Hey Guys, Jeff (Guitar/Cleans) from Obscurities here. I just wanted to share with you today some of my thoughts and views on local music and the scene. These are my own personal opinions, let me know what you think. The local music scene has altered tons since I was a kid. It’s changed for the better and the worse. There is not as much love between bands or between bands and promoters as there used to be.
When I was 15 I just picked up a guitar and I got the chance to jump into a band. At the time they were starting their first ever tour. It was all so new to me, but I still could tell everyone was there for the love of the music. Now I’m currently in a band starting their touring life up and through my experience It’s alot colder than it used to be.
Everything revolves around money and how many tickets you can sell now. I remember just joining a band when I was 18, after taking a break from shows. They mentioned ticket sales, I didn’t even understand what that meant. Now I understand that they can be justified. But at the same time when (Minumum) ticket sale marks are set correctly and fairly. They are set way too high these days.They do this so they (The Promoter) can make bank off of each band that takes the show. Very few promoters actually care for the bands. I see some that don’t even offer water for the local acts and they make them pay. The relationship between bands and “promoters” has definitely changed in the past years for the worst.
Talent is over used in bands these days. I see alot of bands out there getting recognition when its not even deserved. Now a days its a popularity contest. Whoever has the most friends gets the most benefits. I see bands that put barely any money into their gear their recordings, barely any time into practicing their instrument and their live set and barely any time into writing. They just want to be “famous and rich”. Well let me tell you this is the last thing you should be doing if you want that. Most bands signed to even mainstream labels are working a second job because this doesn’t pay enough.
A true band is willing to take the sacrifice, put their heart and soul into their music, put time into making everything perfect, get good quality recordings, and put all the money they have into some nice gear because they just love the music. I see bands like that getting thrown around sometimes and not getting the recognition they deserve. Because all the Labels, Promoters and Agency’s really care about now a days is MONEY. If you can get that generic sound that everyone likes they will scoop you up. There is barely any diversity in music anymore. It’s like we hit our peak in the 80’s an 90’s. Now when people start a local band they say, “I want to be like this band so we can sell records and make money”. I just don’t see the love I used to in the music scene. But no matter what, I will always be here to express my love for it. Don’t get me wrong there are some great Agency’s, Labels and Promoters out there. Just not enough.
Hope this sparked your senses a little and feel free to comment below with your opinion.
Jeff –
