The scene that is seen!
How often does one human being need to be pissed off? Really, how often is it necessary to apply sandpaper to an already festering wound? What the flip is Aaron talking about you ask. I will share with you some history of the “Lake County Music Scene,” and tell you exactly what I am talking about.
I have lived in Lake County, on and off, for the last 12 years. I was born in Wisconsin and raised in Daytona Beach, FL. Go Earnhardt! That’s not what this column is about. What it is about is the sad state in which our beloved and hallowed “scene” has been left. 12 years ago I was not in a band. I never even thought about being a drummer in a local or national act. I was in high school. Save the old comments, I have heard them all. I was in marching band tearing up the field with my wicked quad skills. I was smoking cigarettes in the woods next to my house, sitting around a bonfire, in a ghetto clubhouse/snow shelter we built. I was trying to have sex with any girl who would say yes, and spent a lot of time without a partner! I ran the gamut of usual trouble you get into while in high school. I even got arrested for driving the getaway vehicle in a “bombing.” Don’t ask, it was BS, but either way, being responsible is not the priority of a high school student. Getting laid, being rowdy, and getting into trouble was a priority. Things are not much different today. I may not be in high school, but if you ask my friends and my sons mom, I might as well be. I hang out with “kids” and go to local shows where the average age isn’t much higher than the number of cans of beer I can consume in a night and still hold a conversation. Things are different for me folks, and I love it! Local shows? There are local shows around here? Well, there used to be a lot of them. Now, not so much!
My first band was aptly titled “Slacker.” That is exactly what we were. We worked meaningless jobs and did meaningless things. We bought the fastest cars we could afford and drank as much beer as we could steal. We played our first show at Stratford Hall in Grayslake. Yes, the same Stratford on Seymour that now has $20k wedding receptions. I heard a rumor about it becoming a venue again, and to me, that is a terrifying thought. For our first show there were 250 people there to see 4 bands. Ripple, Blacksmith, Vurp, and Slacker. It wasn’t even a real venue. There was a bar though, kudos alchies! From there we changed some members and grabbed a new singer. We changed our name to Holeshot and that is the band I am still in. We are in our 9th year as a Lake County band in which there are hundreds of stories about us and other bands. Our “inappropriate” behavior on stage and our antics on the floor are the best ones! We drank a lot, and demanded it be free if we were playing. We were paid anywhere from $0 to $1300 a show. We kicked ass for a long time around here. We worked really hard to establish ourselves in this area as “THE BAND TO HIRE.” It worked.
For those of you too young to know, or those of you who are not tavern patrons, the owners of the areas local bars get together and have meetings to share info with each other. They talk about vendors for alcohol and where to get the cheapest poppers from. They discuss bartenders that have been blacklisted and they gossip the same. They also discuss what bands to hire, how much they cost, and how much money there is to be made by having them perform at their venue. These people may not be rocket scientists, but they know their bar details. We were the talk of the meetings for a long time. We had bars from all over Lake County calling us to play and offering us BIG bucks to do so. We took every booking and had a plethora of other locals open for us. There were bars calling us to play that had never had bands before. Through all of this we NEVER compromised our relationship with a venue. Even now, old and all, we can call a half dozen different venues and book a show in five minutes. Why, because even though everyone saw us as dicks, and we were, we knew our business and how to handle the bar owners. We knew how to negotiate and we knew how to behave. We knew when to smack one of our friends or fans for acting in poor taste. We valued our relationships and did everything we could to maintain them and for them to be healthy.
This is entertainment folks, and we(Lake County Bands) know how to entertain! I hear about bands having a hard time finding somewhere to play shows. I hear about VFW’s and the Libertyville Civic Center not wanting to host shows anymore because no one knows how to act like a warm blooded mammal much less a human being. There are twenty times the people interested in all age local shows then there are people old enough to get into a bar to see a show. SO, the value of an all ages venue is tremendous. I have made general statements involving the word “everyone” and I should apologize. It is not everyone, and it is often one person. That’s all it takes, one person! So I sit here reading this wondering if there is anything that I can say to make a difference. The answer is, “NO!” Not one thing I say will make a difference until bands start getting frustrated and policing their shows. Don’t get on me about it no being your responsibility to make sure no one is peeling the paint of the walls or writing their name on bathroom stalls. We all know we all crap, I don’t need to know whose dirty ass was on the seat before I get in there. It is your responsibility. If it is your show, then it is your reputation on the line when it comes to the behavior of your audience. If your audience acts a fool , you look the fool. So knowing that this will probably fall on deaf ears, I say this. I challenge you! I challenge every single one of you in a band. You aren’t all going to become rockstars. In fact, not to burst anyones bubble, 99.9% of you will never play in a band outside of your regional area. I challenge you to make your regional area, your “scene,” the most important part of your bands activities. Keep the peace, get a grip on your fans and tell the knuckleheads not to come back. What is more important to you, your music or a couple of fans who are going to do more damage than good? Walk the line, keep the balance, and put your money where your mouth is. I am tired of hearing people bitch about keeping a scene alive while they book nothing, do nothing, and when they show up for a show they didn’t book, they take advantage of the situation.
For those of you trying to be promoters, DON’T BOOK BANDS WITH OBNOXIOUS FANS! There are a lot of other bands that can play the show and who will bring enough 5 dollar bills to make it a success. Lets restore Lake County to its original respectable, and respectful status! Or you can ignore me, be a slouch, and continue to beg your parents to let you play a show in the basement!
I’m out!
Moons
I have lived in Lake County, on and off, for the last 12 years. I was born in Wisconsin and raised in Daytona Beach, FL. Go Earnhardt! That’s not what this column is about. What it is about is the sad state in which our beloved and hallowed “scene” has been left. 12 years ago I was not in a band. I never even thought about being a drummer in a local or national act. I was in high school. Save the old comments, I have heard them all. I was in marching band tearing up the field with my wicked quad skills. I was smoking cigarettes in the woods next to my house, sitting around a bonfire, in a ghetto clubhouse/snow shelter we built. I was trying to have sex with any girl who would say yes, and spent a lot of time without a partner! I ran the gamut of usual trouble you get into while in high school. I even got arrested for driving the getaway vehicle in a “bombing.” Don’t ask, it was BS, but either way, being responsible is not the priority of a high school student. Getting laid, being rowdy, and getting into trouble was a priority. Things are not much different today. I may not be in high school, but if you ask my friends and my sons mom, I might as well be. I hang out with “kids” and go to local shows where the average age isn’t much higher than the number of cans of beer I can consume in a night and still hold a conversation. Things are different for me folks, and I love it! Local shows? There are local shows around here? Well, there used to be a lot of them. Now, not so much!
My first band was aptly titled “Slacker.” That is exactly what we were. We worked meaningless jobs and did meaningless things. We bought the fastest cars we could afford and drank as much beer as we could steal. We played our first show at Stratford Hall in Grayslake. Yes, the same Stratford on Seymour that now has $20k wedding receptions. I heard a rumor about it becoming a venue again, and to me, that is a terrifying thought. For our first show there were 250 people there to see 4 bands. Ripple, Blacksmith, Vurp, and Slacker. It wasn’t even a real venue. There was a bar though, kudos alchies! From there we changed some members and grabbed a new singer. We changed our name to Holeshot and that is the band I am still in. We are in our 9th year as a Lake County band in which there are hundreds of stories about us and other bands. Our “inappropriate” behavior on stage and our antics on the floor are the best ones! We drank a lot, and demanded it be free if we were playing. We were paid anywhere from $0 to $1300 a show. We kicked ass for a long time around here. We worked really hard to establish ourselves in this area as “THE BAND TO HIRE.” It worked.
For those of you too young to know, or those of you who are not tavern patrons, the owners of the areas local bars get together and have meetings to share info with each other. They talk about vendors for alcohol and where to get the cheapest poppers from. They discuss bartenders that have been blacklisted and they gossip the same. They also discuss what bands to hire, how much they cost, and how much money there is to be made by having them perform at their venue. These people may not be rocket scientists, but they know their bar details. We were the talk of the meetings for a long time. We had bars from all over Lake County calling us to play and offering us BIG bucks to do so. We took every booking and had a plethora of other locals open for us. There were bars calling us to play that had never had bands before. Through all of this we NEVER compromised our relationship with a venue. Even now, old and all, we can call a half dozen different venues and book a show in five minutes. Why, because even though everyone saw us as dicks, and we were, we knew our business and how to handle the bar owners. We knew how to negotiate and we knew how to behave. We knew when to smack one of our friends or fans for acting in poor taste. We valued our relationships and did everything we could to maintain them and for them to be healthy.
This is entertainment folks, and we(Lake County Bands) know how to entertain! I hear about bands having a hard time finding somewhere to play shows. I hear about VFW’s and the Libertyville Civic Center not wanting to host shows anymore because no one knows how to act like a warm blooded mammal much less a human being. There are twenty times the people interested in all age local shows then there are people old enough to get into a bar to see a show. SO, the value of an all ages venue is tremendous. I have made general statements involving the word “everyone” and I should apologize. It is not everyone, and it is often one person. That’s all it takes, one person! So I sit here reading this wondering if there is anything that I can say to make a difference. The answer is, “NO!” Not one thing I say will make a difference until bands start getting frustrated and policing their shows. Don’t get on me about it no being your responsibility to make sure no one is peeling the paint of the walls or writing their name on bathroom stalls. We all know we all crap, I don’t need to know whose dirty ass was on the seat before I get in there. It is your responsibility. If it is your show, then it is your reputation on the line when it comes to the behavior of your audience. If your audience acts a fool , you look the fool. So knowing that this will probably fall on deaf ears, I say this. I challenge you! I challenge every single one of you in a band. You aren’t all going to become rockstars. In fact, not to burst anyones bubble, 99.9% of you will never play in a band outside of your regional area. I challenge you to make your regional area, your “scene,” the most important part of your bands activities. Keep the peace, get a grip on your fans and tell the knuckleheads not to come back. What is more important to you, your music or a couple of fans who are going to do more damage than good? Walk the line, keep the balance, and put your money where your mouth is. I am tired of hearing people bitch about keeping a scene alive while they book nothing, do nothing, and when they show up for a show they didn’t book, they take advantage of the situation.
For those of you trying to be promoters, DON’T BOOK BANDS WITH OBNOXIOUS FANS! There are a lot of other bands that can play the show and who will bring enough 5 dollar bills to make it a success. Lets restore Lake County to its original respectable, and respectful status! Or you can ignore me, be a slouch, and continue to beg your parents to let you play a show in the basement!
I’m out!
Moons
