Local Motion/Advocate Column

[fcmonk]

hartfordadvocate.com/gbase/Music/content?oid=oid:116580

Figure this would be a good discussion place for this. Being in an original band, I get the writer's point. It's frustrating to be an original act around here with so few places to play, especially if you aren't in a heavy band or a jam band. And how many times can you hear a cover band do Blink 182 covers? However, I object to the way the writer ripped into the band in the article. It seems like the only thing they did wrong is be the band he was watching when he got this epiphany. Some folks are more comfortable doing the cover thing. Some musicians like making money, which definitely doesn't happen when you're doing originals (especially with places like The Webster around). And don't even get me started about the ageism that can go around in the scene. This article was just the tip of the iceberg for me I guess.

Thoughts?

Edit: You might have to cut and paste the link I screwed up the tags or something.

[Johnny 5]

Yeah, I read this and felt really bad for the band. I'm not 100% sure what the writer was expecting when going to see a cover band. But he has a point. There aren't enough original bands in Hartford. Or at least, there aren't enough GOOD original bands in Hartford. And by good I mean a band that could play to a packed house that normally hears covers and have it go over.

I think the issue is that the bar scene in Hartford is more concerned with having a good time at a bar than hearing live music. They want to hear live music but they're not the kind of crowd that is interested in hearing new music. They want to hear what they know. So for an original band to go over well with that crowd, they'd have to be pretty d**n good.

I mostly don't agree with the way they used Jive Miguel to get their point across. The writer even mentions that they're a good band, but then he decideds to rip on them. That was uncalled for. If you want to write an article about the lack of original bands in Hartford, save it for a separate article. Don't drag a hard working band down to make your point about something unrelated.

[fcmonk]

I think audiences have to be trained. One of my original bands used to get gigs opening for tribute bands, and the crowds didn't quite know how to take us. It's not that they hated us (they usually thought we were great and complimented us to prove it), but they were expecting to hear someone else's songs and got originals. You've got to have some sort of established rep to go into a club that features predominantly cover bands and pull off a full night of originals. Places where originals are featured get built-in crowds who are "expecting it". The only problem I see is that there needs to be more of these kinds of clubs. And they have to PAY THE BANDS!!! The Webster pay-for-play bullpoop will make it very hard to get much in the way of $$$ for an original gig, which, in turn, will keep a lot of good musicians playing covers.