As much as I enjoy living in the college atmosphere of Starkville, I often feel as though our town lacks some of the key recreational ingredients that great college towns are made of. And I’m not talking about mini-golf courses or go-cart tracks.
I’m talking about something more integral to the traditional college experience: music.
Live music in Starkville isn’t anywhere near as big an attraction as it should be. I don’t claim to know how the student body at large feels about this issue, but I feel as though our choices are rather limited.
First of all, it seems as if the names on the marquees are always the same. The biggest places in town that feature live music each have a relatively static list of performers that play over and over again during the year. Occasionally someplace will feature a band that nobody has heard of, and there’s always the erratic variety of open mic nights, but club-goers usually already know what to expect.
I’m focusing on the larger places in town simply because they’re the most obvious reflection of local attitudes. Several places in Starkville feature live music, but those that cater to the largest crowds are bound to have more influence on popular opinion.
Second, where is all the hip-hop? How is it that DJs at our largest clubs devote so much time every Friday and Saturday night to spinning rap music, yet there are virtually no rappers performing in Starkville? It’s not like there are no local rappers out there in Starkville. I’ve seen their cheap demo CDs floating around. So why don’t they get any play?
It’s not just hip-hop that’s missing. I’m a big fan of hip-hop, so that’s always first on my list of Starkville’s genre deficiencies, but where’s the heavy metal? Where’s the R&B? Where are all the types of music that represent the diverse tastes of our students?
Finally, where are all the big names? I know we’re not exactly a major tour stop, but we’ve had success with national artists in the past. So why do big artists come around so rarely?
Kenny Chesney’s performance here a few weeks ago was a step in the right direction. You don’t have to be a fan of country music-and I’m not-to appreciate having a multi-platinum selling artist in our town.
But that show was for Tsunami relief. Does this mean we have to wait for another natural disaster before we can expect another big artist?
The fact is that the answers to all of these questions ultimately rest with the students. This isn’t Hollywood, but local music is still show business. It’s a numbers game, and the numbers represent our dollars.
Clubs ask the same bands to come back again and again because those bands have proven their worth as earners. Bands with an established fan base attract the people who will then buy the alcohol. Clubs don’t take risks on unknown acts quite simply because we, the customers, don’t turn out for new stuff.
We’re equally unreceptive to new styles of music. For instance, The 17th Floor is one of the very few hip-hop bands to perform repeatedly in Starkville. But even though they write and record original music, their performances are predominantly covers.
What’s the point of bringing in a live band just to play the same Top 40 hip-hop songs that get played every Friday and Saturday night at these clubs? At least with a rock cover band you’re hearing music that’s usually not on the play list.
As long as I’m on the subject, less cover songs in general would be healthy. Original music isn’t well received because, without a record contract to validate the music, we have to decide for ourselves whether we like the music. That requires honest thought and consideration on our part. But local crowds seem to have this attitude that they came to the club, instead of to think, to dance and drink.
Ultimately, music in Starkville will evolve as far as we take it. It’s our money that the clubs are after, so we have the power to get whatever we want. If we want variety, it starts from the ground up.
Whenever there’s a new artist in town, go out and see them. Club owners notice big crowds, and if people are paying to get in and paying to drink while an unknown artist is on stage, the owner of that club is going to be a little less skeptical about the next unknown who asks to play.
The same goes for big artists. If a national recording star comes to town, whether it’s to play at a club or at The Hump, try to catch the show. Even if you don’t like that particular artist, it’s still good to lend your support because as word spreads that Starkville supports music on a higher level, the artists that you actually do want to see may be next to come around.
Jason Browne is a senior communication major. He can be reached at ,a href=”mailto:[email protected]”>[email protected].