We all know that bands and artists don't just bask in glory and become "famous" overnight. No one plays sold out shows at Madison Square Garden or take the floor at the heart of Times Square in a matter of days. In fact, their first shows were probably in their parents' basements at the mere age of 16 while their two best friends filmed their performance on the low-quality camera of their Razor flip phones. And the performance would probably be uploaded to YouTube where mustering a mere 50 views became an appropriate occasion to celebrate with cheese doodles and several liters of Dr. Pepper.
So why exactly should one support local music? Just imagine this:
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You're sitting in a coffee-house café style rendezvous at three in the morning with your best friends, surrounded by low chitter-chatter, gently muted by your concentration on the main act. The setting is quaint, garnished with a conglomeration of Victorian paintings of flowers and middle-aged women, modernized with contemporary art strokes. A string of dim silver lights are surrounding the small area around the chairs and tables, reflecting the beautiful polish of the mahogany floors. The aperture of the moon through the curtain sneaking in through the center stage makes the lightning perfect and completely natural. You're there sipping a cup of café mocha measuring two shots of expresso, going on three. Your phone is off, tucked away in your back pocket, and you're laughing and clinking cups with the girl you met just moments ago, talking about the metaphorical use of car engines in a novel Beach House single. A man with a nylon-acoustic and a harmonica fixed several inches from his perched lips is sitting center stage. He's playing an unfamiliar indie-folk tune. He begins a simple and catchy chorus line, then enthusiastically asks the crowd to repeat his words after six consecutive measures. 3..2..1...and go! The chorus hits, and these strangers around you are now singing along, and suddenly, at that very moment, the collective voices of those strangers become your closest friends. The unfamiliar tune becomes the new staple in your music arsenal. The intimacy is at its climax. An unimaginable high is fostered through unfamiliar faces and unfamiliar voices and unfamiliar tunes. A true paradox that feels oh so amazing.
With that image stuck in your head, I can say now that there are so many countless reasons why music is the closest thing to magic that we have, but if that's not a good enough reason, well...
1. Spice It Up! Tired of your same old group hang out where you're munching on nothing but large cheese pizzas and diet sodas while watching Harry Potter, The Goblet of Fire? (oh, for the fifth time by the way). Going to a local show gives you something new to do with your friends. The availability of shows are endless, you just have to make an effort to dig them out!
2. Something For Everyone. It is inevitable. You will find something you like. Local music doesn't have a limit. There are rendezvouses particular for jazz, punk, classical, indie, country and beyond!
3. For the Atmosphere.With the music comes a certain atmosphere that completes the experience. Many local shows are paired with themes such as costume dress-up and open mics. Additionally, a lot of local music is sponsored at cool coffee-house cafés, bars, restaurants. churches, backyards, museums or even in someone's Toyota pick-up truck. Garnish your surroundings with a several feet of fairy lights and succulents and you're all set.
4. Local Shows are DIRT CHEAP.Honestly. Some of them are even free. And even the ones where you do have to pay, the costs will never exceed five to $10 per head. And the best part is, you know that money is going towards the band to help them further their career. Your $5 admission ticket is a small helping hand to fund some new instruments, merchandise or travel equipment.
5. The Intimacy.I can't stress this one enough. There is just a genuine vibe that comes along with local music. The crowds are small, it's just the right volume that you are able to hear and talk to one another, and you can talk to everyone, literally. Including the band! With local shows, everyone just seems like a "real person." What I mean by this is, no one is treated differently because of the mindset of "a celebrity in the room." Everyone is just present in that very moment to enjoy the music; a single strand tying all like-minded individuals together.
Creating music is truly an experiment. Sometimes it works out, and sometimes it doesn't. But the only way to find is to try. And these new and uprising bands need all the support they can get!
Here's a sneak preview of a band that's actually living this life! Check out my good friends at My Lonely Heart, a New Jersey based pop punk/alternative group breaking boundaries and creating music that establishes an eclectic sound as well as draw ties from a nostalgic youth.
Check out their music here and download their album for free.
