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A friend of mine told me an interesting story
the other day. While he was at the Imperial, someone asked if he and his
girlfriend would like to join them and a group of people to go to Tampa.
When he inquired as to what was happening, he was told that a club there
was having an "old goth night." He said, "You mean drive
4 hours to Tampa, to hear the same old music that we have been hearing
over and over again for the last several years? Why would I want to do
that?" The person replied, "You know, to hear the good old
stuff!" My friend then replied, "Frankly I am sick of all of
the old stuff and I only want to hear newer material, and I am
definitely not going to drive to Tampa to hear it." Now, my friend
was not trying to be mean, but he said the look on her face was as if he
had just crushed her entire world. I found this story funny and sad at
the same time. Funny, because of the way it was told to me, and sad
because, it just proves that much of the Jacksonville scene has not
evolved from beyond the 80's.
Like most of us who are into the
Goth/Industrial scene, I cut my teeth on great bands like, "The
Sisters Of Mercy, Skinny Puppy, The Mission, The Cure, Alien Sex Fiend,
Bauhaus etc, etc.... However, do I want to only listen to these same
bands over and over? Absolutely not. There are far too many
"new" bands that are putting out incredible music right now,
to stay stuck in the past. It's as if none of these people ever give the
newer bands a chance. These bands are carrying the torch and keeping the
scene going. I have heard people say that many of the newer industrial
bands sound to "techno." Yes, there has been a crossover of
sorts, but to me the music has more power, and the beats are stronger
than ever before.
If you don't like the industrial side, what
about all the new "gothic" bands like Dreadful Shadows, Umbra
Et Imago, Unheilig, The 69 Eyes, Untoten, The Garden Of Delight,
Whispers In The Shadows, Midnight Configuration, need I go on? Some of
these bands have been played on Saturday nights, but the response was
minimal at best. It seems that the majority of the crowd will not dance
to anything unless it is so familiar, and has been played over and over,
until it is tiresome to hear anymore. I was thrilled when people were
packing the floor to bands like Covenant, Wolfsheim, VNV Nation, and
Project Pitchfork but even they are being played to the point of
overkill. It's either that or the same old tired material that has been
circulating the clubs over the past several years.
If you venture to other big goth/industrial
clubs like The Castle, Das Machine, The Cave, etc... people dance to
everything, and really dig hearing new music. Why not here??? Resident
DJ Alex Pagan even went so far as to produce a mix compilation to try
and introduce people to newer music. I wonder, does anyone except a few
of us actually try to seek out newer artist's? Buy a few compilations
for Christ's sake!!! Take a chance!!! Buy magazine's like "Outburn"
and "Sideline" and read the reviews. If you are wary about
purchasing unknown material, log on to Audio Galaxy and download some
songs and see if you like them.
You might call me a hypocrite because I don't
dance, but I go primarily to listen to the music, and to socialize. I
always bring up a lot of new stuff for the dj's to check out, and I
don't want to go to a club and here the same thing every week. I know
the DJ's want to play newer material but when no one dances, they have
to put something on to get people out there, because that is their job.
Also, as a reviewer for Movement, it is very frustrating to review all
this great new material, and only a small portion of it even gets
played.
The bottom line is, it's great to pay homage to
the founding fathers of the scene, but if you don't support the bands of
today, there won't be a scene at all.
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