It’s funny, I’ve been in this job for three years and yet I still get phone calls and e-mails and other feedback from people that makes me wonder — are people really reading the paper anymore?
One of the first things I did when I started this job back in 2007 was to establish “La Vida Local” — a weekly feature in the paper that has local news, local event previews or local CD reviews. However, rarely does a month go by when someone wants me to know that I’m not doing anything for local music. When I mention La Vida Local, they don’t know what I’m talking about. I can mention the three CD compilations we’ve put out that have now featured a total of 42 local bands, but they usually haven’t heard of those either. (We’re currently seeking submissions for the fourth one, by the way.)
One of the first stories I wrote for the paper was on a local band, Soulganic. I received a large amount of feedback on that one from people shocked that a local band of any kind was featured in Creative Loafing. It didn’t stop there. Since then, I’ve written major feature articles on more than 15 local bands, in addition to regular columns by “El Diablo” that were constantly sharing information about the local music scene.
But people will still say I’m not doing enough for the local music scene… Well, what are we missing? Let us know. Send an e-mail to me or comment here and let me know about bands I should be checking out. If you’re in a band, send me your CD or invite me out to a show.
I’m just one man… a person who believes in the power of diverse coverage. I have been to more than 50 concerts this year in an effort to expose my own ears, and readers, to as much as I possibly can. I’ve been to see Phish, the Country Throwdown Tour, Jucifer, Levon Helm, Korn, Carolina Chocolate Drops, VV Brown, Alice in Chains, OK Go, Jeff Coffin, Black Lips, George Clinton, Cage the Elephant, Black Eyed Peas and Surfer Blood, among countless others. Not diverse enough for you?
I’ve received criticism from fellow critics who feel that my coverage is not “alternative.” Alternative to what? If you look at music as a whole these days, everything is alternative. Does that word even have a meaning anymore?
I’m not sure how many other music writers or editors out there will tell you that they listen to every single CD that hits their desk. Sure, I may listen to just 30 seconds, as often as the entire thing, but I listen to at least part of every one of them. I never know when I’ll hear something amazing as easily as I’ll hear something horrific.
For me, as a writer, I am also in search of the stories behind the music as much as the music itself. While I think you should check out a particular band, sometimes the story behind the music is just as interesting and worth sharing.
Someone once criticized that I featured Jewel in the paper. Here’s an artist that was an accomplished folk singer, unfortunately tried to release a pop album and was then trying to establish a new career in country. How many other artists have changed genres or thought about it and was there something they could learn from Jewel’s transformation?
The band Buckcherry is known for singing raucous songs about drinking and sex, but that’s only if you listen to the radio. As a story I wrote back in 2008 showed, that is just one small facet of the band’s music that happens to be the only thing that most people know about them. (I’m not too sure why someone chose to bring this story up this month, roughly two years after it was published, but that’s besides the point.)
I also wrote about Kid Rock once. Why? Taken at face value, people love to hate him, so I figured I’d do an interview and ask him about that. On another level, it’s hard to deny that the guy is a great entertainer and multi-instrumentalist who, during live shows, plays guitar, drums, bass and gets behind the DJ turntables. Again – there’s a story behind the music.
I’ve been critical of Adam Lambert and other American Idol contestants, much to the dismay of his/their fans. I don’t just say Lambert is annoying, I will say why I think he is annoying, or why I think his performances are more memorable than his music. On the other hand, I once wrote about North Carolina’s Chris Daughtry about how he’s gone from performing open mic nights at local bars to performing arena shows. Just about every musician out there hopes to go from the local open mic to a career on the national stage.
It always amazes me that people will pick out one story from hundreds and say I have no credibility or that we don’t cover anything worthwhile, etc. A reader will complain I don’t cover local music, but it’s covered every week, and more. A fellow critic will call my coverage irrelevant, but then we’ll feature the same bands the next week or month.
I look at it as this — it’s all about sharing information. There are few music fans these days who only like one type of music. I’m not just going to cover shoegazing indie rock or death metal or new country or instrumental jazz or dirty blues or whatever else is around. To me, a successful music scene is all about the sum of its parts — every part of it, local, regional and national — whether it be via reviews or stories.
Like music itself, there’s usually more to the story than what’s on the outside if you give it a chance or second glance.
No word of a critic should be taken as gospel, for it’s all based in opinion and personal point of reference. If I don’t like a particular band, I’ll give reason and try to let you know why I think that way – same if I like a band or artist. I know of other critics who assume that if you don’t like a band/ or do like a particular band, you lose all credibility. It’s a shame they aren’t more open-minded to so much good music that’s around them.
You can also look at music through the eyes of critics like cilantro – to some people, a particular band is delicious and they can’t get enough of it; to others it tastes like soap and they can’t spit it out fast enough. It doesn’t mean one is right or one is wrong, it just means that everyone has a different pallet and you need to take opinions as information to formulate your own ideas and thoughts.
In the meantime, thanks for reading and as stated earlier, I can’t possibly hear every band that performs in town, so let us know who we’re missing or who we should check out. I’ll do my best to give it a listen.
This article appears in Jul 6-12, 2010.
So what was the last rap group you saw? Or the last pop group? Or jazz, blues…don’t see anything about those in your articles. Music crictics should really see ALL types of music right?
Let’s not pat ourselves on the back too hard…
When you mention your local music section, no one knows what you’re talking about, eh? What does this tell you? Nobody’s checkin it. It’s the equivalent of a Clear Channel radio station having a half hour show Sunday at 3am devoted to local talent. Read your own article above touting your dedication to locals…it mostly mentions national, major label acts. The last time I saw CL cover the local indie hiphop scene was 2002. Did you know there is a local artist who has become an autograph-hounded celebrity in Europe & tours the world with an internationally acclaimed DJ? Did you know there is a local group that is sponsored by Native Instruments & recognized as one of the best in the world on their equipment? Did you know a local group was flown to LA to showcase at one of the most influential music nights in the world? Did you know there’s a local artist with a song on the Boondocks soundtrack? One with a Nintendo commercial? One on the new Wake Up show anthem with members of Cypress Hill & Wu-Tang Clan? It’s like the world recognizes us, but our own media won’t write about us, or even come to a show. Pathetic. And these examples are just in one genre. How many more stories are you missing while you defend your coverage of Kid Rock?
When I first moved to Charlotte 1.5 years ago, I searched for local press that covered the local scene. CL was the one I found first. I personally havent seen any coverage of the QCHH at all in the time I have been here. Maybe prior to my moving here, but none since. I DID see some things that I was able to find in Rolling Stone though. But who needs that?
Charlotte has a huge underground Hip Hop scene that was built over time with out help from The media.
We are taking it another level now. The talent in this city is unbelievable. I host events and DJ for the underground and have for many years. We are a huge force coming together. There is also the club Hip Hop that is getting big and R&B here also. They are 3 different entities with different crowds even though similar. yet we all strive for the same thing.
Recognition.
That is very hard when your local paper pretends you do not exist.
Charlotte is big everywhere but here. That’s not CL’s fault, but it is their responsibility as a local publication to try and correct that. We need college radio and local media support. If not oh well. we made it this far on our own…
the fact of the matter is Charlotte is a huge city with unbelievable amount of talent everywhere in any genre. The people in the inner circles of these genres i.e. promoters, DJs, artists themselves etc. are responsible for the growth and buzz they receive.
# 1 problem with this city that I was born and raised in is the blame game! It’s everybody s fault but your OWN type of mentality. Get over yourself. CL would do some justice to come to the next Black flag records show or the next Joe Grizzly GOD city show. See how people react to good performances and atmosphere.
Write a review about it.
The people I respect in this town have the feeling that a Queen City hip hop movement has begun.
I agree!
Re: next to last paragraph. Er, that should be “palette” as in “range” or “different qualities”. A “pallet” is “a flat transport structure that supports goods in a stable fashion while being lifted.” Or maybe you were referring to hauling off a big load of opinion?
Actually, referring to foods, it should have been “palate”, as in one’s mouth.
The last hip-hop band I saw was Eyes of the Elders at the Crowntown Showdown last month. The last jazz band was Actual Proof about two months ago — both local, too. Last pop group — maybe Black Eyed Peas…
A lot of people here are telling me about Queen City hip-hop; but how many local artists are sending me their music or inviting me to shows? I can count them on one hand…
Send me your music, invite me to a show… You have to promote yourselves — you can’t expect that everyone will just know about you.
Also, in regards to hip-hop, we published this a couple of years ago – http://charlotte.creativeloafing.com/gyrobase/searching_for_an_identity/Content?oid=178646
Maybe it’s time to revisit…
This scans like an eloquently worded defense of enforced mediocrity (and to your readers’ discredit, it veers off onto a tangential discussion of regional hip hop – crucial stuff, yes, but part of an entirely different dialogue). Judging by the timing of your original post, it’s clearly a retort to an editorial in the just published, new issue of Shuffle magazine, “Local press can provide visibility, but can they decide relevance?” by W.T. Wilson, in which that writer uses Buckcherry coverage in the local media as a jumping-off point for his think piece. Your thin skin is showing, methinks, and you probably would serve your case better simply by addressing this directly rather than alluding to the presence of some unspecified haters on the local scene, as that just makes you come off as paranoid. At any rate, it’s a value judgment that the more diverse a publication’s coverage, the better. It’s equally likely that casting one’s net too broadly simply dilutes the critical brand and sends a message that you and your paper really have no aesthetic standards at all. (Kinda like saying, “Hey, we’re almost as good as USA Today!”) Covering Buckcherry, Jewel and, most recently, the ghastly Michael Buble make speak to what you obviously view as an egalitarian streak on your part, but aggressive populism’s more properly the domain of a family-oriented, mainstream rag like the Observer – not an alternative weekly whose editorial mandate should be to challenge and even upend the status quo. Come to think of it, any serious critic should eschew populism as a mandate whenever the opportunity affords itself – a little bit of elitism is good for the heart and soul.