July 4, 2008
El Paso's music scene is being suffocated by near-sighted venue owners.
Owners prefer booking cover bands, which are more profitable in the short term. They're making a quick buck at the expense of developing loyalty and support for musicians who put effort into crafting their own songs.
It's tough to find original bands on weekends. The various concert listings around the city don't specify whether bands play original music--so unless you do some hard research, you'll probably find yourself listening to covers.
Cover bands are fun to listen to, but they feel culturally devoid. They're essentially jukeboxes. People don't go to Mexico and eat Taco Bell to experience the culture. Similarly, for an authentic experience you have to hear an original band. Imagine going out to eat, but the only culinary options are nationally-owned corporate fast-food chains. The idea makes me shudder; synthetic music should make you feel the same way.
The problem isn't that cover bands want to play covers, but that doing so is practically required. A member of de facto 80's cover band Ulysses talked to me via MySpace. He said, "The only reason we don't really play our own songs is that there really isn't a big scene for it here in El Paso. Once in a while--and if you're lucky--we'll throw in one or two. So the audience can say, 'Wow, they do write.' I've been writing since I was 10. And now, 31 years later, I'm still doing it. A lot of the songs I write were played on KLAQ, but things have changed there."
The musicians in town don't feel uninspired, they're just dismally unsupported. How many potential Mars Voltas have been starved out of existence?
If El Paso doesn't start taking pride in itself, our music scene will continue to stagnate: Bands will continue to feel forced by the venues to play unoriginal music to stay afloat; venues will continue to book cover bands because there is demand for it; and there will continue to be a demand for it because there is no pride and support for original music. It's a Catch-22 from which El Paso sometimes manages to slightly emerge, only to fall back into.
I'm a 22-year-old college student who used to be more involved in the local music scene, but college will crush a man's soul like that. For years, many of my friends have played in original and cover bands around town, so I've always maintained some connection with local music. Recently, I've gained a renewed interest for live music.
I wanted to check out some homegrown music this weekend, but just about every place in town is saturated with cover bands and DJs. Even the venues that do support originals seem to change their focus on weekends.
This particular weekend may not be indicative of the usual flow of things, but things aren't off by much. Bands have been telling me about this problem for a long time.
Here's the what I found for Saturday:
* Crash Kennedy at Badlands Billiards
* Metal show at Zeppelin's
* Jazz show at Mesa Street Grill
That's a pathetically small list.
If you know of venues that host original local bands on weekends, leave a comment. The original music scene needs to network and organize, or else we'll see more of the same. It's about time dusty ol' El Paso grew some grassroots.