Sometimes, I enjoy being wrong.
I’d been bitching to Holly all last week about how I needed some drama in my life. I’d been overcome by a certain. . . I guess you could call it malaise.Things had been going really well. The job was good, home life was good, I thought I was really catching my stride with this whole “single” thing. I’d even taken a vacation, which is something I hadn’t done in recent memory.
The only problem was, there was no conflict, and I was getting really bored.Personally, I need a little kick to get me going every day — and I can’t really get that kick without a little conflict.
That’s why I was bitching to Holly. I need drama, I told her. Give me some drama, I whined. Holly is a kind-hearted sort, and she selfishly offered to put me in a headlock and throw me into the street. I bet none of you have friends who would commit Grievous Bodily Harm upon you if you asked. Aren’t you jealous?
Anyway, after I graciously declined her offer to indulge her homicidal tendencies, she suggested that what I really needed was patience, and not drama.
Just wait, she said, something will happen.
And it did.
I heard lots of music last weekend: Chris Brokaw (ex-Come) J Mascis, Chris White, The Mendoza Line, Jenny Toomey.
Friday was J Mascis. I’m an idiot and didn’t get a ticket until the day of the show, but I had a plan — go get a ticket and then kill a few hours at the record store. So, I’m the Black Cat talking to Weirdo Strung-out Dude and who bumps into me but J “Holy-Fucking Shit” Mascis. For the uninitiated, J Mascis was Dinosaur Jr, and the last great guitar god of the Twentieth Century. We chatted for a few minutes and I managed not to turn into a total fanboy. I screwed up my courage and invited him to go to the record store, but he had sound-check. Can you imagine going to the record store with J Mascis? I would freak out! “Hey J, have you heard the new one from Vibrating Sandbox?” Anyway, I picked up Sneaker Pimps, Caitlin Cary, Teen Idles, Polvo.
Friday night was also “Night of the Living Ex-es”. That’s all I’m gonna say about that.
Sunday night I saw Chris White, The Mendoza Line and Jenny Toomey. I’d never heard Chris White before. He was kinda blues-y mope-rock, closer to Lou Barlow than Joe Pernice. Good enough I guess, but don’t expect me to stand in line.
Jenny Toomey was Jenny Toomey. You know you’re gonna hear a solid set that’s going to make you enjoy music. More importantly, she hasn’t lost a step.
The suprise of the night was The Mendoza Line. By far the best show of the weekend. I’d heard some of their stuff from either Epitonic or Insound, I forget which. Six people crammed onto the Black Cat Backstage. They played their hearts out. “If Ryan Adams were smarter, his breakup songs might be this good.” — MAGNET.
If you have not heard them, you are commanded to go purchase We’re All In This Alone right now.
Last night, I went to a panel discussion about the economics independent music. The panel was bsed around a discussion of the book R&B (RHYTHM & BUSINESS): The Political Economy of Black Music.Basically, how can independent artists (especially black artusts) continue to release good music when all of the channels of distribution and promotion are comtrolled by five mega-corporations. The panelists were Go-Go band manager Doug Carter; DJ Rudy from 93 KYS, a local Go-Go station; Ian MacKaye; Michael Bracy from the Future of Music Coalition and Johnny Temple from Girls Against Boys.
It was a great panel mostly, with lots of talk about the business of music promotion and distribution, One question that kept coming up was why no one outside of DC had heard of Go-Go music, and how hard it was for Go-Go bands to book venues for shows. Most of the Go-Go people kept talking about the importance of getting radio airplay. They lamented the lack of black-owned radio stations, black-owned record labels, black-owned magazines, and said that these were the reasons why local Go-Go, R&B and jazz artists could not get national airplay or book local venues.
Then Johnny Template handed the microphone to Ian MacKaye . . .
Have you read Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground 1981-1991? Ian told the story of Minor Threat that he told to Michael Azerrad. Ian talked about how Minor Threat worked to build the scene. How in the early days he just put out records to document the music that he and his friends were making. Ian talked about how the problem with local musicians was that so few of them were willing to put money back into the community, so few were willing to build the scene, so few were willing to do all of the hard work required to create a career. He chided local Go-Go musicians, black record label owners, black radio stations owners for being so willing to sell out to the major corporations instead of growing their businesses and keeping the money in the community. It was absolutely amazing.
The moral of the story is that Holly was right.
more later. . .