Yesterday's News - Number Four Hundred and Fifty.

[Ryan Funch]

Akaname / Lesbian's Fungal Abyss - split 7" (just got a few more of the Hell Comes Home 7" series in the mail. This one is decent sludge stuff)
Hurray for the Riff Raff - Look Out Mama (new LP. Good stuff. Less folksy and more country twang.)
Spells - The Age of Backwards 7" (riot grrl stuff from Carrie Bradshaw)
The Gossip - That's Not What I Heard
Anonymous Choir (nice to listen to, all-female choir versions of a bunch of great songs--some Kate Bush, Will Oldham, Cohen, etc.)
Palace Music - Viva Last Blues

Black Breath + Martydod + Burning Love + Enabler + Haarp - live
Dominique LeJeune + Jungle Dress + Sirens - live

Totally bummed by these two shows and the lack of local support. If another Transplant explains to me, "It's summer," I'm going to start killing off the popular bands and setting fire to the popular clubs.

[JEFFISDEF]

Haarp sucks...
And I bet all those bands suck too.

I usually don't go to shitty shows, and that's usually what kinda shows are in Nola...

Boring metal ish stuff...
Fuck supporting your scene when there's nothing cool.
Sorry Bryan,only tha facts from me.

[dantigravity]

Fuck supporting your scene when there's nothing cool.
Sorry Bryan,only tha facts from me.

As usual, Jeff has pretty much summed up what I was thinking in A LOT fewer words.

The scene is not church: no one has any obligation to come to shows and politely be counted for attendance. It shouldn't be a duty thing, but an inspiration thing. And if people aren't feeling inspired, whose fault is that?

[alex]

So everybody look out for my new EP "THIS SCENE IS NOT CHURCH."

That show was good. If it was at Siberia I probably would have hated it.

And for the YN:
New Guided By Voices.
New Fiona Apple.
Some Sunn O))) to cut through a rather long stretch of writer's block.
Also went on a late-night teen nostalgia trip and listened to a lot of '90s Hopeless Records stuff and turns out it doesn't hold up that well.

[Ryan Funch]

Burning Love is a hardcore band with Chris Callahan from Left for Dead, The Swarm, Countdown to Oblivion, Ruination, Cursed, etc. Enabler is a hardcore band with the drummer from Racetraitor and Kill the Slavemaster.

I guess showing some support for your friend Ryan Funch doesn't enter your thinking. I don't know what I was thinking when I came out to all those Audubon Hotel shows or went to see Head Pro, Ghostwood, Hatchback, on down the line to infinity. I guess I was thinking that it might mean something to my friends if I supported them. Wrong!

Really though, I can't believe that people don't see the merit in these matinees. Even if you don't like the bands (I usually don't), it's a lot of fun hanging out. I guess I just don't see why people wouldn't want to check out some local bands or support local non-profits. I guess people like Jeff and Dan either don't care or think that those can keep happening if people don't come out.

Anyway, it's definitely this mercenary attitude that contributes to good local bands breaking up, and other good people giving up. But why worry about that? This isn't Church. It's an Ayn Rand novel.

"And if people aren't feeling inspired, whose fault is that?"
Usually: Drugs, Facebook, Netflix, Convenience Culture, etc. So, you know, THEIR OWN.

[alex]

Also, if you can't support something because "there's nothing cool," and you're not doing anything to make it "cooler" (like, I don't know, taking a chance on something, like a show your friends are putting on)... then what?

The matinees I've been able to make have been great. Eat lunch, watch people play something they're excited about sharing (and holy shit, sometimes it's pretty good), hang out with people you like, and it benefits something worthwhile?

[dantigravity]

I'm really surprised that after all these years and so many shows, my friend Ryan Funch still has thin skin when it comes to attendance. More thoughts on this:

*I feel like I've played dozens of shows in various bands where the majority of the time my friend RF was not present. And I know this because I always looked for him. But hey, no sweat: RF is a busy guy. He's got a lovely domestic situation, a comic book collection, his own Netflix queue, his own band and record label and and and and... the only people I ever really needed at a show were my band mates or whoever was running the thing. Everyone else can take it or leave it and if WE weren't doing enough to get people out, that was on us. I mean, how awesome were/are the Lovey Dovies and how many empty rooms did we play in NOLA?

*Nobody reads ANTIGRAVITY, including people that are written about in it and people that it's "for." Whose fault is that? Mine mostly (and the rest of the staff). If people aren't paying attention, it's my responsibility to either make them pay attention or let it go. I have fun doing it regardless.

*Maybe the weekly thing makes the matinees a poor draw lately? It seemed like there was a pretty healthy turn out at the beginning. But, for instance, Mod Dance Party doesn't run on a weekly schedule, they do it only once a month. Maybe, like a band playing every week, hosting the same event every week dilutes its impact?

*Speaking of, maybe there are too many bands out there. Everyone is in a band and the market, for lack of a better term, is completely saturated. Maybe, like Guy Picciotto, everyone is starting to hate the sound of guitars. A thousand grudging young millionaires.

*Alex, I can't wait to hear your EP. Great title. Probably won't make the release show, though. Sowwy!

[werd]

I go out of town for a couple days and y'all are at each others' throats, yeesh! See what happens when I go out of town, Ryan? Y'all get all antsy in yr pantseys.

The matinee shows are fun. Could definitely see the merit of doing them every other week or something. Like someone once told me, don't play more than once a month if you want anyone to show up. The matinee itself feels like a band, regardless of who's playing music. I like going and I have a good time, but it is more or less the same every week.

I understand the frustration here, on both sides. Getting people to come out is always hard, especially when there ARE a ton of bands these days, many of whom are great. (And many of whom suck, even to someone who is not as picky as Mr Jeff.) I personally try to make going to shows a priority because I want to "support the scene" or whatever, but also because I want to engender good feelings with people when I give them a flyer for whatever shitty pop punk band I'm in. I can't rightly expect people to come see me play idiot music if I won't go see them doing whatever thing they're doing.

This is the big difference between our "scene" and the other cities I've lived in - we're lucky to be so small that everyone knows everyone and that shows, no matter what genre music is happening, attract all kinds of people. Try going to a hardcore show in Philly and flyering for yr art punk show and see how many people laugh at you.

Anyways, everyone just play music and go to shows if you feel like it (whether it's cuz the music's good or yr supporting someone/something). And if Jeff G shows up, give him a hard time about never going inside.

[werd]

Oh, and for YN:

Belong - Common Era
Gorilla Biscuits - Start Today
Off With Their Heads - From The Bottom
One Last Wish - 1986
Guided By Voices - Alien Lanes
Delay - Rushing Ceremony
Chain Of Strength - True Till Death; What Holds Us Apart
Kreator - Endless Pain
Nas - Illmatic

Went to Detroit for the Allied Media Conference, listened to a bunch of junk on the planes, trains, and automobiles. Listened to a ton of people talk about "the movement". Tried to contact my 21 year old self cuz he would have been stoked to be there. Didn't get in touch with him cuz he was too busy not drinking and listening to BANE and writing angsty Livejournal posts.

[dantigravity]

Drew, you might not know this but Ryan and I have been going at it since you were floor-punching in your diapies up there in Bawston. And we'll be going at it long after you flee to the next hip town. Because we are half-brothers who shared Ian MacKaye's womb. But his dad is Henry Rollins and mine is Sam McPheeters. Oh this is getting weird...

UP THE LAZY PUNX!

P.S. where the hell are you Tom, to chime in on this? I remember you having some pretty ripe stuff to say about scene/show attendance backintheday...

[werd]

Drew, you might not know this but Ryan and I have been going at it since you were floor-punching in your diapies up there in Bawston. And we'll be going at it long after you flee to the next hip town. Because we are half-brothers who shared Ian MacKaye's womb. But his dad is Henry Rollins and mine is Sam McPheeters. Oh this is getting weird...

Oh, I'm aware. I was just poking at Ryan for chiding us when he was away. ONLY ONE SCENE DAD AT A TIME.

[Ryan Funch]

I posted a long reply to all this the other day, but I must not have submitted it. Dang.

(to Drew) I've been back for a while now. I don't know what you're talking about!

I think Tom jumped ship and moved to the Metairie of Texas: Houston.

Let me be clear that I do not care for or care about the "support the scene" mentality. Why go see a band that's terrible or go to a show that's terrible? It's draining on everyone. But if you have a friend in a band, or a friend putting on a show, especially if it's someone who has consistently shown support for your own projects--then, yeah, please show some support. Saying that I have "thin skin when it comes to attendance" is a gross generalization that does not at all take in the nuances of how I view shows, local bands, attendance, etc. As far as my current issues with people coming or not coming, my biggest issue is with all the people I have supported over the years (Head Pro, Ghostwood, Hatchback, etc. as well as other local promoters) being unapologetically unwilling to show me the same support. Sure, people come to my shows SOMETIMES. When someone important to their social clique has a band playing. But even in those cases, I have to trick them and cajole them into staying for a band who maybe came over from EUROPE or whatever. I have to convince them to stick around for something that they haven't heard that I think they might like. It's a mess.

I still go out to as many ALL AGES shows around the city as I can. Generally, I only miss a show like that if I'm on tour or have my own show the same night. Sure, I've missed plenty of Lovey Dovies, Opposable Thumbs, Adults, etc. shows at Allways or Siberia. My old man sinuses leave me sick for days after when I go to smokey clubs. I also hate and am depressed by bar/drug culture. Those sorts of shows have never really appealed to me, and as I've gotten older, I've found that they're a huge drain on me physically and mentally.

There's a lot wrapped up in the matinees for me that exacerbate my reactions to the poor turnout. This project is basically everything I've been pushing on punk shows for the last 15 years: cross-pollination of local audiences in an attempt to further weaken the structure of social cliques, a platform and benefit for local non-profit organizations and projects, a passive but adequate way of stimulating creativity and musical growth by shaming the bad bands with good bands. When most of the "cheaper" shows these days are in the $6-8 range, the matinees remain $5 and harken back to the Faubourg days even more with a discount to $3 with food or book donations. And even when people just come and hang around outside, that's cool too! That's all I'm really doing at the shows anyway.

The line-up for the matinees changes every week, and the shows can be drastically different stylistically. I'm pretty sure you'll still hear WOOLY BULLY once, twice, thrice, or ten times every month at Mod Night. And if I could even get folks to come out to one of these matinees each month, that would be HUGE.

I also agree that there are two many bands. But I'd rather see a million local bands pop up and fade away than 100 more incompetent or unoriginal touring bands draining communities everywhere. At least locally, there's the opportunity for bands (however bad they are) to give something back and to grow.

I don't expect people to always come out to my shows simply because I'm doing them. That's why I have to tailor the local bands to each show. That's why I had to piss off James and Lovey Dovies when I kicked them off the Pygmy Lush show to add Japanther: because more people will be at the show to see Pygmy Lush if Japanther plays. This is why local bands rarely get paid on my shows. This is why I get on local bands' cases about playing out more than once a month. This is why people joke that I hand them a flyer every time I see them. I'm certainly not sitting around all day farting around and playing slapdick and creating one facebook event and expecting a huge turnout. I'm putting in the work, conning people, haranguing locals for all their foils. But at the end of the night, when I do some show and almost none of the many people who I actively support come out, it can be kind of hard not to take that as a slight, even if it's just a difference of perspective. That my friends don't or can't understand that doing or playing these shows is still important to me and that I would appreciate support every now and then--that's insane to me.

I haven't had a comic book collection since 2003 when mine was destroyed in a flood in Norco.

I read Antigravity.

[AndyGibbs]

Antigravity.

[micah]

Good news according to the facebook event more than 5 people are going to the matinee this Sunday.
28 people are going.
And 12 people are maybe going.

[dantigravity]

Micah-- Facebook lies.
Andy-- Thanks for the correction. Antigravity is and always has been 1 word. No gods, no masters, no spaces, no hyphens.
Ryan-- sorry about the comic book blast. I'm eating my shoe. And you've shamed me into coming to the next show, if only to get snuck. Looking forward to that.