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Monday, August 3, 2009
Opinion / News A local music community in Charlotte?
Posted By Eric Mullis on Mon, Aug 3, 2009 at 10:57 AM
Artist communities can do many things — give individual artists the chance to collaborate with one another, put on events to get an artist’s work across to the public and help shape a city’s identity. One of the most important things that an artist community can do, it seems to me, is to simply support one another by going to each other’s shows.
With regard to local music, it’s often difficult to get regular gigs, to make a name for yourself and to cultivate a fan-base. Simply put, it’s easy to be a good band that no one in your home-town has ever heard of. But an easy way to spread the word is for musicians to support their fellow musicians by making an effort to make it out to shows and to con unsuspecting folks into going along.
We are fortunate enough to have two showcase events that make this easy to do — The Crown Town Showdown and the weekly Open Mic at the Evening Muse. The Salvador Deli also helps out by giving local bands exposure in front of the folks who mill around NoDa on Friday and Saturday nights.
I make this point because over the last year or so I’ve made an effort to get a sense of what’s going on in the Charlotte local music scene. I’ve done so because I’m curious and because I enjoy a good show. As a musician, I also like to see what bands are doing well whether they have good stage presence, compositions, musicianship, or a unique approach to an established genre.
Unfortunately, I haven’t gotten the sense that Charlotte musicians are terribly supportive of one another. I’m not saying that there is a complete lack of support, but I can say that I’ve met too many musicians who want everyone to come out to THEIR show but who do not make much of an effort to go see shows put on by other local bands. I often get the sense that there’s an implicit assumption that THEIR band is the best and consequently they don’t really need to go see other bands (What’s the point if you’re the best?). Heaven forbid that they buy a CD put out by another band. After all, if you’re not going to waste your money on a cover charge, why would you waste it on a CD?!
I’m being a bit cynical, but I’ve lived in other cities that have supportive music communities and the stark reality is that local bands need support from local musicians. They don’t have a big name, they probably don’t have the cash to pay for advertising, they are most likely trying to promote themselves by whatever means possible (fliers, handbills, emails, etc.) and they can’t keep relying on their friends and family to come out and support them at another show.
I believe that Charlotte’s music scene will only improve if musicians make the effort to support each other’s projects. It’s really simple:
Don’t make excuses.
Got to the Crown Town Showdown.
Go to the Muse on Monday night.
Go to the SalDeli on Friday night.
Check out a band’s website.
Get on their email list.
Get on a venue’s email list.
Buy a CD.
Tell a friend.
Repeat.
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