The Hard Realities That Capital Region Musicians Face
A Kapitol Profile Exclusive Report
By The Kapitol Overlord Himself

Ahh, Albany.  The land of New York politics, state workers, and suburban mediocrity.  Who would ever think that in a cold, depressing place like this, there would have ever been any hint at all of a music scene, let alone any culture at all.  You may hear the old-timers (relatively speaking) reminisce of the days when the music scene was exploding in Albany, and going out to check out live music, whether it be original or otherwise, was the thing to do at night.  Local bands cared about their craft, rehearsing, writing, and putting in loads of hard work just to perfect that live set that they had been waiting for weeks, even months to put on.  They cared because they knew that the people would be out to see them, I mean to really see them and hear what they had to offer.  People partied hard and packed the many clubs around the area on the weekends and during the week.  The local nightlife industry thrived; and it wasn’t just the bands and the clubs that were working hard and becoming successful.  Back in the day, people cared about the production of a local show, and lightguys, soundguys, and anyone else involved actually put the time and effort into putting on nothing less than a stellar show.  To put it bluntly, the music scene in Albany thrived because everyone involved, from the club owner and promoter, to the bands, and right down to the actual fans, cared about the music.

And then something happened.  Actually, a lot of things happened.  Going way back, one of the first things that put a strain on local music and nightlife was the increase of the drinking age from 18 to 21.  Now, this wasn’t the end all nail in the coffin by any means.  Music in this area continued to thrive long after that, but, it did damper things just a little in comparison to the 70’s and early 80’s.  Even after the drinking age law was enacted, it was fairly easy to be underage and get into bars around the area all the way up to around 2002 (after 9/11 local law enforcement noticeably began to crack down on fake ID’s and such).  Also, not all shows were 21+.  Places like Saratoga Winners, QE2, and Bogies were doing all age shows where they would simply segregate the minors from the bar, no big deal.  I can remember Valentines (when it was actually somewhat of a cool place) putting up a barrier at shows upstairs around the bar so the kiddies couldn’t get near it.  Of course, this didn’t stop underage patrons from sneaking some drinks from the bar via an older friend.  I remember being 14 and getting blasted at Valentines (good times)!     There were also a lot of all ages shows at high schools, community centers, and YMCAs put on by the bands themselves and promoters as well  (Check out last months interview with Ralph Renna, he talks about bringing Type O Negative and Life of Agony to the South Troy Community Center).  These practices seem to have disappeared however due to new legislation, lawsuits, people being stupid, and just the general pussification of the general populace.  The irony is that people under the age of 21 are the ones that are most likely to go out and see live music.  After 21, many people are getting married, banging out kids, and are busy dying.  Yes, there are many exceptions to this, but from the standpoint of the bands and club owners, these are the demographical realities of the matter.  You gotta do it for the kids!!!

Then some other things began to happen.  Many local clubs such as the QE2, Bogies, and Saratoga Winners shut down.  There were less all age shows to be found, basically due to the liabilities involved in such shows, and many did not want to take on that kind of responsibility.  Moshing and any kind of “aggressive dancing” became virtually outlawed everywhere else.  This may not be a big deal to some, but fuck, when you’re watching a band like the Melvins (who are inevitably going to make you lose your shit) and the pudgy bouncers at Revolution Hall are ready to throw you out at the slightest hint of moshing, it makes you not want to go out to a show, and also makes the bands, national or local, not want to play around here.  Also, it just generally became more and more of a hassle to even go see a show, with so many rules in effect at clubs and venues that you would think you were going to the Pentagon rather than to a club.  But the proverbial nail in the coffin came from the local bands themselves.  Yep, they killed it, and you want to know how?  Well, at some point, club owners and promoters got this idea of just getting any band, regardless of how shitty they were, and having them play shows where they sold tickets to their friends just to get as many people through the door as possible.  They also knew that they could get these same shitty bands to basically play for free as well.   It had nothing to do with putting stellar talent on the local stages.  It had to do with easy money.  Now, let me say that the priority for any promoter or club owner has always been and will always be to make money.  But the primary difference is that in the past, club owners, promoters, and bands knew that it took kick ass shows from awesome bands to bring the people in and keep them coming night after night.  This instilled a common ideology among people that going to see bands was the place to be because the bands kicked ass and everyone will be there.  Now, in 2010, the common thought is, “we aren’t going go out to see a band, well maybe we’ll see a cover band but definitely not an original band because odds are they suck.”  This happened because over time the priority shifted from talent to the easiest money possible.  It can be argued successfully that this was actually the club owners and promoters fault, but I place the blame on the shitty bands that basically have no self respect and run around playing for free, focusing more attention on how many myspace friends they have instead of honing their craft and writing good music.

And here we are, in 2010.  Many things have indeed changed in the Capital Region music scene, and for the worse.  Believe me, I wish that things were drastically different.  I don’t enjoy coming off as pessimistic.  But there are certain realities that Capital Region bands face that are not so good.  In a way, these realities are occurring across the country, but on the other hand, many other areas of the country have great music scenes with great venues and people who still come out and love the live, local music.  We’ll get to that another time.  Below are some of these realities that I speak of that, by fault of their own or not, area musicians have to put up with.

1.) It is extremely difficult for a local, original band to build up any kind of following in this area.
Although order does not matter in this list, I put this as number one because it is the reality that affects all that will come after it. A local, original band can’t expect to have any sort of a crowd at their shows besides friends and family.  Are there exceptions to this?  Sure, but Ten Year Vamp is not one of them (because they are a COVER BAND).  Why is this so?  There are really only 5 places where original bands can seriously put on show, and those places are Valentines, Bogies, Red Square, Savannahs, and Northern Lights.  But bands really can’t even put on shows at these places without a ton of bullshit, (the likes of which I am about to get into below).

2.)  The area clubs make it extremely difficult for bands to book fruitful shows that will help them to gain a following.
Take Northern Lights.  It is actually more of a national venue, and they very rarely will put on a local opener (as usually the nationals have their own openers on tour with them).  They do have this thing where you can book your own show, however it is basically the scam where they get any shit band to sell their own tickets.  And who the fuck wants to drive all the way up to Northern Lights just to hang out unless there is a big national act playing?  You see, if I am in a kick ass local band, I want the clubs to be selective on who they put on local shows, because if some horrible bunch of jackasses is playing before me and they clear out the room before I go out, where does that get me???  No, I do not think every local band has the right to play.  If you’re fucking not good enough, I mean really fucking good, you should not be allowed on the stage.  Simple as that.  That’s the way it used to be.  The Red Square is another example.  What this niggardly club does is take 200 bucks right off the top of the door (if you can ever get that many people to come see your band for their ridiculous door charges).  So, my point is, before you ever even get started, you are shut down.

3.) Area clubs are shitholes, and yet they expect people to pay top dollar to see live music.
This one pretty much speaks for itself.  And yet another reason why a person would not want to come out and check out an original band.

4.)  The sound is terrible at local clubs.
This is a problem for both the patron and the band.  For a person who just paid an exorbitant door charge, it is just one more slap in the face to hear shitty sound coming from the stage.  From the band standpoint, you will be hard pressed to find any band that will say that any soundguy or club does good sound.  Most of these clubs have horrible fucking sound (last we checked), and they usually either have no one running the board (just a set and forget attitude) or they have someone who you would think had their ears cut off.  Most of these sound guys can’t even mic up a drum kit properly, or give the proper monitors for the band.  I do have to mention one exception, and that is John Chiara.  He used to run sound at Rev Hall, and has always had a recording studio in the area.  I don’t mean to play favorites, but I feel that it is worth mentioning that John is one of the very few true professionals in the area that actually know what they are doing.

5.)  Instead of just picking the best bands to open for large festivals and concerts in the area, radio stations, clubs, and organizations resort to the “Best Band Contest.”
Enough with the fucking contests!!!  Whenever there is an Edgefest or this-fest or that-fest, whoever is in charge feels the need to waste bands time by having them write a fucking essay about themselves in crayon and play stupid semi-finals, where they are basically judged by their friends that they can drag out to scream for them.  The bands that usually win these contests are the most obnoxious, horrible shit head local bands out there.  This is humiliating and frustrating to the bands that actually kick ass and truly have the most to gain from playing that opening slot.  Those shit head bands end up playing those big shows, and guess what?  All of the real music fans that actually came out realize that this band that won the gay contest sucks, and will never want to see them again.  And thus, no one gains a following.

Now I could go on and on but I won’t.  What my point is with this piece is that every one in this area who cares about local music and is involved in it needs to wake the fuck up and understand the reality of your surroundings.  Enough with the sugar coating, and what’s fair is fair for bands bullshit.  Everyone needs to act accordingly so that this area can once again be the place for promising talent to emerge from.  Because right now, it isn’t.  And that’s a fucking fact.