The Saint has a great scene. We have a core of locals, and lot's of people who come from places as far as NYC, Brooklyn and PA to attend our shows. Last Saturday, we had a packed house when Val Emmich played. He's been on "Ugly Betty" and "30 Rock" a few times. There is a core underground AP music movement, and a good place to find out more is at this website:
http://asburymusician.ning.com/ But the interesting thing in the AP music scene, which is probably pretty common, is that it can be very cliquish without much cross pollination. This is probably because most of our venues pretty much have their own niche, such as Asbury Lanes is very into garage rock and really cool specialty shows, the Saint is more intimate and local, The Wonder Bar is more mainstream and safe, although the shows they did while the Pony was closed were a real departure from what normally happens there. It's good that there's something for almost everybody, but it's just not quite the way it was back in the 80's, but I guess nothing really is any more. Back then, the local music scene was so much more exciting, with lots more clubs and much more club hopping. And we had a very prominent radio station, WHTG, which held it all together. They were pretty visionary, and the now famous Matt Pinfield was a major DJ there. Local bands got lots of airplay and interview time. Back then, radio was pretty much king, where now the internet is king. It was easier for working people back then to just keep WHTG on all day, which was common all across the local music scene. Everybody listened to it. Now, the main delivery method is the internet, which is a pretty short attention span medium, and I truly believe that it's had both a positive and negative effect on local music. The positive is that it's so much easier to spread the word about your band, but the competition is much more fierce when you have so many bands promoting themselves, compared to one cohesive radio station holding our attention. The funny thing is we are so close to Monmouth University, but I don't really see many MU people coming out to AP shows. They are more likely to go to cover band bars and a certain place on Brighton Ave. in LB. But, times have really changed. It's more expensive to go out to shows these days, and some people balk at paying a $10 admission and $6 beer, which can become an pretty expensive night out. --- In [email protected], "sandpiper15" <sandpipe...@...> wrote: > > I'll post this again: > > http://nicoleatkinsblog.blogspot.com/2008/12/sweet-home-new- > orleans.html > > Thoughts? You work at the Saint. What IS the music scene like there > in town now? Is there a way for the musicians and club owners to work > together to nurture a scene, independent from government or big > business help/interference? If yes, why isn't it happening? What > would it take? You've mentioned Austin. The city council didn't > create the scene there. The Clifford Antones of the world did. Plus > that's a college town. The audience is always around. How do you > nurture a scene in a region from which the young tend to flee? And is > the boardwalk the only thoroughfare on which it can happen? MM > doesn't run the show on Main Street. > > > --- In [email protected], "Jack Pitzer" <hinge98@> wrote: > > > > You know what? > > I make no apologies about my opinions of AP. > > I'm not going to be dishonest to myself or anybody about it. > > I think what we have now is a pale version of what we could have, > and once had. > > I think were merely accepting something marginal, and I don't feel > bad at all in saying it. > > Sorry. > > Currently the boardwalk draws a fraction of what it once did. It's > better then it was in > > recent years, but nothing like what it could be. > > And as part of the local music scene, yes, we have one, but once > again, since I work in the > > business I feel confident in saying that it also isn't what it > could be, but it's the best that it > > can be at the moment. > > Obviously you don't know much about Springsteen and his connection > to the city. > > His most famous album is callled "Greetings from Asbury Park" and > the album cover is a > > classic post card from it's heyday. > > He rose up in the scene playing at local clubs, most of which no > longer exist. His name is > > inextricably associated with the city. > > We all have different likes and dislikes, and there's nothing wrong > with expressing that. > > You ask me what I like about AP? Plenty. I love my classic > apartment and being so close to > > the beach for a reasonable price. I love the architecture of > Convention Hall and the > > acoustics of The Paramount. I love The Saint, where I work. I > absolutely love Cookman > > Avenue because it still has a classic look with character. > > But, i greatly dislike the way the boardwalk pavilions have been > renovated. It says nothing > > at all to me. I don't like the architecture at all. I see a strip > mall, but that's just me. I > > greatly dislike the fact that the band shell has been eliminated > and that nobody is taking > > MM to task about it. I think high end retail is a waste of space > destined for failure., > > On the other hand, I love that there's a bike store there, because > bicycling by the sea > > really appeals to me. It's a big fixture in Atlantic City, Cape > May, and scores of similar > > places across the country. > > My discontent has nothing to do with the vibe in the country, in > fact, AP is a safe haven > > away from it because it's my home. > > Finally, with all due respect, you've never met me. I'm probably > the most immature 47 year > > old person I know. Smarter, but still very similar to the teenage > me. I'm more about > > aesthetics then money, more about The Adriatic then Applebees. > > I've also spent a huge amount of time living and working overseas, > where they tend to > > value history more then we do, and preserve things rather then > rebuild, and when they do > > rebuild they tend to stay faithful to what went before. > > Here in America, it's the opposite for much of the country. We > don't build buildings to last > > anymore, we build them to knock down and replace because of money. > And I think that's > > a great loss. > > > ------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AsburyPark/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AsburyPark/join (Yahoo! 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