Been a few months since I updated this. I have a little down time today so I figured I would pop on here and share what's new and exciting in the world of WCG.
First off, we parted ways with our first manager, Blaine. We wish him well in his endeavors. This, however, was a blessing in disguise. Just after we parted with Blaine we met up with our new manager that is kicking ass for us. So, welcome to the WCG family Lilith Kemnitz! In her short time with us she has coerced people to book us and get us some radio air play.
We have a busy schedule coming up, but it should be a blast. We released our latest t-shirt design last Friday and they seem to be going over well. We'll have our CD soon for you all to hear the three singles off our upcoming album. The name of the singles album, which I'm sure everyone knows by now is Exactly What You Deserve. We'll have those in hand in the coming weeks. Then we're back in the studio to finish off the entire album. Our new website should be up and running very soon www.whitecitygraves.com.
Now on to the main reason I was updating this today. I was just sitting here musing to myself how much fun we always have playing in places like the Duvall Tavern. It seems to me that the outlying areas like Duvall, Stanwood and so on have always been our most successful and enjoyable shows.
Playing in Seattle proper is actually really difficult. To get the attention of folks and get them out to a show is like pulling hen's teeth at times. Sure there are exceptions to the rule. The 2 Bit Saloon in Ballard has always been great to us.
I was chatting with a fellow struggling musician the other day. We both agreed gone are the good ol' days. You had the clubs that people were always at regardless of who was playing that night. The clubs that had people there because they were excited to see a band. There is talent in this city. A lot of it. Whatever genre your into, I bet you could find a show any given night of the week to go see. Majority of the time the crowd will be sparse unfortunately. I've wandered into clubs on a Saturday night in areas that are hubs for nightlife and the club is all but abandoned. On those nights I've seen some stellar acts. I find it sad really.
Is this because the rock culture is dead in Seattle? Are there too many options? Why are some of our most rabid fans residents in rural areas? I realize that WCG is not going to be everyone's cup of tea. Really most sane folks don't dig songs about serial killers and such, but I know there's plenty of sick folk out there, like myself, who will dig it. I mean we live in a city of several hundred thousand people. Seems like the odds would be in our favor.
Luckily we have had the good fortune of playing some really great shows with a lot of fans and a lot of great bands with in the Seattle city limits. But I guess it's just not what it use to be. So sit down kiddies, uncle Adam is gonna tell y'all a story of the good ol' days. I remember when I was younger, before the age of 21. We would spend just about every weekend at the OK Hotel. Watching great bands like The Sweaty Nipples, The Accused, Forced Entry, Subvert, Sabre, Dumt, that list goes on and on. Then itching to be over 21 so we could get into The Off Ramp, The Croc and all that Pioneer Square had to offer. For some reason every Saturday night these clubs were packed to the rafters with people. They weren't afraid to get involved either. Pits and stage diving were common place.
Somewhere along the line the scene died. The joint cover in Pioneer Square went away. The earth quake that destroyed the OK Hotel and The Phoenix Underground. The ever long shift towards dance clubs. Larry's, which was a place to go see a stellar blues act, turned to dance music. It sells. Always has, but I feel like we're reliving the disco era. Instead of Stayin' Alive though, we're being bombarded with Thump Thump Thump techno dance.
Remember Pain in the grass, before it was pain in the grass? Where bands would play at the Mural Amphitheater in Seattle Center. We would bus it down every Saturday afternoon to watch.... get this... a FREE SHOW! Heaven forbid we do that now. We got to charge $50 and make you drive to the White River Amphitheater to see huge national acts. What did we see if not huge national acts? Bands on their way to becoming huge national acts. These bands would play to a thousand or so rabid rock fans and then play that night to a packed house at the OK or The Croc.
Every so often I see glimmers of hope in the rock scene. But it's still a shell of what it once was. I see places like the 2 Bit drawing in folks nightly. The Funhouse always the mainstay as well which unfortunately is going away drawing another blow to the rock scene.
I feel like there is some formula we're missing. Bookers put together a show with a headliner and setting up the remainder of the show with lesser known, but similar acts so they can later become headliners as well based on the new exposure. The clubs and bands promote. The bands play while the club has a limited or no cover. The booze sale increase alone would help some of these struggling clubs and the band gets paid a percentage of the bar. Seems simple really. None of this $6 cover then everyone takes their cut and what's left goes to the bands.
There's also the stunning lack of all ages venues. The ones that are around are actually quite difficult to book. The ones that are around seem to do OK. I don't know though, we haven't been able to tap into that market of the all ages shows.
It's hard, we don't keep the money we make. It's all reinvested to make better products for the fans. A better recording, a higher quality t-shirt, so on and so forth. Sure we're just whoring ourselves out in hopes of acceptance. But that's the life of a musician. You just want the music heard and the more people that hear the better.
Sure the landscape of the industry has changed. Gone are the demo tapes. On the way out are the CDs. An online presence is required, but still no guarantee. You just sit back and hope someone stumbles across you in the vast array of endless online music. But all this doesn't mean we should abandon what was good about the local scene. It's something that needs to be revisited.
All this however, is moot if people aren't willing to go listen to a live band. I know the argument can be made that back in the day we had some power house bands here in the area. There was distinct and unique sound buzzing through the city. That seemed to bring an element of local pride to the scene and people wanted to be part of it. It's kind of like when the M's or the Seahawks are winning the stadiums sell out and everyone takes pride and wants to be a part. Rock right now is much like the M's. Marred in a streak of losing seasons. The solutions to each problem are different though. The M's just need to buck up and spend some cash for talent. In the local rock scene the talent is already there and rests squarely on the fans to get out and listen.
This all is not only a plea for you to come out and see us play, but other bands as well. I'm proud of our scene. It's ours. It's what we make it. The bands out there grinding it out on a Tuesday night only to play for the other bands on the bill and the bartenders. To the big guys helping out the up and coming guys when they can. I still get excited when we get a chance to open for a band with more clout than us. Not only for the exposure, but so I can get in for free to see them play. I think our scene is unique and extremely diverse. There is never a shortage of bands playing. Just a shortage of people attending those shows.
Alright, let me just hop down off this here soap box and I'll head on about my day.
adam
WCG
