Don’t let the title of the column fool you, because I’m sure that there must be a viable music scene happening somewhere in Arkansas — it just doesn’t happen to be anywhere near where my wife and I have chosen to live. Of course, the fact that I’m pretty much a homebody-slash-hermit and consider myself too old at 35 to be heading out and hunting the Little Rock bar scene to discover new music, could be the cause of this particular blind spot.
If I had to guess, the bar scene, especially those with room for a stage in one corner, is where a majority of Arkansas bands are living and breathing their dreams. As I’m a chubby self-conscious geek who doesn’t imbibe, however, it’s not a place I’m likely to go prowling anytime soon. That’s where MySpace comes in, luckily.
MySpace, with its ready-built systems that allow people to reach out and get to know other people, has become a vital means of unsigned and independent bands to spread the word and get their message and their music out into the world. In fact, MySpace’s built-in ability to upload music and the ability for it to be played by anyone who visits their page via a web-browser based media player is a phenomenal way to present their music to people who otherwise might never get a chance to hear it.
People like me, for instance.
Which brings us back to the title of this fledgling column. I’m hoping to use it to share my experiences of delving into Arkansas’s music scene with the odd one or two people who might accidentally read my ramblings here on BC Magazine — people who, like me, would have otherwise missed out.
Of course, I’m using the phrase “missed out” here, as I’ve already had a chance to talk to a few bands, have already received review copies of their albums, and have thus had the chance for my ears to rejoice and tell me that “yes!” Arkansas does indeed have a “Music Scene,” and a damned good one at that.
Article comments
1 - Nick McEntire
Arkansas is a deep well of talent for local bands. I have started a website devoted to the Arkansas music scene, you can check it out at my URL if you like. My general area of knowledge however, is limited to the rock/metal scene...bands such as Dean Heathen, Sychosys, Drop Dead Syndicate, Cradlescythe, Eden Crow, etc. You are correct in that to get a good grasp of the local bands (the ones who make their own music, not cover bands) you will have to venture out to a club of sorts. In Little Rock, the places to look are Downtown Music (5th and Capitol), Vino's (7th and Chester), and Juanita's ( 13th and Main). There's also the Village...but in my opinion, they're more centered on semi national acts (Snoop Dog, Gallagher, etc. acts that are professional, but not superstar quality yet or anymore).