I’ll copy An Arky’s style and announce, much to Ex’s delight that Rochester does have a band to hang its collective hat on, and that band is…
Skulltula!!!
We played one afternoon last spring in the basement of my fraternity house. We had one member on acoustic geetar (actually an ac./elec. plugged in) and lead vocals, myself on the bass and backup vox, and a drummer (who did no singing whatsoever). We rocked a solid 5 song jam session:
Sweet Home Alabama (Skynyrd)
Summer of '69 (B. Adams)
Wanted Dead or Alive (Jovi)
Bass solo incl. The Star Spangled Banner (F. S. Key)
E-G Massacre (a Skulltula original)
No one saw the show because it was nice outside and they were out on the quad playin’ stickball. But those who could hear it said it really whipped a donkey’s behind with a belt.
Stupid #(*%+ing hamster ate my first post, but I was going to mention that DC claims Minor Threat>Fugazi, Go-go (Chuck Brown’s “Bustin’ Loose” or EU’s “Da Butt” & “Shake Your Thang” [with Salt n Pepa] being the most famous examples), Digable Planets formed here, Nils Lofgren, SEV, It’s a Beautiful Day (“White Bird”), Roberta Flack, and Starland Vocal Band, who took “Afternoon Delight” from the lunch menu at Clyde’s.
Baltimore also has Clutch and Denver has The Apples in Stereo.
Also representing Portland, OR are the Dandy Warhols, who may or may not be a household name in America, but do have two platinum albums to their credit in the UK and a few other countries.
In the past, Portland has produced Paul Revere and the Raiders and the Wailers (not to be confused with Bob Marley’s backup band of the same name). 80s punkers The Wipers are legendary, though probably not rich or particularly famous outside punk-rock-history-geek circles. (Remember, the Sex Pistols’ “Never Mind The Bollocks” didn’t sell its half-millionth copy-- the milestone that yields gold record status-- until the mid-90s.)
Finally, it should probably be noted that The Kingsmen, of “Louie, Louie” fame, were from Portland, and recorded the canonical version of the song here (surprise, I’m in Portland).
I didn’t know that At the Drive-In was from El Paso; I can’t think of any others from there. The Shins are from Albuquerque, though they’re not a very big act yet. Basically, this area is devoid of a decent music scene. I think both cities are about half a million in population.
I’d have to say that the biggest US city/metro area without an associated “scene” or movement would have to be Dallas.
All the other really big cities have had their moments: New York (heaps), LA (gangsta rap, 80s punk, 90s pop-punk), Chicago (Blues, Post Rock), Philadelphia (Philly soul), Detroit (Motown, garage rock, the current rap scene), San Francisco (Haight-Ashbury (sp?) Psychedelia) etc.
Any scenes/bands from Miami?
But, re Dallas, there seem to be quite a few good indie bands coming out of Texas at the moment (And You Will Know us By The Trail Of Dead, At The Drive-in, Spoon, Ben Kweller), so maybe the Lone Star State will finally get the scene it’s waited so long for.
Mary Chapin Carpenter still lives in D.C. There was also Eva Cassidy, who lived in the Maryland suburbs. Neither are rock, admittedly. Carpenter is folk/country and Cassidy was blues/jazz. D.C. has its share of famous musicians, although not as much as some cities.
Legomancer, I grew up in the New Orleans area (Metairie) and lived there until I was 29. I think you are overlookig a few other indviduals and groups that came out of New Orleans:
Rock: Stephen Stills, Better than Ezra, Zebra, Cowboy Mouth, Leroux, The Radiators, Dash Rip Rock
Other genres: Harry Connick, Jr., Astral Project, Marva Wright, Irma Thomas, The Neville Brothers, The Meters
Everything saintnobody said. Not a crapload of rockbands hail from there, but both Baltimore and DC have been important in alternative music scenes. WHFS’s yearly HFStival were proving grounds for a lot of bands like Reel Big Fish and Jimmie’s Chicken Shack. Also, Batlimore’s legendary Hammerjacks and DC’s 9:30 club were big in promoting various alternative bands.
The underrated Tracy Bonham is from Eugene, Oregon and can be considered part of the Pacific Northwest alternative powerhouse.
I think of Miami, I think of booty/bass music. 2 Live Crew is probably the most well known, but I know there was a definite “scene” at one time - don’t know if there still is.
Well, At The Drive-In broke up, but the remnants have reformed into two bands - Sparta and The Mars Volta. I think …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead and Spoon are both from Austin, which has had quite a few bands and a lot music.
But Dallas and Houston not really producing any major bands is kind of suprising, since they’re both big cities.
I also rememberd that The Flaming Lips are from Oklahoma City. And so was Color Me Badd, according to allmusic.com. They seem to have a lot in common…
I thought that was odd too. I went to college at Tulane and all the music scenes in New Orleans including rock, were hopping. Cowboy Mouth is well known (although not as much as they should be) as is Better than Ezra. I went to Jazz fest 3 years ago and the Cowqboy Mouth concert alone had several hundred thousand people watching.
Whenever I think Miami I think the whole Miami sound that came out in the 80’s with Gloria Estefan and a few others…sort of a latin infusion with heavey bass lines. Anyway, my point is it did have a scene at one point.
And in referance to gex gex’s post…Philly is currently quite a hot scene for rap these days…thanks to artists like The Roots and Eve. (Not my bag, but whatever works)
Can’t think of Louisville having any major acts…or a “scene”…lived there for a few years and saw some great local bands…but I’ld say Cincinatti is too close for Louisville to have it’s own musical identity. Just my HO.
Hmmm…thought about my post for a minute…and come to think of it…Louisville is a hotbed for bluegrass music…so technically it has a musical identity. But I’m thinking the OP is more about popular music…so that may not count.
Surprisingly, the “Entertainment Capital of the World”, Las Vegas has the worst music scene I’ve ever seen! I lived there for about 7 years and only about 2 clubs ever had anything going. One was a dump called “Club Rock” where you could go and hear Marilyn Manson and The NoizeBoyz on a Wed. night. Their moto was “Live music 365 days a year” and they did it, right up till they went tits-up and became some Itialian bistro. Poor! The other semi-happening spot was the Sanddollar Blues Lounge. A real dump, but had some fair acts come through. The Fremont St. joint opened up and I caught a few show there, but at the time, it was still a rough place. I would only drive my old 65 Ford up there and park it. Anything else would have been ransacked. The area is much better now, but I moved away long ago.
In a town that size, you would have figured that there would have been hundreds of bands playing dozens of clubs instead of the same 6-10 groups playing one or two places.
Of course, I would kill for something other than Karoke, which is the closest thing to live music for a long way away where I live now.
Fagjunk Theology: Not just for sodomite propagandists anymore.
Denver is associated, sadly, with the jam-band scene. Really, Boulder is the heart of the problem, but it’s all one MSA. Big Head Todd is the most famous example, but String Cheese Incident and Leftover Salmon are other examples of Colorado jam bands that are at least big enough to tour nationally.
Apples in Stereo have been mentioned (though they recently moved away), but the crowning triumph of the Denver music scene should probably be emblazoned on all the signs heading into town – Welcome to Denver, Home of WINGER.
