With an economy that resembles a shattered and streaked toilet seat stuck in the bottom of the Ohio, Americans are exhausted. But even in the dumps, there’s inspiration in audible form.
Social and cultural values are being rafted back to shore, back to the basics, and somehow it seems easier to have a good time. Stresses of work and school bear down like a swallowing abyss, but people are managing to find a way to release.
Homes and jobs are being lost like car keys because the American dream somehow evolved from a little house on the prairie to the need for every new family to have their own starter castle. Still, a few industries are on the up-and-up.
Movie attendance is up, which shouldn’t come as a surprise considering the theatre is dark, quiet and stimulating – a place that provides a few, drifting hours of get-away time. Bar and alcohol sales are also jumping and I’m sure one could come up with one’s own explanation for that.
Meanwhile, major music labels are crumbling, which isn’t a bad thing. Five major record companies are in control of 80 percent of the world’s recorded music, but that number is slimming. Thanks to the Internet and all those nasty little music pirates out there, yeah I’m talking about you, our generation is a different breed of consumer and we just happen to be reshaping the music industry.
Over the past 30 years, the music business has become a small penthouse club with people making big money. Because anyone looking can now hear whatever their ears stumble across, record sales have tanked. There’s no doubt jacking music for free on BitTorrent sites isn’t just sharing, it’s stealing, but it does channel that inner Robin Hood.
While it may be unfortunate for those multi-millionaires who now have to think about lowering their standard of living to stinking rich instead of queasy rich, the number of artists doing well is on the rise. Politically, the wealth is being distributed.
Music has never been a safe profession and job security is just about non-existent, but the playing field is being flattened by the Internet and carved again by an economically challenged time.
Our generation is the first to have almost complete access to any kind of music from anywhere in the world. The Internet has provided a place for musicians to connect and promote themselves and the economy has revived a supportive local spirit.
Why hire a money-hungry label executive to pinch quarters from every dollar musicians make and keep a stronghold on the creative output, when musicians can do it themselves? The best music is being heard and quickly surfacing above the rest.
While it’s harder to sell albums, bands are now making a living the old fashion way, hitting the dark corners of every smoke-filled tavern every single night, developing their craft for anyone who will hear.
We happen to be in the trenches of such activity. Our area’s strong “keep it local” attitude is helping us to get by and simultaneously creating a heightened diving board for the local arts. People are learning to enjoy the simple again and we are witnessing the return of the live, local show.
Illusions of those million dollar bills are fading, but it’s reasonable to think that people with artistic talent have a better shot of making a living. Competition is high, but that’s democracy. Ideally, that’s survival of the fittest and nothing kicks more ass than the real thing, the live show.
In the Kentuckiana area alone, several bands are on the verge of being stable while producing their art and it’s gaining attention nationwide.
Due to their relentless work ethic, perfected sound and non-stop touring for the last decade, Louisville band My Morning Jacket sells out every stop on their never ending tour schedule. They’ve pushed their way through the established ranks to become the best live show in the world. Just ask Rolling Stone or most any other music publication.
More recently, the Nashville-based Kings of Leon are hot on the Jacket’s coat tails, along with Akron, Ohio’s, the Black Keys.
The three bands could write a musicians bible on how to stay afloat in a cutthroat economy. The music is different, infectious, honest and heartfelt. But while these groups continue to make headlines and scorch through their tours, there are several groups in the area working to achieve the same musical status, and they’re close.
Leading the pack, Wax Fang, and their psychadelic brand of Bowie-esque rock, are forcing critics around the country to scratch their heads and their live shows are just short of audible and visual ecstasy.
If rap is what you dig, Louis Keys, along with his streams of creative metaphors, can be caught at random gas stations across town, pushing his latest release. For the country, southern rockers, Bloom Street is an Allman Brothers-esque band with jams that keep on grooving.
Furthermore, established artists such as the band Cabin, which is picture-perfect college rock, intellectual and thought provoking with masterful production, are scheduled to release their upcoming album early Summer.
Sleazy rockers The Broken Spurs, east-end jammers The Local Villains and Tool-style heavies Mungus, are all scheduled to release new material around the same time.
This music is organic, fresh and it’s earned its hype. These groups haven’t been tainted or lured with major label promises and work for their audiences. Instead of dishing out your money in these pocket-pinching times to big retailers, buy local.
You’ll know exactly where your money’s going and could possibly establish relationships with music you can call your own.
By HUNTER EMBRY
Staff Writer
ahembry@ius.edu