All Over Albany

don't forget about the valentine's day prom with tittsworth and goodship at rev. hall on saturday night starting at 8--ish - more info on this hotness here: http://goodship.net/blog/goodship/re-valentines-mix/ and here: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=62459941464

... said skfl on Feb 12, 2009 at 3:13 PM | link

If only we could get some bands/artists I've heard of...

... said Paul on Feb 12, 2009 at 5:10 PM | link

A great way to hear of them is to, you know, go out and see them. Just a thought.

... said B on Feb 12, 2009 at 6:13 PM | link

thanks for the continued el duke love!

... said Cecelia on Feb 12, 2009 at 6:49 PM | link

@skfl + B

You know Skfl, B's right, you should go out and see them.

But, I have to agree with skfl too,

If only we could get more bands/artists I've heard of and you haven't..

Although it is great to have local bands like the scientific maps and Benson coll., etc., and have the opportunity to see them at least 13x's a yr, I would love smalbany to have a better than mediocre music scene. Who would love a larger, more diverse art community? I would.

Just a skeptical smalbany transplant,

... said MattW on Feb 13, 2009 at 7:12 AM | link

You wouldn't believe how many Albany bands just give up because no one comes to the shows. Albany, sadly, has a great and diverse music scene that no one shows up to because... Well, this is what the Siena kids gave me when I invited them to a benefit show I was helping to organize: "But really? Like they don't have any songs on the radio. I don't even know who they are. So I must not like them."

The scene sucks because no one shows up.

... said @MattW on Feb 13, 2009 at 9:27 AM | link

@mattw - um... what? i posted an event that did not make the cut for this weekend and said nothing about wanting to see bands i knew or otherwise. i say see 'em all.

... said skfl on Feb 13, 2009 at 10:07 AM | link

Matt W is totally right. We have some amazing bands in this area, and it seems like the only ones who establish any following are the emo/hardcore bands. My husband was in a band a few years ago and had the same problem, because they were more along the lines of Wilco and Radiohead than screamo. They lost their passion for playing out because nobody supports the scene. It's frustrating.
Enough already! Go to some shows and support some bands!

(PS, there's a really interesting new band playing at Red Square tonight: http://www.newfamiliarmusic.com/)

... said Summer on Feb 13, 2009 at 2:16 PM | link

Wait, I was agreeing with @Matt W...how confusing.

... said Summer on Feb 13, 2009 at 2:18 PM | link

There seems to be some confusion over who posted the second comment (sorry you got dragged into that, skfl).

There really are two different discussions here. The 'local music scene' vs 'the acts that the Albany area attracts'. Frankly, I don't care too much about Albany's local music scene... if there's a great band that comes out of Albany, I'll probably end up finding out about them once they are known outside the area from a music blog or a friend's playlist... not because I went to see a band I don't know play songs I don't know.

What I *do* care about is the fact that nobody I already know ever plays here. The capital region has so many colleges, how do we not get 'college bands'... like indie rock, electronic artists, etc. What makes Albany different from an area like Northampton? Both areas are teeming with college students and have some great venues, yet so many of these artists visit Northampton while I'm lucky to find one show in this area per year that interests me.

Again, we have the venues: The Palace is basically The Calvin. Valentines is Pearl Street (the venue in Noho, not Albany's Pearl Street). I'm sure there are local bar/venues that are as nice as The Iron Horse.

And I think we have the audience. It happens occasionally: I couldn't believe it when I heard Interpol would be playing Albany last year. Ted Leo has come through, The Hold Steady seem to like it here (damn, it had to be one indie rock band I can't stand ;), and for whatever reason, Southern Comfort brought Justice and (almost) MGMT to the area last summer.

So are there no interested music promoters in the area? Do all the local bars only want to feature local bands? Am I completely wrong and our local college students actually like the selection of American Idol singers, 70's-era rock stars, and Disney on ice performances that make their way through the area year after year?

... said Paul on Feb 13, 2009 at 10:48 PM | link

Uh, Albany does have "indie" and "electronic" artists. The fact that you're not aware of them is not their fault. Get your head out of whatever hole it's in and find out about them. If the radio is the only way you ever hear of music, of course you won't have any idea of what local bands have to offer.

... said B on Feb 14, 2009 at 3:27 AM | link

The radio is the last place I hear about music. Again, I'm not talking about local bands... I'm saying the capital region gets overlooked when it comes to outside bands touring despite us having both the venues and the audience, and I think it sucks.

... said Paul on Feb 14, 2009 at 11:30 AM | link

well, this is probably a little too late to reach Paul, but, you are seriously misguided as to why Albany is overlooked. First of all, Valentine's is in NO WAY basically Pearl St. (in Northampton), not even close. I love Valentine's, but you just cannot compare the quality of venues that Northampton has to Albany. Iron Horse has amazing sound, Pearl St. is an overall more impressive facility. We have the Red Square, which has decent sound and nice atmosphere, but it's too far out of the way, especially for SUNY and St. Rose kids who don't travel around town much.

A lot of the venues rely on, you know, money from people coming out to see music in order to upgrade and improve their facilities. It's hard to attract larger bands when you DON'T KNOW that people will show up, an area kind of has to prove itself before you can attract well known mid-level bands. Over the years I have seen AWK, the Eels, and Secret Machines all play for small handfuls of people at venues in Albany/Saratoga area... say what you will about any of those bands, but all of them play for far larger audiences at any of our surrounding cities. We're sandwiched between Boston, Burlington, Northampton, NYC, and Buffalo... all far bigger cities and far more of an audience most of the year.

Maybe I am biased, but an area has to have a reliable audience before it can support larger national acts... promoters like Step Up stay away from college-y type indie bands because I think they've been burned so many times in the past by having low turnouts. So, they stick with more mainstream bands or stuff that has proven to have turn outs for high school kids or whatever.

If you've got the drive, Paul, get on your phone, call some people and book some bands. You'll probably find out what a daunting task it is. Or maybe you'll prove me wrong, which is fine. I'd love to be driving to Rev Hall or walking to Valentine's instead of to Northampton or NYC for anything non-local.

... said Matt Ferguson on Mar 2, 2009 at 10:58 PM | link