Editorials:
Thanks to our friends from the Shackshakers for sharing this documentary. It's about an hour and a half long, but well worth watching!
Live Music
Northwoods Music News has been online for a while now, and it's predecessor The Weekly Musician had been around for quite some time before that, and during that time I've published three or four editorials on this subject, including reprints from other media talking about the same problems. One of the primary reasons that both websites have existed has always been to provide support for live music through posting gig schedules, promoting and sponsoring special events (The Weekly Musician Jams, The Boundary Waters Blues Fest, et al.) advising and acting as a point of contact information for venues looking to hire bands, etc. etc. Our hope has always been that the pendulum would swing back and that live music would once again gain the support that it once enjoyed. Unfortunately the opposite seems to be happening. How bad is it getting? Let's take a look.
Jump in the wayback machine with me to maybe ten years ago. There were a number of places here in Grand Rapids that hosted bands on weekends, and it was a typical scene to have to arrive at 8 pm or earlier to get a seat if you planned a night of music and dancing. Bands would be paid somewhere in the neighborhood of $75-$100 per person per night, gasoline was $1.65/gallon, mixed drinks were around $1.75, and there were a number of local and regional bands doing ok if not great. Since then, bars have closed, reopened, closed again..gone from live music to DJ and Karaoke..(and in some cases, mud wrestling, male strippers, etc.) and the venues that host weekend bands have gone from slim to almost none. During the same time period, gas has gone to $3.85/gallon, drinks are $3.50 or more and good bands will still get somewhere around $100 per person per night. Needless to say, this is a significant reduction in both daily pay and the ability to obtain bookings on a regular basis. At the same time, nationally and internationally, bands in the top tiers are changing their business models to try and cope with the same problem. Stadium bands are playing in arenas, arena bands are grouping together and performing in festivals, festival bands are playing in casinos (one of the few places that are exempt from the problem, since bands there are part of the cost of doing business..and are used both as rewards for high rollers and as a means to get in customers to gamble), and casino bands are searching for other venues. To learn about one of the local events hit hard by this situation, click here.
The downturn has been blamed on any number of things from the recession (yeah..we are in one no matter what politicians say) to DUI laws, to smoking regulations, etc. etc. and we can all argue the reasons to the end of time, but the results are the same regardless of the reason.
One of the primary effects of this downturn is that working musicians are having more trouble obtaining the necessities of life. To that end, I'm particularly pleased to find out that our friends from Fancy Pants Productions are in the process of starting a new website to help support music, musicians, promotors, venues, etc. The website and the working business model are still in development, but keep checking the progress at the link below.
Naturally, those of us here at the Northwoods Music News will continue jousting with windmills and doing everything we can to provide support to the industry. Hope to see you out and about.
Hollywood
As great as the internet and technology is, I can't help but think that it may be a double edged sword. It may also be a huge part of the reason we are not only unable to see live music being performed as much as we used to, but experiencing a downturn in the number of musicians who actually want to play in front of an audience. Now, with the internet, you can record a few songs, post them on YouTube, or any similar website, have people watch you there, possibly record a CD in your basement, mail it out and move on to your next project. Fortunately, not everyone is inclined to think this way. I have been lucky enough to see a handful of local younger musicians out and about, performing not only good music, but good music they have composed. But, the numbers of musicians who want to get out and play in front of a live audience are diminishing.
As luck would have it, though, there are a number of dedicated people out there who are willing to go that extra mile, if you will, to entice younger musicians to immerse themselves in the music. We've seen that right here in Grand Rapids with the work that Dale Gunderson has done, for instance, to not only educate his students musically, but to provide them with the opportunity to work with some great musicians, hoping to inspire them to not only play their instruments, but to help them appreciate different genres of music and hopefully to follow a dream of playing for the love of playing. I am only hopeful that he, as well as other instructors are able to continue this endeavor. But, here again, when times keep getting tougher financially for all of us as a whole, the first academic classes to go to the proverbial chopping block are the arts.
I'm also afraid that the pendulum will continue to move away from live performances in other ways. So many of the music festivals (not just the Boundary Waters Blues Fest) are seeing smaller turnouts as time goes by. This could be because some of them have become so cost prohibitive, that a lot of people simply can not afford to attend them. But, it could also be because of who the intended audiences are. From what I've noticed, at least in this part of the world, most festivals are intended to draw people between the ages of 35 to 65. Yes, the baby boomers and their kids.
I may be barking up the wrong tree about some (or all) of this. But, I can't help but think that these are a couple more major facets contributing to the decline of live music, as we know it.
Mike
Do We Want To Live in a Beige World?
Lately, I have noticed that many of my musician friend are have problems
making ends meet. These are the best of the best in my area and I am worried
that the live music scene is really taking a hit. Musicians aren't getting
paid well, but I don't want to blame the people who are doing the hiring. I
think they too are suffering. The venues aren't getting the people out. The
ones I know are trying all kinds of new ideas, trying to fill their places.
I don't believe it is just the DWI Laws which is causing these changes. I am
much more concerned that it is the changing way of things.
If you don't support live music performers and venues they will all go away.
That is a loss I am not willing to accept. Karaoke, DJs and music reality
shows are no substitute for the live music experience. Good or bad it is
always evolving and changing. Do you really want to go through life knowing
exactly what you are going to get? It is sad to think that we may be
striving for mediocrity, not greatness. I see new fresh faces, talented
students, signing up for the many great music schools, but where are they
going to play to get their feet wet? Who is going to give them a chance to
evolve and grow? The music business, like many creative endeavors is not an
easy path to follow. It has never been. But lately, it seems tougher than
ever.
Just as it has gone with our restaurants, stores etc. They are becoming all the
same. Drop from the sky in any suburb across America and you will find the
same strip malls, the same basic stores, the same restaurant options. It's
sad. I want to eat at the corner diner. Sit at a stool at the neighborhood
bar. Good or bad, I still want to be surprised. I don't need to be fed the
same old stuff that makes everyone comfortable. I don't want to live in
Disneyland.
I find the more diverse our population gets, the more beige our everyday
experiences become. I want to see the new performer take the stage and be
okay. He or she doesn't have to be great, just striving to hone their
creative craft and get better. Karaoke doesn't promote improvement or
creativity. Every once in a while, there is a great voice singing to the
monitor, but mostly not.
DJs have their place. Some are great entertainers, but there again, mostly
not.
In the music business I am finding that there are a lot of great
entertainers that I have yet to hear. Many of them have quit performing
because the opportunities and money are so bad. Sad, sad times.
So, do we push away from the creative and different? Or do we embrace taking
a chance on something new and unique? I vote for the latter.
MC