A couple of music-related things came out over the weekend both adding up to paint a less than rosy picture of Birmingham’s current live music scene.
The Interactive Cultures team at BCU have launched MusicAsCulture.org – a place to discuss the idea that ‘music is not just commerce’. It’s not an exclusively local thing, but it launches with a Birmingham-focussed campaign dealing with the noise issues at The Rainbow in Digbeth. The campaign is being headed up by UB40 and is called Live, Loud and Local:
Here in Birmingham, as with many places elsewhere, heritage music venues are in danger of closure or losing their live music licence because of issues of noise. Areas that were once not residential now have tenants, and the clash between apartment dwellers and local music venues has demanded a response at a policy level
UB40 will be playing a one-off gig at The Rainbow on 3 November to raise money for a new roof on the building in an attempt to reduce outside noise. I don’t know where you can get tickets from yet, but then nor do the folks on the UB40 forum.
Meanwhile, Fused interviewed Johnny Foreigner who aren’t afraid of sticking the boot in. They’re working on a documentary about how Birmingham’s music scene “suffers as a result when compared to other major cities”, which they see as a result of neglect by the council. Their advice for the city:
Drop the ego like Liverpool or nurture the homegrown stuff like Leeds and see the results in five years time when there are famous and forward looking bands not ashamed to say where they’re from
(Pic – The Rainbow, Digbeth by ell_brown)
Thanks for starting this debate here!
From my viewpoint at the moment: Birmingham music seems very strong – there seems to be tonnes of stuff going on. We’re home to a lot of very interesting and inventive bands.
One problem I see is that currently there don’t seem to be many things which tie all the strands together – labels, zines, blogs, that type of thing.
I sometimes think that a blog linking it all together (without being critical) would help as an initial pointer – similar to what CiB does for non-musician artists. I suppose you always need loads of smaller stuff going on too, acting as a filter – basically helping people in Birmingham find the gigs they’re likely to enjoy.
Do we know of anything that other city councils do to support local music? I’d be interested to know.
Ultimately though, I see local and DIY music as kind of mainly operating on a “bring what you expect to find” basis.
Agreed with Dunc that thers loads of good music around – but the scene still feels very disparate and in a way, kinda weak.
Is it lack of pride, or identity?
Have we put up with being the butt of the nations jokes so long that we have an inferiority complex?
A MiB blog would be ace certainly.
Brum Notes is the latest addition to the print media – much welcomed.
Does the city need a Music Czar type figure?
In the immortal words of Brian Wilson … God Only Knows!
:-)
Rich
Xx
Thats a good point Dunc.
Compared to ten or so years ago I think the cites scene has come on leaps and bounds. There is a lot of stuff going on out there but one issue is knowing about it, and the other is getting to it.
Living just outside the centro area my last public transport out of the city is 11pm. This means I often see support bands and a couple of songs from the main set. It would be nice to see public transport improved rather than reduced – ten years back when there was nothing to do there was a half midnight train.
I think blogs and listing sites are now springing up, as the post a few days ago illustrated, I think its just gradually growing. It would be nice if there were hard copies of zines or listing papers more easily available.
It would be good to see the council acknowledge the growth in the music scene of Birmingham and be seen as much to support it as to regulate it.
I agree that the information can be quite dispersed. It is difficult to always find out what is going on even with all the newsletters/websites/blogs/tweeting. I still manage to miss events that I would go to even though I’m signed up to and/or following anything and everything that might tell me about it. Not sure I have any answers but I love unique venues and it would be a real shame if they die out due to lack of local support for them.
I keep pondering the CiB-style thing for music. Hmm.
In the meantime, I’m planning to do a round-up of places that are putting out local music info – probably later this week. I’ve got a list in my head but I’d be grateful for any suggestions.
CiB (and Yumm) are 2 of the best things that have happened in Birmingham of late. However..it is easy to miss things unless you make it a full time job to hook up/log in/tweet/blog etc…which I just don’t have the time for if I am working. The music thing in Birmingham kills me..I am in a BIRMINGHAM band, The Undercocks..just checked our gig list for this year; 29 gigs..3 of which are in Birmingham!!! http://www.theundercocks.com/wherewhen.html
That tells a great big story. We have all but given up on Birmingham..even though we have a studio here..yet already
have 5 gigs booked for next year in Ironbridge! A definitive list of venues, what they offer/want etc would be great. Also bands could talk to each other more and share info on venues and promoters..I hate the phrase but a bit of “joined up thinking” Same across the arts etc etc. I based myself in Birmingham 20 years ago..ARE WE THERE YET??
There is a danger in creating a separate music site in that it ‘ ghettoises’ music – making it seem less important or not seen as part of creative culture, surely there is room for all manner of exciting stuff happening in Birmingham to feature on this site whether it be a gig, concert, performance or exhibition?
I’m in the planning stages of launching a web operation to promote local music in Birmingham as part of my MA, so I’ve found this post very interesting.
As far as I’m aware, there’s currently nowhere online that focuses solely on new local music which lacks the full recognition it deserves as a result..
Like Helen, I struggle to keep up with endless Facebook invites, Twitter tweets and emails that send me to YouTube, Myspace and other websites. Hence why I’ve decided to base my project on creating a one stop for info on new local bands with tracks, videos, interviews, events listings etc.
Thanks for highlighting the issue Chris. Look forward to your next post on this!
I’m in the planning stages of launching a web operation to promote local music in Birmingham as part of my MA, so I’ve found this post very interesting.
As far as I’m aware, there’s currently nowhere online that focuses solely on new local music which lacks the full recognition it deserves as a result..
Like Helen, I struggle to keep up with endless Facebook invites, Twitter tweets and emails that send me to YouTube, Myspace and other websites. Hence why I’ve decided to base my project on creating a one stop for info on new local bands with tracks, videos, interviews, events listings etc.
Thanks for highlighting the issue Chris. Look forward to your next post on this!
Well, as much as I sometimes worry about opening the floodgates too wide, CiB’s not about to start ignoring music, so I don’t think ghettoising it is that much of an prob. Especially as it crosses over with other stuff so much.
As far as sites focussing solely on local music, I had hopes for http://www.culdesaconline.com/ but that died pretty quickly – I think the guy behind it was trying to make money on it from the off. Which I imagine is tricky.
Natalie – it’ll be really interesting to see what you come up with. My only initial thought is I’m not so sure about the idea of another listings site, but you never know, so I’ll reserve judgment.
Digbeth is Good » Getgood Link: Some thoughts on Birmingham’s music scene | Created in Birmingham
[…] Some thoughts on Birmingham’s music scene | Created in Birmingham – It’s not a pretty picture, I’m afraid. But it does include the news that UB40 will be playing a one-off gig at The Rainbow on 3 November to raise money for a new roof on the building in an attempt to reduce outside noise (and noise abatement orders). It’s unclear where people can obtain tickets yet. Share and Enjoy: […]