What happened to our scene?

[Gozu]

i think that there are some bands in aberdeen doing stuff that hasn't been scene (sic) around here in a long time and i find it rather refreshing.

also last gig we played at we had 2 people come down just to see us who only came because they liked the music. best. thing. ever

[Swingin' Ryan]

..... and this is a reference to what exactly ? .... that I'm some kind of Homophobe ? .....

NO Way, Swingin' Ryan

I'd gie ye a kiss

and that's nay lyin'

(pucker up, buttercup !) (name the artist !)

Haha! It was a reference to a number of questionable comments regarding Homosexuality you made on here. I could find them and quote them if you want but I don't think it's necessary! I don't think you're an actual 'kill' em all' fire and brimstone homophobe, just more of a light 'it's political correctness gone mad' Jim Davidson-esque Homophobe.

[russtyeh]

It's pretty obvious what happened to it.

They stole it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4Ge5s5-6SQ

[Guest Tam o' Shantie]

What happened to the scene?

Well, as a member of the local music scene I'm currently helping to organise on the 5th and 6th releases for Tuff Wax who have seen international praise & whose artists have been featured on the likes of XLR8R & Dummy magazine in the past year. 2 months ago I DJ'd alongside an all local lineup of producers, some playing a solid hour of their own material, in front of 350+ people in a near enough sold-out Snafu. Week in week out, we're shipping vinyl to customers in the UK, Europe & rest of the world. The band behind our most recent release (Dolfinz) just completed their 2nd UK tour joining bands like Paws, The Babies, Former Bullies and others and are already planning their next recording. Acid Thunder, who host me as a resident DJ is still booking underground artists on a monthly basis and have had Dexplicit, Fantastic Mr Fox, Egyptrixx, Deadboy, Roska and Elijah & Skilliam along with resident DJs and producers from other respected nights in Scotland in Origin in the last 12 months.

So, that's what my crew and I are contributing to the scene at the moment. Individually as artists we're doing well outside of Aberdeen as well, as you'd hope/expect. If anyone's posting on this thread about Aberdeen's music being pish then you're more than welcome to attend one of our events or follow what we're doing - the more the merrier.

www.tuffwaxrecords.com

[Alkaline]

What happened to the scene?

Well, as a member of the local music scene I'm currently helping to organise on the 5th and 6th releases for Tuff Wax who have seen international praise & whose artists have been featured on the likes of XLR8R & Dummy magazine in the past year. 2 months ago I DJ'd alongside an all local lineup of producers, some playing a solid hour of their own material, in front of 350+ people in a near enough sold-out Snafu. Week in week out, we're shipping vinyl to customers in the UK, Europe & rest of the world. The band behind our most recent release (Dolfinz) just completed their 2nd UK tour joining bands like Paws, The Babies, Former Bullies and others and are already planning their next recording. Acid Thunder, who host me as a resident DJ is still booking underground artists on a monthly basis and have had Dexplicit, Fantastic Mr Fox, Egyptrixx, Deadboy, Roska and Elijah & Skilliam along with resident DJs and producers from other respected nights in Scotland in Origin in the last 12 months.

So, that's what my crew and I are contributing to the scene at the moment. Individually as artists we're doing well outside of Aberdeen as well, as you'd hope/expect. If anyone's posting on this thread about Aberdeen's music being pish then you're more than welcome to attend one of our events or follow what we're doing - the more the merrier.

www.tuffwaxrecords.com

Very small part of a very disjointed scene. Glad it's all going well but none of that is of the least bit of interest to me musically and i'm a member of the scene too.

[Gypsum_Fantastic]

What happened to the scene?

Well, as a member of the local music scene I'm currently helping to organise on the 5th and 6th releases for Tuff Wax who have seen international praise & whose artists have been featured on the likes of XLR8R & Dummy magazine in the past year. 2 months ago I DJ'd alongside an all local lineup of producers, some playing a solid hour of their own material, in front of 350+ people in a near enough sold-out Snafu. Week in week out, we're shipping vinyl to customers in the UK, Europe & rest of the world. The band behind our most recent release (Dolfinz) just completed their 2nd UK tour joining bands like Paws, The Babies, Former Bullies and others and are already planning their next recording. Acid Thunder, who host me as a resident DJ is still booking underground artists on a monthly basis and have had Dexplicit, Fantastic Mr Fox, Egyptrixx, Deadboy, Roska and Elijah & Skilliam along with resident DJs and producers from other respected nights in Scotland in Origin in the last 12 months.

So, that's what my crew and I are contributing to the scene at the moment. Individually as artists we're doing well outside of Aberdeen as well, as you'd hope/expect. If anyone's posting on this thread about Aberdeen's music being pish then you're more than welcome to attend one of our events or follow what we're doing - the more the merrier.

www.tuffwaxrecords.com

I was wondering when you were going to pop up, was going to mention your stuff but didn't know much of the ins and the outs. You deserve the acclaim you are getting.

[-matthEw-]

Very small part of a very disjointed scene. Glad it's all going well but none of that is of the least bit of interest to me musically and i'm a member of the scene too.

To be fair, anyone and everyone who contributes to music in this city is part of the scene in my mind. It may have little interest to you, but from what I've seen lately, the non-guitar-based (for want a better all-encompassing phrase) stuff represents the majority of the current scene. Also, I'd be willing to bet, those that attend and play these gigs and contibute tracks and put on the nights, probably have the type of comradery that the OP feels is missing.

[Alkaline]

To be fair, anyone and everyone who contributes to music in this city is part of the scene in my mind. It may have little interest to you, but from what I've seen lately, the non-guitar-based (for want a better all-encompassing phrase) stuff represents the majority of the current scene. Also, I'd be willing to bet, those that attend and play these gigs and contibute tracks and put on the nights, probably have the type of comradery that the OP feels is missing.

Aye, that came across more negatively than i meant it to. That part of the "scene" is pretty insular and full of people i don't like so it's not really of interest to me personally. I think what Tom (and those involved) is doing is great in terms of exposure for the people involved in that particular facet of the scene and i wish them all good luck.

There are still plenty of indie bands and rock bands kicking about they just aren't any good (once again in my opinion) so there doesn't seem to be anything that gels that side of it all together like there used to be and there's little crossover between the that and the Tuff Wax/Snafu crowd.

[Guest Tam o' Shantie]

Very small part of a very disjointed scene. Glad it's all going well but none of that is of the least bit of interest to me musically and i'm a member of the scene too.

You say that like it has any bearing on the validity of what I posted...can you argue with a laundry list like that? This was off the top of my head, I could expand if I had the energy/time. I also for obvious reasons didn't brush upon some of the future endeavors which are already in progress.

Tuff Wax has put out powerpop (Be Like Pablo, 10 Easy Wishes), hip hop/beats (Lockah), juke/club (Yoin) and noise/pop/grunge/woteva (dolfinz) releases in the last 2 years, and have been in talks with indie/rock artists, grime producers & other electronic acts for our 2012 schedule. Hosted events in local clubs alongside art studios. So, what do we need to do before you think we're contributing to the scene?

[Alkaline]

You say that like it has any bearing on the validity of what I posted...can you argue with a laundry list like that? This was off the top of my head, I could expand if I had the energy/time. I also for obvious reasons didn't brush upon some of the future endeavors which are already in progress.

Tuff Wax has put out powerpop (Be Like Pablo, 10 Easy Wishes), hip hop/beats (Lockah), juke/club (Yoin) and noise/pop/grunge/woteva (dolfinz) releases in the last 2 years, and have been in talks with indie/rock artists, grime producers & other electronic acts for our 2012 schedule. Hosted events in local clubs alongside art studios. So, what do we need to do before you think we're contributing to the scene?

See above.

[Guest Tam o' Shantie]

Fair enough mate, was just the way it came across. I would like to point out that we are not an electronic label tho, Dolfinz couldnt be further with 1 drumkit & 1 guitar and are definitely going to work with more bands in 2012.

[ca_gere]

Very small part of a very disjointed scene. Glad it's all going well but none of that is of the least bit of interest to me musically and i'm a member of the scene too.

This post is a very small part of a shit-jointed thread and of little interest to me. Seriously, what point are you trying to make here? The guy says what he's up to and how it fits in to the whole 'local' thing and you say you don't like it? No offense, but nobody cares what u like, or I for that matter. It's local, therefore relevant.

[ca_gere]

U cleared it up. Cool, as u were.

[Alkaline]

This post is a very small part of a shit-jointed thread and of little interest to me. Seriously, what point are you trying to make here? The guy says what he's up to and how it fits in to the whole 'local' thing and you say you don't like it? No offense, but nobody cares what u like, or I for that matter. It's local, therefore relevant.

The point i was trying to make is that the Tuff Wax crowd is a small part of a local scene which encompasses all types of music. Its singular success is in no way indicitive of how the scene as a whole is projected to and for the majority of the people involved in it. I appreciate that Tom and his mates/colleagues/whatever are putting in a ton of effort for their favourite types of music but the rest of the parts of the scene as a whole most certainly aren't achieveing the same things.

Nothing is bringing the whole music scene together any more. That is largely the biggest failing of it in my opinion.

And as for the "but nobody cares what you like" quip, they maybe don't but i do and i care how music is represented in Aberdeen and a one-sided take on "success" isn't representative of the scene as a whole.

It's only relevent to people who are interested in it.

[Flash@TMB]

I've been around for a long time. The period from around 2002-2005 was a great one, then it went a bit downhill.

Drakes closing was the biggest blow. Countless bands got their start at Drakes and honed their craft there. It was the perfect size for those types of gigs. It would have been nice if a deal could have been wrought whereby the council subsidised it, along the lines of a min-Lemon Tree. After it shut the number of local bands proficient enough to play in a 150-200 (or 300-400 *COUGH*) capacity venue went into slow decline. There is not longer the same depth of talent available and line-ups have suffered as a result. That's the main reason that attendances have fallen in some of the other venues. There are bands headlining today who wouldn't made it as 1st support on a 4 band bill back in 2004. Who wants to pay to see that?

There's also been changes in the licensing laws that make it harder for venues to admit people under 18. We saw this coming and curtailed those admissions ahead of time, in order that we could build up an older crowd before the effects of the forthcoming legislation kicked in.

So back in the early 00s there was a small capacity venue, fully kitted out, and catering for novice acts, that could happily admit people aged 14-18. Losing that was an enormous blow to the city. And the only way to viably replace it now would be with some public funded workshop like there used to be back before my time.

Moshulu was another loss. In Moshulu we had a large nightclub catering to a particular scene, which hosted the bigger gigs, and was a place where everyone could congregate after midnight. Unfortunately Moshulu was a little too big, a little too cost hungry, and ultimately structurally unsuitable, and it died a long slow death. Nowadays the remaining venues are all open late so everything has become fragmented. The clubs don't do gigs, so there's less incentive for musicians to hang out in those places. What exists these days, rather than one big scene, are several smaller scenes specific to particular clubs and venues, with far less crossover. It's not so much fun but it is what it is.

Closer to home... there's been some mention on this thread of The Moorings being rock and metal focused. While the balance of the acts we showcase are indeed rock and metal bands, this situation is far from exclusive. Consistently the biggest drawing performer at the bar for a number of years has been the blues artist Son Henry. It just happens that most of the bands that approach us about slots are rock and metal acts. We also have a policy against booking bands that will drag a tanked up crowd numbering into the hundreds and consisting entirely of their extended mouth-breathing family, ignorant tone deaf neighbours, and (for some unknown reason) a couple of sworn enemies, along to their gigs, effortlessly displacing the local fauna. While that approach may reap dividends on a pay to play basis where the band are responsible for selling tickets to their own gig, it's more appropriate for the local community hall than an established venue like The Moorings, which already comes pre-packed with a mostly receptive (and occasionally cynical) audience.

Walk in the Light

[Gozu]

whichever band it was with, i've had nothing but good gigs (played and attended) at the moorings

[The Milner]

Two very good posts that sum up my feelings on it all. My point always was we had a collective of decent bands working together a lot of the time to bring things together. Now it seems to be much smaller groups with very little interaction between them all. I'm not bad mouthing anything Tom or anyone else is doing, quite frankly im very impressed with what he is doing and what they have set up, my hats off to all of them.

Someone mentioned things going stale and the way it is now means bands making more contacts ect, but its nonsense, it wasnt just 10 bands playing the same gigs over and over, it was over a space of 6-8 years, with bands coming and going all the time, both in the city and out the city, we have great links outwith Aberdeen and out of town bands were always coming up, and bands from here went out the city. I personally never got this whole obsession about ignoring your home city after a few gigs, back then it used to be a sore point with some people, you wernt allowed to play too many gigs in Aberdeen for whatever reason.

[Flash@TMB]

Another thing that I miss is the AUBL webpage which listed well over 100 local bands in alphabetical order with a small bio about each of them. Are there even 100 bands on the go now? I doubt it.

And I also miss a lot of the people that were banned from this website, even the assholes. Whatever happened to Stripey, Zombie Much, All Systems Fail and their ilk. It got dull round here after they got kicked off. A lot of good people left after that because it got dull. Facebook caters to 'safe' and 'nice', this place used to be more ragged. I remember sweating bullets at 4am replying to flames hah hah.

Almost everyone in the scene used to post here, that was a big plus point.

[Oedo 808]

Thanks to everyone who took the time to respond to my initial post in a positive manner.

Imagine that your partner or significant other approaches you and says, "Look honey, I've been feeling unhappy about this relationship for quite some time now. Things aren't as good as they used to be. I don't know what happened or how we lost it, but this... this isn't working for me."

What would be your reaction be?

Would you want to discuss why they were feeling that way? Would you want to make things better?

Perhaps your response would simply be, "Darling, I think it's time you took off your rose-tinted nostlagia specs."

You might add, "Don't feel bad. There's lots of wonderful relationships out there, but you're just too old to experience that sort of thing."

You can't change people's feelings by belittling them and telling them they're stupid. All you're doing is making them feel more disillusioned. If nothing else, a scene is simply a relationship between its members.

We can't rewind the scene 8 years. I do think everyone understands that. But we can think about why the sense of community (for many people) is gone. I'd like to thank Flash for his awesome contribution in summing up the situation on the ground.

In terms of aberdeen-music I do hear a lot of people from both camps (it's poorer/it's not changed) saying they don't know what is going on in general. You would have thought the clue was in the name of the website.

That leads me to believe that:

1. The scene really isn't as good as it used to be.

2. There may still be elements of the scene that are good or vibrant, but for whatever reason they don't come here.

Both scenarios lead to the question: Why?

A new band (of young/inexperienced members) is just starting out. Would you recommend they came here as a good way of promoting themselves? Would you recommend they stuck around?

A new band (with experienced members) is starting out. Why should they come here?

You're a promoter. What importance do you place in using aberdeen-music to promote your gigs?

Back in the old days of aberdeen-music I remember when anyone used to offer any criticism of a band or a music project the responses used to get really tetchy really fast. "Why you criticising my band/drummer/vocalist when yours is shit?"

Cue 20 page flame war.

In the intervening years we've all since learned (for the most part) how to behave and to take personal criticism on board. But it's ironic that although we can take criticism of our own individual projects (to help you get better) we are still unable to do so for the scene in general.

[3CR816]

I'm just thinking out loud here, figuratively speaking because I'm on the internet and not even speaking at all, but could the decline of guitar based music possibly be a factor? Is the what the OP really asking where the city's rock scene has gone? Wide boy indie has no problem performing well at the Music Hall or AECC generally, but it seems and a lot of 'hipstery' music is either electronic or solo artist based. It's not really the type of thing that goes down well in a pub, but might sound great in a club or through headphones. Of course, I generally wasn't into 'cool' music 8 years ago. I was into total shite, which is why I could go to Moshulu and accidently knee myself in the face dancing to Taking Back Sunday and love it. Teenagers are generally excited by pretty shitty music and most of us are pushing 30 here if we haven't broke it already, I think. There was likely people a good ten years older than me shaking their heads as I went mental to Capdown or Douglas. I'm that person now as kids go nuts to Bring Me The Twilight at Dawn or whatever. Kerrang! looks like it's printed in an alternative dimension these days.

I really, really miss Drakes, though. I've seen some acts that would have been comfortable at Drakes in The Tunnels, but a gig of six people in The Tunnels feels really different to how a gig of six people at Drakes did. It felt for a while Cellar 35 could fill that gap, but I had some pretty personal experience that indicated that it wasn't.

[The Milner]

The fact is this site became a hunting ground for people with nothing better to do than slag folk off. you can still see bits of it in this thread. After a while young bands stopped coming here, and new bands involving folk from other bands knew better than to come here. Flash is right, everyone used to come posting here, but after a while it became no fun getting flammed on a constant basis. Some of us more thick skinned folk didnt really care, but i know it put people off trying to advertise their music on here. Once this place stopped being a hub to bring everyone together the groups of bands slit off and did their own thing.

[Shaki]

There is still a healthy DIY punk scene and network of bands in the UK…or at least there was a six months ago before I jacked it all in to become a failed novelist. Perhaps that’s exclusive to that music type and therefore isn’t part of the Aberdeen scene but I always felt a great cameraderie at any of these gigs I attended or played. You got to know folk in all the other bands and the same folk would tend to show up all over Scotland and organise gigs for each other in their home town. I guess this is what this thread is about?

My new band have our first gig in January. We’re all in our 30s and I don’t think we’re interested in being part of a scene or particularly care. We just want to play our songs to people and if there is a venue to cater for that then great. So, age is definitely a factor for me. I don’t know if that makes me part of the problem.

[Old Gold]

I think it all boils down to the fact that the OP needs to find a way to FORCE young people to teh shows. Maybe a giant magnet or something. Or free drugs. Supply and demmand!

[maud 'dib]

Youngsters are dickheads. I think there's a massive gap in the market in Aberdeen for a civilised small venue that puts on an interesting eclectic mix of bands. Like Drakes but solvent.

[Alkaline]

Youngsters are dickheads. I think there's a massive gap in the market in Aberdeen for a civilised small venue that puts on an interesting eclectic mix of bands. Like Drakes but solvent.

There definitely is, but there is a distinct lack of usable locations in Aberdeen and a distinct lack of people willing (or with the right cash flow) to take a punt on putting all the pieces together. If i had the cash i'd be all over it like stink on a monkey.