I've been driving a lot the last couple of weeks, catching up on some audio books and I'm finally getting around to Jim Ruland ‘s book “Corporate Rock Sucks: The Rise and Fall Of SST Records” about SST Records, the record label founded by Black Flag guitarist and founder, Greg Ginn. It’s a wild story about ingenuity, greed and uncontrollable circumstances written very thoroughly but very entertainingly by Jim. A must read (or listen) if you’re a fan of punk rock, business and music scenes. Listening to it got me thinking about music scenes as a whole, what they mean now and how back then, with bit of a fire under their feet and a push from fans, bands had a place to thrive.
Yes, I also like to lie to myself about music scenes not being a thing anymore. I'm so out of the loop these days, and I'd rather pretend they don't exist than accept that there's probably a donut shop parking lot punk show happening by my house right now that I don't know about.
Hey man thanks for this. I have aged out myself. But, the book covered a lot of my teen and 20s years. I always wondered if I was in the middle of a scene at various points and places in my life. And I get the sense that I was, and that maybe it is never a thing you know when you are in the middle of things. I am proud of every show I booked, every tour I went on, every venue I ran, and all the bands I gave money to.
An interesting thing about the visibility that the internet provides is that at the same time it can affect how local scenes develop organically, or retain their uniqueness. So it's also good for us to not know all of them.
The thing now, at least in the Midwest, is "house venues"; places off the beaten path, with no addresses on their show flyers or ig posts, that young punk or emo or whatever bands can tour through several cities big and small playing in. The biggest scene I know of is in Bowling Green, OH; where their periodic festivals have swelled up into multi-day events that take up the biggest mainstream venue in town (it's called "Fauxchella", I think they're up to 7 now).
As a whole, the scene is called "diy"; bc they're absolutely doing it themselves.
I and my bands are way too old to fit in there, but I'm real glad to see them thrive.
Yes, I also like to lie to myself about music scenes not being a thing anymore. I'm so out of the loop these days, and I'd rather pretend they don't exist than accept that there's probably a donut shop parking lot punk show happening by my house right now that I don't know about.
That would be a rad show though! ;)
Hey man thanks for this. I have aged out myself. But, the book covered a lot of my teen and 20s years. I always wondered if I was in the middle of a scene at various points and places in my life. And I get the sense that I was, and that maybe it is never a thing you know when you are in the middle of things. I am proud of every show I booked, every tour I went on, every venue I ran, and all the bands I gave money to.
Hey Dino! Thanks for reading, and yesssss be proud of the work you put in. It takes a village, right?!
An interesting thing about the visibility that the internet provides is that at the same time it can affect how local scenes develop organically, or retain their uniqueness. So it's also good for us to not know all of them.
The thing now, at least in the Midwest, is "house venues"; places off the beaten path, with no addresses on their show flyers or ig posts, that young punk or emo or whatever bands can tour through several cities big and small playing in. The biggest scene I know of is in Bowling Green, OH; where their periodic festivals have swelled up into multi-day events that take up the biggest mainstream venue in town (it's called "Fauxchella", I think they're up to 7 now).
As a whole, the scene is called "diy"; bc they're absolutely doing it themselves.
I and my bands are way too old to fit in there, but I'm real glad to see them thrive.
That's good to hear! Keeping DIY alive! Thanks for sharing.