For every LA or NY out there with a booming national music scene, there are 100's of cities out there with their own unique niche in the music world. Granted some are more relevant than others, but the root remains the same, bands are out there performing, entertaining crowds and trying to get noticed. The difference is that some bands can actually play and have some originality and some bands are just banking off all the drunks who are just grateful a live band, regardless of talent, is playing.
Local music scenes vary from one to the next, some more potent than the next. During my short stint in Flagstaff (AZ), the scene was dying down out there but still had their happy-hour bands that would play on Thursdays and occasionally on the weekend. The Lymbyc System and The Rand Band were awesome guys who played solid music and really had a passion for doing so. They were the same guys who would hang out after the shows, drink shots with us, and head back to the house parties to rage it with us to the wee hours of the morning. The same sort of thing was going on in Madison (WI) when I moved there in 2004. The scene was the same, a young hippy movement, with bands creating unique live jam music for the most part night in and night out. There was a true connection between the bands and the fans.
When I came back to Appleton (WI) in 2006 there was No music scene whatsoever. Today, I could pretty much say the same thing. Bands who try to cover mediocre 90's pop songs and classic rock tunes who can't really play any instruments and have no originality are just not my cup-o-tea. Those bands are a dime-a-dozen in Appleton. They have no uniqueness, no balls. But for them, that's okay. People will still come to the shows, and people will still belt out the words to the greatest hits of the 80's and 90's, which seem to be the majority of these bands' repertoire.
If you weed out most of the severely stale cover bands in Appleton (Vic Ferrari, Boxkar, Hind Sight, Half Empty), there are 2 bands that are actually worth seeing, Tate Rooper and Ask Your Mother. Tate Rooper is an alternative-rock cover band who knows how to write a proper setlist, can actually sing, and has an awesome catalog of radio favorites from anything from Foo Fighters to the Strokes to Modest Mouse. They are hands down the best band in Appleton and will be playing July 23 at the Checkered Flag. Up-and-coming solo songwriter Steve Millar is also worth taking a look at. He's currently in the studio, and plans to have an EP out in the near future. Ask Your Mother is another rock cover outfit to see, they are pretty talented and they do a rocking version of the jamband moe.'s Captain America.
Speaking of jambands, Appleton has tried dabbling in that genre as well, to no avail. Ifdakar, Snook, and Unity have carved a niche as being the "head scene" in Appleton which is pretty much an oxymoron. Every once in a great while, a really awesome Phish cover-band called The Phry will play a show around here, but that doesn't happen nearly enough. Those guys rule, and can really nail the songs, which sure aint easy. Ifdakar sounds like most techno/jambands you would hear on the side stage at any hippy festival. But at least they try to be creative. Unity is just an out-of-place reggae band with mediocre talent and no show varies from one to the next. But hey, they're trying to do something different than the norm.
The bottom line is, local music scenes give us a place to go throughout the week and weekend without having to travel far, give us a sense of familiarity, let us dance to some music for a little bit so we can unwind, and give us yet another excuse to go get drunk with our friends. Isn't that what it's all about anyways?
Check out Tate Rooper at the Checkered Flag in Appleton, Saturday July 23rd, 6:00-10:00.
