When I read interviews by bands from San Diego and they are asked about the music scene here, I'm just not sure what/who to believe. Here are a few examples. In an interview with truepunk.com, Reeve Oliver says "...the SD scene is on the rise. It used to be amazing... and it kind of went through a dry spell. ...San Diego scene is pretty small and supportive" In an interview for About.com, Switchfoot said of San Diego, "...bands here are really in it for the music. It's not a scene like in LA or New York -- where people are trying to get a record deal. People here are really trying to make music for the sake of making music." Exactly what part of the San Diego music community does the hugely successful North County christian band Switchfoot play again? I don't know. Tim Pyles is quoted by sandiegopunk.com as having said, "The music scene in San Diego is growing at a rapid rate and the bands keep getting better and better. Were on our way to being a music boom town! Look out! I could easily name 50 quality bands in town right now! The quality is there!" Reading that you might think it's still some sort of Mecca where you'd want to go to start a band, but I'm still not sure. Local band Straight No Chaser (not the Rochester, NY Hardcore band of the same name) said "I think the main area that I would like to see improved is the lack of quality all ages venues. There are a few clubs that aren't terribly band friendly, and that seems very counteractive to growing a solid local music community." Alright, so what do we have going for us? We have Cullen Hendrix music journalist extraordinaire, writing for the SdReader, Sd City Beat, Music Matters, and his own blog Dirtbag's Delight. We've got Rosey working hard at sddialedin. Sandiegopunk.com is still active and accurate. Ok, but where are the Virgil Porters? Does Spence Gooch still live here? Where's Tara Barnes? Is Sandiegocore.com up and operating? I can't find it. Was it ever working? Dan Maier [formerly of Plot to Blow Up the Eiffel Tower and engineer at Audio Design Recording] was interviewed a couple of years ago by Sandiegopunk.com. When asked about the San Diego music scene/community (they like to ask about that), he blamed the accessibility of music via the Internet for decline in show attendance and overall unoriginality. "There is nothing wrong with more kids playing music, but it seems since all these bands are so accessible on the internet, show attendance has dramatically declined. I also think this rush of band exposure, plus the mainstream co-opting the punk sound and image harder than ever, has homogenized the genre on a grand scale. There are more clone bands than ever, and it seems that cities aren't developing their own sound anymore...San Diego has a strong music scene but I think the lack of all-ages venues is really detrimental. There are really no all-ages venues in central San Diego, besides Soma, which is too big for most smaller bands." Also two years ago, Justin Pearson weighed in on online promotion via myspace, saying it is a "lame way to promote your band. That site is a pathetic attempt at mixing youth culture with major label corporate marketing all tied in with fraggle glam and sexual predators." Whereas, Tim Pyles' take was slightly different, "MySpace Rocks! Best networking tool ever! Just look out for pedophiles!...The access to finding out about bands and the bands being able to promote themselves for pennies on the dollar, it's freakin' sweet!...I promote MySpace quite a bit and use it everyday! It's made my job much easier, but I still like to get the CD from the band. I'd be lost without it now!" Where is our Troubadour, an all ages venue that serves alcohol? The all ages crowd and the fickle 21+ crowd do not intermingle. We had a bimonthly magazine called SD Music Matters that went under only to come back as Music Matters. Apparently, San Diego music isn't as important as they thought. Now the magazine says "socal music socal culture" under the header. I was hard-pressed to find evidence of any real dedication by the magazine to the local music scene anyway. The old site was rarely updated and the new site doesn't have any information specific to San Diego anymore. They used to have a show listing and a band listing. We've lost amazing artists like Minmae, The Robot Ate Me, and The North Atlantic. Many bands that seemed to have to struggle to draw in their own home town of San Diego for years, only to flourish on the road. And Eventually, they left for good. What happened to bands like The Displaced that were "DIY or Die" that just kept trying and trying til as far as I know have just disappeared. Maybe they haven't DIY and died just yet, but I see no signs of life. Labels like Happy Couples Never Last or Swim Slowly that have relocated in search of greener pastures. Other bands from out of town, opt to skip right past San Diego on their way to Arizona or L.A. Right now Tera Melos is on another U.S. tour booked by a professional booking agent where they have consecutive dates in Phoenix and Anaheim. That's a 360 Mile drive that skips right past San Diego, for Anaheim. We can't beat out Anaheim! Bands have skipped San Diego more times than I can remember. Sure we got a lot of touring bands, but a lot of times it seems we're not worth the stop. It's not just indie bands. Andrea Bocelli plays Glendale Az on Dec 14 and Anaheim the 15th. No San Diego. Oh, but Fallout Boy will be stopping in San Diego so I guess we're doing alright. Off the Record couldn't afford to stay in Hillcrest. Their new location isn't big enough for instores, and they had some of the fucking coolest in-store performance over the years. Those basement shows just never really worked out. I recently read the Band of Horses interview at Pitchfork.com which spends a considerable amount of time addressing the incident that occurred between Ben Bridwell and SdDialed In Rosey. In the process, Bridwell makes clear the impression San Diego garners. Gared from PMFS shared similar views, but the following Bridwell quote begs the question, what the fuck can we do as active members of the music community to change the impression we give to the rest of the countries touring acts? "It's just really jock-y around the Pacific beach right there, and San Diego in itself is a bit jock-y. The vibe was just kind of weird. It just felt a little off. I know there were people there that were fans, and we had to put on a good show for them. But at the same time, half the room seemed to be filled with weekend warrior types." Is this town worth a damn? I want to know.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
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4 comments:
Why are LA bands so eager to dismiss San Diego as a viable audience? They'll drive across the country and travel the globe but can barely make the three journey to The South. As an non-native I have noticed the lack of hospitality within the San Diego music community (the afore-mentioned names in your post excluded) but I think this may have something to do with a communal inferiority complex, as if San Diego is offended by touring bands, with this crazy locals only attitude. And the venues suck.
-j
thanks for the shout out. this is a great post. good job :)
not only do local bands pack up and move away in disdain for greener pastures (North Atlantics Jason H and Jason R for Chi Town)but i think the lack of all ages venues, specifically run by community minded individuals that foster young bands by giving them a chance to play and open for other established local bands has pretty much dried up, maybe it wasn't ever here. Voz Alta is a decent place for all ages shows but of course that'll be some city college building next year (though its perfect location for drunks and underagers being next to Landlord Jims was a bonus).
however, the stockton house parties were fun, though monopolized by the handful of bands that are on the casbah a list. those parties provided some alternative to the bar/allages 'club' scene in sd. the sewer shows and the shows under the friars rd. bridge are other good alternatives. TJ is a fun place to play, and though it isn't in SD its always an adventure. at least the black clad down there refuse to cross there arms and look bored. the smog shop in national city is eclectic and all ages.
while i agree with almost everything you've said, i would also add that there can be alternatives to the typical 'place where a band can play,' mentality. we've got sun year round and it never rains here.
I am posting because this is the first 'blog' I've seen concerning San Diego. Where I grew up and still live, and it's not because of the music scene,thats for sure!
The city needs a more concentrated and active community on music, but never comes together like other cities. Partly because there are very few venues to play anymore and are very spread out over the county. Another part of it is definitly the bro/jock aspect that seems to invade every bar, show and party. There are people from here with a lot of talent to offer up, but few emerge into something bigger. It seams you have to move out of San Diego to be on another level. Like L.A. S.F. or the N.W. It's also a drag so many bands pass us by for other cities, but I can't blame them, half the venues are shit with no shortage of security or local assholes. With the city being sold out to corporations, sports teams and wealthy conservatives I don't see any hope for the future, only more struggle for the artists trying to emerge and even more hipsters just looking the part.
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