Fandom as a function of proximity

Scenester can be kind of a dirty word. Most of the time referring to someone as such means you think they’re trying too hard; they’re phony, maybe a little shallow, and overall pretty lame. Sure, they may support the local bands by attending tons of shows, but everyone knows they’re mostly just in it to be seen. All the same, I hold some sympathy (and maybe just a touch of jealousy) for these much beleaguered fashionistas.

Now, this might turn into a somewhat directionless post, but I’m writing it because I’ve been thinking a lot lately about  how our impressions of bands relate to their location. About the degree of cohesion of the D.C. music scene and about how a band’s proximity to me affects my enjoyment of their music. And about whether or not this effect is a good thing. So if you get bored with my inane banter and move on, I understand. This is a blog, after all, and I’m not Ben Fong-Torres.

I should start by differentiating between 1) my appreciation of “scenes”, as defined by the separate descriptive term and 2) my bias towards local bands. Music “scenes” (I’ll stop with the quotes now) as I think of the term are awesome things. They may be dominated by overly enthusiastic kids, but when they’re done right (meaning when the sense of coherency overshadows the infighting) they really provide something unique and exciting. Scenes can generate a sense of community and shared experience where one did not exist before.

I know from personal experience that this is especially true in (how to put this delicately) podunk areas where there’s not a lot of local pride. Very few people non-ironically brag about being from the Quad Cities, but when the scene there was thriving (junior high through early college for me) I was most definitely proud of what we had in our corner of Iowa/Illinois. (I should say here that Daytrotter is creating something equally inspiring in their own internet way. Quad City power!) Anyway, I’m pro-scene.

So, does D.C. have a scene? Maybe not, at least in the sense that I don’t know of any DIY-type venues that regularly hold primarily-local punk shows (maybe if Fort Reno were indoors, year-round, and much less refined/talented.) However, if there is such a centralizing venue, I’m almost certainly too old and not even close to punk rock enough to know about it. But even if there’s not a scene per se, there are obviously many local bands vying for my attention. And though I don’t throw on my be-buttoned hoodie every Friday to go watch them play at some semi-abandoned industrial space, my enjoyment of these bands’ music is affected by local pride in an at least somewhat similar way.

Which brings us to local band favoratism. I totally have it. Jukebox the Ghost being a good illustration of this last; they’re not really the type of band I would generally be into, but I gave them a listen since they’re from the District, and I definitely like their stuff. This goes for several other local bands as well, and it shows me that there’s something tangible and more I get from listening to a local musician over and above what I’d get from their music alone.  

So, are either of these locality-based appreciation effects beneficial as far as the quality of music goes? I have to admit they’re probably not. Liking a band more based solely on your shared city necessitates forgiving more than you would for a typical band.

But I absolutely don’t thing this type of favoritism should be discouraged. Embrace your bias! We don’t get our enjoyment from music by clinically analyzing songs for their Quality (at least I hope no one does that), so why shouldn’t extra-musical factors play a part?

If you’ve actually read this far, you’re either very brave or a close relative (maybe both). I apologize for getting so indulgent but, as I said, this is a blog. Mostly I just wanted to say that I find it comforting to think that as what’s left of the music industry becomes more and more compartmentalized, and as any semblance of the barrier to new music discovery disappears, location can still matter. As the hippies say, support your local music!

Photo from goodgovernor on Flickr.