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| Submitted by Erik Archambault | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Thursday, 21 September 2006 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
  Eric Archambault Local bands, I can not stand them. I think this statement needs a little clearing up. Those are the best bands out there, bar none. They put their blood, sweat, tears, money and heart into their music and they believe in it. They pay the price for what they are dying to do for a living. They hire the best producers and mastering techs to get their CDs to a higher standard of quality so that radio stations will play their stuff. They ARE the Maine Music Scene and they are trying to make a name for, not only themselves but, for the musicians in this state as well. I applaud the Dead Seasons, the Hour Pasts, the Paranoid Social Clubs, the As Fast As’, the Lost on Liftoffs, and the Sparks the Rescues out there. What I hate are the LOCAL bands. The bands that think they are incredible rock stars and play the same crap venue in the same town twice a month. The band’s whose schedules resemble this: Sept 1st, Redneck Dive bar, Rumford
Sept 15th, Steve’s Birthday Bash, Mexico
Sept 16th, Ryan’s Private Party, South. Paris
Oct 22nd, Redneck Dive Bar, Rumford
Nov 5th , Private Function, Oxford
Nov 12th , Redneck Dive Bar, Rumford
Dec 4th , The Alehouse, Portland
Dec 12th, Redneck Dive Bar, Rumford
The same bands that say they are “on the road” when they leave Rumford and travel to Portland to play one night and then play their favorite Rumford bar the next night. These are the same bands that will return to their local venue after a month of either not having any shows or having a gig in Portland on a Saturday night ….and say “It is good to be home!!!!” upon taking the stage at said bar the very next week. (Rumford is just being used as an example town, I am not ripping on anyone specifically from Rumford. All the bands that I am referring to know who they are and usually think I am a jerk for stating these types of feelings but, wouldn’t you rather your mom tell you that you are ugly when you are 10 then have to find out for yourself when you get to college and no one will sleep with you because of the hump on your back and the birthmark that resembles a vagina on your forehead??) I don’t want to get off on a rant here but seriously… Being in a band is, yes, supposed to be fun but seriously. Do you know how many of these “local” bands call themselves rock stars and act as if their bands are the most successful up and coming acts in the world? Talk to some of them. Some of these bands couldn’t land a gig at the Asylum if they tried (it isn't that hard if you own a phone and can create a press kit) and yet they will act as if they rule their area. I once wrote an article about bands going into the woodshed and trying to make themselves into a more viable product before taking stages and trying to allow people to buy their poorly recorded CDs. A lot of people got mad because I wasn’t looking into the aspect that some musicians just love to play. Okay, I will give you that. If you love to play and you are content with playing the little dive bar down the street once a month and you have no intentions of ever, ever, ever, making a success of your band then fine….Play away and don’t listen to me. As a matter of fact, stop reading right now because I don’t need your comments and your crap about how you “Do it for the love of music, man!!.....You don’t understand.” But, if you must leave a comment then I at least know that you are aware of just how bad your band is and you know you should stop, or you wouldn’t be commenting and telling me to shut up. Whatever, whatever…I don’t care. I'm trying to make a point here. Point being, if you are content to just be in a band and play your music and just have fun and are going to tell me and everyone else that you don’t care about making money from music, then stop recording and selling crap CDs, stop charging a cover charge at the door, stop asking bar owners and booking agents for a guaranteed payment to cover gas, and stop making merchandise unless you are going to just give it away. Just play and then get off the stage and go get a beer with the rest of the 7 people in the bar. Don’t sign autographs and don’t promote yourself on MySpace. I was in a local band, and whenever I heard someone in my band tell me that they weren’t interested in making money, I would book 4 or 5 gigs for no pay at all and then listen to them bitch. It got old real quick living by “I would rather be playing for free than be at home.” The main reason I hate the “Local” bands is that they don’t have ambition. Ambition to me is defined as: an earnest desire for some type of achievement or distinction, as power, honor, fame, or wealth, and the willingness to strive for its attainment. Ambition, to me, is not booking in the same town every other weekend and pretending you own the area. If you want to be taken seriously, you want people to buy your CDs, you want record companies to give you attention, and you want people to cheer for you... Cheering for you is also defined, to me, as: More than just your mom, dad, sister, cousin, the same 7 people that come to all of your shows because they are all at the same bar all the time, the other bands on the bill, the roadies, the girlfriends, and the bartenders clapping when you finish a song. Gaining a following is a great thing so I will retract the “same 7 people that come to all of your shows” portion of that statement but, if that is your ENTIRE following then you are not heading in a successful direction....then get out of your town for a while. Start playing to people who don’t know you and see what their reaction is. Your friends and family are never going to tell you that you suck. The people that hang around with you after the shows are not going to tell you that you suck because you are giving them beers. But I can guarantee that a band from Massachusetts who is in Maine trying to boost their fan base (like you should be doing) will be the first people to spread the word about how bad you suck. Sure, they will be nice to your face and tell you “good set man, great set” but they will be laughing right behind your back. Believe me, I have been laughed at and I have laughed at other bands, still do actually, which is why I am writing this. Case in point: When I was younger, I sucked at hockey. I sucked really bad and you know who never told me I sucked? My Mom, Dad, all of my other relatives and friends. They didn’t want to hurt my feelings so they just cheered me on when I would touch the puck and fall flat on my face cause my ankles were too weak to allow me to skate well enough. It wasn’t until I got a little older and the better kids on the team started telling me to get better or stop playing because I sucked. I started working out on my off time, playing on the pond by myself and watching games to get stronger, faster, and all around better at the sport. I eventually got good enough to play in High School and still play to this day. I am not Bobby Orr but I can say that I worked on it, scored some goals, and achieved something that people told me I sucked at. I did what I had to do to better myself in that effort. I still have a weak slap shot but I can score with a good wrister……But I am not selling autographed pictures of myself or doing intricate pop-lock dances for the 10 people in the audience when I score. That is the difference. If you want to be successful and actually gauge the suck factor of your band, get out of Dodge and start playing better venues. Start playing with bands that are better than you, start listening to other bands and watching their stage shows, start loading your gear into other venues to see what it really feels like to be in a band. For the love of god, your little bar will love you because the drunks are used to your music but, once the merchandise and CDs are sold to the same 7 people, they won't be buying them any more and you will be stuck with 250 CDs and 12 hoodies collecting dust because you chose to be the best “Local” band instead of the band that is part of the Maine music scene. Maine Music Rocks! Most “local” acts just plain suck. Go see Maine, it is a beautiful state with lots of good venues that may allow you to play their stages if you just try a little harder. -Erik Archambault
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