New Orleans Band Web Sites
Mike HammerNew Orleans has a long and storied tradition as a music town. Any night of the week you can stroll into one of a 100 venues and find a band playing their hearts out. Jazz, Blues, Zydeco, Rock and Roll and everything else can be found in the Crescent City. But as history gets older and traditions become nothing more than stories, there are vibrant young local musicians writing new chapters in New Orleans music. Your portal to this new era in New Orleans music is the Internet.
There are at least a dozen Web sites dedicated to the New Orleans music scene, giving bands a place to advertise, broadcast their music and promote their shows. In addition to the Web presence of publications like Where Y'at Magazine, Gambit Weekly and Offbeat Magazine and radio stations WWOZ and WTUL, there are a group of Internet- only Web sites focused on the music of the Big Easy -- all genres of it -- and working to make it easier for great music to survive in New Orleans.
Greg Hardison is the man behind Satchmo.com, a huge listing of New Orleans bands, music news, concerts and events, new albums and more. "I have been running Satchmo.com since 1995. My main reason for starting it was the lack of resources on NOLA music available at that time. I want to provide more visibility for our music scene," Hardison says.
Satchmo.com does not provide any articles, reviews or interviews and in-depth concert calendars, but it is an excellent collection of links for the music fan searching for things in New Orleans.
ÒI mainly look at Satchmo now as a starting point for visitors to find more information, a repository of historical info (e.g. awards won by LA music artists, R&R Hall of Fame members, etc), and a resource for info not available elsewhere (e.g. upcoming CD releases and TV listings).
Hardison lists events and CDs he knows about and events and information that is e-mailed to him by bands and music fans. Most visitors to Satchmo.com are "direct access" visitors, but Web surfers also find the site through search engines, Hardison says.
However, one of the largest Internet search engines-- Google.com -- routinely brings up another site when a person searches for New Orleans bands. The site that bounces around near the top, almost always, is www.neworleansbands.com.
NOB.com has about 120 member bands that post their concerts dates, bio information and songs, says Thaddeus Frick, owner of NOB.com.
Frick started NOB.com about 3 years ago with several partners. Frick, like Hardison, said he saw a need for his Web site. Young bands, especially rock bands, says Frick, needed a way to get some exposure. "NOB.com wants to make a new original music scene that is very vibrant," Frick says.
NOB.com has articles and news on local bands and concert listings on a regular basis. Bands can have a membership to the site, allowing them to post some songs and have a Web page for their band for free, Frick says. After that, they can pay a fee for additional options on the site -- like space to store more songs. "I'm looking to grow and develop NOB.com, put money in my pockets while it's putting money in the bands pockets," Frick says.
"NOB.com helped my band Sun Valley Death Trap get noticed by the UK magazine The Face," said Brian "Monkeyman" Richard in a comment to Frick. Comments like that are why Frick keeps the site going, he says. "It feels good to help musicians grow and develop."
A former partner of Frick's, Danny Carrone, a producer, remixer and former DJ, started his own local music Web site ( www.neworleansbands.net ) after leaving NOB.com last year.
Carrone launched NOB.net in April of 2004 and provides many of the services NOB.com does, including free concert listings, songs and discussion boards. But NOB.net also has a classified section aimed at allowing bands to network and a streaming audio radio station.
ÒNOB.net wants to promote local music and be strong in the scene," Carrone says.
Carrone's father was a saxophone player in New Orleans, and as an active member in the local music culture, Carrone says he has a great desire to help young musicians grow. Bands can also have a Web page and songs and concert dates on NOB.net for free, and pay additional fees for additional options.
The site has about 380 bands on it now -- covering all different genres from indie rock to jazz to electronica and funk -- and he is working to upgrade the site constantly. NOB.net has almost daily news stories and interviews with local bands, and features a different band each day in an effort to get people out to see the band. "We have some great talent here; that's where our local strength has always been," Carrone says.
One of those strong local bands is the Rebirth Brass Band. Bandleader and tuba player Phil Fraser says Rebirth has worked with some of the local Web sites and thinks the concert listings and music samples help expose the band to more people and grow a larger audience. Whether Rebirth benefits directly, the Web sites are good for the scene in general, Fraser says.
However, the problem with the Web sites are that many of the visitors are bands themselves and people already into the scene, says Mark Graff, manager for MP79, formerly Jakkmove.
"A domain is like having an apartment somewhere," Graff says. "Unless people know where you live, nobody visits, and the sites need to reach people who aren't looking by working to advertise with venues and local music resources."
Otis Shipmen and his partner Christian Nardi started their Web site by going out to the people and telling them where local shows were. The site, www.nolatonight.com, began in 2002 as a listing of events faxed out to people and places. The Web site was launched in September and continues to have daily show listings, and each day an e-mail is sent out suggesting the best show to see that night. Some of the other Web sites have occasional e-mail updates, but Nolatonight is the most consistent.
"The idea came to me after Sept. 11 and New Orleans was seriously affected. The tourists that would normally fill our streets, restaurants, bars, and businesses were nowhere in sight; for at least 3 months this city was crippled. I know that this city has a lot of people in it, and a lot of them like to do things. So I thought that if the locals were better informed, they would go out more. This would create a small economic lift for the hurting economy-- in essence, creating a stronger local economy," says Shipmen.
A strength of the local music scene is the amount of bands that play each night - from rock to jazz - and Nolatonight aims to be a comprehensive list of all the shows going on in New Orleans each night, Shipmen says. Bands and venues can get listed for free on Nolatonight.com.
"We need to support the musicians better by creating a better relationship with the club owners," Shipmen says
One Web site that is particularly focused on networking between bands and venues is www.hotlocalmusic.com. HotLocalMusic started in Jan 2003 as "a business that provides tools for bands and venues to manage booking, scheduling, fan communication, and music sales," says Kevin Carriere, CEO of HotLocalMusic.
HotLocalMusic hopes to be the national hub for New Orleans bands and venues. "When bands work together and send their fans to HotLocalMusic, they get exposure from many levels that having a personal Web site cannot give you. Same is true from the venue perspective. If they work together to create a hub for live events, fans have a one stop shop to find out who is playing where and buy music from all participating bands," Carriere says.
The Web site is funded by advertising and sponsors; venues pay a membership fee to do unlimited booking and have their schedule, club bio, directions, etc,., posted and they can have several bands listed on the site for free. Bands can also sell CDs on the Web site.
HotLocalMusic tries to provide tools for bands, venues, record labels and all industry members to make the local music market more efficient, Carriere says.
City officials have also recognized the strength of the local music scene and are working to keep it viable and productive, says Scott Aiges, the director of music business development in Mayor Ray Nagin's office of economic development.
Aiges' office was established shortly after Nagin took office, as a replacement for the New Orleans Music and Entertainment Commission.
"The goal is to promote and develop the New Orleans music industry," Aiges said. "It's a long-term process, and we've only been at it for two years. But we're making progress. There's a lot of positive energy out there, and we're getting a lot of great feedback from the music community."
The music development office wants to see the New Orleans music scene continue to grow and works to help musicians find ways to earn more money. Once musicians have the money, they will spend it in ways that develop the industry - like making records, hiring agents and publicity people, and more, Aiges says.
Aiges' office is constantly working on education programs, networking opportunities, showcases and, most recently, legislation to create financial incentives that will help the music industry in the same way that a state-sponsored incentive package stimulated the film industry.
The music development has a Web page on the mayor's Web site, but plans to open its own expanded site to allow bands to post music in the next several months, Aiges said. In the meantime, the music development office is teaming with the Tipitina's Foundation to provide a local music Web site and resource ( www.musicofficecoop.com )Aiges says.
The Music Office Co-Op first opened in fall of 2003, says Mark Fowler, of the co-op.
"Its purpose is business development; it's a tech access and job skills training program for musicians and other media professionals. The Co-Op provides a professional work space for musicians and others in the New Orleans music/film/media business," Fowler says.
There are more than 300 Co-Op members and the Co-Op provides computers and office tools, office space, layout, design and audio tools and more. "Co-Op members report an average 32% increase in their music earnings directly attributable to their participation in the Music Office Co-Op," Fowler says.
The Co-Op offers weekly music business workshops, one-on-one tutoring for basic computer skills, Web page design, and press kit creation, as well as weekly instructional sessions on desktop recording and computer music. Beginning in 2005, the Co-Op will be able to offer basic legal assistance and musiciansÕ clinics. A self-serve digital media room, which includes both audio and video editing capabilities, is also available. Members of the film/video community are also invited to take advantage of the Co-Op, Fowler says.
All these Web sites and resources are working to grow and strengthen the local scene each day, says Carrone.
"It's all good," Carrone adds. "Everybody's trying to help the scene in some way. But a major challenge in the scene is jealousy and competition. ÒIf everyone realized we are all out to do the same thing and work together, I think people would go farther."
Fowler also says there is a lack of music business infrastructure (major labels, publishers, distributors, booking agents) in this region and a shabby history of past members of the music business community. There is also a profound scarcity of investment capital, coupled with investment and lending communities that are neither educated nor particularly interested in the entertainment business, the tendency among many musicians to conduct their affairs in a disorganized or unprofessional manner, and the related reluctance, or inability, to engage with the business issues that concern their careers.
All the Web sites focusing on New Orleans aim to make life better for musicians through use of the Internet, one of the tools of the digital revolution. The revolution is ongoing and the challenges are many, but the newest chapter in New Orleans music is happening right now, starting in the streets and basements of local musicians and continuing across thousands of fiber optic lines throughout the world.