Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Blatherskite
Yeah, I'm talking about these days. Not the olden days.
|
I live in Portland, I play in a band in Portland, and I do a radio show in Portland, and I can't for the life of me think of it as a "music scene" city. (I think you were kidding calling 3 years ago "the olden days", right?)
There are great musicians here to be sure, and from what I've seen they are relatively supportive of each other. However, a "scene" to me implies there is a "sound" or at least a core of places where many of the same musicians and fans gather, and Portland for better or worse (I personally think better) doesn't have either of those. Sure there are tons of indie pop bands and experimental groups, but it is
nothing like Seattle was in 1988 when you saw the same faces at every show and the bands majorly influenced each other to create an undeniable regional sound (which didn't even start to suck until the mid '90s.)
I don't think those kind of regional "scenes" can really exist much anymore when we live in a world where anyone can create pretty decent lo-fi recordings in their own home without needing a studio, and can distribute them all over the world at virtually no costs without needing a record label. Similarly, such artists, are influenced by people all over the planet more easily than they are by bands they play with on occasion in clubs. So the whole world is a "scene", and I personally think this is a good thing.