There are several quality instrumental groups that regularly perform in the Charlotte area, groups that blend anything from jazz, rock, blues, funk, ambient, and world-beat to create rich musical textures. Incognito Mosquito, Green Light, Automatic Chi and Justice League come to mind. But, the fact is instrumental music is a bit of a tough sell in the Queen City. Often, on a set break you’ll likely hear something like “You guys are really good … Have you thought about getting a singer?”
I’m not saying instrumental music is doomed since there are folks out there who do get into it (and, regardless of what one thinks about them, jam-bands have made inroads by getting listeners to focus on the groove), but I am saying that many Charlotte listeners expect to hear vocals and find live instrumental music lacking. This became clear to me after performing in regional venues outside of Charlotte (Asheville, Wilmington, etc.) where listeners easily moved by pure instrumental music.
Why this difference?
Of course, Charlotte’s not the only place where most listeners expect vocals but one wonders why Charlotte stands out. It could be that it’s somehow tied into the broader Charlotte gestalt. Maybe there’s some connection between Charlotte culture and the taste for vocal music? Maybe it’s connected to the consumption of pop-music (you can blame anything on American Idol)?
Or maybe it’s simply because vocal music is easier for many people to connect with? It seems that words nail down the meaning of a tune whereas instrumental music only presents sounds, melodies, rhythms and musicianship. Perhaps instrumentals just don’t wear their meanings on their sleeves (can they even have specific meanings?) and aren’t as easily appreciated as vocal tunes?
Maybe we should find a singer…
This article appears in Mar 31 – Apr 7, 2009.
NOOOOOO!!!!!
Amen brother….
Keep the faith.
Thanks Ann.
Glad that you’re enjoying it!
Best,
e.
Even harder to explain is why is Charlotte still like this even after so many tens of thousands of transplants? Maybe because Charlotte’s business community isn’t all that diverse in that it is such a big banking hub, and so many transplants have come here for the jobs, not the cultural diversity. I’m not trying to dissing everyone working at a bank, but generally speaking, they tend to stick to mainstream tastes. Whatever the case, we’ll just have to stick to our guns and be glad places like Asheville aren’t that far away!
You make a really good point…Actual Proof is very unique instrumental band. The way each of you communicate while you are playing is amazing! I will pass you blog site to my colleagues.
Adrienne
This proves the running trend of how truly lame Charlotte can be. It’s become more & more apparent there isn’t much of a music scene at all here and any critiquing or advice from this city on what to do with your band, my band, his, hers or any one band hits a nerve with me… it’s like a milkman telling a scientist how to wire a rocket. As a musician, I see no point in adding vocals to an already successful instrumental band unless the vocals are at least on-par and add to what the band already has going on and all agree it’s a needed direction to take. Sadly though, that’s rarely the case and vocals almost always end up getting in the way and detract from the overall vibe and quality of the band’s sound. Charlotte tends to have this delusion that bands are their personal jukeboxes anyway so if people insist on a band with vocals they can stroke it a couple blocks to another venue to hear a typical band.
Groups in mutiple genres are having far better opportunity, reaction and success OUTSIDE of Charlotte so the proof is there indeed. After both gigging and going out to shows over the past 6 years here I could never put an ounce of stock in this city’s opinion of music or any one band… while there are several awesome people who love & support live performance most folks in Charlotte wouldn’t know good music if it walked up and clocked them with a boat oar.
Hi,
Thank God, listeners of carnatic instrumental music dont ask such questions!