Go get a drink and take a piss. This is a long one!!!!
Last night, we did an interview with "The Scene Productions" after our show. One of the questions Erk was asked was something like, "hows the San Antonio music scene compared to that of Orlando?" Well, his answer was a good one. Intelligent and completely heartfelt. Everything he had to say was positive. He had told the three of us his thoughts before so it was no surprise.
I thought about this question early this morning at like 3:30 as I showered. What would I have said?
I would have said, "listen to 'Greedy Little Monkeys' by Lokey, 'Lack of Respect' by Brotherhood and 'Slave to the Eucharist' by Angerkill.
Luckily, Erk jumped on after we've learned about who to trust and who to work with, so he's missed a lot of the scars.... although he endured the very same types of scars in Florida with previous bands.
My answer, obviously, was more from the business aspect while his was musicianship. It's not 100% about the business and it's not 100% about the bands. It's the marriage of both that makes the scene strong and SA lacks on on both ends. I wouldn't exactly say equally. I've seen a crapload of bands working hard, of bands with so much potential, and bands that just kick fucking ASS.. on a national level.. but I've seen even more greedy little monkeys leeching and weakening those good bands because there are always other bands to prey upon. They weaken our scene by portraying to San Antonio that this is what SA has to offer. Stupid prices to see unseasoned bands.
There are still those production companies out there that are fair. They'll be the ones around for a long time. The others burn enough people and will eventually have move to Austin for a while, then come back for a new crop of unsuspecting bands. Or if you can't move, you change the name of your company and hope that it helps. (names come to mind?)
Another question asked to Frank was "whats the difference touring in this band and playing in the country band?" His answer, "well, i have to pay for it all out of pocket." Yep, sir. Twice this year, AK was paid under $15 dollars for our performance. This may surprise some of you readers - unless your in an SA band.
I don't believe there's a music scene utopia in existance - anywhere. Last night was close though. Closer than I've seen in a long time. Check this out.. four headlining bands - AK, Bangladesh, Brotherhood and Nancy Silva Project - and not one rockstar in attendance. EVERY BAND WAS THERE FOR EVERY SET. None of this horrible shit of picking up your stuff and leaving when done.. or showing up right before you play. Randy Bonillas from Texas Traxx was there to check out the show. The Edge was in attendance to take pictures and promote at the event. I noticed several bands handing out flyers. There were a good ratio of other bands in attendance vs patrons (Flesh Electric, Before the Bloodshed, Water Became Blood, Lokey, Wings of Lead, When Words Attack, Kin of Cain and Deadpool come to mind - and Im sure there were more). The production team was top notch.. from door, to sound, to JT's MCing. Every band that performed completely commanded the stage and genuinely had nothing but respect for one another... and the best part..
..it was all put on tape to show to San Antonio. The Scene Productions is here to help us and I am really and truly excited that they've moved to network TV to broadcast SA talent to the masses. Perhaps they can't not save us, but they've are a gift right now. The act of bands working together is great.. and really prominent around here, but it has to be more than that. We should all be happy because that move was a move for all of us.
I let Dave read this blog and he said, "yeah, last night was just like an Austin show." That completely summed it up. Keep it up, everyone.
I give The Scene a whole lot of credit and praise for their efforts to strengthen our music scene and I want to commend BROTHER-FUCKIN-HOOD, BANGLADESH and NANCY SILVA PROJECT for good performances.
We especially thank Nancy for coming up to sing with us. We just met NSP at our last show @ Kristal at the end of May. One of them asked me if Angerkill was from San Antonio! Absolutely no prior relationship.. but Frank came up with the idea because he thought it would be something different, something of interest, something memorable and something fun. Nancy and Jesse came to 2 rehearsals and there was our gift back to all who were there for the music. METAL FOR THE ART OF MUSIC. We showed you a little of what this means to us.
Last Monday, during Texas Traxx, we sat in our rehearsal room with Chris and Mike from Deadpool and Jason of Flesh Electric. We toasted Jack & coke and beers each time they played one of our songs. We passed around fattie after fattie follwed by an iced bong.. and just enjoyed eachothers company. We felt accomplished.. and happy to share the moment together. That was the culmination - the realization that past challenges have been conquered, but we're not so blinded to be unaware of the ones ahead.
That same night, Erk brought me Skeleton Key. Jason brought us Scorpions "Taken By Force" and Primus "Tales from the Punchbowel." I went to bed ecstatic that we support and musically influence eachother. We are ALWAYS trading obscure music to listen to.. reminding eachother of our roots and introducing eachother to new sounds. Nancy Silva had just been in that same room 2 days prior rehearsing with us. Good feeling!
My opinion is an optimistic one. I believe that the San Antonio music scene will rise once again to what it was in the early 1990's... but not without some hard work from everyone.
With our angels to take care of us, we'll all be OK. This angels are the 'Keith Krouses' (Monster Music Studios), anyone with their heart in giving us quality without raping us - whether it's in putting together a solid show and actually giving us some of the earnings, sponsoring equipment, recording us, making videos for us, televising us, broadcasting us on the radio, taking free pictures at shows for us, being in attendance and simply buying us a beer or throwing up the horns if you feel what we're doing. You are the ones that make us feel appreciated, that make us smile, that make us stay positive... and give us the strength to strive for change and keep treading against the wind when it comes to the challenging business side of this art.
Cobra (Jen)
PS Obviously ive been thinking about this for a while now. About a year to be exact. It took last night for it to all come together!
