We play in the Macon area, generally, which is south of Atlanta. The scene is dominated by rap groups and DJs since we are in the African American heart of the country, so rock groups (such as mine) don't get nearly as much attention as they would in other places. But we still do well: this last Friday we played all night at the Rock N Rodeo in Valdosta to 500ish people and pulled about a grand, so it was a good night.
As far as other bands in the area, the vast majority of us get along very well and come to each other's shows. We are a close knit community, have our own group on Facebook in which we all discuss venues, crowds, prices, booking, gear, etc. And it is all too common for bands to call the members of other bands on stage to do a song or two if they happen to be out in the crowd at a show.
The only band that deviates from this positive coexistence is a certain local group that I will not name who advertises themselves on all their flyers as "Georgia's #1 Live Band." (Need I remind you that REM, Collective Soul, Mastodon, etc. have come from Georgia, so such a statement is ridiculous.) But anyway, they are a crappy 80s metal cover band (Poison, Motley Crue, Guns N Roses) comprised of 50 year old men who wear tight jeans, eyeliner, women's clothing, and such. Their performances of the songs are dreadful. The only reason they are so popular is because the lead singer is an excellent businessman and the band has been around forever, so they have tons of friends, and can generally bring a decent crowd. Unfortunately, they talk to the rest of us like we are amateurs (despite our blatantly superior performances) and carry themselves with a tangible air of arrogance. I had nothing against them until about two months ago:
We were set to open for a national act on tour. Said 80s metal cover band was also on the bill. They whined, pissed, and cried until they got their spot swapped with ours so they could go on before the national act. Low and behold, our performance was outstanding, and theirs was awful. The singer couldn't stay on key, their guitarist was shot out on meth, the bassist couldn't keep rhythm, and their drummer couldn't hold on to a stick through an entire song.
Anyway, we've gotten over that. I've become somewhat of friends with the bassist since he and I both play Schecter.
But overall, the music scene in Macon (as far as rock goes) is pretty decent. We all get along, don't mind if another group covers the same song, love jamming with each other, buy each other drinks, come to each other's shows, and generally embrace the music scene as a community. It's pretty cool.
