Whiskey: Drop the mic and walk away. You won.

Catie: I agree. Right now this area is so rich with talent it’s ridiculous.

I guess when you grow up with your father and his friends in local bands and are raised next to the sound boards at different local bars it makes you appreciate local acts more. Tampa, St. Pete, Bradenton, and Orlando have a TON of GREAT local acts that put on amazing shows every weekend. 3 cd’s that are in constant rotation right now are Matt Butcher, Thomas Wynn, and Will Quinlan. I was at all 3 cd release parties. I love to support local acts that are worth a damn.

That does nothing to explain the sheer volume of people that show up to shows that they clearly are not interested in (you know the talky bastards in the back) just because it’s a “cool” band.

Nor does it explain the phenomenon of having a great band (DTR for example) play your town repeatedly and get little to no love despite your best efforts, and then suddenly when they open for someone “cool” (Joey Cape for example) all the dicks you’ve tried to drag out to shows before say how great they were and now want to see the next show they play.

Local scenes, from the local bands to the ‘zines to the venues themselves, can be one of those things that people take for granted right up until they disappear. And then suddenly the very people who never made it out to shows are sad that it isn’t an option anymore.

If it was simply a matter of “give ‘em what they want” then you’d see local scenes comprised solely of cover bands and tribute bands. This does not happen except for in tourist traps.

Bitching about ones disappointment with the local scene gets other true believers fired up and hopefully leads to people pushing harder to keep a good thing going. Laying the blame at the bands feet for not playing what people like is shorsighted.

Just sayin’