Lottery winners are often unhappy
Sincere congratulations to Richmond's River City High for winning some MTV2 contest. If they owe any of you money, please note that part of the prize was in cash.
Hopefully, they'll avoid the Richmond Curse, which holds that the moment a local band wins one of these contests, or signs to a non-regional record label, they will either fade into a provincial imitation of fame (e.g. Carbon Leaf, Fighting Gravity) or somehow cause the record label to implode (Sliang Laos, Waking Hours).
Any ideas as to why this holds in pretty much every case? I can think of only a few bands from here that avoided it: Labradford, who built their career very slowly and independently; Cracker, which wasn't exactly starting from Square One; Gwar; and probably a few others I forgot.
In an aside, I had a roommate once whose band won a contest in the '80s that got them "a recording contract" with EMI/Manhattan. The contract consisted of one 12-inch record of their song "Beer Goggles." I kind of wish I had a copy of that.
Hopefully, they'll avoid the Richmond Curse, which holds that the moment a local band wins one of these contests, or signs to a non-regional record label, they will either fade into a provincial imitation of fame (e.g. Carbon Leaf, Fighting Gravity) or somehow cause the record label to implode (Sliang Laos, Waking Hours).
Any ideas as to why this holds in pretty much every case? I can think of only a few bands from here that avoided it: Labradford, who built their career very slowly and independently; Cracker, which wasn't exactly starting from Square One; Gwar; and probably a few others I forgot.
In an aside, I had a roommate once whose band won a contest in the '80s that got them "a recording contract" with EMI/Manhattan. The contract consisted of one 12-inch record of their song "Beer Goggles." I kind of wish I had a copy of that.
posted by Andrew Beaujon at 17:25
3 Comments:
Labradford based their operations out of Chicago. Their music was plugged into a wider scene and audiences were able to connect their sound with the local sound. (my guess).
Cracker has carved huge in-roads with alt-radio.
Gwar is 'spectacle'... and they have HUGE relations with the San Francisco kreative scene.
SURPRISE - NOTHING NEW
I wish Spokane would win an award or spark interest in 'networked' cities outside of RVA.
So, either you have to get your project/band networked into a vastly networked and music-happy city... OR you project/band could drive some success by 'being the network'... like GWAR is a network of networked artists.
HIP HOP
Over the weekend, I met some guy that apparently is representing some vocal/rap talent. It was a long conversation of name-dropping madness. I tried to keep up, but my knowledge about the hip hop scene is crippled by my sporadic interest.
Yet, the guy I met is striving to market the talent in Richmond... to market the Richmond sound. Seemingly pulling in the tri-cities too. Easy to forget that the hip hop scene is trying to gain momentum also.
Overall, a very interesting convo... and recap of all the Richmond names that have been ebbing and flowing on Power 92 etc. (Lonnie B, Mad Skillz, C-Styles (?) ). Stunning to get perspective from this guy.
am i to understand that historically Richmond doesn't support - in fact, frowns opon - its Scene? that's a damn shame. from what i've learned (and am continuing to learn) Richmond was as ground-zeroesque as Anyplace in the thereabouts of the early 90's. but reliable observers give the impression of a constipated, anachronistic Richmond - i dunno - class, folks who may long for the good ol' days of order and Walter Plecker. again: a damn shame. so who would these people regard as a proper Richmond Rock Star? Tom Wolfe? his latest Hit Single, "I Am Anal Date Rape" or what-have-you is apparently an inadvertent hoot.
Sorry, but Richmond has never had a crop of music artists brimming within the scene that would make it ever have anything but a small buzzing sound. Spritiual dismay, heroin, and artist/audience apathy have snaggled any kind of mysterious booming success for musicians/bands in town. Also, I would look more at the early 90's for sparks of hope.
My only example of Richmond musicians making asteroid-size craters of influence outside of this town is Pen Rollings. In a soft second place, I would put LaBradford.
I would have a hard time describing it as zero-ground anything... unless we were saying how RVA is zero-ground for spiritual brokeness/confusion, artist-eating heroin-abuse scenes, and apathetic-audience/artist-vs.-artist/"if I can't make it, nobody should" scene... then yes... you are on ground zero (when compared with other cities of the same size and equal homicide/poverty rates).
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