Scott Andrew - lo-fi acoustic pop superhero!

I read somewhere that one of the Big FM Stations here in Seattle was starting up a local music show. I don’t like local music shows, and here’s why:

When I lived in Cleveland, back at the start of the 90s, the one big “alternative” commercial FM station in town dedicated a late slot on Sunday nights to playing local music. Immediately, bands started tripping over each other to get played on the show. Those who were lucky enough to get a few spins were looked upon with jealousy by their peers. It was more or less assumed that anyone who managed to get played must have done so unfairly — they were buds with the DJ, they sent pizza to the station, the program director was dating the singer, etc.

Eventually, the station started throwing big concerts featuring select bands. This only made sense, but it helped fuel speculation that the station was playing favorites, giving some bands lavish attention (while profiting from it) while others couldn’t even get arrested. It didn’t help matters that massive radio exposure does work to an extent, so those lucky few enjoyed a listenership that only radio can really provide. It created the impression – wrongly – that those who got airplay were “going somewhere.”

I should mention here that none of these bands sucked. They were all pretty good for local acts, and some of them certainly deserved to catch a break. But with the local music show being the only game in town, there was only so much room at the top. And that drove just about everyone crazy. I include myself in this lot, even though my then-band was getting some spins and I was once a live guest on the show. There was always someone getting more local love than you were.

All of this served to create a music scene rife with low-level treachery and one-upsmanship. Instead of community, there was conceit and badmouthing. When a “favored” band broke up, it was cause for celebration, not mourning. A lot of energy was wasted on petty, pointless vendettas over one stupid local music show on Sunday night. Exactly one band managed to get a major label deal (the day the deal was announced on-air, the hosts were literally braying with taunting laughter, bragging how they “broke” the act) and was dropped soon after.

(I seem to recall a story where one host played a tune by a band whose frontman had recently died. He was allegedly besieged with calls from angry fans, furious that the show which had never bothered to spin the artist’s music would now insult him by only playing it now that he was dead. Dunno, that might be urban legend.)

Eventually the show went off the air, the station format switched to R & B, and almost every one of those bands are now long, long gone. Two notable exceptions: Rosavelt and Mushroomhead, both of which survived by focusing on the long term and giving the middle finger to the “scene.” There may be more, but none that I’m aware of.

So I’m not happy when I hear that some Big FM Station is going to start playing local music, because I’ve seen how it can poison a music scene, causing bands to focus on the quick ego-stroke of getting airplay. Bands that succeed on a larger scale usually do so in spite of radio support, and that’s why I believe it when I hear that airplay is a symptom of success, not a cause of it.