local music?

[metalmariachi]

Because we have a world wide community here, I would be very interested in hearing about every ones local music.
I realize that covers a lot of ground so...
I guess I'm more interested in how everyone back ground an culture shapes their music.

Does this make sense to any one else?

MM

[jrmy]

Damn MM, you do know how to come up with the big questions. Actually, it seems like there's two big ones here... I find this stuff really interesting too, both about local music and about formative musical moments. In terms of background & culture, here's an abbreviated list for me:

- First musical memories: my mom singing Joan Baez songs to me (fr realz, that's how I learned the concept of death at 3 years old... I don't think that's what she MEANT to do, but hey... at least the songs were pretty), and looking at my dad's Beach Boys & Janis Joplin LP covers (cue: little brain exploding).

- Key "ah-ha!" moment: when, at age 8, I realized that I could actually understand the words being sung in the songs on the radio. I know, I know - a bit slow in the uptake dept. After that, I became a regular requester to our local rock station. Unfortunately, what I requested was invariably the Jagger / Bowie duet "Dancing in the Street" (not a proud moment).

- Age 12: I "borrow" my father's Best of Steppenwolf cassette tape. (again: cue brain exploding) Shortly after that, I steal his Best of The Who tape. "Pinball Wizard" is the song that officially seals my fate as a rock-loving lifer. It's also the first song that I ever get caught playing air guitar to. Oops!

- Age 14: after my first concert (Jimmy Page), I decide that I may as well take guitar lessons. My first teacher tries to get me to learn "Michael Row the Boat Ashore" from the Mel Bay intro guitar books. That doesn't last. My second guitar teacher is an old-skool Delta Blues guy who tells stories about partying with Janis Joplin when he lived in San Fran. That works out much better!

- Age 16-ish: I discover Reflex Magazine, which covers this weird thing called "Alternative music," and has a flexi-disc of two different bands each week. From Reflex, I learn about Soundgarden, Primus, the Smashing Pumpkins, Ministry, the Pixies and many others.

- Age 18: I join my first band, Crash and Burn. We play Nirvana, Metallica and a whole bunch of classic rock. We also get booked at numerous dive bars, largely because there are no other bands around. I get my first exposure to the genius of Cliff Burton.

- On my own, I stumble across the Ride album "Nowhere" in my local record store. It is one of my first CDs purchased. It is shortly followed by Bob Mould's "Black Sheets of Rain" and Husker Du's (sorry I can never remember the umlaut shortcut) "Warehouse: Songs and Stories" (I know, a lot of people hate that one - I think it's criminally underrated).

- College: I decide where to go mainly based on the fact that the town has an underground comic shop and the college has an amazing anti-top-40 radio station. I get in, and because I play "Seek and Destroy" on one of my graveyard shows, am asked to become the radio station's Metal Director. From then on, I split my time at the station between doing daytime shows that play indie-rock & shoegaze, and Friday night shows that play thrash metal. I also join the concert crew and work backstage at as many shows as possible. I learn that Tori Amos has the craziest cross-section of fans, Ani DiFranco has the most rabid fans (well, at the time she did), Beck and the Cardigans were really nice to the road crew, and that Sonic Youth and J. Mascis are not so good at following (admittedly lame) "no-alcohol in the dressing room" rules. Oh, and that Thurston Moore is really funny in person.

- After college: I move to Providence RI based entirely on the fact that my bandmate grew up in the area and we can get gigs here. Fall in love with the city. Bandmate moves away and I start a new band. Play out, watch the club scene rise and fall, meet peeps, fall in love & get married, get a dog, have a kid, still try to make music, etc.

Good lord that's a long post. Apologies if it's too long and congrats if you made it this far. I'm definitely interested in learning more about everyone else on this board, so please keep this thread going - I bet there will be some intriguing histories laid out here...

[Ghost Hip]

Most of the scene around here is that screamo/death metal/hardcore stuff, doesn't tickle my fancy too often. My band is one of maybe 2-4 in my town that don't play any sort of metal. I'm not knocking metal, its just hearing the same music from every band is tiring after awhile. It seems everytime the singer announces a song it goes "Alright.... We're gonna keep the show moving...with this next song, DEATH OF CAESAR!!!!" Chug chug chaggachug-wheeeeee-chug chug....

It's too bad because a really sweet melodic rock band played their last show this past saturday..... they played a eman cover of Zeppelin's "The Ocean"

Anywho as far as my background and how I make music....

I started at 5 years old jumping on my cousin's bed to "Bullet With Butterfly Wings". Also The Wallflowers caught my attention with their song "The only difference" and "One headlight". Although I've never liked any of their other stuff.... I really liked those two songs when I was young.

Once my cousins started listening to Rap music.... well music kind of left my life, nothing caught my attention until tony hawk's Pro Skater and MX2000 came out on Playstation two.

Late grade school and early middle school I was really into pop/punk, I started listening to Sum 41 , and sadly Good Charlotte and Linkin Park. Most of the time, when someone said what kind of music I listened to, I just said whatever is on my video games. But to this day I still enjoy All Killer No Filler. I also liked "Anarchy in the UK" and "Blitzkrieg Bop". And out of nowhere I liked Daft Punk's Discovery Album as well, I bought as soon as I heard "One more time". Oh and The Gorillaz were in my CD player too.

When I was twelve or thirteen (7th/8th grade, perfect timing) my grandma found my cousin's Mellon Collie album and asked if I wanted it. Over the past years I snuck into their room and listened to "Bullets" on my CD player. I basically listened to Mellon Collie all the time with breaks for Daft Punk until Christmas when I received Machina and Pisces Iscariot. And next Christmas I got Siamese dream.

After listening to "Blue" on Pisces Iscariot, I wanted to play Bass. I borrowed my mom's Beatles "1" album and started my voyage into classic rock. And my Dad played some of his Zeppelin records for me. At the end of my freshmen year in high school I saw my friend's punk band play, and found it intriguing. The whole thing: playing guitar, coming up with a band name, having a cause, and most of all not playing sports. (The only way to shine in my Catholic High School was to play sports.... or play music.)

Sophomore year in High School I went onto ign.com (video game website) I saw on the front page Guitar Hero, the day before it came out. (This is about octoberish) I had some cash saved up, so the next day I bought it after school. I played it non stop and started liking all these bands I had heard the names of, but didn't know anything about. so I downloaded Limewire and downloaded so much classic rock I don't know how I even listened to it all.

Two months after getting Guitar Hero, I asked for a guitar and got a Squier Fat Strat and what not. This is why I'm in full support of guitar hero, it's the sole reason I'm writing this here post.

Eventually my friends joined me in learning instruments and we formed a ska/punk/comedy band Junior year. That didn't really work out too well, but none the less we played and learned together. We split, I formed The Toadstools with the bassist, Dan, from the ska band and freshmen friend of ours, Pat, who played drums.

Pat was obsessed with Nirvana at the time, so we traded Nirvana for smashing Pumpkins with eachother. I dabbled in listening to Nirvana but never got into them. Well....now I love Nirvana in the same respect as I love the Smashing Pumpkins. Within two weeks we had a show, I wrote four songs of the punk/grunge variety and chose four nirvana/pumpkins covers. we practiced three times, and took on the stage. Everyone digged it, I was surprised.

So Senoir year we keep doing shows, I fall in love with The Vines and more bands like The White Stripes and Violent Femmes. I meet my current girlfriend, get into more music. I watch rock and roll documentaries as much as TV allows from then to this day. I'd write about what I've recently been doing but I'm tired.....

[smile_man]

ASTROZOMBIES (Mah band) - www.myspace.com/thezomb
Planet Shhh! - http://www.myspace.com/welcometoplanetshhh

It's a Blur/Oasis type deal.

[sev]

Hey Mariachi, you're from Fresno right?
There's a cat from there called Nino Moschella who put out a sick sick soul/funk record called 'The Fix'.
It's on the Ubiquity label. Check it if you haven't already.
I think he might have relocated to the Bay recently though.

[metalmariachi]

Nope not in Fresno. I did live in San Diego for a while though, and Valley Jo back in the day.

Now reside in the Baltimore/DC world.


I've heard Nino's stuff with Dorando and The Park, I'll have to check out his new CD.


MM

[htsamurai]

I'm the Fresno guy lol


for me the local music scene has never appealled to me
only the folky/jazzy stuff, but not exactly folk and not exactly jazz

idk...
if you get a chance checkout Julia Dawn or Dave Trent
...
actually now that i think about it, Julia was in Portland last i heard


lol yeah, after a quick google search i find
http://www.myspace.com/juliadawnmusic

and Dave is this dude
http://www.myspace.com/vckl






as for me, if i could just meet the right people id start up a cool band, i mean i know the drummer i want and the other guitarist i want
but seems things just wont click --'

[sev]

I'm the Fresno guy lol

for me the local music scene has never appealled to me
only the folky/jazzy stuff, but not exactly folk and not exactly jazz
'

SORRY FELLAS!
I got the "mariachi" mixed up with the "samurai".

Anyway...I'm sure the Fresno music scene is nothing to write home about.......but seriously, Nino's album "The Fix" is reeaaalllyy fucking good, no matter what city....on the neo-soul tip, but with a raw edge to the production. And Ubiquity is a great boutique label which speaks even more to the album's quality.

[ohsojayadeva]

local music...

the biggest export my townmasqueradingasacity can claim would be the dave matthews band, though there are others... for example, one of my early bands definitely played a show with an early project fronted by chris daughtry.

bella morte is also from here, and they seem to have made a name for themselves in and around the US. i'm currently involved in a project with their original founding member/bass player.

we're really lucky here. there's a lot of cross pollination between scenes here. punk, metal, folk, rock, funk, indie, goth, r&b, electronic, whatever - you're pretty much going to see all kinds of people at any show you go to no matter what. sadly a lot of live venues disappeared over the last few years but i think we are in for a resurgence in the near future.

[Skarrgus]

I live in Klamath Falls, Oregon... And, it's horrible... Just sceney-bopping emo-metal breakdown wank bullshit with the occasional crappy punk band. Not into any of the bands that come through, except MDC was here last year which was nice and the Box Social a couple years ago. As I'm not originally from here (I come from Sonoma County, California), I can't say anything about the history.

[4str0_p4dt]

planet shhh! just finished their christmas ep. it features two members of ASTROZOMBIES.

www.myspace.com/welcometoplanetshhh

www.myspace.com/thezomb (mah band)