From: Matthew Glesne (mglesne_at_sbcglobal.net)
Date: 2004-12-21 02:43:40
yeah the strength of the scene here is really something special. i knew
when i moved here a year ago that there were more gigs, but I had no
idea of all the local talent - ie. djs, musicians and clued up people behind
the scenes - nor how supportive the people would be.
you go to shows here and never have to worry about being one of a
handful who knows the stuff. and you never even see the same faces.
i think it is mostly to do with the great radio here, KCRW. I mean you
had Gilles broadcasting for a long while, then Metropolis and Chocolate
City - now Nortunas - reaching tens and even hundreds of thousands of
listeners every night. that means exposure for these hard to hear records,
which builds the both the audience and the musicians - sybiotically like.
it is great to see Plantlife and Sa-Ra # 1 and 2 on Gilles' worldwide winners
charts (Return of... LP and Glorious 12")
matt
"elson_at_elsongs.com" <elson_at_elsongs.com> wrote:
>Hello all,
>
>It's that time again to reflect on all the year's sonic loveliness. If
>anyone had told me this time last year that my sad old suburban
>dystopia of Los Angeles would emerge as a full-fledged world jazz jive
>Mecca, I would've accused them of knocking back the cooking sherry, but
>I'll be damned if Los Angeles didn't rule all in .04.
You know what? That's because it's not quite the urban dystopia of the 20th
century anymore. The city has changed, and is still changing. Compared to
10-15 years ago, there's a greater awareness and sense of community here
now. Most events are now centered in the Hollywood - Silver Lake - Echo
Park - Downtown corridor, rather than being spread all over town. It's not
as Westside-centric (meaning West side of Los Angeles, not "West Coast" for
you folks out of town) anymore. 10 years ago I had to drive out to the
Westside to get my groove on. Now, I can just WALK six blocks to Little
Temple. Also Ubiquity's relocation to SoCal had a lot to do with it. Even
though they moved a few years ago already, the effects are starting to take
place as now they have all but shed their Bay Area ties and have more of a
stake in Southland events than ever before. Speaking of the Bay Area, the
depressed economy there sort of drove a lot of people out in the past few
years. So really it a lot of thse factors combined.
Elson
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