Thoughts on Cities with Great Music Scenes

[BigBadBen67]

I thought this could be a fun conversation. I'm a semi-pro bass player looking to go full pro. Now that my son is off and launched I'm free to move so I'm trying to pick where. Would be curious to hear thoughts on cities to look at.

I just got back from an interesting and very enlightening week in Nashville. That's certainly a possibility as one of the great hubs for professional musicians. But I'm also not really a country guy. In my heart I'm a blues/pop/R&B/soul player. I'm planning a trip to check out the Memphis scene. Austin, TX is another possibility. Chicago maybe, but I'm about friggin' done with snow so the south is more appealing (though the music is the more important factor).

What do you think? I would welcome feedback from anyone. I want to play out a lot, like 4-5 nights a week or more. I want to do at least some touring and session work. Any plugs for or against the places I've mentioned or other ideas? What would your dream city be to live in for music?

Ben

 

[Deleted member 394181]

I think you may want to use other factors to decide where to live. Then you can always start a band. Love the home first, . If that doesn't matter. Austin has always had a music scene. I lived near there a long time ago. Brutal Summers. I bet you can find any kind of musician in Nadhville.

 

[jmjbassplayer]

I don't really have a good comment on this with the exception of the simple maxim that everything is a compromise. LA's gets pretty busy for great players who are willing to say yes to almost anything, go above and beyond, and get paid peanuts for a while. Eventually, if your hang factor is ALSO there, you inevitably move up the rungs of the ladder, if slowly and deliberately. But I'm biased because I'm from here, so I dunno...

 

[BigBadBen67]

I don't really have a good comment on this with the exception of the simple maxim that everything is a compromise. LA's gets pretty busy for great players who are willing to say yes to almost anything, go above and beyond, and get paid peanuts for a while. Eventually, if your hang factor is ALSO there, you inevitably move up the rungs of the ladder, if slowly and deliberately. But I'm biased because I'm from here, so I dunno...

I may have to check out LA. I kind of wrote it off just because everyone who knows me and knows LA tells me I wouldn't like it. But who knows, people are wrong sometimes. And LA gets a bad rap both in the movies and out here on the east coast in general. I'd be curious to see whether it's deserved.

I will say everyone in Nashville was super friendly. I got to chat with a number of successful session guys by just walking up and starting a conversation. And in Memphis I got to hear and chat with Leroy Hodges. There's something about that openness and approachability that alluring. It felt very welcoming.

But thanks for the input on LA!

B

 

[BigBadBen67]

I think you may want to use other factors to decide where to live. Then you can always start a band. Love the home first, . If that doesn't matter. Austin has always had a music scene. I lived near there a long time ago. Brutal Summers. I bet you can find any kind of musician in Nadhville.

Nah, this move really is about the music. I already live in a place that's very "livable". But I want to be surrounded by pros. I've never been a big-fish-in-a-small-pond kind of guy. I'd rather jump in the ocean and see what happens.

 

[Gravedigger Dav]

I thought this could be a fun conversation. I'm a semi-pro bass player looking to go full pro. Now that my son is off and launched I'm free to move so I'm trying to pick where. Would be curious to hear thoughts on cities to look at.

I just got back from an interesting and very enlightening week in Nashville. That's certainly a possibility as one of the great hubs for professional musicians. But I'm also not really a country guy. In my heart I'm a blues/pop/R&B/soul player. I'm planning a trip to check out the Memphis scene. Austin, TX is another possibility. Chicago maybe, but I'm about friggin' done with snow so the south is more appealing (though the music is the more important factor).

What do you think? I would welcome feedback from anyone. I want to play out a lot, like 4-5 nights a week or more. I want to do at least some touring and session work. Any plugs for or against the places I've mentioned or other ideas? What would your dream city be to live in for music?

Ben

Austin isn't what it used to be. It will be difficult to support yourself on just music there. Too many are playing for "exposure".

 

[Gravedigger Dav]

I thought this could be a fun conversation. I'm a semi-pro bass player looking to go full pro. Now that my son is off and launched I'm free to move so I'm trying to pick where. Would be curious to hear thoughts on cities to look at.

I just got back from an interesting and very enlightening week in Nashville. That's certainly a possibility as one of the great hubs for professional musicians. But I'm also not really a country guy. In my heart I'm a blues/pop/R&B/soul player. I'm planning a trip to check out the Memphis scene. Austin, TX is another possibility. Chicago maybe, but I'm about friggin' done with snow so the south is more appealing (though the music is the more important factor).

What do you think? I would welcome feedback from anyone. I want to play out a lot, like 4-5 nights a week or more. I want to do at least some touring and session work. Any plugs for or against the places I've mentioned or other ideas? What would your dream city be to live in for music?

Ben

Austin isn't what it used to be. It will be difficult to support yourself on just music there. Too many are playing for "exposure".

 

[Deleted member 394181]

Nah, this move really is about the music. I already live in a place that's very "livable". But I want to be surrounded by pros. I've never been a big-fish-in-a-small-pond kind of guy. I'd rather jump in the ocean and see what happens.

I would go to Nashville. I would think all kinds of music is there. I think several rock stars live there.

 

[ronknor]

Austin isn't what it used to be. It will be difficult to support yourself on just music there. Too many are playing for "exposure".

Yes. As an Austinite, I can tell you the cost of living is very high right now. I make a good salary and still struggle to live in Austin while putting my kid through college. I'm seriously thinking of moving as soon as my son graduates.

 

[BigBadBen67]

Austin isn't what it used to be. It will be difficult to support yourself on just music there. Too many are playing for "exposure".

Yeah, I've heard that. I actually read an article about Austin musicians moving to Lockhart because the cost of living in Austin is skyrocketing.

It makes Memphis more appealing. Very affordable. Honestly my biggest concern with Memphis is that I might be chasing ghosts. I have fantasies of following in the footsteps of Duck Dunn, Tommy Cogbill, David Hood, etc., of staying late on Beale Street covering Sam Cooke and Al Green. But does that scene still exist? Is it vibrant? That's what I would need to find out.

 

[BigBadBen67]

I would go to Nashville. I would think all kinds of music is there. I think several rock stars live there.

It's a definite possibility. I saw some serious cats just in the five days I spent there. So there's no doubt that the level of professionalism I'm looking for is there. I just need to learn more about what it's like there if you aren't particularly into country. Now, I'll play country. I love to play and as long as I get to lay down a groove I'm happy. But I would always be looking for the blues and R&B opportunities. I'm trying to get a sense of how that would work in a town that's still steeped in its country roots. And I would definitely burn out on the garage band scene I saw going on down on lower Broadway. That was pretty unimpressive for "Music City".

 

[Gravedigger Dav]

Yeah, I've heard that. I actually read an article about Austin musicians moving to Lockhart because the cost of living in Austin is skyrocketing.

It makes Memphis more appealing. Very affordable. Honestly my biggest concern with Memphis is that I might be chasing ghosts. I have fantasies of following in the footsteps of Duck Dunn, Tommy Cogbill, David Hood, etc., of staying late on Beale Street covering Sam Cooke and Al Green. But does that scene still exist? Is it vibrant? That's what I would need to find out.

Last time I was in Memphis, Beale Street was dead. Every time I had to go there on business, I would take along a bass and go jam on Beale Street. It was a jumping scene. There was club after club with great musicians in everyone. There would be street musician busking up and down the street. Locals and tourists crowded the street. Then, the no smoking ban hit.
I am no longer a smoker and I'm not complaining about smoking bans, but it killed Beale Street just like it did many other citys' live music scenes. The last time I was there, about 2008, there were maybe 3 or 4 clubs with mediocre musicians playing to mostly empty chairs. The other venues were either closed altogether or had become tourist trinket shops. But the tourists were no longer there.