Printer-Friendly
Email this Story
Post a Comment (0)
The Dying Rock Scene in Northern VA
Ouch.
Q. What do you get when you rent a huge hall, bring-in one of the best punk bands in the area, (Lucky So Far), boost the Culpeper crowd with a local favorite, (Eclypsio), bring in a reunired band of popular punkers from Strasburg, (Rally Vincent) and debut one of the best new bands out of Warrenton, (Monkey Fist)?
A. Oh, about 30 kids and a handful of young adults.
This raises a lot of questions about where rock music in these heah parts is headed. In my own opinion: it's headed downstream. Fast.
In the past 2 years, I have hosted over 80 concerts or music events. Some have been packed with pulsating crowds of fans who actually raised the inside building temperature by 15-degrees. Other promising shows have been total busts. But there's never any way of anticipating what kind of crowd will turn out.
It's a crap shoot - one that has kicked me in the backside (namely in my wallet) one too many times.
Last weekend's show at the American Legion Hall (Post 330) in Culpeper was supposed to be one of the last big & hopefully well-attended bashes before the summer drought. (Last year, we had miniscule numbers at all 10 of our summer efforts.) With the bands mention above, plus the fact that it was one of the last shows of the season, there was little concern that we'd make the minimum-required base to cover the cost of the hall rental.
Fat chance.
At the end of the night, I sat with the guys from Lucky So Far, (Dan, Dave, Matt and Josh) and we tried to put a finger on why the show was such a bust. Was it because the local kids have had too many rock shows available? Was it because, despite having 3 more weeks of school, they are already in vacation mode?
Unfortunately for LSF (and myself) it was supposed to be a celebration of the release of Fashionista, the band's newest (and clearly the best) CD-offering on Narcoma Records. The same thing happened exactly one month ago in Warrenton; despite almost 2 months of promotion, the show saw only 100 attendees -- if that.
It took a long time to revive the rock scene in this area. Through efforts by people like Dara Green of Narcoma, countless free shows by local giants, Rude Rock Family, and of course, by the Culpeper Rock Academy, it seemed the resurrection of rock music was complete. But the more we introduced new bands and the more our local, hard-working bands improved to an incredible degree, it seemed that more and more people were slipping through the cracks.
Our question is: where did they all go?
Was it saturation? Or did the kids just get too comfortable? (read: apathetic or lazy).
Here are a few examples of the "local rock scene" during the past 8 months:
September '07: 14 bands play an outdoor rock festival at the Culpeper Agricultural Fairgrounds to benefit Lee Linthicum, a local ALS victim. Some of the best bands in all of Northern VA agree to play (including Rude Rock Family, Rude Buddha and local metal monsters, Revenent). The weather was hot and sunny. Dozens of local businesses chipped-in for the stages, tents, food, drinks and support services, like port-o-lets and auxilary power sources. Even VA DOT helped in many ways, while the county and town waived all fees.
Attendance? Maybe 150...maybe.
October '07: A free outdoor concert for Windmere Foundation's 20th anniversary at their amphitheater on Rt. 522. Local kids and their bands played during a perfect afternoon. Did I mention it was free?
Attendance: 15-20 kids - many of whom were family members of the performing bands.
February '08: Culpeper Rock Academy presents Tres Bien (pronounced, tray bee-EN). Tres Bien is a dynamic foursome from Clearwater, FL who placed 6th out of over 10,000 bands on Fox Channel's "The Next Great American Band" which aired nationally in the fall of '07. These guys were the most incredibly talented band I've see-to-date (at least for their age - none of them were over 22). They had more stage presence than bands with twice their experience. The crowd was whipped into a Beatlemania-type frenzy during the very first song. They were also incredibly open and accomodating to the local kids.
Attendance: 80-100 What a disappointment.
So...where are these kids?
Where are the rock music fans who've supported all this music in the past?
With the summer approaching in just a few weeks, is it time to drop the rock shows and focus on other things? (I used to coach soccer, but more so i was a head coach and league president for my local Babe Ruth baseball League. I love coaching baseball.)
Will this be the last blog about rock music coming out of Culpeper?
The choice is no longer mine...but yours.
With all sincerity and hope I say: Rock on, Culpeper!
You must be logged in to post a comment.