and all of its technical effects, lauding it as the best live recording in Chicago. They wanted to charge us $100, even though the website says $40. I refused to go above 40, and what they gave us was an unmixed piece of garbage on a CD with only one track, no equalization, and terrible quality. Do not pay them $100, they are pirates.
That's all I have to say for now about the subject.
www.myspace.com/theshakedown0
www.myspace.com/pantherstylemusic
http://www.myspace.com/papajupiter1
Thursday, December 16, 2010
When is the Local Music Scene Going to Catch up to the Financial Crisis?
In 2008, Bernie Madoff single-handedly toppled the American economy. Not really, but it's no news to anybody that the economy IS in shambles. Average Americans are scrimping and saving on everything, and many of us who were fine in the 90's (can we just PLEASE have Clinton back?) are struggling to make ends meet.
But to look at the cost of being a musician, you wouldn't know it. Businesses everywhere are trying to adapt to the market, lowering prices or creating bargains to help people who can't afford to spend all sorts of money.
Musicians are practically the definition of "everyday American" (except we get laid more.) We are most of the time just normal people with a passion and a dream, and we work our asses off, toiling day after day in hopes that one day we'll reach that (American) dream of selling a bazillion records and playing Wembley or something (is that what the kids are into these days?) So why hasn't the industry we serve adapted to this crisis?
I'm not just going to take the easy way out and bitch about the price of instruments. A 50 watt Marshall practice amp should not cost 400 dollars under any circumstances, nor should it be impossible to find a good guitar for less than $500. But this all has to do with the "Rockstar" mentality of being loaded, having expensive shit, being Bono, etc., and it's unlikely to change.
This being a blog about the local scene, that's what I want to talk about. Now, I would love to be able to go out to shows every other night and get a real tatse of the talent (or lack thereof) in Chicago. But everywhere you go, door prices are a minimum of $8. Added to the facts that none of these fucking places are close to anywhere, so I have to drive (the price of gas...sigh...) and the even more ridiculous prices of food and drinks (one place was selling pizza slices for, I shit you not, $16) this is simply too much money. Sure, I could take the train (still almost five dollars roundtrip) and not buy any food or drinks, but what the hell kind of night out is that? Especially faced with the looming probability that the band(s) you are going to see just won't be any good?
This goes for all of the clubs that force bands to sell presale tickets and then gives them some sort of embarassing 'cut' of the money, a figure which in my experience is usually about 1/8th. Try selling even $8 presale tickets to your friends and family to go see your crappy band on a Wednesday evening and you'll hear an almost unanimous chorus of "Sorry, I'll show up, but I don't have any cash on me!" Of course, few of them do show up, and even though the club says that they'll also give you a cut of the draw that didn't buy presale tickets, all they need to do is hand you a fiver at the end of the day and say that's your payment, because they know one thing very well: "What the fuck are you gonna do about it?"
Merchandise is another big problem. When making T-Shirts for my band, I was given a rate of 7 dollars a shirt, and that was at a discount because the shirtmaker is a family friend. So, 100 shirts became $700, and if I hope to make any sort of meaningful profit these things are going to have to go for a MINIMUM of $10 a pop, which is way too much to spend on a local band's T-Shirt, unless you're a huge fan. We tried selling them for 15, and in a few months, we'd sold approximately zero shirts. After lowering the price to 10, we've sold about 6 shirts.
Also, bands, whatever happened to giving out music samples for free? Too many times have I been somewhat interested in listening to a band I've seen, but when I ask them for a CD, I get a gruff reply of "ten dollars." Or however much they're selling it for. Generally, it's not even a professional CD, but something that they burned and then stuck a label on. What, you guys can't make little two-song samplers and give them out for free at your shows? Somebody interested in listening to your music should be payment enough.
Since we've been active (for less than a year), my band has shelled out...let's count!
$1200 for our rehearsal space (and counting!)
$700 for T-Shirts
$400 for equipment that we didn't already own ourselves
$100 for general promotion (Ads, flyers, etc.)
And another $200 for misc. crap (earplugs, batteries, gas to get to and from practice, gigs, etc.--this adds up!)
So, all told, that's about $2600 in little under a year, for what I'm going to call the bare necessities of being in a band. We've probably made about $200 back in gigs, tips, and merch sales. That's horseshit.
There are BS justifications for all of these, so don't expect any of them to go away as long as people remain greedy, so...well, I guess some things never change.
But to look at the cost of being a musician, you wouldn't know it. Businesses everywhere are trying to adapt to the market, lowering prices or creating bargains to help people who can't afford to spend all sorts of money.
Musicians are practically the definition of "everyday American" (except we get laid more.) We are most of the time just normal people with a passion and a dream, and we work our asses off, toiling day after day in hopes that one day we'll reach that (American) dream of selling a bazillion records and playing Wembley or something (is that what the kids are into these days?) So why hasn't the industry we serve adapted to this crisis?
I'm not just going to take the easy way out and bitch about the price of instruments. A 50 watt Marshall practice amp should not cost 400 dollars under any circumstances, nor should it be impossible to find a good guitar for less than $500. But this all has to do with the "Rockstar" mentality of being loaded, having expensive shit, being Bono, etc., and it's unlikely to change.
This being a blog about the local scene, that's what I want to talk about. Now, I would love to be able to go out to shows every other night and get a real tatse of the talent (or lack thereof) in Chicago. But everywhere you go, door prices are a minimum of $8. Added to the facts that none of these fucking places are close to anywhere, so I have to drive (the price of gas...sigh...) and the even more ridiculous prices of food and drinks (one place was selling pizza slices for, I shit you not, $16) this is simply too much money. Sure, I could take the train (still almost five dollars roundtrip) and not buy any food or drinks, but what the hell kind of night out is that? Especially faced with the looming probability that the band(s) you are going to see just won't be any good?
This goes for all of the clubs that force bands to sell presale tickets and then gives them some sort of embarassing 'cut' of the money, a figure which in my experience is usually about 1/8th. Try selling even $8 presale tickets to your friends and family to go see your crappy band on a Wednesday evening and you'll hear an almost unanimous chorus of "Sorry, I'll show up, but I don't have any cash on me!" Of course, few of them do show up, and even though the club says that they'll also give you a cut of the draw that didn't buy presale tickets, all they need to do is hand you a fiver at the end of the day and say that's your payment, because they know one thing very well: "What the fuck are you gonna do about it?"
Merchandise is another big problem. When making T-Shirts for my band, I was given a rate of 7 dollars a shirt, and that was at a discount because the shirtmaker is a family friend. So, 100 shirts became $700, and if I hope to make any sort of meaningful profit these things are going to have to go for a MINIMUM of $10 a pop, which is way too much to spend on a local band's T-Shirt, unless you're a huge fan. We tried selling them for 15, and in a few months, we'd sold approximately zero shirts. After lowering the price to 10, we've sold about 6 shirts.
Also, bands, whatever happened to giving out music samples for free? Too many times have I been somewhat interested in listening to a band I've seen, but when I ask them for a CD, I get a gruff reply of "ten dollars." Or however much they're selling it for. Generally, it's not even a professional CD, but something that they burned and then stuck a label on. What, you guys can't make little two-song samplers and give them out for free at your shows? Somebody interested in listening to your music should be payment enough.
Since we've been active (for less than a year), my band has shelled out...let's count!
$1200 for our rehearsal space (and counting!)
$700 for T-Shirts
$400 for equipment that we didn't already own ourselves
$100 for general promotion (Ads, flyers, etc.)
And another $200 for misc. crap (earplugs, batteries, gas to get to and from practice, gigs, etc.--this adds up!)
So, all told, that's about $2600 in little under a year, for what I'm going to call the bare necessities of being in a band. We've probably made about $200 back in gigs, tips, and merch sales. That's horseshit.
There are BS justifications for all of these, so don't expect any of them to go away as long as people remain greedy, so...well, I guess some things never change.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Shakedown at Reggie's Friday 12/17/10
Hey all, on Friday, December 17th, 2010, The Shakedown will take the stage at Reggie's Rock club along with Chicago bands Letters From Us, Jack in Space, Panther Style, and Papa Jupiter.
A review of the show and of playing at Reggie's is forthcoming. Look for it on Saturday!!
Reggie's is located at 2109 S. State St., Chicago, IL if you wanna come.
A review of the show and of playing at Reggie's is forthcoming. Look for it on Saturday!!
Reggie's is located at 2109 S. State St., Chicago, IL if you wanna come.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Rehearsal Rooms: To Rent or Not to Rent?
So, a lot of bands these days are shelling out an extra few hundred bucks a month to rent out private rehearsal rooms to practice in. My band does it, and I've gotta admit, it takes a toll on the personal finances. Is it worth it?
(Note: I know that many places offer hourly rehearsal rooms instead of monthly, but fuck those guys. I have no experience with that, this post is about monthly spaces, specifically Knox Avenue in Chicago, because that's what I know about.)
Well, first, let's look at the alternative to renting a space, which for most people is their drummer's basement, or jury-rigging something else. I know one band that has an agreement with their local community center for wednesday evenings, but most of us probably aren't that savvy to negotiate that type of arrangement. Playing in your house is a bitch to family members and especially neighbors. I remember once, we tried to practice in my bass player's garage, which faced the street, trying to recreate a scene from a movie or something. The cops were called within half an hour and we were shut down.
Because of all the BS that is associated with practicing at home, getting your own little home away from home where you can play as loud as you want, neighbors be damned, sounds attractive. Well, my band rents a room at Knox Avenue, a newer facility with ties to the much more known Superior St. location (same owner and management team.)
We use the room quite a bit, and some of our practices go into the wee hours of the morning. But god damn, 400 dollars a month is a steep price to pay. You're damn right it improved us as a band, but it also made us all go broke within a few short months. Here's my little review of Knox Avenue rehearsal studios:
Location: Well, it's far away from where I live, but I do live close to the CTA blue line, which drops off about two blocks from the studio. This is a big plus, especially with gas prices so high. It's also near a gas station/food market, a few restaurants, and the Kennedy expressway. It is convenient, I will admit.
Rent: The rent is expensive. For 400 a month, with an additional $400 security deposit, it can be hard for a working stiff to pay for this. It all depends on how much you use it. If you practice two or three times a week, and maybe come by on your own once or twice to practice, then coupled with the obvious perk of being able to store your gear, it can be worth it. If you're a band that only practices once or twice a week, then this is definitely not for you. It's also BS that they make you pay extra for the electronic keys that get you into the building, but what are you gonna do? Our main problem with them is that they don't take cash, which I personally prefer to pay with. They told me one month that I could pay with cash, and now are claiming that I shorted them $100. This is still ongoing, so I can't be sure, but it's somewhat alarming and I'm not sure how much longer we'll be there.
Atmosphere and Community: This is the place's best point. It's basically a warehouse with a bunch of empty rooms, but that's perfect. Nothing to distract you except a few vending machines to supply basic needs of soda and junk food (even earplugs and 9-v batteries!) Most of the bands there are friendly with each other, and the studio provides free bulletins where you can post about upcoming shows, wanted ads, etc. There are a few too many crappy metal bands, but everybody there is nice enough.
Overall, rehearsal spaces are good investments ONLY IF YOU CAN AFFORD THEM. I would cautiously recommend Knox Avenue to bands, and I stress cautiously. Besides this ongoing rent dispute, we've had no problems with gear being stolen, or being locked out, but something doesn't sit right with me. More details as they come!
4265 Knox Avenue. Chicago, IL, 60641
773-685-5669
info@knoxavenue.com
(Note: I know that many places offer hourly rehearsal rooms instead of monthly, but fuck those guys. I have no experience with that, this post is about monthly spaces, specifically Knox Avenue in Chicago, because that's what I know about.)
Well, first, let's look at the alternative to renting a space, which for most people is their drummer's basement, or jury-rigging something else. I know one band that has an agreement with their local community center for wednesday evenings, but most of us probably aren't that savvy to negotiate that type of arrangement. Playing in your house is a bitch to family members and especially neighbors. I remember once, we tried to practice in my bass player's garage, which faced the street, trying to recreate a scene from a movie or something. The cops were called within half an hour and we were shut down.
Because of all the BS that is associated with practicing at home, getting your own little home away from home where you can play as loud as you want, neighbors be damned, sounds attractive. Well, my band rents a room at Knox Avenue, a newer facility with ties to the much more known Superior St. location (same owner and management team.)
We use the room quite a bit, and some of our practices go into the wee hours of the morning. But god damn, 400 dollars a month is a steep price to pay. You're damn right it improved us as a band, but it also made us all go broke within a few short months. Here's my little review of Knox Avenue rehearsal studios:
Location: Well, it's far away from where I live, but I do live close to the CTA blue line, which drops off about two blocks from the studio. This is a big plus, especially with gas prices so high. It's also near a gas station/food market, a few restaurants, and the Kennedy expressway. It is convenient, I will admit.
Rent: The rent is expensive. For 400 a month, with an additional $400 security deposit, it can be hard for a working stiff to pay for this. It all depends on how much you use it. If you practice two or three times a week, and maybe come by on your own once or twice to practice, then coupled with the obvious perk of being able to store your gear, it can be worth it. If you're a band that only practices once or twice a week, then this is definitely not for you. It's also BS that they make you pay extra for the electronic keys that get you into the building, but what are you gonna do? Our main problem with them is that they don't take cash, which I personally prefer to pay with. They told me one month that I could pay with cash, and now are claiming that I shorted them $100. This is still ongoing, so I can't be sure, but it's somewhat alarming and I'm not sure how much longer we'll be there.
Atmosphere and Community: This is the place's best point. It's basically a warehouse with a bunch of empty rooms, but that's perfect. Nothing to distract you except a few vending machines to supply basic needs of soda and junk food (even earplugs and 9-v batteries!) Most of the bands there are friendly with each other, and the studio provides free bulletins where you can post about upcoming shows, wanted ads, etc. There are a few too many crappy metal bands, but everybody there is nice enough.
Overall, rehearsal spaces are good investments ONLY IF YOU CAN AFFORD THEM. I would cautiously recommend Knox Avenue to bands, and I stress cautiously. Besides this ongoing rent dispute, we've had no problems with gear being stolen, or being locked out, but something doesn't sit right with me. More details as they come!
4265 Knox Avenue. Chicago, IL, 60641
773-685-5669
info@knoxavenue.com
Our experience at Lilly's bar
If you browse the postings on Chicago's musician's craigslist page, you'll eventually run across some people posting ads that look as if they were written by a fourth grader, complaining about a bar in Lincoln Park called Lilly's. Common complaints were that the bar had bad sound, a bad stage, shorted bands out of money, or were generally unprofessional.
Well, my band The Shakedown played the dreaded Lilly's bar a couple weeks back, and let me tell you...it was fine. Here's my little review of Lilly's.
Atmosphere: Very good, laid back. The brick floors were cool. And the bar even had a few built-in customers that saw the music. No problems there, IMO. Yes, it was small, but that just made the show better. Nothing for a good punk-rock show like having the crowd be standing three feet in front of you. There was plenty of room in the upstairs section too.
Staff-The bartender was cool, he talked to us after the show about music, etc. The bouncer didn't talk to us very much but we didn't have any problems with him. The booking agent left after the first band, but who gives a shit? We still got to play.
Sound/Stage-Lack thereof, I should say. This seemed to be the most common complaint. The stage was really just a small area set aside for the bands, cramped uncomfortably in between the barstools and a wall. There was no "backstage." The PA was good, but the only thing we miced was the bass drum on our kit. Other than that, it was totally live, a real punk rock show. And it sounded great. To the bands that bitched about the club having bad sound: Have you considered that perhaps you suck?
Money-We drew a decent crowd, but as they said, we had to split the money with the sound guy/bartender, and 2 other fantastic bands (one of them, the Skis, are mentioned in our "Bands to Watch For" section.) But we did get paid almost 100 bucks. Not bad in my book. Also, the band had no problem getting free drinks.
Location-Well, it's in the middle of the bar district of Lincoln Park, near DePaul, so there is a lot of foot traffic. However, being just a few blocks down from legendary blues joint Kingston Mines doesn't help, and it's a small bar with not much of its own draw. This is honestly the worst thing about the club in my opinion.
Overall-One of the best gigs we ever played. I can't say how much that has to do with the club and how much with our new rehearsal space at Knox Avenue, but I can say I have no problems whatsoever with Lilly's and recommend it to any band looking to play out and have a good time on a Saturday night.
Lilly's
2515 N Lincoln Ave
Chicago, Illinois 60614
(773) 529-1600
Well, my band The Shakedown played the dreaded Lilly's bar a couple weeks back, and let me tell you...it was fine. Here's my little review of Lilly's.
Atmosphere: Very good, laid back. The brick floors were cool. And the bar even had a few built-in customers that saw the music. No problems there, IMO. Yes, it was small, but that just made the show better. Nothing for a good punk-rock show like having the crowd be standing three feet in front of you. There was plenty of room in the upstairs section too.
Staff-The bartender was cool, he talked to us after the show about music, etc. The bouncer didn't talk to us very much but we didn't have any problems with him. The booking agent left after the first band, but who gives a shit? We still got to play.
Sound/Stage-Lack thereof, I should say. This seemed to be the most common complaint. The stage was really just a small area set aside for the bands, cramped uncomfortably in between the barstools and a wall. There was no "backstage." The PA was good, but the only thing we miced was the bass drum on our kit. Other than that, it was totally live, a real punk rock show. And it sounded great. To the bands that bitched about the club having bad sound: Have you considered that perhaps you suck?
Money-We drew a decent crowd, but as they said, we had to split the money with the sound guy/bartender, and 2 other fantastic bands (one of them, the Skis, are mentioned in our "Bands to Watch For" section.) But we did get paid almost 100 bucks. Not bad in my book. Also, the band had no problem getting free drinks.
Location-Well, it's in the middle of the bar district of Lincoln Park, near DePaul, so there is a lot of foot traffic. However, being just a few blocks down from legendary blues joint Kingston Mines doesn't help, and it's a small bar with not much of its own draw. This is honestly the worst thing about the club in my opinion.
Overall-One of the best gigs we ever played. I can't say how much that has to do with the club and how much with our new rehearsal space at Knox Avenue, but I can say I have no problems whatsoever with Lilly's and recommend it to any band looking to play out and have a good time on a Saturday night.
Lilly's
2515 N Lincoln Ave
Chicago, Illinois 60614
(773) 529-1600
Monday, December 13, 2010
Bands!
Hey bands, rappers, musicians, etc.
Part of why this blog exists is to create a sense of community and belonging among the musicians of our fine city. With that in mind, I'd like to know about you.
Please, email me at chriscc@ameritech.net with information about your music. I'll reply to everything. If I like it enough, I might even put it on our "Bands to Watch For" section. You don't have to be a band, you can be a solo artist or even a rapper or producer. Music truly is my life and my passion, and it should be yours too. Even if you just want to let me know about a show coming up, I'll try to work it into the posting.
Don't be shy, I want to hear about anything and everything related to Chicago music!
Part of why this blog exists is to create a sense of community and belonging among the musicians of our fine city. With that in mind, I'd like to know about you.
Please, email me at chriscc@ameritech.net with information about your music. I'll reply to everything. If I like it enough, I might even put it on our "Bands to Watch For" section. You don't have to be a band, you can be a solo artist or even a rapper or producer. Music truly is my life and my passion, and it should be yours too. Even if you just want to let me know about a show coming up, I'll try to work it into the posting.
Don't be shy, I want to hear about anything and everything related to Chicago music!
About
Currently, the only operator of this blog is Christian Chiakulas.
I'm 18. I live in River Forest. My band is called The Shakedown. You can listen to us at www.myspace.com/theshakedown0
That's all you need to know. If you want me to consider doing something for your band on this blog, whether it be a shout-out, a review, or even an interview, email me at chriscc@ameritech.net with a link to some music, a bio, or something like that.
Or email me with any comments that you're too wussy to put in the comment section of the blog! I don't mind.
I'm 18. I live in River Forest. My band is called The Shakedown. You can listen to us at www.myspace.com/theshakedown0
That's all you need to know. If you want me to consider doing something for your band on this blog, whether it be a shout-out, a review, or even an interview, email me at chriscc@ameritech.net with a link to some music, a bio, or something like that.
Or email me with any comments that you're too wussy to put in the comment section of the blog! I don't mind.
Bands to Watch For
This is a list of bands or artists active in or around the Chicago music scene that we think you should keep an eye out for. It will be edited with time, so check back often.
The Broken Belts
http://www.myspace.com/brokenbelts1
http://www.facebook.com/brokenbelts?sk=info
Cliff Johnson and the Happy Jacks
Dramatic Visions
http://www.myspace.com/dramaticvisions
Gena Mason & the Noise
Panther Style
The Shakedown (Yeah, I put my own band on, big whoop, wanna fight about it?)
http://www.myspace.com/theshakedown0
The Skis
The Broken Belts
http://www.myspace.com/brokenbelts1
http://www.facebook.com/brokenbelts?sk=info
Cliff Johnson and the Happy Jacks
Dramatic Visions
http://www.myspace.com/dramaticvisions
Gena Mason & the Noise
Panther Style
The Shakedown (Yeah, I put my own band on, big whoop, wanna fight about it?)
http://www.myspace.com/theshakedown0
The Skis
The Real Problem with the Chicago Music Scene
I hear a lot of complaining about the Chicago music scene. How it's stale, how clubs and bars don't care about bands, how a few agents have a monopoly on all of the shows, etc. A lot of it is true. A lot of it is just whining. In fact, part of the reason I'm doing this blog is because I want to help instill a sense of community among artists of this city. Perhaps that will help. Either way, here are my thoughts on the issue.
I lead a young band, we've been doing it since high school, we're all under 21. And we've been active in the Chicago music scene for a while. Not just shitty shows at our school, mind you, the real Chicago scene. We've played at 21+ clubs, and been asked back to several places. Even made money off of it occaisonally.
How do we do this? We agressively promote our shows physically and on the internet, all on our own time. And we still don't have that great of a draw, especially to bars. But we play a good show and scrape by, looking for shows in odd places and getting it done. We play out several times a year, and get positive feedback every time. The problem isn't as much with clubs and bars as it is with the bands themselves. I've seen hundreds of bands play, and there is literally nothing about any of them that would make me want to see them again. That's why it's hard to develop a draw aside from family and friends. All of the songs sound the same, all of the influences are the same, that's all it is is the same bullshit almost everywhere you go. Yes, there are a few bands that are exceptions, but I stress "a few."
My band? We refuse to play more than one cover a show. We make sure to vary our set and write songs that sound different from one another. And we're young, and get screwed a lot, and don't make money, but things are happening. Labels have noticed, believe it or not. The elephant in the room is that bands are so obsessed with playing shows and developing draws, that they forget that before you can draw the big crowds and get paid, you need to spend countless hours in the basement, slamming on an acoustic guitar, writing song after song after song, and then even more hours playing them with your band so that you can develop them into something brilliant. The scene is full of countless shitty metal bands that are clones of each other, and almost as many mediocre rock bands. You want to "make it?" Don't rely on bars, or agents, or even shows in general. Make something new, something memorable, that somebody wants to see more than once. I don't care how much music theory you've mastered, how well you can shred or scream, how fast your drummer can play, or how much experimental bullshit you throw into your songs. I want something that I can connect with, something that I can feel proud of being one of the first people to see with my own two eyes and then when it gets huge say "I knew them before they were big" with a great big smile on my face.
The blues scene is the perfect example. Nothing new in decades. I've spent time in it, even though I'm a punk guy. I love the blues. I dated Eddie C. Campbell's daughter, for Christ's sake! And jamming with him and his buddies, playing with them and being touted to blues shows...it's stale. Buddy Guy's, Kingston Mines, all those clubs, they rely on what's tried-and-true, because there's nothing else. Do they book a good-sounding blues band that they KNOW will draw a large crowd because they've been around for 20 years? Or a band that sounds exactly the same, but has only been around for 2 years and will draw a quarter of the people? Sorry, but if you're a blues musician in this city, I already know that you're not doing anything different. Blues has been around for almost a hundred years, but I know that somebody good enough can still revolutionize it. Do that, and maybe you'll get noticed without slowly working your way up over the course of a decade. Otherwise, stop complaining.
Please, isn't there anyone out there who cares more about writing music than about getting paid? Yeah, the club circuit is shit. Deal. Adapt. If it's about the money for you, then kindly fuck off and leave the music scene to the music-lovers. If all of the jobbers, all of the bullshit blues "bands," the crappy legion of metal bands and metalcore bands, the whiny emos, and most of all, the bands that sound together but just stand there and play a mix of covers and originals without moving at all, would just go the hell away, things would improve drastically. Your success is not measured by how much money you make or what your draw is. It's those moments after a show when a complete stranger walks up to you and says "I loved that fourth song you played." Or, "Your guitar playing is very interesting." Or, "Do you have any other shows coming up?" It's also how long you're willing to stick with it, and how hard you try. If you're truly talented and unique, and if you stick with it long enough and work your ass off, YOU WILL achieve some measure of traditional success. It's just a matter of when.
Stay tuned.
I lead a young band, we've been doing it since high school, we're all under 21. And we've been active in the Chicago music scene for a while. Not just shitty shows at our school, mind you, the real Chicago scene. We've played at 21+ clubs, and been asked back to several places. Even made money off of it occaisonally.
How do we do this? We agressively promote our shows physically and on the internet, all on our own time. And we still don't have that great of a draw, especially to bars. But we play a good show and scrape by, looking for shows in odd places and getting it done. We play out several times a year, and get positive feedback every time. The problem isn't as much with clubs and bars as it is with the bands themselves. I've seen hundreds of bands play, and there is literally nothing about any of them that would make me want to see them again. That's why it's hard to develop a draw aside from family and friends. All of the songs sound the same, all of the influences are the same, that's all it is is the same bullshit almost everywhere you go. Yes, there are a few bands that are exceptions, but I stress "a few."
My band? We refuse to play more than one cover a show. We make sure to vary our set and write songs that sound different from one another. And we're young, and get screwed a lot, and don't make money, but things are happening. Labels have noticed, believe it or not. The elephant in the room is that bands are so obsessed with playing shows and developing draws, that they forget that before you can draw the big crowds and get paid, you need to spend countless hours in the basement, slamming on an acoustic guitar, writing song after song after song, and then even more hours playing them with your band so that you can develop them into something brilliant. The scene is full of countless shitty metal bands that are clones of each other, and almost as many mediocre rock bands. You want to "make it?" Don't rely on bars, or agents, or even shows in general. Make something new, something memorable, that somebody wants to see more than once. I don't care how much music theory you've mastered, how well you can shred or scream, how fast your drummer can play, or how much experimental bullshit you throw into your songs. I want something that I can connect with, something that I can feel proud of being one of the first people to see with my own two eyes and then when it gets huge say "I knew them before they were big" with a great big smile on my face.
The blues scene is the perfect example. Nothing new in decades. I've spent time in it, even though I'm a punk guy. I love the blues. I dated Eddie C. Campbell's daughter, for Christ's sake! And jamming with him and his buddies, playing with them and being touted to blues shows...it's stale. Buddy Guy's, Kingston Mines, all those clubs, they rely on what's tried-and-true, because there's nothing else. Do they book a good-sounding blues band that they KNOW will draw a large crowd because they've been around for 20 years? Or a band that sounds exactly the same, but has only been around for 2 years and will draw a quarter of the people? Sorry, but if you're a blues musician in this city, I already know that you're not doing anything different. Blues has been around for almost a hundred years, but I know that somebody good enough can still revolutionize it. Do that, and maybe you'll get noticed without slowly working your way up over the course of a decade. Otherwise, stop complaining.
Please, isn't there anyone out there who cares more about writing music than about getting paid? Yeah, the club circuit is shit. Deal. Adapt. If it's about the money for you, then kindly fuck off and leave the music scene to the music-lovers. If all of the jobbers, all of the bullshit blues "bands," the crappy legion of metal bands and metalcore bands, the whiny emos, and most of all, the bands that sound together but just stand there and play a mix of covers and originals without moving at all, would just go the hell away, things would improve drastically. Your success is not measured by how much money you make or what your draw is. It's those moments after a show when a complete stranger walks up to you and says "I loved that fourth song you played." Or, "Your guitar playing is very interesting." Or, "Do you have any other shows coming up?" It's also how long you're willing to stick with it, and how hard you try. If you're truly talented and unique, and if you stick with it long enough and work your ass off, YOU WILL achieve some measure of traditional success. It's just a matter of when.
Stay tuned.
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