Can we as a community resurrect the music scene?
The community of local musicians known as Hoboken Rock staged a fabulous show of local talent at Hoboken’s Pier A Park. From start to finish the sense of togetherness and camaraderie was magic.
Everyone involved from the bands to the crew to the cops to the fans all made this day a memorable one indeed. Performing were faves that I’ve written about many times. End of October, Butterspy, Crewman Number 6, High Speed Chase and eugene. There is no doubt that I am a fan of each of them and today they were fantastic. While some folks were concerned about the amount of people attending this event, I pointed out that this is a huge park. The people were simply spread out and enjoying a leisurely day of lounging in the sun. After all, the music could be heard all the way to the train station. Also, there isn’t a venue in town that could have housed the crowd we had here.
To properly talk about the importance of this show at Pier A and it’s subsequent effect on the scene, we need to address the politics of music in Hoboken. Most musicians will say that the politics are what’s ruining the scene, plain and simple. However, this goes deeper than the booking policies of clubs which tend to shun local, original acts.
Because of this practice, there is a growing defeatist attitude amongst local musicians. Many look at this is a losing battle and feel as though we will never truly revitalize the scene here. I on the other hand feel that, with a little effort and altered thinking on our part, we can turn this trend around. My idea is that we need to expand our promotional efforts outside of our own fan bases. In addition, we need to promote the music even when there are no gigs scheduled.
We’re all guilty of tending to promote primarily to those on our mailing lists when we have a gig. And, when we hang or pass out flyers, we do it in several of the usual spots such as in the venue where we will be playing. A popular place is the local CD store Tunes. So popular that they’ve moved the flyers to their own table and away from the front counter where it was getting too crowded. A third place to promote may be in another bar that we have a good relationship with and whose nights don’t directly conflict with our gig.
While it may seem that the rest of Hoboken has shown little support, have we as a musical community truly given them the chance? Have we made it known to them that we even exist? So maybe the city government doesn’t go out of their way to promote local music. This is probably because they don’t see just how important and viable our scene can be except for once or twice a year when a higher profile show like this one at Pier A happens which requires us to cooporate with city government.
We need to take our message straight to the people on a regular basis. If we get the public excited about the music, the rest of the city will have to pay attention. It’s all about good marketing. As much as we hate to admit it, this is a business and like any other donut shop, real estate agent or hair salon we can’t survive without effective marketing. Like it or not. Before you all set out the indie lynch mob on me, this does not have to be a bad thing.
As we set up the stage under the hot sun, people kept coming around asking who we were and what we were doing. I was shocked that more people didn’t know about this. As smoothly as this event would go from set-up to show to break-down, I’m sorry to say that I was a little disappointed with the way it was promoted.
In the days and weeks leading up to the show, I didn’t see any posters or flyers anywhere. A great deal of the people who I met in the park on the day of the show simply stumbled across it and decided to stay for a while thanks to the lure of the music. That is except for those who were on the usual mailing lists because they knew far enough in advance. On a positive note; the amount of people who came and stayed is a true testament to the talent in this community of ours.
Another big positive was the clockwork synchronicity that got everything moving and the pride that kept our energy hyped throughout the long day. These bands that performed today, and many others from the area, all deserve massive success here but until we break through the barricades of old-fashioned thinking and apathy, it won’t happen.
What can we do here to make things better? Now keep in mind that I love each and every member of the Hoboken Rock crew and am truly proud of what they achieved today and with other shows in town. However, the first and foremost thing needed here is to be more organized and (eek!) professional. We are in a fight with hardcore business folks and politicians here. I know in our hearts and souls we’re musicians out to rock and have fun. We still need our heads to tell us that, if we look like nothing more than a ramshackle rat pack out to party, those who need to take us seriously won’t. Something great has has been finally brewing since earlier this year. Something that stems from years of dedication and hard work and we need to keep it going.
So like I said let’s not wait for a gig to promote our music. For example, Hoboken Rock set up a relationship with Verizon where the flyer for this show was also a coupon for discounts at a local shop. Why not do that again with a more generic flyer that works whenever? Then set up a little display in the lobbies of office buildings and schools or hand them out on the street. This will get the issue of the local music community into the sights and minds of the people. Other things that can help include but aren’t limited to the following:
- Burn some freebie CDs to hand out for free
- Tell whoever gets the CD to rip/burn and share
- Play open mics … especially ones that are all ages
- Keep in mind it’s always kids that determine musical success
- Make flyers or cards that simply promote your website
- Troll thru MySpace.com to find like-minded friends
- Sign up at VersusMedia.com and maybe get your music in films
- Get your music on web radio (BlowUpRadio.com or Radio-Indie-Pop.com)
Now I’m not saying this will definitely work. Hell it hasn’t really worked yet for me and my music. However I will keep doing it this way because I totally believe that we cannot afford to leave our future in the hands of fate. Events like this one at Pier A and the night back in January that Hoboken Rock sold out Maxwell’s prove that we have the talent. Now it’s up to us to prove we have the wherewithal to see this thru.
See Also:
Pier A Photo Gallery
City is Ignoring Its Local Talent by Irene Smith
Hoboken Rocks Sells Out Maxwell’s
HobokenRocks.com
