There used to be a scene! Back in the 90's when Umbra Penumbra was in Portland, back in the 80's when CBGB was all the rage, back in the day when......
I hear this all the time. Stories of heartbreak at the loss of community. Stories not so much of the past but of pastness itself. I once gave a kid a ride from Breitenbush hot springs in Oregon down the mountain to his little village. He was doing some kind of camp thing and had his thumb out and a couple huge bags of laundry. I had my old '69 Falcon, losing its reliability at this point but said, "well, it'll be cool to give a youngster a ride, maybe he will have a fresh perspective."
The conversation turned to music. "I make reggae beats on my computer" he days. "I played in a reggae band back in the 90's" I replied. "The 90's man, you're so fucking lucky!"
Thing is, I knew he was absolutely right. I am lucky. That was a great time to be in my 20's. I had some great bands and closed the decade with a modicum of success.
And, those days are over and I'm happier than ever.
So when I hear that phrase "there was a scene back then" I say: There is a scene now. It's loaded with 20 somethings doing their beautiful thing.
I go out and hear new music these days. I don't dig most of it, some blows me away (usually the electronic stuff!), the kids freak me out with their beards and politeness and the obsession with filming everything on the ol' Iphone rather than truly be in the moment losing your mind to the music before you. And.....thank god for that. I'd think something was truly wrong with the world if the kids didn't make music that irritated and alienated me to some degree. Imagine if they made music that sounded like mine when I was in my 20's. I'd be pretty bored. And truthfully 90% of the bands I saw back in the day didn't move me so the ratio is the same. I'm a musician and I have high standards after all.
So the scene? People get married. Get careers that pay. Have kids. People move on. Maybe your scene is still with those folks you got to share that wonderful dramatic slice of time called your early 20's? Maybe you can be the weird person who makes music they love and shows a different lifestyle than your married friends. Kids need variety. People need variety. Maybe your scene is with your wife or husband now? That can be awesome and hip. Me? I may never be married, or maybe I will. I'll never stop making music and the music I make is always changing. It's taken this long to strip away the layers of "shoulds, supposed to's and have to's" to finally make music that is honest and pure. My scene is simply where my heart is. I'm surrounded by wonderful people all the time and like I said, some days I'm so happy I feel a little embarrassed to share all my smiles. In 20 years I'll be retirement age and I'll still be making music I love and the bearded hipster 20 something will be 40 something and may be complaining about "there used to be a scene, Glasslands was so....."
Eff that. Move on! You set the scene!
I hear this all the time. Stories of heartbreak at the loss of community. Stories not so much of the past but of pastness itself. I once gave a kid a ride from Breitenbush hot springs in Oregon down the mountain to his little village. He was doing some kind of camp thing and had his thumb out and a couple huge bags of laundry. I had my old '69 Falcon, losing its reliability at this point but said, "well, it'll be cool to give a youngster a ride, maybe he will have a fresh perspective."
The conversation turned to music. "I make reggae beats on my computer" he days. "I played in a reggae band back in the 90's" I replied. "The 90's man, you're so fucking lucky!"
Thing is, I knew he was absolutely right. I am lucky. That was a great time to be in my 20's. I had some great bands and closed the decade with a modicum of success.
And, those days are over and I'm happier than ever.
So when I hear that phrase "there was a scene back then" I say: There is a scene now. It's loaded with 20 somethings doing their beautiful thing.
I go out and hear new music these days. I don't dig most of it, some blows me away (usually the electronic stuff!), the kids freak me out with their beards and politeness and the obsession with filming everything on the ol' Iphone rather than truly be in the moment losing your mind to the music before you. And.....thank god for that. I'd think something was truly wrong with the world if the kids didn't make music that irritated and alienated me to some degree. Imagine if they made music that sounded like mine when I was in my 20's. I'd be pretty bored. And truthfully 90% of the bands I saw back in the day didn't move me so the ratio is the same. I'm a musician and I have high standards after all.
So the scene? People get married. Get careers that pay. Have kids. People move on. Maybe your scene is still with those folks you got to share that wonderful dramatic slice of time called your early 20's? Maybe you can be the weird person who makes music they love and shows a different lifestyle than your married friends. Kids need variety. People need variety. Maybe your scene is with your wife or husband now? That can be awesome and hip. Me? I may never be married, or maybe I will. I'll never stop making music and the music I make is always changing. It's taken this long to strip away the layers of "shoulds, supposed to's and have to's" to finally make music that is honest and pure. My scene is simply where my heart is. I'm surrounded by wonderful people all the time and like I said, some days I'm so happy I feel a little embarrassed to share all my smiles. In 20 years I'll be retirement age and I'll still be making music I love and the bearded hipster 20 something will be 40 something and may be complaining about "there used to be a scene, Glasslands was so....."
Eff that. Move on! You set the scene!
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