A while ago I went to the "Cropped Out" music festival and I had the great fortune of having a solid conversation with the one and only camera equipped adventurer, Marty Pearl. Marty and I shot the shit on many different subjects, but what really stuck with me was his thoughts on the future of Louisville's music scene.
It is no surprise to any musician or regular concert attendee that Louisville is a harsh place to play music these days. Many musician friends of mine that live outside of this city even cringe at the thought of trying to do a serious run of shows here. The problem is simple. There's 101 venues, even more musicians and groups, and everyone. everything is trying to go in a seperate direction. The ammount of sonic laced "Boom" that has been driven into this town has put it into complete and total chaos. A band can advertise for weeks and still play for a handful of people, or have a tab that easily exceeds one's profits for the night. On top of this general state, there's new venues and bands popping up every day. It would practically be a full time job just to keep up with what's going on in Louisville.
I would be lying if I said that I've never grown bitter in regards to these difficulties. If you don't have the right people backing you, it feels far to easy to drown in such depths, but Marty lifted a bit of that burden through our conversation. He invited me to look at a bigger picture. Louisville has had a huge musical figure for a while now. It was just more controlled in the nineties, but also more specific. It was thriving and scene oriented, and as those scenes went on the decline, there was far too many different things trying to fill the void. Thus the uncontrollable merciless Behomoth that is playing music in Louisville was birthed, but just like any scenario, people adapt. Marty assured me that the monster was becoming more tame and accesible and that the next five or so years is going to be a continous and wonderful improvement. He told me things work in cycles and that the light is getting ready to be quite bright once again.
As I hypothesize the nigh coming days of new and reflect on those of old, I really think this will be the case. People have grown hungry through this deprivation of finding the place to hear the band, and knowing when and where to go. Finding supporters gets easier day by day. Finding out where and who you want to hear is easier than ever. On top of that, people seem to want the excentric juxtaposition of Louisville sounds. Genre-less bills are becoming quite popular. From these past struggles, I finally see groups that deserve credit actuatlly gaining it around town. I see diverse people interacting and creating fearless new things as musical clicks are less divided than ever before. I see venues evolving into musical havens, and I've never been this excitied for so many local and regional albums to drop.
I have no doubt the game is changing and I'm so excited to see what it's getting ready to evolve into... I hope it's a Charizard with a a triple necked guitar.
-Scott W.
It is no surprise to any musician or regular concert attendee that Louisville is a harsh place to play music these days. Many musician friends of mine that live outside of this city even cringe at the thought of trying to do a serious run of shows here. The problem is simple. There's 101 venues, even more musicians and groups, and everyone. everything is trying to go in a seperate direction. The ammount of sonic laced "Boom" that has been driven into this town has put it into complete and total chaos. A band can advertise for weeks and still play for a handful of people, or have a tab that easily exceeds one's profits for the night. On top of this general state, there's new venues and bands popping up every day. It would practically be a full time job just to keep up with what's going on in Louisville.
I would be lying if I said that I've never grown bitter in regards to these difficulties. If you don't have the right people backing you, it feels far to easy to drown in such depths, but Marty lifted a bit of that burden through our conversation. He invited me to look at a bigger picture. Louisville has had a huge musical figure for a while now. It was just more controlled in the nineties, but also more specific. It was thriving and scene oriented, and as those scenes went on the decline, there was far too many different things trying to fill the void. Thus the uncontrollable merciless Behomoth that is playing music in Louisville was birthed, but just like any scenario, people adapt. Marty assured me that the monster was becoming more tame and accesible and that the next five or so years is going to be a continous and wonderful improvement. He told me things work in cycles and that the light is getting ready to be quite bright once again.
As I hypothesize the nigh coming days of new and reflect on those of old, I really think this will be the case. People have grown hungry through this deprivation of finding the place to hear the band, and knowing when and where to go. Finding supporters gets easier day by day. Finding out where and who you want to hear is easier than ever. On top of that, people seem to want the excentric juxtaposition of Louisville sounds. Genre-less bills are becoming quite popular. From these past struggles, I finally see groups that deserve credit actuatlly gaining it around town. I see diverse people interacting and creating fearless new things as musical clicks are less divided than ever before. I see venues evolving into musical havens, and I've never been this excitied for so many local and regional albums to drop.
I have no doubt the game is changing and I'm so excited to see what it's getting ready to evolve into... I hope it's a Charizard with a a triple necked guitar.
-Scott W.