Monday, February 15, 2010
Cream How to Get a Write-Up in the Scene: 101
Posted by Tracy Moore on Mon, Feb 15, 2010 at 1:06 PM
As long as I've been writing about guys in bands I want to sleep with music for the Scene, which is nearing a decade now, I've heard the lament/gripe/accusation that you have to be friends with the writers here to get covered in the music section. (If the writer in question is a woman, she'll only write about you if you've slept together or she wants to sleep with you.) While these are both endlessly amusing perspectives from people who have No Idea How Newspapers Work, they are both patently false. This recent Craigslist post asks that very question again, and this time, by George, deliriously free from the weight of covering music substantially anymore, I'm going to answer it. First off, the question:
How to get a write up in the Scene? (friends and family only?) Sometimes just know that the staff writers of the Nashville Scene are only writing about their own bands or their friends bands. I see the same amateur groups promoted and hyped all the time, with some of the most bizarre and ridiculous Spin/RollingStone/Blender type phrases to describe these bands.Writing about a live local nobody's band show at the Mercy Lounge "as much of a generation defining moment as Woodstock" or describing a band as "the audience was lucky to get out alive after such a daring performance". . . sounds like their just writing their own myspace bio in the third person. How much does it cost to get a few paragraphs written about a band or is it really just a friends connection kind of thing? I've emailed them several times and never get a response.
The short answer: You're doing it wrong. The long answer:
Jeez, where to start? OK, so we cover a mix of bands in a range of genres every single week in the paper. They are in the paper for a handful of reasons: We actually like the music, we can make a critical case for why the music is good, they are a noteworthy band, they have done something significant, they are playing a noteworthy show of some kind, they have released a record, the lineup has changed, blah blah blah. As I've said before, if we only wrote about bands we personally individually got all jazzed about, we'd just be printing blank pages every week.
That said, just because the bands covered are bands you, Craigslist poster, might find irritating, talentless or lame doesn't mean we're friends with that band. That you call them all amateur bands means you think your band is like, really pro, and that that's a reason to be covered all in and of itself, and that alone tells me your band is probably shitty. We cover the bands we cover mainly because we think they're good. Different strokes, dude. And let me take this time to say I'm really sorry about your dick.
Anyway: A short synopsis of how a music writer's life in Nashville works in terms of how you find bands:
You go to shows all the time. You go to shows of bands you do like. You catch songs by opening acts. You go to clubs where bands you typically think are good play, even when you haven't heard of the other acts who are playing. You check them out. You talk to people whose opinion you respect -- other musicians, writers, club owners, music fans -- and make a note of bands they mention who are worth seeing. You read about bands online. You Google news about Nashville and rock bands and see who else is getting covered. Sometimes you take a chance on a club you'd never go to that often, like the Muse, and maybe you come across something good you'd never see otherwise (case in point: Cowboy Dynamite, who begat Wes Traylor, who begat 50 bands we now cover regularly). To reference something Adam Gold just said when we were discussing this subject, "I know you think opening for SafetySuit at 12th & Porter is the biggest gig you could get ever get, but that doesn't mean we're going to be there."
I know, that sucks, and you're thinking, "Fuck you, you pretentious hipster asshole, for not going to 12th & Porter. Aren't you supposed to be at all the clubs around town, listening to every single band who ever plays and exhaustively combing the city for new talent? Wouldn't it behoove you to comb said city for undiscovered talent? Because how do you know there's not a good band there?" Well, mostly because of time, age, experience, collective wisdom, a really small, non-David Fricke-sized paycheck and a really quick look at the listings.
Still, if the next MEEMAW is playing a show at 12th & Porter, we will find out. We will. Someone will tell us. We will hear about it. And we will go. Our jobs are to keep our ear to the ground. If you don't agree with the signals we're picking up, it's because of the next major point: This whole thing is subjective.
That's right -- subjective! This isn't Guitar Player magazine. This isn't AllBandsWhoPlayInNashville.com. This isn't BandsWhoSellOutTheCannery.com. This isn't NashvilleRock.net, who curated their very own blog about who was worth covering in town, and guess what! We here at the Cream hated 99 percent of the bands they wrote about. In fact, I think we hated 100 percent.
People bitch about how it's the same folks in the same bands getting covered, but we reserve the right to curate a section and a blog that reflects an imperfect collection of our tastes. Do you think if we heard a band we thought was actually good -- but weren't friends with -- we'd ignore them on purpose?
Nashville Cream, from its inception, has been a way to start a conversation about the local rock scene we inhabit. I used to write about bands that the new crop of dudes covering music for us don't give a shit about. So now they don't get covered. This is also a small music town. There just isn't the constant influx of exciting new things. And that's mostly a good thing: It gives bands here a chance to evolve, and we can write about how they've changed over time rather than discarding them for the next hot new hyped major-label-aiming wonder, as would happen in larger cities like NYC or LA. I mean, I hated the first Hotpipes record. That turned me off to them. Other writers continued to follow this band and grew to love them, and they continued to be covered due to that very fact, and that's good -- it reflects a mix of tastes and the band got awesome.
I will say this about the friend thing: Any band you do discover and start writing about, you inevitably become at least acquaintances with them, because you've talked to them about their band, written about them, interviewed them. And from there on out you're going to chat when you see them out. You'll probably keep writing about them because they're on your radar, and they tell when they're doing stuff that's of note. And you LIKE IT, so you write about it.
Sometimes friendships form. It's inevitable in a small town. The Privates are, like, my favorite local band. I think after a few years of covering them I could now say I'm friends with Dave Paulson. But that's way after the fact. I don't cover music much now, but I sit in this office and listen to the discussions day in and day out about what's new and what's good. And I can attest that to one thing: All your bands are getting ripped on all the time, and it's really hilarious.
But seriously, I realize I've addressed none of what a local band can do to get heard by Scene music writers. As former music editor, I will tell you: Put yourself in the path of the writers whose bylines you see every week in the paper or every day. Book shows with the kinds of bands we do write about. Book shows at the venues we do cover. (And I'm mainly talking about local rock bands who want Cream or Spin coverage and beyond: We have an entire stable of writers who cover pop and country and bluegrass in the paper every week, and they have their own subjective tastes, and that's an equally imperfect system. But together, we think it adds up to a pretty damn good mix.)
Go to the clubs, find out who the writers are, introduce yourself. Be a part of the (lowercase) scene to get into the (uppercase) Scene. Yes, you can email us your MP3 or mail us your CD, but that's an entirely different convo about packaging and good subject lines and one-sheets and whether we're free to listen to all the stuff we get inundated with every single day, week in and week out. You're better off just being "good" in the way whichever writer who best covers the beat you would fall into thinks music is "good." And if you're not, then this is the wrong place for you to get be looking to get covered. Besides, if you think you need slobbering coverage in your local alt-weekly to be a success, you're wrong. Ask Kings of Leon.
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Comments (33)
Showing 1-33 of 33
Sheeeiit, I would get too worked up.
That craigslist ad is obviously phase 3 the of the ongoing nashfelatio "viral(ad-trolling) marketing strategy".
In other words, it's about as enlightening as a Paul Lynde popcorn fart on Labor Day.
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Excellent rant. I think people tend to read blogs such as this and quickly forget the subjective angle... nice to remind everyone of that even if it seems blatantly obvious upon reading it.
Ok, now I get it. PAYOLA makes it happen over at the Creamy Scene. (paragraph 4 of this blog link)
http://bit.ly/aThvgl
You address this point well, except that it goes against the attitude that the Spin always puts forth of being oh so proud to come in late and miss the openers at local shows, which seems to mesh more with the tone of the rest of the Cream writers.
coming from a band who only gets made fun of when mentioned in the cream :).. honestly, i found this article a great read. carry on cream. lately, since i've discovered you, i can't stop reading you.
I am a rocker of the "Mature" nature and I have seen many bands come and go. The thing with most of the "Rock" bands is, they never know how to commit and they are always on the hunt for something better and they never stay the course long enough to obtain greatness. The members are always looking for the nest big thing and soon they think they have found it anthey are gone. There goes all the work that has been put into what was supposed to be a great band.
As for the Scene checking out the bands that are here and most of the ones they check out are ROCK, I have never seen a SCENE rep at one of the venues where I have played. I have played several around town for over, well, lets just say since '67, I have played a few clubs and music venues. Does the SCENE actually check out the clubs that play Rock and country as well as a variety of music. I read the SCENE sometimes and it is alot of "HYPE." I would like to see more detail on the musicians as well as the so called "bands."
Thanks, just my vision
James Dean (the entertainer)
ask almost any band from nashville that is actually making music a full time job... the Scene has 0 impact on their career as an artist. this is just one small city which frequently gets avoided by a plethora of tours. i believe booking agents consider nashville a "c" or "d" market. cities like cleveland and kansas city get better shows.
however, when your band doesn't tour, nashville might as well be london or new york city and the scene might as well be rolling stone or tigerbeat. bands that are too lazy or broke to get out of town should definitely worry about getting coverage in a free weekly newspaper that homeless people use for shelter. the newer full-color glossy print actually does provide more warmth. if this is your crowning achievement, at least you were a big 3-eyed fish in a very shallow cesspool of hip-hate and believe me, that is worth A LOT. roughly $0.02. sure, maybe your band will be featured and now you have yourself a bit of press to add to your EPK on sonicbids. woohoo!!! local band does local thing on a local level. don't miss them at local venue 4 times a month! i bet your dream-record label and booking agent will be impressed with how local you are.
congratulations on your success! now pay 12th and porter the $300 production fee and enjoy splitting the remaining $100 with 3 other bands!
" Because how do you know there's not a good band there?" Well, mostly because of time, age, experience, collective wisdom...".
ummmm...
get back to us in abouy20 years.
A study in contrasts, yo. Last night, I had two different people talk to me about the Cream/Spin/Scene. One dude immediately mentioned how much he thought we sucked, and when I said that I write here semi-regularly, he proceeded to say that he wasn't talking about me, he was talking about one of my colleagues and what an asshole he thinks he is.
Another person told me he was worried about any of our writers seeing his band because he was concerned any one of us would rip them to shit. I’d never seen his band (and as far as I know, no one else here has either) and asked him what they sounded like, and he was honest and descriptive! And it sounded like a band that, say, Maloney may not like, but maybe me or Patrick would enjoy. And he didn’t call any of us assholes.
I don’t see how this is hard.
Since Baby Face brought it up, I thought I'd mention that I only play drums for one band.
I was kind of hoping a Spinner would be at the Tortoise show. They were good, not epic, but the opener was exactly what I used to rant about a few years ago. I finally found a perfect example of what I DON'T like about indie rock. I really wanted to see what a Scene writer would say about it.
As much as I don't agree with many of the artists plugged here, (and that's admittedly subjective all around) the Spin and Scene have always been very kind to my bands and I appreciate that. Because we are not hip at all.
to the "local is local stays local" argument:
we are a small record label that has seen local coverage from the Scene and other papers blossom into national recognition and now near constant national touring for more than a few of our bands over the years.
the Scene's coverage (local!) has been invaluable for these hard working bands to build on the message and take it from town to town, city to city. by working their asses off.
succex sez "ask almost any band from nashville that is actually making music a full time job... the Scene has 0 impact on their career as an artist."
I know a half dozen bands who would tell you the opposite if they were here. but they're out there on the road.
It would be weird if you guys covered the old guys in bands that sound like the Outfield or whatever it is...
Elsewhere in the Scene:
http://www.nashvillescene.com/2010-02-11/news/the-return-of-damian-s-lair/
That one requires explanation.
Hmmm... all really good points. but i still think the Scene/Cream is doing exactly what they're supposed to do .. create a scene. It works great in the favor of things like infinity cat, or in general knowing that if the black eyed peas are coming to town, i can check this blog and read something entertaining (that i agree with). Coming from an artists stand point in this town, you just have to be whatever you are and check out. It's the same for every city. Does it bother me that when i discovered this blog and searched our band name (come on we all did it :)) all i found were a few comments about how we moved to this town for a major label deal ? No. Because..
a. that person has literally no idea about our band's history
and
b. it just shows that we can survive... growing, multiple indie deals, multiple releases, years of touring, now a major deal (because it was the BEST deal, better than the indie offers).. recording another album. all despite the apparent 'nashville curse' or nash blog coverage.
You make your art, and you have to check out. Let this be what it is. Let's enjoy reading about Jimmy Buffet coming to town. And if you're band isn't covered .. it doesn't matter.
Sorry for the stupid speech. I'm gonna leave now.
Yea, you are about as fair and balanced as Fox News. For a while, every other story was about Jeff the Brotherhood. Around that time, you guys were gushing about a band called Heavy Cream. My band played a show with them at The End. We had about 40 people on the floor during our set. I was one of the very few that stuck around for Heavy Cream's set. They were good, but there were about 15 people in the entire place, counting the band on stage and the bar staff. Next week, there was more Heavy Cream hype in the Scene.
First off, once point of this thread is that the Cream's job is not to be "fair and balanced", it's to be informative and opinionated.
And I've never missed a Heavy Cream show yet, and your memory of your show at The End is clouded with envy and alcohol. Your set was good, but your crowd count is way off.
But your time will come, just don't feel like you need to slag them to get where you wanna be.
When my band played with Heavy Cream a couple of weeks ago, we were mentioned in The Spin. But i think that was because i had mailed The Scene a handful of Red Lobster gift certificates. Those garlic biscuits get them every time.
Actually, our set sucked and we fired our drummer the next week because he got drunk and high and played like he was fighting off yellow jackets with his drum sticks. I'm not bitchin' about them not covering us. I'm 37 and doing this as a hobby. I have no dreams of getting press or getting signed. I really dug Heavy Cream's show and they deserve some press coverage. I just get sick of seeing the same bands over and over again here. For a while I expected to read a post that JEFF the Brotherhood had just finished lunch and was getting ready to take a nap.
JEFF the Brotherhood just finished lunch and is getting ready to take a nap.
31 shows in 31 nights. They gotta be tired.
w/ Screaming Females and Pujol at The End tonight!
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