Great Post!
I agree about Nicole not sounding like Amy Winehouse. I just used that as a
point of
reference in that Nicole is much more sophisticated then pop music and she's
hard to
classify, much like Winehouse. Nicole doesn't come with the trainwreck problems
that'll
probably be the downfall of Winehouse's career.
I think the AP musicians of today do a pretty good job of promoting themselves,
especially
since the advent of Myspace etc.
The one thing that worries me though is that MM and the city in general seem to
be
steering any kind of music scene that we have away from mainstream/rock ect and
more
toward safer things like cover bands, smooth jazz and lounge stuff.
--- In AsburyPark@yahoogroups.com, "sandpiper15" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
> Regarding whether the city itself is doing enough to "promote"
> or "tout" these musicians - Did the city "promote" or "tout"
> Springsteen, Southside and any of the other SOAPers back in the late
> 60s/early 70s when they were coming up? I honestly don't know, but it
> would be interesting to research. From what I can tell from the
> various biographies, it seems like Springsteen and his cohorts did
> what every young musician does before they make it - hustled their
> asses off. Papering the student centers and phone poles with flyers,
> networking, begging their friends to come to the gigs so the club
> owner would ask them back. Only after they achieved cultural ubiquity
> did the city decide to emrace them, no?
>
> Given the financial circumstances at present, oakdorf's admonition
> that the city's job is to run the municipal government is worth
> considering. I know there is a Director of Commerce, but I take that
> (perhaps wrongly?) to mean the guy in charge of tax breaks, pitching
> potential store owners and setting up the sidewalk sales.
>
> While I'm sure they'd never reject the free publicity, I think young
> musicians like Nicole, Agency, Parlour Mob, Gil Velasquez and the
> like would really prefer to just be given the freedom to compose,
> perform and nurture their own scene with only the help of sympathetic
> club owners. (which could bring up a whole other thread about your
> assertions regarding a certain club's promoter and his secret phone
> calls to performers at the Seaside Fest - but I won't go there ;)
>
> Don't give up on your ideals, man. The economy does make it tough to
> justify dropping 20 to 40 bucks to see music in any town. It will
> turn around eventually. I think, much like bebop in New York,
> psychedelia in San Francisco, punk in New York and techno in Detroit,
> the new sound of Asbury Park will thrive in spite of the municipal
> situation. And Springsteen never had MySpace!
>
> One more thing, slightly off topic, but... Nicole sounds nothing like
> Amy Winehouse. The latter is, so far, a one trick pony aping (albeit
> well enough) Ronnie Spector with significant assistance from Mark
> Ronson. The former, on the other hand, has a voice that falls
> somewhere between Roy Orbison and Harriet Wheeler and her
> multifaceted songs run the gamut from (as you said) cinematic [The
> Way It Is] to nouveau-girl-group [Maybe Tonight] to the utterly
> uncategorizable [Brooklyn's on Fire]. And she puts on a much better
> live show to boot.
>
> (sorry...had to get that in there...;)
>
>
>
> --- In AsburyPark@yahoogroups.com, "Jack Pitzer" <hinge98@> wrote:
> >
> > Asbury Park doesn't want it's musical heritage to continue beyond
> Bruce Springsteen.
> > We're headed toward "smooth" everything when it comes to music.
> > This is despite the fact that The Saint, Asbury Lanes and The Stone
> Pony continue to
> > provide a link to new, original and exciting music, but the city
> itself does little to tout that.
> > We have an artist living right here in AP who's making waves all
> over the world, Nicole
> > Atkins. You've heard her music in commercials, she's been on
> Letterman and Conan. She's
> > right in the same genre as people like Amy Winehouse and other
> artists who fuse a
> > retro/cinematic sound, yet she plays at the Stone Pony and only 40
> people show up. To
> > me, she should be an inspiration as to what one accomplishes if you
> dedicate yourself to
> > it, which is exactly what she has done. She comes from Neptune, but
> her performance
> > roots are right here in AP.
> > But, does AP tout her like Springsteen or Southside? Nope.
> > Does AP tout the incredibly unique and hip Asbury Lanes? Nope
> > Asbury Park is turning it's back on what once was it's greatest
> export, music.
> > But, maybe this is happening all across the country.
> > Maybe people outside of major cities don't support music the way
> they once did. It's so
> > much easier to stay at home and experience the world thru the
> internet.
> >
> > I'm pretty much done with ranting about what should've happened in
> AP. It's pointless.
> > We a city that's changing. Some people will love it, and others,
> like myself will be turned
> > off by where we are headed. There will probably come a time for me
> to start looking for a
> > community to live in that embraces the ideals that make me excited.
> >
>
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