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Do thriving local scenes help or hinder bands? |
"How about running a column about the new, up and coming bands around the Hull music scene," asks Glenn Williams via e-mail, "because there are some great bands appearing here now such as The Landaus, The Favours, Dumpvalve...the list goes on."
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"How many Top 40 bands can you name that hailed from Hull?" |
Hull , now there's a thought. Try this at home. How many Top 40 bands can you name that hailed from Hull ? Are we due a Hull revival? And are The Landaus named after a type of regal carriage or a sports car?
Out of curiosity I tried out the BBC Humber website and Glenn's right. If you go to the Raw Talent section - that's the pages put together by Humber 's new music show - there's a band register with scores of groups on it.
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Didn't find The Landaus, but Dumpvalve are apparently influenced by bands like
Suicidal Tendencies and Pearl Jam - and I did come across a garage rock band called The Paddingtons who are fans of The Strokes and The Libertines and quite fancy covering 'White Riot' by The Clash.
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"It's a long way from the '80s when The Housemartins emerged from the city" |
It's a long way from the '80s when The Housemartins emerged from the city claiming to be "the fourth best band in Hull " (at a time when there were probably only four bands in Hull ). And I once slept in a car park having seen a band called the Newtown Neurotics play to 50 people at the Adelphi Club - Hull 's most famous musical landmark and the only gig venue which is, in fact, a converted terraced house.
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The spirit of DIY which existed back then looks like it still endures now (and it's nice to see The Welly Club still promoting bands).
But Glenn's e-mail raises some interesting points. For instance, do thriving local scenes help or hinder bands? I've seen some regional music scenes eat themselves in a frenzy of shark-like proportions. The creeping competitiveness and jealousy starts to fester until someone finally flips.
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"Elsewhere we've recently seen the fruits of some 'scenes' which have worked in favour of the bands" |
Imagine! "I'm A Would-Be Celebrity....get me out of here." It's a jungle out there, y'know.
Elsewhere we've recently seen the fruits of some 'scenes' which have worked in favour of the bands. Take Liverpool, for example, where the music scene is split into numerous different cliques, but the success of groups like The Coral seems to have helped throw some light on the city which for so long was overshadowed by Manchester.
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Then there's a thriving Leeds and Wakefield production line, which has recently spawned a three-band tour featuring The Blueskins, 10,000 Things and The Cribs. This sort of camaraderie is a terrific press angle.
Back in Hull , this is the reality of the situation. Until one band breaks, then the media won't come running. Also, when the One Band does go stellar - or at least signs a deal - how does the rest of city's musical talent react?
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"Personally I'm against bands being forced to move south" |
While you're visualizing that, here's another quandary. If you're good but out on a limb in Hull , do you have to break free of the local scene and start planning an assault on London ? Or if you're really gung-ho, should you even move there?
Personally I'm against bands being forced to move south, just because all of us low-rent media yahoos are too lazy - or more practically, too busy - to get on a train. But then again, there is only so long you can carry on being the big fish in a small pond.
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Plus Ash relocated to London early in their career and look what happened to The Glitterati (see last week's column).
I notice from the Humber website that the highlight of The Favours nine months together so far was "playing Camden " and getting a positive response from appearing in The Smoke recently. They sound like nicely impatient, ambitious blighters.
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"There's a lot to be said for staying out of the industry's reach until you've become really good at what you do" |
Alternatively if you hate the thought of London , then try to spread your name across the north through word of mouth and whatever gigs you can get. There's a lot to be said for staying out of the industry's reach until you've become really good at what you do - and you have the evidence of a growing following to prove it.
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For Hull 's new breed, all I'll say is this: you don't want to be the person who ends up lurking in a corner of Spiders nightclub muttering "I could have been a contender." Good luck.
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Previously:
Your favourite band is probably in debt
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| Related Links In How to...:
Get ready to approach record labels
Send out demos
Promote live gigs
In Music exposed:
The Darkness
Flamboyant rockers on what makes a good live show
Hell Is For Heroes
On how to make the most of your website
Other links:
Radio 1 Online: Steve Lamacq
BBC 6 Music: Steve Lamacq
BBCi Music: Rock and Alternative
BBCi: Humber - Raw Talent
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