Weekly Mailbag! Vol. 5: Remedial Letter Writing

It's been at least a year since my last Weekly Mailbag, so the name isn't even REMOTELY accurate. I kind of like calling it Weekly Mailbag in spite of that. It's kinda what makes blogging fun.

Let's start with an e-mail:

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To: the Public Readers of The Hartford Advocate & the Editor and Dan Barry

Dan Barry has it all wrong.

For anyone that was standing in the club on Saturday night in down town Hartford- Up Or On the Rocks was featuring Connecticut's TIP THE VAN from Marlborough & the crowd loved them!

The place was packed. The crowd was cheering,dancing,singing

,clapping and the SOUNDMAN "FESTER" was swinging the chain hung lamp back & froth because he was so excited.TIP THE VAN was never a full blown ska band anyway, and if Mr.Barry had ever seen TIP THE VAN at any previous show in CT he wouldn't have made the unfair comments he published in this weeks Local Motion. Up Or On the Rocks will see me again if they book TIP THE VAN and I will tell all my friends to come out for one of the best bands this state of ours has to offer.TIP THE VAN is a rock/reggae/power ska band. Pick up their newest cd titled 'Something Wicked" and you would know this is a band that has a rock influence. The horn lines are awesome and powerful. "Chicago" is a rock band. Anyone with have a brain knows that a band with horns doesn't necessarily mean you are a ska band. TIP THE VAN'S two lead vocalist sisters Nicole & Simone make this band my # 1 band to go see & listen to.I can't wait for TIP THE VAN to re
lease another cd because I'll be in line amongst the many fans who voted TIP THE VAN the # 1 band in the Hartford Advocate Grand Band Slam - to get another cd to skank to.Check out TTV'S web site and listen for yourself.
www.tipthevan.com or www.myspace.com/tipthevan


Yup, Dan Barry has it all wrong.

Signed- TIP THE VAN FAN FOR LIFE!

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So what you're saying is, um, you're a fan of TIP THE V... excuse me, Tip The Van. And you advertised their CD, which I already knew about. Was there anything else?

No? Great. Moving on, then.

* * *

As you might imagine, the vast majority of responses to my column -- when they're not from the musicians themselves -- are from someone claiming to to be the General Public (though they are often, I shit you not, girlfriends/parents/roadies of the band who received my less-than-sparkling review. You know that MySpace page you made where it says "MY BOYFREINDS BAND IS SOSOOOOO FREAKIN AWESOME"? Yeah. It's not hard to find). And they're fuckin' angry. They want to kill me. They want to bleed me to death slowly by hundreds of tiny papercuts made with Hartford Advocate pages.

Unfortunately, these people then sit down behind their keyboards and compose letters like the above. "I've got it all wrong," our anonymous writer claims -- and then goes on to summon up a bunch of random information that has absolutely nothing to do with what I wrote. Yup, the crowd was definitely into it -- but I never claimed they weren't. I caught those powerful horn lines; I remember specifically complimenting Steph, the trombonist, as a good player. And yeah, I was aware of their CD -- I first listened to it when I penned the cover article about TTV winning our Band Slam this past summer. (Our correspondent must have missed my byline.) In my recent review of Tip The Van, my central point had nothing to do with any of these things. I argued that they are not a ska band, despite their claim to be. I argued that due to certain things they did in their songs and on their instruments -- and certain things they did not do -- they were more like plain old alternative rock.

"TIP THE VAN is a rock/reggae/power ska band," writes our correspondent. Well, ska historically preceded reggae, so if they don't have the elements of ska style, they probably don't have much reggae in 'em, either. And I had never heard of "power ska" as a subgenre before, but a quick Google search seems to turn up other bands who are rock/ska hybrids -- which, as far as I can tell, is exactly the same kind of watered-down, 3rd-wave skate-punk ska I was bagging on in the first place.

So... what you're saying is, I was right? Because a second ago you said I was wrong. You're losin' me, baby!

* * *

It saddens me that the vast majority of our readership, it seems, is so lacking in anything resembling argumentative or rhetorical skills that they can't even latch onto the main idea of my column -- let alone disprove it. It saddens me more when a zealous reader, trying to come to the defense of their beloved band, accidentally lends support to my arguments. That shit is so sixth grade. Like, if it came to me written on a piece of paper folded up into one of those little square packets, I would take it seriously. But somebody let you on the internet, and that means you're old, and should know better, and that shit scares me.

A lot of people put the burden on members of the press to write responsibly. And we should and must, I agree; but the buck doesn't stop there. I think the public also has an obligation to read responsibly. If you can't read an article or watch a newscast and isolate the main idea, then you're not going to notice when media organizations start replacing Good Press with ridiculous biases, factually incorrect statements, and self-imposed censorship.

Wait. Wait a second. OH, FUCK!

(Quasi-)Weekly Mailbag vol. 3: Activate the Activist

WARNING! This is a post-in-progress -- I figured it would be better to put up what I had and add over time.

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This week, I'd like to use a cool e-mail I got from Ron Zabrocki in February as a jumping off point for a larger conversation. Check out Ron's response to my old column on Torrington's growing music scene:

Date: Feb 6, 2006 6:47 AM
Subject: Torrington's Musical Renaissance is greater than you think!!

Hello,
I am responding to Dan Barry's article about the misic scene in Torrington.

I am producer living here for the last 3 years. I am originally from NY and moved hear because of the dying music scene after 9-11. My wife and I had a feeling about Torrington. Never even heard of it before....but the morning we pulled into town..had a feeling this wqas the place...The music scene is passing through my home studio on a nightly basis. there's Shattersphere, a Metal group who I am producing who just caught the attention of a label owned by Sevendust. There's AJ jansen. She's a Country singer who won the a best Modern Country Recording along with myself for the CT chapter of the CMA. There's Jeremy Hopkins. He's an incredible singer sonwriter I am producing. He's opened for Tyler Hilton and is plannimng a tour of his own now as we finish the project. This is just a handful. All play locally and otherwise. The downtown of Torrington is hopefully going to be renovated with the new YOUNG Mayor we have. Chiane's feels like a NY hotspot. Otter's was always cool. The Warner Thater. I could go on about artist's like White Mike, a rapper who is amazing and who's Dad is a Berkely Music Professor. Tylet Thompson, Tony Colucci..the list goes on. I would be happy to talk to you and even get together in my home studio with some of these artist's and myself. there are soo many. It is growing. there is a revolution going on. My wife is a photographer. She has been helping all of these guys with photo shoots for free.

Come on down and let's keep Torrington in print!! There's a big noise about to happen in the music scene and this could be the next Seattle. Thanks for giving it some light...I just want the light to get brighter!!!!!

Peace
Ron Zabrocki

And my response:

Date: Feb 14, 2006 1:47 PM

Hey Ron!

Thanks so much for writing. Diane down at Chiane's has said some really good things about you, so I'm glad to be in touch!

I've lived in the Torrington area since I went to kindergarten. I've seen the town start off so-so, really fall off economically, and then in the past year or so really start to become something culturally. We've still got a ways to go -- like you, I'm crossing my fingers that our new mayor can keep the momentum going -- but when you consider places nearby like Waterbury that have just been stagnating for years, I think any positive momentum is a huge development.

My big hope is that Torrington has a chance to evolve into something along the lines of New Haven -- i.e. a place with a vibrant arts scene that isn't enslaved by cover bands, club music, and shady promoters. There's nothing wrong with party bands in moderation, but right now in Torrington, original artists have the spotlight -- and I want it to stay that way. That's why I'm pushing the downtown venues so hard in my column.

For it to keep happening, the artists have to continue to support one another, creatively and economically. That's why I think it's so important to buy your coffee from Chiane's, your beer from Otter's or Memories, your records from Metropolis... All of these venues support good, original rock, and we need to support them.

Drop me a line -- maybe we can meet up at Chiane's sometime and shoot the shit :)

Thanks again for writing!
-Dan

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Ok. So what's the point of all this?

I probably do not have to describe to you why arts-based professionals struggle on a day-to-day basis to stay financially afloat. We joke about "starving artists" for a reason. The business of live, local, original music is NOT LUCRATIVE, neither for artists nor for venues. Practicing and songwriting are incredibly time-consuming; musical equipment costs assloads of money; and the downtime and $$$ touring acts spend on travel/gas is enormous. Most local musicians I know have a day job as well -- they're basically living double lives. Venue owners, for their part, work their asses off slinging beverages. They mostly rely on beverage sales and cover charges to offset the high cost of hiring a band for the night. It's a rare original band around these parts that can draw head counts large enough and consistent enough for a venue to want to form a long-term relationship with them. Put differently: what venue is going to spend the time and money to "develop" an artist when they can book a well-known party/cover band that is guaranteed to draw hundreds?

Now. You may not envision yourself as an activist -- or maybe you do. Either way, you are a factor -- in fact, you are THE MAJOR factor -- in the dynamic I just described above. And if enough of us start to take that power into our own hands, the CT music scene will transform in an incredible way. What follows is a rough guide on how to make financial choices that will promote and enliven Connecticut's live, original, local music scene.

A HUGE part of being an effective activist (or organizer, or community-builder, or responsible music fan -- whatever you want to call it) is making sure that your money, energy, and resources go to people and groups who support like-minded causes. Every day we make choices about which businesses to support. If we select businesses who support local music, we give the local music community the money it takes to put food on its tables. We also give them the strength and motivation to keep doing what they're doing (i.e. writing songs, booking local acts, or inviting unknowns through the door for open mics). Yes, I know that second part sounds warm and fuzzy. But if someone believes that no one out there gives a fuck about what they're doing, it becomes really difficult to keep sinking time/energy/money into the arts (instead of grinding out a day job that pays). And I think most of us agree that the arts enrich our lives.

The great thing about having a local music community is that Average Joe fans can help out just as much as self-described activists or musicians. All it takes is thoughtful decision-making and a little commitment. Plus, whether you're a musician or not, you can feel good knowing you're a modern-day patron of the arts. You don't have to be a Rockefeller or Medici to make a difference.

But let's not be naive, either. It DOES cost more money to patronize music-friendly businesses. It DOES take more of your time and energy. And it WILL add up. But remember: that's the point. You may have to shell out a couple extra bucks for a record at Metropolis that you can get on sale down at FYE or Best Buy. You may have to drive an extra ten minutes into Simsbury to go to The Maple Tree Cafe for a brew instead of hitting Double Down in Avon. That's a choice you have to make each time -- and sometimes it's tough.

Still, there ain't nothin' stopping you from being a smart shopper at the same time. :) Some cases are a clear win-win proposition. For $3.45 at Chiane's, I get a bigass coffee and a fresh bagel with so much cream cheese it squeezes out the sides. AND my money goes into the cash register of a venue that books kickass musicians week in and week out. The same meal at Dunkin' Donuts costs about the same, and tastes like... every other Dunkin' Donuts bagel 'n coffee combo ever. The money goes to a chain, and if I'm lucky, the server didn't piss in my coffee. Hey, I still go to Dunkin' from time to time, but you better believe I take my money to Chiane's whenever I can.

Enough of my blathering. What follows is a (partial! incomplete! in-progress!) list of establishments that primarily support live, local, original music. If you enjoy that kind of music, then patronize these places as often as you can to show your support for their mission and their musicians!

SIMSBURY
The Maple Tree Cafe (bar/restaurant)
Peaberry's (coffeeshop)

COLLINSVILLE
Crown & Hammer (bar/restaurant)

TORRINGTON
Otter's (bar/restaurant)
Metropolis (record store)
Chiane's (coffeeshop/restaurant)

HARTFORD
Mad Dawg's (bar)
Peter's (bar/restaurant)
Piggy's (bar/restaurant)
Black-Eyed Sally's (bar/restaurant)
La Paloma Sabanera (coffeeshop/restaurant)

DANBURY
Cousin Larry's (bar)

MANCHESTER
The Hungry Tiger (bar/restaurant)
The Main Pub (bar/restaurant)

SOUTHINGTON
Jitter's (coffeeshop)

MORE TO COME!

(Not So) Weekly Mailbag! Vol. 2: More Covers than Bed Bath and Beyond

You may have noticed by now that my Weekly Mailbag feature is, uh, not very weekly. Fact is, 50% of it is I'm lazy, and 50% of it is that negative reviews are the only things that generate significant amounts of feedback. (And POORLY WRITTEN feedback at that.)

Still, occasionally I get a tidbit worth sharing. Here's part of an interesting exchange I had with Dave, the bassist of a new band called Kadarka Blu.

Dave wrote:

Date: Feb 14, 2006 11:29 PM
Subject: Re: Local band info

Hi there-

I am in a local band called "Kadarka Blu"(http://www.kadarkablu.com/) and we are currently finishing up a demo CD. We will be ready to start playing out within a couple months. My question to you is, even though we're doing a good job of writing/recording some original music, because I am fairly new to this (as is most of our band with the exception of the drummer) I have made it clear that I think we'll NEED to play covers to begin booking gigs. My bandmates are really against this, and honestly I would LOVE to focus on just originals but for now I feel like we need to just get our foot in the door and I am also concerned that there are few clubs in CT that book bands playing mainly originals.

I was wondering if you had any thoughts on this topic, and maybe suggestions of certain clubs, best open mics(we are thinking of trying Sully's this Sunday), etc. Any help would be GREATLY appreciated!

Dave(Bass player)

I responded:

Hi Dave,

Thanks for writing! I'm so psyched that you asked me to weigh in on this.

As you've sensed by now, the bars in the greater Hartford area tend to like their covers. A lot. Too much, actually.

If your aim as a band is to stay financially viable, pay for your equipment, and put some cash in your pockets on the side, then yes,you will need to play covers. The fact is that all the most desirable local rock venues (The Hungry Tiger, The Red Door, All-Stars, Bourbon St., etc.) have cover bands regularly-to-exclusively. Even Sully's, who is probably the most supportive venue of original music in the Hartford area, has a fair percentage of cover bands.

What a lot of bands overlook -- and it's really unfortunate -- is the vast number of venues towards the south of the state that push original rock really hard. As you get closer to New Haven, bars get friendlier and friendlier towards originals, until -- poof! -- you're at someplace like Cafe 9 or Rudy's that brings in asskicking original rock pretty much every night of the week. It *is* possible in CT -- or anywhere, for that matter -- it's just that Hartford chooses not to do it. (More on that in a minute.) If you guys are willing to drive, I cannot urge you strongly enough to get in touch with the New Haven area bars and build a fanbase down there. If you get your foot in the door in that area, you'll be able to make money AND keep your original-rock integrity intact -- which, to me, is like having your cake and eating it, too :)

If you want to get a feel for how Hartford-area bands confront the cover vs. originals problem, you should all come out to the Snow Slam in Hartford on the 23rd. I don't say that to plug my own event ... There are a few bands playing that you should keep your eyes on. Magnesium Jake and Kaya will probably play a mix of covers and originals -- Tenet and Pushboxx may do some originals, too. The Snow Slam is our cover band event; in the summertime, the Band Slam is much more focused on originals, and will give you a better feel for bands who are set up similarly to yours.

If you've been following my column, then you probably know some of my main problems with the whole cover band scene around here. Most bands play 90% covers and then throw in an original to comfort their guilty conscience. With so many bands doing that, newcomers like you guys get screwed because you have to figure out to what degree you want tofollow the trend.

So, that's problem #1: bands are too eager to cave to the covers trend. (Problem #1.5 is that a lot of the songs they coverssssssssuck.) Problem #2 is that local bar/club owners are too restrictive; they mostly want cover-heavy bands. Problem #3, and this is the super-difficult one, is that you have dudes like Mark Tannenbaum, who basically books and promotes every single popular cover band and every single popular bar. At some point most successful bands around here have to make a decision as to whether to work with him or not. It's ultimately your choice. He can get you gigs at the best venues, which will get you a big fanbase and move tons of merch. But then, there's that whole, you know, selling your soul thing. Look at http://tannentunes.com/ to get a feel for what's going on behind the scenes here in CT.

SO that's the long answer. It *is* possible to make it as an all-originals band -- but not recommended in the Central/North part of the state. Down South = much easier and much more fun. (Hey, if I live up by Torrington, and *I* drive down there to review shows, they must have somethin' good.)

As for good venues -- check out the link to my blog at the end of the e-mail. There's a list on the side of the blog that has links to all my favorite venues. No crap allowed on that list! :) So that may be a good starting point.

I wish you guys luck, and definitely send me a demo when you're done with it -- I'm excited to hear it.

Take care, and thanks again for writing,
Dan

Weekly Mailbag! Vol. 1: Margo A-Go-Go

Welcome to the first edition of Local Commotion's Weekly Mailbag!

I get a lot of interesting responses to my column, ranging from the hostile to the supportive to the flat-out hysterical.

This past week's column on Margo seems to have raised the hackles of a lot of their fans. And there are a lot of fans.

In case you didn't see the column, you can catch it here. The gist: Margo is an excellent local metalcore band with a cocky frontman. They are one of two bands whose fans are held largely responsible for inciting some pretty serious fights/injuries a few weeks ago in Torrington. I went to the Hamden Elks Lodge last Thursday (Feb. 2nd) to see if they were the provocateurs people said they were.

My problem with Margo is not with their music -- I loved their songs, and I think they make some of the heaviest, most degrading, make-you-feel-dirty-inside metal in CT. My problem isn't even with their fans, per se. My problem is with artists who don't take social responsibility for their work.

Allow me to explain.

Hardcore, punk, and metal are aggressive music, and they attract aggressive fans. For the vast majority, the music helps them burn off some steam and get rid of some of the anger that troubles them. But there has always been a minority who just use the music to multiply their anger -- they jump in a mosh pit and pick a fight with the first kid who bumps into them. (Here it's important to differentiate between true moshing -- which is an aggressive, non-contact form of dance akin to breakdancing -- and slam dancing, which is the stupid, watered-down, pro-wrestling inspired dance for kids who think they know what moshing is, but don't. In moshing, you may very well catch a stray fist or elbow -- but you're just as likely to get a clap on the back and an apology from the person who did it. In slam dancing, you beat or get beat. In moshing, if you fall, people will immediately stop dancing and help you back on your feet, asking if you're alright. Slam dancing pits are where people get trampled at large-scale, arena-rock venues.)

Aggressive music breeds aggressive dance forms. Duh. So let's take it as granted that if you come to a hardcore or metal show and you mosh, you stand a small but significant chance of getting accidentally hurt.

The fact remains that your chance of getting hurt is substantially higher (or lower) depending on the band. New Haven's Hatebreed, who over the past few years rose to national prominence, has a reputation for violent, thugged-out mosh pits. If you go to a Hatebreed concert and you clock in at less than 200 lbs., jumping in the pit is about as smart as lighting your arm on fire.

So why is it that, within the same genre of music, you can dance safely to some bands, and have to fear for your safety with others? As with anything, it's a combination of factors. Some frontmen, like Hatebreed's Jamey Jasta, actually demand their audience to spill blood. Still others (lest we make the scene sound like a complete bloodbath) will stop their set at the first sign of a disturbance, ostracize the violent kids, and even run them out of the venue. Other factors include the sound and attitude of the band, the fans who associate themselves with the band, the location of the show, and the attitude of the locals towards the band/show/fans, to name a few. Hardcore fans who start beef in the mosh pit often take the concept of loyalty to particular bands/geographical areas a little too far: they claim to "rep 203," or claim membership in the "Buried Beneath The Ashes of November Mosh Crew," or they "represent Waste Haven/Wallyworld/T-Town/[insert witty nickname for town here]."

(Hmm. Wait. "Represent"? Isn't that rap slang? And doesn't "represent" also carry a secondary meaning of representing a particular gang? And you mean entire *crews* of these dudes will take over a mosh pit during a given band's set, and clock non-crew-members in the face with fists and folding chairs? Yes, Virginia, let's call a spade a spade: hardcore and metal, like rap, serve as crystallizing points around which young, angry, security-seeking, emotionally- and/or economically-deprived kids form gangs. Gangs. There, I said it. They're no Bloods/Crips/Los Solidos/Latin Kings, for sure. They're not selling drugs or murdering. But they ain't playin' patty cake, neither.)

What's clear is this: Margo and Deadgirlsdiary, both of whom gig in the south of the state and have large fanbases there, came up north to Torrington. So did a bunch of their fans. Fights broke out during their part of the evening. Some poor dude left in a neck brace and an ambulance. Cops came and pulled the plug.

The next week, when I saw Margo, lead singer Dave Avery was making fun of Torrington and those events mid-song.

In my column, I compare Avery to Eminem. Like Eminem, Avery is a talented young artist who, to some degree, divorces himself from the traditional styles, images, and mannerisms associated with his music's culture. Like Eminem, Avery also disavows any responsibility for what fans do during his set. It's an attitude most of his band seems to share. In an unsigned message to me on MySpace, Margo wrote "if we were at torrington to be security we would have done something." Which, to me, reeks of "I was just following orders"-style complicity. Margo may not have been brought onto the bill to stop fights -- but they certainly weren't brought on board to start them, either.

The online response to the column has been pretty astonishing. Margo scanned and posted the column on their MySpace, and within 24 hours there were pages upon pages of replies. If you're a member of MySpace, click on this link and log on to see Margo's fans' responses.

http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=6433855&imageID=487995985&Mytoken=CA2AC357-BB45-89C9-386557B86ABBAF4421916673

(Bonus points if you can find me among the snide commentors .)

If you're not a member of MySpace, you probably have good reasons to stay away. So I'm reprinting some of the more interesting responses to my column:

Jimmy Two-Step

February 8, 2006 9:22 PM
Eminem= Dave avery? This guy is trying too hard to make this more than it is.

p.s FUCK TORRINGTON

For someone who doesn't think Margo played a very big role in the recent mosh pit fights, Jimmy Two-Step sure seems to have a vendetta against Torrington.

!!i am up to my neck in glitter and vodka!!

February 8, 2006 8:29 PM
hahah thats funny.

you guys should be dicks and make a big deal about it and demand an apology and a retraction or some shit.

Glitter/Vodka's killer hangover prevented him from attending the class where they taught big ten-dollar words like "slander" and "libel." Otherwise he would know my column is hardly out-of-line enough to be grounds for an official apology. It's ok, GlitVod -- for my next column, I'm going to print offensive cartoons about the prophet Mohammed. The column will be titled "Fun With Retractions" -- keep your eyes peeled.

WHMC Joe

February 9, 2006 11:39 AM
Yeah since dave doesnt wear shitty clothes hes an outcast right. Dan Barry is a clown. Violence is everywhere and since not everyone can be calm and obviously one person out of a room of 200+ is gonna have an attitude about something. Let Dan Barry keep mocking good bands and fuck himself in the ass with his type writer.

Mmm. Deep. "Violence is everywhere." Yes, WHMC Joe, you're right: neck-breaking mosh injuries are just a fact of life, and as such, we shouldn't worry our little heads about them. That one loose cannon out of 200 is going to do what he's going to do, regardless of any outside provocation. And, adding insult to Joe's injury, my typewriter broke this week, forcing me to write my column on a personal computer.

In what is perhaps the most fitting end of all time, Margo wrote me a follow-up message in which they, once again, poetically divorce themselves of any responsibility for their fans' actions. "Just so you know we didnt ask anyone to write any of those comments," they wrote. "Those our our fans."

Indeed, they are.