Depending on who you are, musician or fan, and depending on your taste in music, you may love or may hate the music scene on Long Island. When I was growing up, there were a limited number of ways to get your music fix. First there was AM, then FM radio, you could purchase your favorive songs as a 45rpm, or take a chance and buy the album, unless a friend had it and you knew you liked it. There was the occasional or weekly (pre-MTV) television program like Don Kirshner's Rock Concert, and then there were live bands. About the time I came of drinking age, well ok, a few years before that, there were a host of clubs and bars where you could go see a live band. There were cover bands, and original bands (tribute bands didn't exist yet either) and then there were the venues that hosted known or slightly known acts like Nassau Coliseum, Westbury Music Fair and My Fathers place. But the smaller places to go see a great cover band or original band were large by todays standards. Rumrunners, Rumbottoms, Speaks, and even a lot of the smaller local places all had stages. They attracted crowds who would stand sholder to sholder to see a good cover band.
That was rock (now classic rock) and as a fan, I would frequent many of these places. The bars geared them selves to attracting bands which would attract crowds which would spend money on drinks. Now, as a part time working musician, its hard to find such places.
A rise in the drinking age, the change in DUI laws, a change in the audience demographics, a change in the availability and sources of music in the digital era and changes in musical tastes have all created many changes in the music scene. And while pirated mp3's and a return to DJ's and current dance music all conspire to impact live music on Long Island, there is still an effort by many cities and towns to promote live music. There are street fairs, music festivals (though we've lost my beloved Riverhead Blues Fest) concerts in the parks and a host of other event featuring live music, but these are not enough to sustain upcoming and start-up bands and musicians. The competition for the better gigs is fierce. To play some places you actually have to pay the venue. It is discouraging at best. Many places that offer live music do so as an after thought. I am talking about the bar / restaurant that is more concerned with how many meals are getting sold. I have no problem with the fact that that's how they earn their living, but perhaps they should be booking a keyboardist / singer as opposed to a 5 piece band. But they do book bands, pay them as little as possible, expect the band to create their customer base for the night and would bump the band for a party of 10 in a heartbeat. If you do go on, you are shoved into a corner of the room thats too small for you to move, with one electric outlet and no ventilation. In addition to a loss of bars and clubs that are "music" oriented, there has also been a decline in the variety of music you can find. Small, dimly lit jazz clubs have disappeared. You can find the occasional "blues jam" happening, but if you want to play you need to be on good terms with the sponsoring band. Getting an actual gig for your own band can be a difficult and lengthy process. Getting paid, even more so.
Long Island has produced some amazing talent over the decades and still does, but these and other changes have made it more difficult for musicians and acts to network, play, get paid and improve the music scene by providing more options for different genres. Venues for young, new and up-and coming talent have either disappeared, made music a secondary or tertiary consideration in their business and in some cases expect the band to provide the customers for them if not actually have them pay to perform.
Unfortunately, this is not going to change as long as musicians and groups accept the working conditions and the venues don't see promoting live music as anything other than an additional item offered ala carte.
It would be nice if both the talent and the smaller venues could find a business model that serves both their needs while working to improve the live music scene and enhance the experience for fans of both. I believe that if this were obtainable, medium to larger sized venues might start to re-appear and follow suit.
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