Job Opportunity: Biotechnician/Viral Engineer
Freelance writer seeks talented laboratory technician to engineer and oversee production of small batches of cover-band-killing virus. Pay commensurate with experience. Minimum of 1-2 years experience covering ears, overdrinking in greater Hartford area nightclubs required. E-mail localmotionct at gmail dot com for further details. Please, no telephone calls.
12 comments:
That's not cool, man. Cover bands have just as much a right to exist in our scene as original bands.
If you're upset that original bands aren't getting their due, you might want to look at the quality of music that most of the original acts in Hartford are bringing out. If they were able to pull a crowd like the cover bands do in the area do, I'm sure any intelligent club owner would love to book them.
The problem is that there are far too many original bands that want to place the blame on other people than themselves as to why they can't get booked. There are a lot of great original bands in CT, but there are far more terrible ones.
If you're in an original band and you're not getting any recognition, then you need to look at what you're presenting and see if that is the cause for it.
There are a few bars and clubs that refuse to book original bands. But that's not because they have a bias. CT has grown a reputation of mediocre original bands in the last decade. Look at how many clubs that used to host original bands have closed down. There is obviously a reason for that.
We need to grow the original scene, not cut down the cover scene. That's not the way to succeed.
I get cagey about anyone’s “right to exist” – especially in the entertainment industry, where a band’s success and continued existence is predicated on such a queer mix of capitalism and talent that no one can ever definitively say why certain bands “make it” and others don’t.
I think a given band only deserves to exist as far as we can chuck ‘em – and while I’m joking about the whole virus thing, when it comes to cover bands, I would just as soon chuck ‘em.
I agree that a lot of local original bands suck. I would even go so far as to say most of them suck, and the good ones stand out pretty sharply. But that doesn’t strike me as an adequate explanation for the cover band proliferation in greater Hartford.
I think there are a number of larger factors at work. Race, class, and economic factors are huge in shaping downtown Hartford’s music scene. Without going into too much detail, I think it’s pretty conspicuous that there is a one-block island of bars and nightclubs in Hartford, and they book predominantly white, moneyed bands to play for a predominantly white, moneyed clientele. This, in the midst of a city with such vast ethnic and cultural diversity! I can go two blocks down the road to Peter’s and be the only white boy in the crowd, listening to some wild Puerto Rican tunes—but by then I’ve long gone off the edge of the nightlife radar screen. Of course, you could write a book on Hartford’s race and class problems and how they got that way. But for our purposes, let’s note the disparity between the music/culture of the predominant nightlife in Hartford, and the music/culture of the actual residents of Hartford—and assume it has larger ramifications outside of Hartford city limits.
Another massive factor is the consolidation of public media in the past decade. How's a little band playing the songs they wrote gonna compete with a band playing songs that EVERYONE knows because they’re playing on EVERY ROCK STATION seven times a day? What club owner in their right mind is gonna book original bands when they just had to pay ASCAP and BMI hundreds, if not thousands of dollars to buy one-year licenses that allow bands at their venue to cover ASCAP- and BMI-published tunes? (This is the music publishing industry’s frantic attempt to recoup profits “lost” because of downloading. Venues are gonna book every cover band on god’s green earth to try and recoup the cost of those damn licenses!) What original and independent band can get their tunes on the airwaves when shady payola motherfuckers from the major labels are buying hookers, blow, and plasma TVs for the disc jocks who play the latest shitty Audioslave song? These are all top-down factors that shape the music culture in America (and globally). The people are no longer choosing the media and its content; the media no longer represents the people’s interests.
I agree with you that many musicians have an unrealistic sense of entitlement. But even there, I think a lot of that attitude comes back to the great American lie that we are all going to grow up to be rock stars (or politicians, or actresses, or writers). As kids, we get enchanted by that media-generated cult of celebrity; as teens, many people actually go into music (or other “star-track” fields) for that self-same attention. They don that mantle/attitude of celebrity long before they've earned any measure of fame. This doesn't excuse them from the fact that they’re sucky musicians whose expectations are out of touch with their talent – but, again, there are larger factors at work here. I believe that to some extent they’ve been cheated by their culture. But there also comes a point where you have to realize that, and take responsibility for yourself as an adult.
Look at the websites for a bunch of area cover bands and you'll immediately see what I'm talking about. After about the 4th one they all start to become this big blur. All you see is tits, beer, band stickers on girls' asses, liquor sponsorships, and, occasionally, band members playing their instruments. I do not buy for a second that these are just working musicians doing their job. (The “working musicians” are the session players who are quietly grinding away in the studios, away from the public eye.) The cover dudes want the sex, drugs, and alcohol 24/7. They did not go into music because it seemed like the best available job opportunity – they wanted the trappings of fame. (And no wonder—those trappings are sold to us as children as the true standard against which we measure musical success. Rock stars are on permanent benders, the drugs unleash their inner genius, and they get to defile willing groupie sluts with red snappers. Duh!) And they will get those trappings, even though they're not good enough musicians to rise beyond the local level. They will stay local and keep gritting their teeth and churning out the same covers because it keeps the beer flowing and their bed rocking. This, to them, is the measure of success, and the self-martyring price they pay for it.
I think that’s pathetic.
Is the "kill 'em all" approach a solution? Obviously not. But when confronted with the very large and very real work that must be done to transform our culture—well, the morbid comedian in me can dream that it would be that simple.
Ultimately, I agree with your final point: we DO need to grow the original scene. But I can only hope that a spate of original bands will come along who are charismatic enough to galvanize people into re-thinking their cover band preference. Otherwise, with so many factors at work against original music, those of us approaching the situation with an activist mindset have got our work cut out for us.
Dan,
Your words:
"I agree that a lot of local original bands suck. I would even go so far as to say most of them suck,..."
You openly admit that most of the local bands suck. Where is the mystery then? Why does it seem odd that cover bands are doing better?
Are you so upset that people are having a good time and getting laid? That seems to be a sticking point with you.
That said, there is absolutely no reason to insert race or socioeconomics into this discussion. It's a cop-out and has nothing to do with the core problem: People want to go out and have a good time and, right now, cover bands are the only ones successfully entertaining their audience. The original scene is flooded with self indulgent hacks who would rather play unlikable originals than actually excite or inspire people.
The bottom line is that too many original bands are not playing music that the masses enjoy. It's not about the musicianship, it's about the songwriting - it always has been. I've long said that it seems like local bands think they are "selling out" if they actually write a fucking hook. Apparently catchy music isn't "in" right now? You tell me.
All that being said, you seem to think everyone in a cover band has evil intentions. Could it be possible that they are having a good time and have no plans of becoming a rock star? You seem to hate all cover bands and that's an issue you and your editors will have to deal with. I know that I for one am sick of reading your coverband reviews with the occasional compliment, be it back handed. I do have a problem with coverband musicians who THINK and/or ACT like they are rockstars. Other than that, there is no reason to put down people who are having fun and making people happy.
Cash is king. Club owners will book any band that can draw, regardless of how good they are. The same goes for originals.
The class warfare and sociology tangents are cute and might impress the girls working at the used record store, but it doesn't amount to much.
Trust me, I know what you're saying. I've been in original bands where I really thought the music was great. We even won one of those Radio 104 Modern Rock Wars years back and thought that would propel us into the upper level of the scene. It didn't. We still played most of the dives to audiences of 12 people.
But I've also been in cover bands where we actually DID focus on the music over anything else.
What I'm saying is, that lumping all cover bands into the same group is overgeneralizing the scene. There are definitely far too many "party" bands that are carbon-copies of each other and have little to no musical merit. And I think this is a genre unto itself.
But there are plenty of cover bands that are doing something different as well. I'd even go as far as to say that a lot of the best musicians in CT are in cover bands.
Furthermore, the clubs that cover bands play in are the ones that are succeeding. There is a reason for this. In the mid 90's there were a bunch of clubs that catered to original music. Now the only big clubs left are Toad's Place and The Webster. The latter offering only pay-to-play, which is plain shameful.
But why do those clubs succeed? I don't really think the kind of music really has much to do with it. The average bar patron doesn't care as much about what band they hear on a given night as long as they have a good time. I can't tell you how many people I talk to that think some of the really awful bands in the area are great because they can't tell the difference between a 'good' band and a band that's just a really great time. Cover bands are usually just plain better at creating that fun atmosphere. The majority of the original bands in CT are either very depressed or very angry. Doesn't really make people want to dance and have fun necessarily. That coupled with the fact that bar owners HATE to take risks, and this is what you have. Create an original band that doesn't force a bar owner to take a risk (ie: a strong fan base) and you're set. I have a hard time naming many original bands in the area that fit this bill.
This doesn't mean that you have to be a 'fun' band to succeed, but it does explain why money hungry bar owners want to book cover bands. If we're going to blame anyone, blame the bar owners, not the bands. It's not their fault that cover bands are the big thing right now.
I, personally, joined a cover band mostly to have fun and make some money. I don't consider myself a serious musician anymore (sad, I know). I still do write and record for my own fun. But I've played that game and lost. I'm too old to be trying to be a rock star anymore. Now I want to be able to still have fun while using my talents. And I am trying to do something a little different in the cover band world. But I doubt that many cover bands in the area really believe that they're anything more than that. They're playing the part of the rock star on the weekends and having a good time and making a few bucks.
And while I, myself, may not still be in the game, I'd like to help out other bands that are struggling and doing their best. That's why I started my site. But I'd be a hypocrite to not help out all aspects of the scene, that includes cover and tribute bands. We're all part of the same scene. Sure there are bad apples here and there, but that comes with the territory.
I may be naive in saying this, but I feel that if the original scene starts making some major strides, all of your concerns will quickly vanish. Maybe we can help that become a reality if we all work together.
PS Forgive me if I jump around topic to topic, I'm writing this at work, hehe.
there are so many words on this page, i can't read them all.
so i'll just tell you what i know.
1)in the morning i am a prisoner to david lee roth radio. he has made me appreciate the work ethic and talent a lot of the good cover bands have.
2) a lot of cover bands are awful
3) hartford, as a city, is pathetic. it is an apartheid city, and i've written about that on my own. the whites are bused or driven in to work and then spend their earnings. the suburbs run the city, and it seems as though the city knows nothing about itself. white kids from torrington grinding to DMB covers plus majority hispanic population does not compute.
i'd say hartford has a lot more problem than the cover bands. right now they're the only thing drawing economic activity (YOUNG WHITE PPL WHO SPEND MONEY TO COME TO THE CITY AND TRY TO FUCK EACH OTHER EVERY WEEKEND) to the city on the weekend. that much is a good thing.
but if she really wants to be new england's rising star, hartford is going to have to do something other than become every other small city in the u.s.
that means that the racism and homogeneity have to go, and the city actually has to establish itself for something other than insurance.
as for the rest of CT, who cares?
as for "the media," we're all doomed. DJs don't make choices, dan. they don't even have roles anymore. they ones who make $20k to be an on-air voice are being replaced by computers named MIKE and FRANK.
i really need to finish l. lessig's book, FREE CULTURE, which is all about this. then i can comment more astutely.
don't buy it from conglomerate pearson; donwload it from lessig.org.
I'm just going to say one more thing and then leave it alone. As much as we keep mentioning Hartford, it's really not just one city that's like this. Pretty much anywhere I've played in the Northeast is exactly the same, be it the suburbs or the city. The cover bands are the ones getting the majority of gigs and the original bands are finding it harder and harder. If it were up to me I'd love to see a 50/50 split on the booking of the two. But as for now it doesn't seem to be that way.
All I want is for everyone, cover bands, original bands, music lovers, to come together and stop this competative behavior and actually work to create a kick ass scene. I think we can do it.
Oh, Anonymous. You argue like a Republican. Bone up on your rhetoric!
John,
Good stuff. I may not agree with you 100%, but I'm so psyched to have someone around who knows what they're talking about. Thanks for writing -- I'll respond more as soon as I get some spare time.
Rob, you paint a bleak picture. Unlike good old Anon up there (who tells me that "bringing in socioeconomic theory is a cop-out" and then goes on to proclaim that "cash is king"), at least you see my larger point: that this whole cover band thing is the symptom, not the problem. John points out that the same trend is emerging in small cities all across the Northeast. It's not just CT.
We're all going to die!
FYI: The DMB crowd is bussing in from Canton-Avon-Simsbury-Farmington-West Hartford, not T-Town. Torrington is too lower-middle/working class to get off on that wankfest.
-db
Dude, you know, I was going to brainstorm up this whole big response about all the stuff we're covering here -- economics, responsibility, cover bands' place in the scheme of things -- but all of a sudden it made me remember why I wrote this post in the first place.
I want to build the same positive scene that John does, for bands and fans alike. But sometimes it seems like so much work, and such a losing battle, that I just get so frustrated. It makes me want to go out there and make someone the perceived "enemy," and tear their head off.
I know that's not ethical or productive. Usually I take a couple deep breaths and it passes.
But does anybody else ever feel this way?
Thanks man, I see your points too. Having been on both sides of the cover/original fence, at one time or another I've had disdain for the other for what ever reason. Maybe it's my inner-hippie that's crying out for us all to get along... or is it my inner-Rodney King? (Ok, that was weak, hehe) Either way, I'm glad that we can all even have this discussion. The internet has definitely brought a new medium to our fingertips and I hope that we can start making a change.
I know this is a cheap plug, but check out the message board at my site some time. There are discussions like this from time to time, though the population there is a bit small at the moment. I hope that's not a sign of the times as well.
Take care!
Dan,
The socioeconomic argument is empty. The free market is a beautiful thing. When there is a demand for culturally diverse live music, club owners will react. I can say from my own experience going out in CT and MA that certain cultures tend to gravitate toward dance clubs over live music venues. It's not right or wrong, it just is.
You can't force people to like something. The bottom line is that the majority of people aren't receptive to discovering new music. They just want to go out with their friends and have a good time after a long week at some job they hate. Since you openly admit that the vast majority of local original music is sub-par, it should be no surprise that people are having more fun listening to cover bands.
Relentlessly tearing into cover bands does not change the fact that the original scene needs improving.
**I know this is a year old but I can't help but comment.
If an original act was bad, who these days could even tell the difference?
Music can be both art and entertainment. There's a delicate balance there which a good listener and a true fan of music can pick up on -- such people are intelligent enough to be "entertained" by having their minds open, or at least be willing to experience it.
Unfortunately, the vast, vast majority of people going to these clubs are not great listeners. By and large they are not even great human beings. They are mediocre at best, and they demand this mediocrity from their music.
So I'm asking again: what is the standard that we are judging original music by? If it's the sort of technical things like tuning, phrasing...most people don't have a goddam clue about those things. If it's about heart...just forget it, because it never is. If people cared about heart, there wouldn't be a such thing as a cover band.
It's a cultural problem, yes. And I agree that cover bands are not the cause of it.
But they stink of it. Why? because they cater to people who have such a low opinion of music that they see no problem with hearing the same 10 songs in a set that they heard on the radio on the drive down.
In the entertainment world, you take what you can get, and if anyone has a problem with that then they're just naive. But music in it's purest form is about much more than that, so it should be no mystery why many conscientious people head for the door as soon as they hear that guy in the black pants croaking out "Vertigo".
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