I could not fit enough question marks in my title to capture my reaction when I found out about an Esquire article from April 2004 about the national music scene. Which city was topping the list you ask? Apparently...Pittsburgh.
I found an old article in the Pittsburgh Tribune Review entitled "Local music scene cheers 'Burghs rockin' ranking". According to the article, Pittsburgh has the best unknown music scene in the country, and the way it sounds, the best music in the country. A lot can happen in five years, but from what I'm finding out, it seems to have only gotten better.
Unfortunately, I could not find the Esquire article. If anyone has any ideas how I could, I would love to hear them.
So the question still remains: if Pittsburgh music is so great, why is it so difficult for anyone to put a finger on it? As before, I am perplexed. However, the more I look into questions like these, the more answers I find. The goal is to find these answer without looking for them and to help other music fans find them, too.
2 comments:
I actually came across the same article mentioned by the Tribune Review last year when I was giving a presentation on Mr.Small's for one of my classes. Being familiar with the music scene in the city, it really surprised me that they named Pittsburgh the number one city that rocks. Talk to anyone in the industry here now-a-days and they will tell you that the city is not a big market for bands. The appeal isn't entirely there for a lot of them.
I currently work for a concert promoter, which has allowed me to study the music scene for myself. Unfortunately, a lot of shows aren't coming to town this fall for a number of reasons. This made me wonder - what changes would have to be made in Pittsburgh to boost the market here?
Pittsburgh needs an authority that rewards local bands when their music has worth and penalizes (or at least ignores) bands when they don't. I used to think venues could shoulder this burden, but that is not their main concern (in most cases).
I realize this proposed solution is nearly impossible to achieve, but certain local-valuing organizations like the City Paper, WYEP, etc... appear to be making efforts toward this.
It might sound harsh to criticize music in this way, but I think in the long run it will benefit both bands and fans. Any thoughts about something like that?
By the way what concert promoter do you work for if you don't mind me asking? Unfortunately I'm just starting to get to know the names around here. We've had some success with Faded Industries in the past, but my knowledge of promoters doesn't go far beyond that.
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