Re: [Harp-L] Least Hop Musicians Towns

<peacoatguy@xxxxxxxxx> · Tue, 13 Dec 2005 17:30:15 -0800 (PST)

I used to know a pretty successful tenor sax guy  from Pittsburgh, named Sonny Stanton. Mostly he worked in New York City  and Boston, though. He was only in his 60's but he passed away about 2  years ago. 
  peacoatguy

samblancato <samblancato@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:  Hi Folks, 

This thread really caught my interest.  It sure seems like there are a lot
of places where live music can thrive.  Unfortunately Pittsburgh, my home
town, isn't one of them.  And for Blues, this town is the 'pits'. If you can
book your band in the city proper- and that's a big if- you can expect to
make $400.00 for a 9 to 1 show and you'll have to split that between your
entire band.  That's if your lucky and you know enough that you can draw a
crowd.  Forget getting any part of the door.  The guys I know locally who
have established bands do much better in the outlying towns and suburbs.  In
Pittsburgh, if you go to a club you're going to hear DJ generated music and
the locals population is just fine with this.

This actually really pisses me off.  YES IT REALLY PISSES ME OFF!  What
we're slowly developing here in the 'Burgh is an audience who's tastes are
shaped almost entirely by Corporate generated radio formatted play lists.
Live music is real and is imperfect.  You hear stuff that is shaped by the
tastes, feelings, and passions of the individual musicians in that band -
people from your part of the country.  Even if the music isn't my favorite
stuff, my favorite genre, I'd still rather hear that than some DJ's classic
rock or Hip-Hop play list.  The DJs hear aren't even very good.  They stick
very closely to what people already from the radio.  

So for you folks who are lucky enough to live in a town where there's good
live music scene, consider yourself lucky and do your best to nurture it.

Sam Blancato, Pittsburgh  

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