Music is an important aspect of our daily lives and culture. It is a language. It is a form of refuge. It is an art. Music is often shared through gatherings of family and friends. In today's world, it is shared on a larger scale through radio, TV, iTunes and other media sources. How do artists go from playing Christmas carols with the family to making it big in the recording industry? They start in their hometown by building a fan-base and performing locally until they are able to work their way up to larger venues with more promising opportunities.
Recently in Charlotte, many of our beloved music scenes are being forced to close their doors. I have heard many people question the value of these small venues and comment on the benefits larger businesses will gain in result. As someone who works in an environment that often partners with these venues, I have seen a major impact that will result in the closings of these once popular music scenes.
As I mentioned before, music is considered an art that brings people together. We live in a world where it is easy to download artists' work for free in our homes to listen to with headphones in. The tracks that we download in less than a minute took someone a year to compose, record, and perfect. It is not fair to let their hard work go unpaid for.
If you've ever heard Foreigner's Jukebox Hero or Travis Tritt's I'm Gonna Be Somebody, then you know the process of making it as a musician. It starts with the picking up of an instrument. Next comes following in the steps of your favorite idols. After that, it's investing in music lessons to perfect your skills. It's forming a band in your garage and practicing all hours of the night just to perform one song in your school's talent show. You go to different restaurants and coffee houses asking to play short sets on busy nights. You beg your friends and family to come as support and spread your name around. Then you start playing at local bars where all the legends played before you. You charge a five dollar cover fee and everyone comes out on a Friday or Saturday night to listen to and cheer on the local talent.
If we neglect our home music scene and become content to simply download the next biggest sound for free, we are depriving our friends, family members and coworkers the opportunity to live out their passion. Before Alabama became a leading band in country music, they played in a small bar in Myrtle Beach. While not every artist will rise to the fame of Randy Owen, the chance will always be tangible if they are playing in bars in their hometowns. It takes a community to launch one's dreams of a career.
The closings of these small town venues is comparable to the closings of small mom-and-pop stores due to larger industries bent on increasing profit. Private business owners invest their all into starting up a business of their passion and skill within their own community. From an economical stance, we are taking job opportunities away from families. For example, picture the sound guy. He stays in the background. You've probably never noticed him, yet he is the most important part of the live show. With this job, he raises two kids along with his wife and feeds his family while taking classes for a higher degree. When this small venue closes, he will be out of a job and forced to set his passion aside and pick up a few part-time jobs until he is able to get his degree and change his line of career. The owner has to take down the autographed pictures of the legends who made their start here. He has to empty out the bar-stools where his friends old and new all sat after long hours of work. He tears down a part of his history; a part of his life. The young band who has just made it's start now has nowhere to play. The band members' dreams will now reside in their grandmothers' living rooms on holidays unless they can find small venues in nearby cities or states.
Ridding Charlotte of our beloved music venues is ridding our city of a sense of community. Take your headphones out. Don't wait for the band to get famous and download the tracks for free. Get out and go support our local friends who are keeping music alive. They write and sing about our lives as well. They play to fulfill their passion and for our entertainment. Pay the five dollars and support the venue. Let's not become a city absent of live music. Save the music scene.
