Local Craigslist Battle Royale

mike_v_s · #1 12-01-2007, 03:01 PM

So I was just perusing my local craigslist looking for whatever and came across some pretty stupid ****. My intention was to hit the "Personals" link in my pursuit of a deep, meaningful, long-lasting relationship with someone who shares my affinity for large text, but I accidentally found myself in the "Musicians Wanted" section instead.

There is a "fight" going on between tools in cover bands and tools in original bands concerning the local music scene. I read a handful of them, but realized I was getting dumber by the minute, so I stopped.

What I did gather is that some of the original bands apparently think that they are owed a decent venue to play and claim it's not available in post-Katrina New Orleans thanks to the cover bands

. Additionally, the venues that do take original acts don't pay squat. The cover bands have predictably responded with the well-thought out "well, your music sucks".

Best of all, none of the few posts I read allowed for a direct email back to the poster. Is this kind of BS only going on around here?

http://neworleans.craigslist.org/muc/

Mike

morf · #2 12-01-2007, 03:03 PM

I'd say the cover dudes are dead on. Want people? Want cash? Make good music.

HollowBassman · #3 12-01-2007, 03:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by morf

I'd say the cover dudes are dead on. Want people? Want cash? Make good music.

Good music is overrated!!!

mike_v_s · #4 12-01-2007, 03:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by morf

I'd say the cover dudes are dead on. Want people? Want cash? Make good music.

I thought the few "cover" responses I read were a little heady, but as a guy that plays originals...I say suck it up. Nobody gurantees you a good venue.

Mike

morf · #5 12-01-2007, 03:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HollowBassman

Good music is overrated!!!

But great music underrated

Quote:

Originally Posted by mike_v_s

I thought the few "cover" responses I read were a little heady, but as a guy that plays originals...I say suck it up. Nobody gurantees you a good venue.

Mike

Agreed, they all seem like a pretty dumb bunch, but I'd say the originals shouldn't be complaining, on the contrary. They choose to write originals, if people liked them they would come.

Vince S. · #6 12-01-2007, 03:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mike_v_s

So I was just perusing my local craigslist looking for whatever and came across some pretty stupid ****. My intention was to hit the "Personals" link in my pursuit of a deep, meaningful, long-lasting relationship with someone who shares my affinity for large text, but I accidentally found myself in the "Musicians Wanted" section instead.

There is a "fight" going on between tools in cover bands and tools in original bands concerning the local music scene. I read a handful of them, but realized I was getting dumber by the minute, so I stopped.

What I did gather is that some of the original bands apparently think that they are owed a decent venue to play and claim it's not available in post-Katrina New Orleans thanks to the cover bands

. Additionally, the venues that do take original acts don't pay squat. The cover bands have predictably responded with the well-thought out "well, your music sucks".

Best of all, none of the few posts I read allowed for a direct email back to the poster. Is this kind of BS only going on around here?

http://neworleans.craigslist.org/muc/

Mike

Wow, this situation sounds really similar to what's going on with my suitemates' frat and their "rival" frat. Cept without music.

lunarpollen · #7 12-01-2007, 03:51 PM

They should move to an area with a scene that is more sympathetic to original bands and not so much to the cover band puppets. LIke Sacramento, for instance. There is a cover band scene here, if that's your thing, but there's also a healthy original band scene. Even most of the popular sports bars around here primarily host original bands.

lunarpollen · #8 12-01-2007, 03:53 PM

And, the quality of your music really has nothing to do with how much money you make in scenes like N.O. If your music sucks (or if you don't even play any of your own music), it doesn't matter, as long as you can rake in the $$ for the venues.

rllefebv · #9 12-01-2007, 07:38 PM

We get this kind of thing from time to time in Portland... About how the local scene sucks, people who play coffee-houses for free are taking food from the families of 'real' musicians, unless you're into sub-sub-sub-sub-genre your selling out, whaaa, whaaa, whaaa, Daddy hates me, I'm entitled to whatever I want with little or no effort on my part, etc...

I'm pretty sure this goes on from time to time in all of the craigslist localities... That being said, I have found several bands that I have preformed with by searching the 'list...

FWIW,

-robert

Dave Grossman · #10 12-01-2007, 07:49 PM

Yeah, this sort of thing happens all the time in the San Francisco Bay Area Craigslist. It's pretty funny sometimes.

- Dave

eedre · #11 12-01-2007, 08:53 PM

Around St. Louis, the venues are pretty split. Cover bands don't play at places original bands play. People who want to hear covers are generally at the venue for reasons other than going to see the band. To me, they're there to create atmosphere.

If New Orleans isn't friendly to originals - I say **** 'em, let them grind their cover songs into the ground.

Captain Chaos · #12 12-01-2007, 09:24 PM

Craigslist blows. I've posted countless ads and I still can't find people to start a band.

Spoiled Grape · #13 12-01-2007, 10:16 PM

There are some really great original bands in New Orleans. Fatter Than Albert is one of them.

Also, there is a problem with venues in New Orleans for original bands to play, even ones that bring in a decent draw.

#14 12-01-2007, 10:25 PM

Same thing happens in the Chicago ads sometimes.

...personal ads though, pretty much always:

[ad]

I'm a sexy chick blah blah blah. Your pic gets my pic.

[/ad]

Jared Lash · #15 12-02-2007, 12:53 AM

It doesn't take a visit to Craigslist to hear this type of discussion. I recently played a set with the pianist/singer and afterwards she and I were talking with the singer from the band that went on before us. A fairly young kid 22 or so, and not a bad singer, but not special IMO.

He went on a long and uninteresting diatribe about how he only writes music for himself and how he can't bother to care if other people like it or not.

Ten minutes later I hear him complaining about not being able to find venues that pay what he wants.

I can respect someone who wants to follow his own muse and make music on his own terms. And I can respect someone who plays popular music to have fun and make a buck. But I can't respect someone who wants it both ways and hasn't earned it.

Vic Winters · #16 12-02-2007, 02:27 AM

If you make good music, and you know how to put yourself out there, you can get decent crowds. Rochester doesn't have a very big originals following. The biggest names (musically) to come out of this city are Lou Gramm and Teddy Geiger. But still we have a few bands that have made some kind of a name for themselves in the area. Two of them have the same lead singer and the guitarist in one plays synth for the other, but they play completely different genres (indie rock vs. pop rock/electronica). I'm fairly certain both have toured and played with some moderately popular bands such as Shiny Toy Guns and The Sunstreak. If you're good and people like your sound, you can get the recognition.

ADbassman · #17 12-02-2007, 02:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vic Winters

I'm fairly certain both have toured and played with some moderately popular bands such as Shiny Toy Guns

My band played with Shiny Toy Guns in October. Fairly nice folks, a few of them anyway. That was probably the coolest/most fun show I've ever played.

Columbia is all about original bands. I can't really think of many places where cover bands play. Being a college town, most folks are into the dance/club scene, and those that aren't usually dig the local music scene.

Spoiled Grape · #18 12-02-2007, 03:34 AM

St. Louis has a pretty awesome local music scene.

mike_v_s · #19 12-02-2007, 06:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheBigO

It doesn't take a visit to Craigslist to hear this type of discussion.

I completely agree; I've been involved in similar discussions since I joined my first band. I just found it odd that it was playing out on Craigslist of all places.

Quote:

He went on a long and uninteresting diatribe about how he only writes music for himself and how he can bother to care if other people like it or not.

Truth be told I've held a similar opinion for much of my time as a musician. The difference is that, since I began playing out in my early 20's, I had a decent grasp of the business aspect and never expected to get paid much above "free" for what I was doing.

I joined my first cover band about a month ago. It's a very different atmosphere (more like work), but I could find the right band and needed to play more, so they got me for now.

Mike

lunarpollen · #20 12-02-2007, 09:55 AM

There is a place for cover bands who perform popular music. They are professional entertainers. However it is sad when a locale lacks a vibrant music scene because there are no venues for it (because all the venues are only catering to those cover bands). It's like living in a place where all the bookstores only carry what's on the NY Times Top 10 list. Or where all the art galleries only contain reproductions of the same couple of dozen most famous works of art. The whole locale suffers because of it, and sadly most of the consumers/residents hardly even realize it because they've been conditioned to think it's acceptable and are kept in ignorance by those venues and entertainers.

Cover bands of that sort and original bands are really two vastly different breeds of creature. They just happen to use similar tools and have some similar superficial characteristics, so people often think they are the same occupation.