There’s something that I’ve noticed lately that is
becoming more and more annoying. That
is the blatant absence of local music CDs from juke boxes in local clubs where
local bands are the primary bread and butter of the proprietors.
As any regular club-hopper knows, most watering holes in America have a
well-stocked juke box sitting somewhere within stumbling distance to the bar. Today’s
juke boxes, unlike those of yesteryear, play CDs and not the old scratchy
45rpms, and hold a lot more discs than their counterparts did.
Which means the selection of songs and styles is wider than ever... or is
it? Back
in the day when Joe Sotiros put me in charge of promotions and publicity for
Erect Records and artists like Lazer
Band, Deep River Band and Joyce
Faison, I would have no problem getting our 45rpm singles added to juke
boxes all over the region. It made
sense to me then and it still does now, to promote local music in places where
people come to hear local music. While
most of today’s machines offer bar patrons a good mix of rock, dance, oldies
and country music, it is always by the likes of Creed, Michael Jackson, Garth Brooks and others.
Sorely missing from the eclectic mix is the wonderful work of regional
musical artists. It’s a damn shame that club owners who use our hard-working local musicians to draw people to their haunts at night, do not have the courtesy to at least stock a handful of local band CDs on their juke boxes. Given
today’s remarkable home studio technology, more and more unsigned musicians
are making and releasing their own albums each year.
There are many full length CDs that come across my desk by regional
musicians, as good or better than many of the national releases being tossed out
by big companies looking for a fast buck. For
many of these artists, releasing their own CD is a dream come true.
The object of their making a CD is to have people hear their songs.
So to that end, I say... shame shame on area night club owners who do not
feel obligated to help spread the sound of local bands by including the better
regional releases on their juke boxes. When
a club gets a new brand of beer they sure promote it, so would it not make sense
to promote the local artists who plug in and play on weekends by putting their
CDs in the juke box? A
lot of musicians work very hard for many years to find their own sound and write
their own songs. In some cases,
spending their last pennies to make their CD.
When an artist manages to put forth a strong collection of songs and a
well-produced product, they are deserving of having the fruits of their labor
offered up to patrons who want to drop two-bits in to the juke box slot. Not every local CD will generate coinage, but there are a lot out there whose CDs would certainly get frequent spins. And you know what club owners? The bands and their buddies just might make your place their after work watering hole if they know they can pop on their song on your juke box.
While I’m scolding, I need to also praise at least one public place who
sees the value and worth of local music. To
that end, I give kudos to Christine
Drapac of the Indiana Welcome Center who is creating a juke box full of
homegrown Indiana musical talent –– both famous and unknown. The
Indiana Welcome Center juke box currently blasts out songs by such famous
Hoosiers as John Mellencamp, Michael
Jackson, Cole Porter and Babyface,
along with those of such popular local club artists as TimePeace, Steve Vansak, Josh Holmes Band and Eric Lambert. “For
an artist to have their CD considered for inclusion on our juke box, they have
to be born in Indiana,” said Drapac, who feels strongly that a place promoting
Indiana should likewise promote the music created by its native sons and
daughters. Indiana
bands of all styles who have commercially released CDs (new or old) are invited
to send a copy of their CD to: Christine
Drapac c/o Indiana Welcome Center, 7770 Corine Drive, Hammond, IN 46323. So
what about it club owners? The
state tourism folks have beat you to the punch n appreciating our hometown
musicians. There is egg on your faces. Isn’t it time to give a little support back to the bands who keep your clubs hopping every weekend? Make a little room in your juke box for the stars of tomorrow that are rooted right here in your own back yards. Web
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