Getting Out Of Our Confort Zone & Where The Heck Do You Find These Bands??

I received an email the other day from a listener, as they put it, "I just found your station... and it blew me away. You play a lot of tunes I'm familiar with as well as many songs & bands I've never heard of - but they kick ass! You NEVER hear these bands on the radio... where do you find these bands and songs?"

1). Glad you found us!
2). Glad you like the station!
3). Unfortunately, I make it a habit of not revealing my sources for where I "find" these bands and/or some of the songs the station plays. The reason for that is, is it keeps me one step (hopefully) above other similar genre stations.
4). And probably most important, is that's why we're here... because there are a lot of great bands & tunes that you don't hear on the radio. Chances are, there's a possibility you never will... and that's a shame.

Sometimes it's a question of a new (read: local) band getting "discovered". Other times, it's a geographical situation. In other words, let's say a new band from L.A. just got signed to a record label. It's going to take a little time for that music to reach the east coast. But sometimes, I feel there's a third aspect. I guess that's in direct relation to some other emails I've received asking as to why I don't play a certain tune, especially if it's getting tons of airplay on commercial radio stations. In my humble opinion, just because a certain song is getting some significant airplay, doesn't mean it's good or worthwhile and likewise, just because a certain song isn't getting any airplay, doesn't mean it's bad.

I know I might piss a few people off by saying this, but just because it's "popular", doesn't mean it's good or worthwhile. Classic example - Disco music from the 70's. How else do you explain such tunes like "Disco Duck" by DJ Rick Dees & His Band of Idiots going all the way to #1 on the charts?

This is one reason why I eat, sleep & breathe rock n' roll... and especially all forms of alternative music from the past few decades. It's a music that makes people get out of their comfort zone. My belief is, it's the same for both the artists as well as the listeners. The first real examples getting listeners out of their comfort zone, were The Velvet Underground and Iggy Pop & The Stooges.

While the Beatles were singing "Yesterday", Lou Reed & the VU were singing about heroin. While people thought Jim Morrison was "deep and thoughtful", Iggy Pop was being authentic... and there are very few authentic madmen in this business. I mean, Iggy walked on people's hands and heavily involved the audience. One never knew what to expect. With Iggy, there was the possibility that he could take the entire audience with him. In hindsight, he was much more dangerous that Jim Morrison who would waive his penis around on stage in Miami.

Now before you start sending me hate mail, I also like the Beatles as well as the Doors. (Side note - did you know that Ray Manzarek, keyboardist of the Doors was a HUGE punk rock fan?) However, that same spirit carried through the mid 70's, with the American & English punk rock movement. Without that intense D.I.Y. effort, we would not have progressed as far as we have over the past 35 years. Listeners have responded to many a musicians call to "get out of your comfort zone".

That D.I.Y. concept still thrives today. This is the part where I feel the artists also get out of their comfort zone. A classic example is a piece I stumbled on about 6 months ago.

Photos by: Rachel Keenan

Apparently, there was this word-of-mouth gathering out in San Francisco. The woman who took these pictures was called up by a friend and said that there was going to be "some show" going on in someone's backyard... or something like that. Turned out to be a cluster of three kick ass garage pop bands tucked behind a turn of the century house on Folsom in the inner Mission.

The band in these pics is a group we feature on 360 Degrees. They're called Brilliant Colors. No, this is not some free plug the band asked me to do. However, tke a good look at these photos... look how cramped the setting is. Talk about getting out of your comfort zone! However, in my opinion, this is where some of the most exciting things can happen. No barriers, no egos, no bullshit. During the performances the audience noted that there was nothing too cute, no psychedelic or jam-ridden interludes, just pure Saturday afternoon rock.

Lastly, I'll close with a thought brought to by Elvis Costello. He once said "Rock n' Roll is not someone dressing a certain way, or having a guitar at a certain angle, or having the cigarette a certain way or knowing a certain big-wig... it's someone in a room discovering something new or something neither of us have heard of waiting to get discovered... hopefully."

'Til next time, keep listening. Peace out,

Dave