Local music scene needs fans

by Toby Fallsgraff
Staff Writer

Heading uptown on a Saturday night, swarms of students pack the local bars to drink, play pool and listen to jukebox music. But some bars that feature live music are having a difficult time drawing large crowds for local band shows.

Despite being chock full of new and refreshing bands, the Athens music scene is faced with a lack of a strong student reception. The phenomenon is a mystery to music enthusiasts around town, said Matt Harvey, who books bands for Casa Cantina, 4 W. State St. Local bands range in genre from punk to alternative to hip-hop to folk. However, the turnouts at bars to see live bands are mediocre at best, unless Red Wanting Blue or O.A.R. is in town.

"Everybody listens to music, and I think it's kind of funny that so many people are predetermined to just listen the radio or MTV," Harvey said. "There are so many college kids in town that don't go to see live shows. They'd rather stand in line to get into a bar and just stand around."

ACRN disc jockey and self-proclaimed music connoisseur Brant Schulz said OU students underestimate the local music scene. "People are content with whatever they hear," Schulz said. "For a couple bucks, you can get out to see something different. The price to get in to some of these places is the same as a Rolling Rock. I think you'd get a lot more enjoyment out of a good band than a good beer."

But senior marketing major Joe Anderl said students could be hesitant to go hear a band they previously have never heard.

"I think, at least in this town, you go to see your friends play," said Anderl, who is also a member of the band Keaton. "I wouldn't say it's apathetic. Kids go to shows, but I guess you could always want more."

Bridget Kaminski, a sophomore finance major, said for her, seeing shows can be a waste of money. "All the bands here are local and I don't know the music. I just like to go see bands that I know," Kaminski said.

Freshman Ryan Hinke said he agrees, even though he enjoys hearing Ukulele/Typewriter and David Valentine.

"I'm not familiar with too many of (the local bands)," Hinke said.

Despite what seems to be weak support from the community, the talent in town is at a peak, music enthusiasts say.

"It goes in cycles," said Matthew Box, local musician and employee at Schoolkids' Music and Clothing, 12 S. Court St. "I think right now is one of the best times to be a part of the music scene in town." Box mentioned bands like the Misprints, Greenleaf, the Royales and folk singer Carrie Elkin as indicative of some of the rising talents coming from Athens.

Annie Lederer, a senior creative writing major, and Katie Early, a junior English major, said they enjoy the bands Geraldine, Psuedo, Uncle Feely Hands, The Knives and Mancha.

Still, with such a large response to bands like O.A.R. and local Peach Melba, Athens has created a reputation for itself of having a strong hippy band scene. Some local musicians who do not identify with this Grateful Dead-esque sound, find this reputation limiting.

"There are so many hippy jam bands that when we went to Dayton they compared us to Peach Melba and the Grateful Dead," Rubberband Racecar Go singer Tony Xenos said.