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Oversaturated is a word that I would use when talking about NYC's music cene. I mean, you could say that about music in general: no matter the genre, it seems that there are more bands, releases, shows, and labels than ever before. The overall musical offerings of the world are bursting at the seams. I am pretty convinced that there are less music observers than music makers in 2010 and if you were to poll everyone at most metal shows, more than half would either be in a band or aspiring to be. Anytime I look through a metal magazine or website, there are a slew of bands and labels I have never heard of.
 
Probably no where else does this predicament manifest itself more than in NYC's live music scene. On some nights, there are 2, 3, or even 4 metal-esque shows. And if you're into other genres as well, you could be running from one show to another 365 nights a year. I always think the time is coming when you'll say to someone around here, "I'm not in a band", and their reply will be, "What?!?! Are you serious?".
 
So how does a band get anything going here in the tornado of bands and shows? With more and more bands around, the chances are increasing that there will be worthwhile music being made, which is a great thing. However, with more bands out there, cool opportunities start getting diluted. So I guess, as with many scenes, and things in life, getting things happening here will often come down to who you know. But maybe that's only a source of assistance to get your foot in the door to be able to court the potential appreciators. It's more of a means, not an end. How do you make people want to come out constantly to your NYC show and/or care about your NYC band?
 
I think the difficulty and thing that sets this scene apart from many other places is that there is just so much going on, musically and otherwise. People here are extremely spoiled and often jaded with a constant stream of shows/events/parties/bars, etc. happening minutes from their doors. Sometimes people become elitist and are just "over" most everything that is happening. You could be a great band with a highly praised release on the cool label, and you're playing a show. But just last night, another band with similar credentials played in town, equaling less people at your show. Or the very same night is the big death metal tour hitting some large venue which draws your attendance away. Or there's a cool art exhibit at a gallery or museum happening. Or everyone is just yawning at the plethora of things being shoved in their faces, vying for their attention. I wonder how many bands have played their first NYC show while on tour expecting cool things, only to be a let down by a small, uninterested crowd.
 
I once saw a band open for S.O.D. when they did that reunion in the late 90's. This was a band from CA I think, and they got the worst crowd response I've ever seen. It was at Coney Island High (which is long gone) and it was completely packed. After every song this band played, there was complete, uncomfortable silence and anything the members said from the stage was ignored. It felt so cold. The only thing they did or said that got any kind of reaction from the crowd was when one of them said, "S.O.D. is next". The place erupted with cheers, as if to tell them to get they were hated and to get off the stage. It's worth mentioning that maybe something like that
would happen from an S.O.D. fanbase anywhere though!
 
Flourishing is playing our record release show for "A Momentary Sense of the Immediate World" in 2 days as I type this (3/25). I think it will be our biggest show so far. It's with Sea of Bones (from CT, I believe), Howl, and Javelina (both on tour together). Flourishing, in the live arena, is a new band. So we're really trying to get some people out early enough to see us (we play first). We call our friends and call in favors from aquaintances to come out in hopes of having some people there. We post the show details on our facebook and myspace pages. I even sent out an e-mail invite, which I rarely do. So, time will tell. I am hopeful that some of these people we're reaching out to will show up, but know the reality that most here are busy and spoiled.
 
You could argue that things will simply improve over time with more shows and exposure. But I don't think that's necessarily the case. As I stated above, with so much else going on around here and in my experiences with Wetnurse and just being around, it takes a lot of work and luck to get a consistent, sizeable amount of interest in what you're doing. I've seen evidence that being a bartender at a notable spot is often a good way to get people to care.
 
Speaking of Wetnurse, my bandmate and good buddy Curran books a weekly metal show at a venue named Lit on the Lower East Side where he has everything from lesser known NYC or NJ bands to cool underground tour packages play every Monday. Shows are often very wide ranging in genres on offer which is a cool attribute to the shows. Flourishing has played here a few times and has a couple of shows coming up there. To my knowledge, it is the only thing like it in town and I've discovered many great area bands from it. I think a good majority of local heavy bands have played this show, called Precious Metal, at least once.
 
In closing, I don't want this writing to come across as a gripe or a claim that this is such a difficult scene to exist in. It's just something to behold and witness the oversaturated state of music, and specifically, this scene. I find it nearly impossible to get people to really care here unless you're lucky enough to have some kind of large scale success. And how many more bands, releases, shows, and labels can exist? I suppose in the end it doesn't matter to me, as long as everyone is doing their thing for genuine reasons.

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Flourishing's A Momentary Sense of the Immediate World is out now through The Path Less Travelled.
Photos by Randy Levine

 

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