"The Fabulous Miss Wendy is a recording artist from Los Angeles, California. She is a virtuoso guitar player and she writes all her own songs. She has been featured in Guitar World, Guitar International, and many other news outlets. She has toured nationally and has sold over 10,000 records independently."
I think the music scene in Cali is great right now, from metal to rock. My question would be, Which coast east or west has the stronger metal/rock scene, and how does this help my band?
- Metal Luva
Dear Metal Luva,
Thank you so much for your question...
If I had to say what part of America is the most "Metal"... in other words, Super Duper-Hard-Rock/Screamo/Any Kind of Angry-Man-Oriented-Music (as opposed to Weak-Subjugated-Female-Rock)... I would say the Midwest.
People will always tell you, "Oh Town X is happening " or "You need to be in Town Y, & that's where it's gonna happen for you." These people are FULL OF CRAP! The truth is that you need to START in whichever city you live, and you need to go EVERYWHERE, no matter what kind of music you are playing.
Find YOUR OWN audience. Be proactive. Start in your own city and gradually increase your "Circle of Influence." (Thanks to my vocal teacher, Brian Hacksaw Williams, for coining the term "Circle of Influence.")
Begin by getting your CD in the local record stores. Then put up flyers and posters in those stores...
For Metal, you'll want to reach those adolescents (especially the male ones), who hate their parents, hate their school, hate their life, etc, but LOVE angry music. It's probably the only thing (besides masturbation) that they DO love :). Go to the local high schools, dress like a FREAK to get attention, and pass out posters & flyers.
Another group of people who Loooooove Metal are...."and drum roll please.." ..Musicians!!! (because Metal is soooo technical!) It's a Fabulous idea to distribute posters and flyers at all local instrument shops, rehearsal studios, and rock clubs in your area.
Now go to a bunch of new cities: Rinse, Lather, Repeat. Do this and by golly, you will have a "gorgeous"...whoops I mean "brutal" following! (after all this is metal here)
On a serious note, I have seen a lot of bands that get heavily involved in a particular "Scene." All "Scenes" are fleeting and dissipating. Never be too heavily dependent on any one particular
“Scene.” Be a “Scene-Hopper”... If you are doing it right, your life will feel more like an episode of "Dr Who?" and less like (you know you watch it) "Beverly Hills 90210."
When you start touring, you will notice that some shows you play are "better" than others (as far as attendance, audience reaction etc). Chock those nights up to good shows, rather than that area being good for Metal. The truth is, any area can be great for Metal and any area can be horrible for Metal. It’s what you make of it, hence the importance of finding your OWN audience. It's better to have a Long, Fruitful Career of touring (with Good Nights and Bad Nights in many different cities), than a Burnout career in either your hometown, or worse yet, some city you moved to because Metal is the cool thing there.
If you choose the Burnout Route (ie staying in your hometown or moving to a place where metal is cool), you will feel like a Huge Rockstar because everyone around you will know who you are. You will feel great while it's happening, but you will either hit the Glass Ceiling by oversaturating one market, or you will wake up one day 20 years from now, and realize that the "Cool Scene" that always treated you so well, has dissipated into thin air... Poof there go your dreams...
Don't be that Lame Ass Burnout who thinks the Cool Scene that he or she dominates is going to "make it." You can waste the next 20 years of your life in The Cool Scene, or you can take my advice and Get your Fucking Brutal Metal Ass on The Road and make Something of Yourself. Your choice. Scenes everywhere await your Angry, Brilliant Music!
- Sincerely
The Fabulous Miss Wendy
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