The "left" side of the scene and how to be a "Northampton Band"

I live in such a great little town called Northampton, MA. In case you don't know about "us", check this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northampton,_Massachusetts



Truly, I love Northampton. It’s a great little town with great restaurants, plenty of active music venues, a sense of community and interesting, cool, fashionable, forward thinking and cultured people. Then town is welcoming and looks cool, is usually fun destination and, has a lot of musicians that live here. It doesn't currently have a lot of great music though. While traveling through Craigslist today at work like you were, I came across a post in the “Musicians” community reading something to the effect of “are The Fantasies the best band from Northampton?” Of course I’m going to read that. While their song was pretty cool and catchy, they sounded exactly like I thought they would. It’s not a bad thing to have a “brand”, even if it’s a town. Meaning, I see their name, hear the song, I feel their submliminal sentiment that they are a “Northampton band”, I agree and think, “yeah. It all adds up.”

Problem is, you want it to move you. I want it to move me. C’mon anybody, everybody…would somebody do something new and exciting please? Would you make us want to leave our fucking houses for you please?? You know what I mean…come on! Just fly off the fucking handle for a minute! Don’t be scared or try to fit "the Mold"…anyway, I’m not ripping on The Fantasies because, again, their song is cool and I like how they come out on CL with some assertiveness and shit. Hopefully Northampton can see more of this type of stuff in the near future. I admit, I want to be blown away by a band. I want to be so impressed at how nasty they are that my blood boils. For now, out here in Northampton , it’s just primarily scattered, status quo and self indulgent music, in my opinion, rather than anything really that compelling or on fire.

We have scores of the “amazing” musician types out here forming random bands, playing The Elevens and The Basement…maybe playing at The Ironhorse? Oh yeah, another thing, people can stop trashing IHEG. You most likely don’t really know what you’re talking about. Their shows are exciting and if you just stop fucking whining for a minute about Eric S and just work with the guy things end up pretty cool)? …I digress. The “Northampton Bands” have witty, ironic names. The musicians dress trendy, they have quirky, clever banter, they may watch films many people have never heard of, they may listen to music within un-admitted parameters of “culture” and/or parameters of obscurity. They also do listen to really good music. I love it. I really prefer this environment and it’s “living” nature. But so much is missing…The overall sincerity, the overall authenticity? Sure we want to belong and be “cool”. We want to be accepted but the world awaits your music!...wait a second…WOW! The new Strokes album is really good…second listen in progress. Many people out here would not admit to liking The Strokes for example. They’re (The Strokes) too mainstream to be “cool” out here regardless of how good their music is. Anyway, I digress once again. Thankfully a very small number of bands and/or artists around here actually have some manner of vision and something real to say. Just not enough of them.


I hate to generalize but many of us either overtly or covertly acknowledge and know what a “Northampton Band” is. It’s a folky-indie-ironic-shoegazing-musical-collaboration-with-a few-moderately-to-well-known-local-musicians-with trendy-clothes-often-exchanging-instruments-on-stage-and also-using-vintage-instruments-while-playing-technically-good-music-that-often-times-I-like-and-more-often-times-I-don’t-but-they-won’t-even-be-a fucking-band-in-six-months-so-who-cares-but-then-they-come-back-with-another-mixture-of-musicians-destined-to-be perceived as yet, another “Northampton Band”. Or they just sound like a revival of something that has been done and is being done to death. Lame.

I’m not trashing the many great people I’ve met in my time of residing here–some of whom are in “Northampton Bands”–I love them. I’m talking about the closed up people hiding behind their pretense and faking it. Out here we are on the “left side” of the “scene” where things are all love and kindness, not really though. Here, things are perceived as “amazing” and we have a notable wealth of “amazing” and talented musicians –maybe we do? We just don’t have an “amazing” amount of real artists right now. And nobody sticks to their guns. And nobody tries. And nobody cares but we still walk around as if we’re some enchanted artists who are just flowing in our art…but no, not really. We’re just trying to be accepted and everybody’s doing it so…forget about when the going gets tough. We don’t even come out of the bubble because we know it could get tough. Our friends will still come out for a few weeks more, but in fewer numbers soon…they’ll get bored like we do. We quit and just hype the next collaboration for a few months to feel fulfilled and alive. But we never had to stop. If we really mean what we are projecting we could drop the pretense just create, and stand by it. I admit, I just want to be moved by music. Bjork once said “Unless you feel like you would die without it you’re faking it.” Clear?

I just hope some more of us "amazing" musicians get something going that is just super-hot in any way–any genre-and then just stand by it for awhile. Extend your vision past Northampton MA. Show the Eastern Seaboard your music, show the USA, show the world and stop thinking of your music in terms of “Northampton”. I think it’s sad that, in the “new" music industry we are in the midst of, more people don’t realize the massive opportunities that exist, we don't realize that it is a "level playing field" for the open, honest, passionate and “on fire” songwriters and bands. But first you’ll need to get past the haze of comfort that sleeps with you here and reach out past your friends opinions. I, for one, would love to hear it if you do.

~ZFJ