What is your City/Town like?

[soundguy]

I dont know that its better elsewhere, but I live in NYC and this is the place a cool music scene went to die. Its not much of a suprise, when you take any pedestrian city you are gonna have a shitty music scene. How the fuck do you fit an SVT in a taxi cab? When you are too broke to afford your practice space, which you need to pay for in the first place, sometimes its more comfortable to just jam there knowing that nobody on the island of manhattan gives a shit about your band as its just getting in the way of the conversation they are trying to have at the bar. Think Im a jaded fuck? come here to check this place out... I would venture to guess that the scene in SF is probably similar. Too expensive to have a car, too expensive to have an easy place to play, two elements that really dont combine well when it comes to easily having band rivalry which makes a scene thrive. Occasionally you can get the crowd going at a gig here, but everyone thats ever been in a touring band knows that nyc is the place where people fold their arms and stare at you blankly. Most of my friends in touring bands come here for the pizza, not the wonderful NYC audiences and rock venues.... and Im serious.

dave

[Marc Alan Goodman]

Studio Red is no longer in Philly. Adam moved up to Brooklyn and started a studio called Fireproof in an old fire station. He's on this board every once in a while.

[DavidATX]

Well...that does suck about NYC. Joel seems busy though...but as I have mentioned before, his hair is cooler than mine (well, if I had hair). I am guessing practice spaces for bands in NYC is outrageous? Things here are kind of bad too for that though. In fact in the last several months I have gotten a ton of calls asking if I had rehearsal spaces. Now I wish I did...that could be paying the rent alone.

David

[Theron D]

My town is about 30 minutes north of Baltimore. Pretty much sucks balls right now, but on a positive note the area is growing very quickly and may be able to provide support a studio or two in the future. As for finding work, I mostly record solo and eclectic artists (since I cannot do loud rock drums in my townhouse). The work so far has been mixed, from eclectic original artists (occasionally), to bar gigging "jukebox" singers who's idea of cutting edge modern music is Crosby Still and Nash and Tom Petty.....still it's work and keeps me busy and learning....I cant complain......

Theron D

[brokenchairs]

I live in louisville Ky. It's pretty nice I suppose. Theres a pretty diverse music scene here, although you have to do a little digging to get past all the hardcore shows. We've got some pretty good bands from here, Will Oldham, Parlour, and My Morning Jacket. Parlour is about the only really big local band that plays on a semi-frequent basis. Theres a few guys with studios in town, but i've never been in them. Jason Loewenstein (sebadoh) moved here a while back, and he's been recording some bands like Black Cross and stuff. I think one of the Backstreet Boys has a studio here.

It's a fairly large city, 1,000,000 or so, but it can feel pretty small. It's a really strange sort of middle area as far as cities go.

And as far as bands/events coming through here, we do pretty well. Sonic Youth, Trail Of Dead, Spoon, Mogwai, Guided By Voices, Sun City Girls, No Wave Festival...

All in all, it's a pretty good place for music. The only problem is that almost every big local band around here is a cross between jesus lizard and the stooges. Which was neat for about 10 minutes.

But yeah, a pretty good place.

[Punkity]

Greensboro N.C.
This place can really get you down if you let it; it is a real make your own fun sort of place, but things are comming around. I was out of the music scene for a year or so (too much heroin and ego floating around, started to feel like Chapel Hill without the great music), but I've wagged my pinky-toe back in and damn things have started to turn around. As far as studios go, things were looking pretty dire around when I slipped out of sight: saturated, general slump in creativity, etc.. I know of three studios that went out of business in one month (this last April). I'm getting my own thing rolling in a month or so with low overhead and a different twist. Should be a lovely uphill battle to nowhere. Had some luck and fun with a similar attempt helping run an underground club, the Onion Cellar (now defunct after 5 years). This should be a blast too.

The town is pretty damn conservative and red-neckish for a 200K city with 5 universities. Not a bunch of good music comming through either. Winston Salem is about a half of and hour to the west and is smaller but has a stronger music scene, and Chapel Hill is just short of an hour east. Bands tend to skip right over us and medium sized venues fold after a year or so. Some big bands come through, but I've never been a fan of coliseum shows. Strangely, many bands start their US tours in town. We are large enough that they will have a good turnout, but podunkey enough that it won't matter if the show isn't all that great.

Fifthstory lives here too and has had a couple of snags trying to get a studio off the ground. He doesn't come around here much but he might pipe up with a different take on this place being sort of new to the area.

How about some other North Carolina voices.

[Submersible]

The weather here sucks, at least in the summer, but Sacramento is a decent town.

When I lived in Sac it seemed that every band I was friends with had a dodgy studio set up somewhere. Electrogroup and Park avenue being the only ones with sort of a clue how to record themselves. Both really good bands though.

There were also some dirt cheap professional studios, as I recall. When I lived in Davis in the early nineties, my band had our demo recorded at "Pus Cavern" in Sacto.

[harrison]

How about some other North Carolina voices.

I live in Brooklyn NY (been here for 3 years) but I lived in Winston for 6+ years before. I was one of the fellas that started up the wherehouse (now ps211). Those were quite possibly the best days of my life. I love G-boro though, spent a fair amount of time there too.....all night, the burning downs, face down in shit, mercury birds, good times....those are some of the greatest bands ever. The onion cellar was always a great place for shows....played there many times myself. The BEST house parties and good folks too. I still come through once or twice a year on tour or just to visit. Don't know that I'm ready to head back but I do miss it.

On that note, and keeping with the thread.....Brooklyn. ahhh, Brooklyn. Today ain't the best day for me to write about Brooklyn as it's dreadfully humid here today and I want nothing more than to take leave of this god forsaken city (having the rnc here don't help either). I'm actually planning my escape in the next 6 months. My wife and I are moving to Pittsburgh, a house, a yard, and more time for things that matter.....uhhh like enjoying a house, a yard, friends, recording, gardening and a more managable city. Don't get me wrong, NY has been good to me and as far as the recording end of things, I have been involved with some great projects.....and by way of that have met some wonderful people. I've a decent day job that pays the bills and affords me to pick and choose who I spend my free time recording with. Rent is outrageous, it takes damn near an hour to get anywhere, vehicle insurance is insane (I pay more in a year in insurance than I paid for my van originally) you have to schedule meeting up with friends atleast a month in advance (everyone's too busy trying to make rent).....oh and when you walk out the door of your apartment at least $20 dissappears from your pocket. heh. Really though, NY ain't all that bad, some people are just better cut out for it than others....and I suppose it helps if you have a trust fund. But, I have learned alot and have had a good time here.....you must keep in mind I'm from the south....I'm a little slower than most so I'm in need of just that...a slower atmosphere that isn't drug or alcohol induced. As for the local music scene, I think there is a part of it that is dying or dead but there are some fantastic bands here: Company, Oneida, Oakley Hall, USAISAMONSTER, the PILL.....and others I'm sure I'm forgetting. One thing about the "scene" here is that I don't trust it. I don't trust NY (the local venues here) to randomly go out and see something I know nothing about. Maybe I'm getting too old, I don't know, I've just been burnt too many times here, going out and happening upon a show...9 times out of 10 it'll be shit. On the other end, Playing a show and having the people at the venue be total dicks, the soundguy shows up late, the venue overbooks with a total of 4-5 bands for the night only to tell you at 9pm (while you're still waiting for said soundguy) to get off the stage by 11 cause there's a dj coming for the "dance" portion of the night. Then at 11 when you're half way through your set and the soundman comes over the pa (while waving arms) "YOU GOT TIME FORONE MORE!" and the 60-100 people that actually paid (probably $5 too much),stuck around and endured being packed in to some shit hole club only to be asked to clear the floor so the venue can charge another cover for the "dance" portion of the night. somthin ain't right. fuck a buncha money hungry bitches.

When it's all said and done, it's gonna suck no matter where you are.....it's all what you make of it.

- harrison

[industrystandard]

Anchorage, AK - The little scene that wanted to
Population: 300,000ish

To start with the obvious...ISOLATED. You can pretty much forget about independant or small label touring bands coming up, although recently some good bands have made the trip (This Bike is a Pipe Bomb, Wilmot Proviso, Brute Medium, Forensics). The only other town worth playing in is a 6 hour drive (Fairbanks), and most of the kids move away after high school, leaving a very close knit (read: very, very small) group of scenesters and a few high school bands + fans.

The people who are involved are dedicated, though...yesterday was the 5th (over two years) all day outdoor punk/diy festival show, complete with biking and skating and dogs and barbecues. All ages venues have been hard to come by but one has been open for about 2 years now and seems to be doing well. There are a few 21+ venues but the chances of getting some sort of VD are pretty high.

Music gear and the few studios are for the most part very overpriced. Thank you ebay. Thank you tape op.

[joel hamilton]

I am busy as hell here in NYC.

I cant imagine being anywhere else.

The RNC does suck though.

Actually it is the R's at the RNC that suck the most....

[howiemarx]

i like louisville. small city. little traffic. inexpensive, eclectic. nice architecture.
nashville, cincinati, st. louis, indianapolis are all close.

louisville is or was home to shipping news, rodan, slint, rachels, june of 44, hunter s. thompson, ali. the mentioned will oldham and his brother paul oldham's studio the rove(actually just outside louisville). my morning jacket have a studio somewhere, travis meeks/days of the new has his studio distillery. some others as well.

[Punkity]

Heya Harrison,

Man, you guys really kicked ass with the Wherehouse. That place was unbelievable (still could be, but it has been a couple of years since I've been out there).

How about some other North Carolina voices.

all night, the burning downs, face down in shit, mercury birds, good times....those are some of the greatest bands ever. The onion cellar was always a great place for shows....played there many times myself.
- harrison

I'm sure we've met, but I'm terrible with names. I was the twerp doing "sound" for the place and screaming at people to pony up for the bands. I also played guitar in Idiot with Trevor, Nikos, and Joe, if you ever saw us. Too bad the place ended up as a shooting gallery. Too bad all the bands broke up too (well, except for All Night which is a 3-piece now and is suprisingly better for it).

[RefD]

i live in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.

the live scene here is still continuing to die. there's almost no way in Hell to make a living in music unless it's from taking advantage of bands/artists in the worst sense. there's not much point in playing live venues here unless you like taking abuse, losing money and possibly getting shot or stabbed. in Dallas, the Deep Ellum area (a long-time live music district) gets cordoned off by police in the evenings and the city has chased off most of the area merchants as well as what used to be the beginnings of a good scene in the 90s.
just the beginnings, mind.

in Fort Worth it's more a simple case of semi-malevolent neglect.

i'm sure there are many other places suffering this scenario and it sucks.

most studios in the area (with a very few notable exceptions) seem to be over-priced and the staff have chips the size of a Volkswagen on their shoulders.

if any other DFW area/TX ppl here disagree with that last bit and can cite examples, please DO!
i really want to be wrong!

[harrison]

Punkity, are you Will?.....thought I remember a Will playing guitar in Idiot.....actually my name is Will too (I played drums with Malabaster). Anyhow, yeah, sucks good things like that come to an end. Haven't seen All Night in a while.....is it just Art, Nikos and that kick-ass drummer that's remniscent of John Sherman?

Man, you guys really kicked ass with the Wherehouse. That place was unbelievable (still could be, but it has been a couple of years since I've been out there).
Thank you. Yes it is still kick ass.....in a different kinda way. Before I left we were getting the screws tightened on us by the city zoning comittee.....luckily we'd put on a new roof and installed a hardwood floor in our district alderwoman's mountain house a year earlier (used some of the $$ to buy an old Teac 1" 16 track). Anyhow, she bought us some time till we could get not for profit status and get our shit up to code. So, it's not quite as "punk rock" in that aspect, but now there's a bar, the bathrooms are nice and actually function, much better pa....
but (there's always a but) the not for profit rents the space from the "owners' (which are the tennants) and thus the not for profit must come up with x amount of $$/month....which leads to shows that get heads in there.....which leads to hardcore bands.....which leads to unhappy tennants upstairs. That was always a problem there.....no one came out to the really great shows.....there's 4-5 colleges there (including the NC school of the arts) and it was like pulling teeth to get those kids to come out. But you put on a hardcore show and you get people driving from SC and VA. Though the annual God Speed show was always a great success.....
I think they're dealing with this stuff at the moment....doesn't seem to be much on the calendar....that or just taking a breather.

The other but, is that there's like a half dozen or more in-house bands that fucking smoke. Last year those folks bought an old 64 passenger tour bus, converted it from diesel to grease burning, did a two month coast to coast tour, 5 bands + a film maker, mechanic and friends, refuling at hooters grease traps along the way.....incredible. That's what that place is about....doing some crazy shit cause it seems like a good idea. Things are constantly evolving there, every time I'm in town it's like a different place.....kinda fills a person with hope.

sorry folks......getting off topic....so if anyone is interested in moving to Winston Salem NC I can put you in touch with people doing amazing things....yes, and recording it all too. Punkity, send me a pm.

- harrison

[kayagum]

I am busy as hell here in NYC.

I cant imagine being anywhere else.

The RNC does suck though.

Actually it is the R's at the RNC that suck the most....

You are referring to the political party, not the little compressor, right?