Phoenix Needs More Character by George Ziemann -- November 2, 2009 I was driving around, doing some errands. Stopped at a red light, I watched a sign spinner till the light changed. Phoenix is trying to be L.A. It made me think about the fact that Phoenix is trying to be L.A. because, despite being the sixth largest city in the country, it has no real character of its own. The sign spinners are one example, the club scene is another, which is unfortunate for the area musicians. In Tempe, which is the home of Arizona State University, there are several clubs, most of them spoiled by the desire to be in L.A. Most of them are doing the "five bands in one night" thing. In Detroit, they used to call this a "showcase" and they were run with the intent of allowing agents and clubowners the chance to see several acts in one evening. In Tempe, it's just a gimmick. To further the embarrassment, you are expected to play these gigs for little or no money, just because it's such an incredible opportunity for you or something. Some clubs want you to pre-sell 25 or 50 tickets to your show, or you don't get to play. Other clubs use a low-rent "promoter," who does the booking for several clubs and takes a cut from each band's pay. While this is close to the tradition of the Whiskey a Go-Go and other highly competitive L.A. clubs, there were actually record label headquarters right down the street. We have none of that in Tempe. It's just phony pretension. It's far from the days of playing in the Midwest, doing five nights a week in the same club before moving on to the next town. No one expected us to bring our own crowd, either, just entertain the people who would show up anyway. Now you're lucky to get one full night. The downtown Phoenix entertainment scene is really the baseball park, the arena and Dodge Theatre. All three can host concerts. Alice Cooper's Coopertown is downtown, maybe a couple of other clubs, but downtown is just not the place to hang out. Outside of Phoenix, the rest of Arizona is an odd mixture of country, blues, metal and mariachi. Bands like Poco, Jerry Riopelle, Eagles, Loggins and Messina carry the feeling of an Arizona band. Or death metal, because they've been in the sun too long and need to scream at something. And the Mariachi music keeps me wondering where the Mexicans got accordians and polka from. Prescott's crowd will only accept blues and country. There are about 7 clubs on Whiskey Row, but they don't really like rock if it goes outside the blues. Flagstaff is a little more experimental, with a couple of clubs that are willing to bring in something out of the ordinary from time to time to entertain college students. And mainstream rock works there, too. But mostly, it's blues bands. We (Hurricane Alley) have been playing in Tucson primarily, where Famous Sams is reportedly the best place to catch a local act. Our niche so far seems to be old bikers because we play old rock that they remember, but we've started to attract a younger element that likes the old stuff, too. Our originals have been well received, which is always good, and the ones we play live musicially fit very well in the classic rock repertoire we've put together. Now if we can just find a few more places to play... Comments on This Article I heard a report on NPR regarding ice houses in Texas being the birthplace of mariachi music. The ice was cut in the Northern states and shipped south to be stored in ice houses. Apparently German immigrants saw this as a great opportunity for cold beer and established breweries next to the ice houses. Then they taught the Mexicans how to play Polka but not how to sing in German. I think this may also explain Texas two step. PD -- Atlanta Hey man, Firstly just wanted to express appreciation for your web page and keeping up the good fight against RIAA propaganda. Thanks. But the thing that inspired me to write was your obvious distain for metal, for which I have several points: Firstly, apart from a handful of big names, virtually all metal is underground -- no big record deals and no radio airplay. Most of the musicians even have day jobs. For the most part they are making music because they love making music, not because they hope to get rich and famous (because for the most part, they never will). In that sense, they live in the same world that you live in, and face exactly the same issues. Secondly, every metal fan I've ever known has been incredibly passionate about their music, and supportive of the bands. We tend to view big record deals as sellouts and value musical and artistic integrity above all else. I'm sure we download mp3's as much as anyone, but we also go far out of our way to see the gigs and buy the t-shirts. I think metal fans are among the best there are in music. Finally, there hasn't been the same level of stagnation in the metal scene that we've been seeing in mainstream music. Fantastic new albums are being made every year. Incredibly talented bands (the majority from Europe) are still bursting onto the scene. Sure there are plenty of sub-par immitators, but in general there is a lot going on. It's a great time to be passionate about music if you're into metal. The general gist of the point I'm trying to make is not that you should get into metal. You've got to play the music that you love, and metal isn't for everyone. Instead, what I'm saying is that the metal scene and your classic rock scene are natural allies. Whether you appreciate the particular style or not, it deserves respect for being an example of what music -ought- to be all about. Anyway, thanks again for the web site. BVS I don't think I have a disdain for metal. I think the point I was trying to make is more that Arizona is really heavily weighted by metal bands, more so than anywhere else I've been. The "too much time in the sun" thing was just a joke. My guitarist is a metalhead from Florida. His brother is a bassist and into deathmetal, which is a little beyond my boundaries, I'll admit, but I'm selling three of his albums for him. James Murphy (Testament, Death) has been to my house and he used to call me up from time to time with Mac questions. Our live set list has Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin in it. That used to be considered metal. I liked that. I don't care if it's loud AND brutal, as long as the singer is singing instead of just screaming (AC/DC is somehow exempt from this) and the underlying melody or general riff of the song is beyond just playing the same chord as fast as you can. The other thing that will potentially turn me off is the lyrics. It all depends on what the band has to say with its music. If I do have a bias, it's because I'm a keyboard player and most metal is very guitar-centric. Now, if you had called me on my attitude toward country, that would be a different thing. I spent a few years doing house main sound at the Riverside Casino in Laughlin, NV. They primarily booked country acts, most of which were excellent to work with, nice people, real professionals -- Mel Tillis, Tammy Wynette, Waylon Jennings, and more. But I still don't like country music and steel guitars. One last thing -- as far as I know, every place in Phoenix that could have been considered underground has been repeatedly shut down. Hell, we've had rehearsals shut down at the far reaches of town, at the edge of the desert, where you still need a shotgun to keep the coyotes away, prompting our bassist to angrily ask, "Who could have possibly complained?" In the end, we gave up for the night. We have Sheriff Joe Arpaio, you know. -- GZ

Sideline Rant From my article: "The downtown Phoenix entertainment scene is really the baseball park, the arena and Dodge Theatre." The baseball park and the arena both have names, but I have no idea what they are this year. Last I heard, it was Bank One Ballpark (BOB) and America West Arena. The arena might still have the same name, but Bank One is gone, so I'm betting they've re-sold naming rights. Or maybe it's the Chase Ballpark now. I know that selling naming rights to stadiums and arenas is a big business. The unfortunate part of it is that it mentally disconnects you a little. We used to have Desert Sky Pavilion, a west-side concert amphitheatre, which became Blockbuster Pavilion, which became Cricket Pavilion and is now just "CONCERT" on the expressway exit sign. It's a generic now.