Your Local Music Scene Is Not Dead!

The local scene here in Atlanta isn’t like it used to be.  I can remember 20 years ago or so where there were venues of just about every size to accommodate all the different levels of bands.  I’m sure every city at one time was like this.  Here in Atlanta you had the small upstart venues like PJ’s Nest, The Wreck Room and The Somber Reptile.  Just about every rock/metal band in the city got started here.  Then you had venues like The Cotton Club and The Masquerade which is where you graduated to.  These venues also had a lot of National acts so in some cases you got to share the stage with a killer band and play in front of a ton of people.   I can remember going to any of these venues and upon paying my $5.00 cover got to see some awesome local bands.  The scene was also a very diverse one.  You had the roots rock of Zen, the skull crushing metal of Nihilist, the glam rock of Smartass and the rap metal hybrid sounds of Stuck Mojo.  There was a band for just about every taste of music and sometimes you even got the lumped together on the same night.

The 90’s was an exciting time for local music scenes but something happened and much like the dinosaurs local bands suddenly seemed to become extinct to the public. It’s hard to really pinpoint just what happened but all of the sudden all those awesome venues were closing down and the bands started to disappear into the shadows.  As a musician myself, I was one of those that disappeared into the shadows.  Was it a change in the face of popular music?  Was it the economy?  Was it people just getting older and giving up on their dreams?  It could be a little bit of all of the above but as the years went by, the local scene just seemed to fade away… or did it?

While the local scene literally did seem to fade away, it never did die.  The scene was like this animal that was hit by a car and left for dead but instead of dying, what it did was drag itself to the side of the road into a ditch and slowly nurse itself back to health.  More than 20 years after seeing such a thriving local scene here in Atlanta, the local scene is very much alive and still turning out some very good quality bands.  The only difference is that the people just aren’t coming out to the shows and this is sad.  The Atlanta local scene is still proving to me to be able to boast some really diverse and quality bands.  We’ve got the roots rock sounds of Six Shot Revival, the psychedelic classic rock of Stonerider and the stoner/doom metal of Volume IV.  Yes!  This local scene has life and a pulse but why is it not resonating loud enough to bring the people in?

I used to love local shows and I still do.  I miss the days of packed houses to see an evening of local talent.  These days, if you’re a local band, you’re lucky if you can get 10 of your closest friends to come out to a show.  I remember talking to Bob Pantella of Riotgod/Monster Magnet and he thinks that people these days are just spoiled by technology.  That people would rather stay at home streaming live shows and watching bands on YouTube than actually getting out there and seeing a live band.  I think this is really sad because people are totally  missing out on some pretty amazing shit right in their own backyard.

People, your local music scene is not dead.  It’s alive and well and waiting for you.  It’s in the basements of pizza joints, the back rooms of bars and in the local watering holes.  There is something for everyone.  It may not be right under your nose and in your face like it used to be.  You just have to look a little harder for it.  Get on Facebook, ReverbNation or whatever it is you surf and find yourself a band.  Find one that you can love and then get out there and support them.  Show up up on a Wednesday  night at 11pm, lose a little sleep and rock the fuck out with them.  Sweat with them, have a beer with them and buy a shirt and a CD from them.  Tell your friends and spread the word.  Your local music scene is not dead.  Go out and find it and help it live just a little bit more.

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