Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Who says LI produces more rock bands than NYC? That’s just not true. Off the top of my head, LI has: Joan Jett (even though she got her start in LA), Joe Satriani, Dream Theater (who technically formed in Boston at Berklee but they were all LI natives), Suffocation, Brand New, and Vision of Disorder. Twisted Sister formed in NJ and later moved to LI.
NYC on the other hand? New York Dolls, Velvet Underground, Ramones, Patti Smith, KISS, Television, Talking Heads, Glenn Branca, Anthrax, Sonic Youth, Murphy’s Law, Agnostic Front, Cro-Mags, Beastie Boys (kind of rock to an extent), White Zombie, Pro-Pain, Type O Negative, Helmet, Biohazard, Strokes, Interpol, and a kind of newer band that rocks called Mutoid Man (mostly Boston transplants to Brooklyn).
I’m sure I’m missing some on both sides, but that’s a pretty big difference, not just in number of bands but also their levels of success and/or influence. As for lack of Philly bands, who knows? Kind of striking, all I can think of from Philly are Rosetta, War on Drugs, Circa Survive, Dead Milkmen, A Life Once Lost, and Cinderella (blech).
Never mind though, Boston has the best crop of bands of them all.
Many years ago, my older sister worked in a dry cleaners on the border of Ridgewood and HoHoKus, NJ. I remember visiting her at the store, and she showed me these wild red satin costumes brought in to be cleaned by a local band named Twisted Sister. We laughed at both the name and the costumes. Years later I heard their name again and wondered if it was the same band, and yup, it was.
Many years ago, my older sister worked in a dry cleaners on the border of Ridgewood and HoHoKus, NJ. I remember visiting her at the store, and she showed me these wild red satin costumes brought in to be cleaned by a local band named Twisted Sister. We laughed at both the name and the costumes. Years later I heard their name again and wondered if it was the same band, and yup, it was.
All the bands that are mentioned here are older acts and LI has more support for its rock bands than we do it seems. I feel that I don't personally know that many bands that originate in NYC. There are also really bad things that we as a city do to our bands such as pay to play, mostly linked to the evil promoters "Live Nation" which is bs.
Mainline concert halls only have mainline acts, not even local bands. If you want to open for a mainline band you have to pay up to 5000 dollars. Meanwhile I don't know if that happens on LI or in NJ.
Here in NYC there are a few rock clubs such as Arlenes Grocery and then it's DJ clubs for the most part. Most of the rock clubs are tiny AF. Meanwhile major clubs here like, La Boom and Amazura only do Rap / Hip Hop, Pop and Ethnic music such as Reggae and Soca. Philly also produces less bands than Bucks County and I don't know wtf is up with that.
You should check out Saint Vitus in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Brooklyn Bowl in Williamsburg is another good place. While it’s true that many rock clubs have disappeared in the city, that’s mostly a product of gentrification. Places like CBGB’s couldn’t hang around anymore as the LES got so much pricier. It’s a shame, but I think that also has a lot to do with a perceived decline of rock in NYC.
The truth is though that your mention of my list of “older bands” gets at the root of a larger problem. Rock in general isn’t as popular as it used to be, no matter where you go. The fact that as far as well known bands go, the last I could name before Mutoid Man was formed at the turn of the millenium tells me something. I’m sure there are plenty of LI bands out there, but they just aren’t big enough for me to know about and are deep, deep underground. Would be the same with NYC too for sure. They are out there, just harder to find, but this is the case everywhere.
It’s really an American issue. Take a look at rock festivals. We have a few big ones, it they are eclipsed by the kinds of festivals Europe has. There is no comparison. I see bands I like on Facebook posting that they are playing in big festivals with totally stacked lineups all of the time and get excited...only to be then let down by finding out it’s somewhere in Europe.
I will say though that what I find particular interesting is that, if you think about NYC suburbs, well, I can name a handful of LI bands, and even more NJ bands, but I can’t think of a single one that I know is from Westchester/Rockland/Putnam/Orange counties, or Fairfield County, CT for that matter.
Don't forget Blue Oyster Cult is from LI. One of the greatest groups of all time, with, IMO, the greatest rock lead guitar player ever in Don Roeser.
Wow, yeah. That’s a big one. Not really a fan of them, but I can’t deny their importance. After a little more research, I found that Glassjaw is also from LI. NYC also has Jawbreaker, and how could I forget Quicksand? I also forgot Life of Agony and Living Colour. Shame on me.
You should check out Saint Vitus in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Brooklyn Bowl in Williamsburg is another good place. While it’s true that many rock clubs have disappeared in the city, that’s mostly a product of gentrification. Places like CBGB’s couldn’t hang around anymore as the LES got so much pricier. It’s a shame, but I think that also has a lot to do with a perceived decline of rock in NYC.
The truth is though that your mention of my list of “older bands†gets at the root of a larger problem. Rock in general isn’t as popular as it used to be, no matter where you go. The fact that as far as well known bands go, the last I could name before Mutoid Man was formed at the turn of the millenium tells me something. I’m sure there are plenty of LI bands out there, but they just aren’t big enough for me to know about and are deep, deep underground. Would be the same with NYC too for sure. They are out there, just harder to find, but this is the case everywhere.
It’s really an American issue. Take a look at rock festivals. We have a few big ones, it they are eclipsed by the kinds of festivals Europe has. There is no comparison. I see bands I like on Facebook posting that they are playing in big festivals with totally stacked lineups all of the time and get excited...only to be then let down by finding out it’s somewhere in Europe.
I will say though that what I find particular interesting is that, if you think about NYC suburbs, well, I can name a handful of LI bands, and even more NJ bands, but I can’t think of a single one that I know is from Westchester/Rockland/Putnam/Orange counties, or Fairfield County, CT for that matter.
Yeah I just find it so weird that so few bands are from Westchester. Hatebreed are from Stamford.
We used to have more rock festivals, the Randall's Island ones like Ozzfest and Warped Tour were notable. But I don't think they exist anymore. However there are more and larger clubs in Long Island I think. Maybe it's just the grass is greener effect.
Yeah, I've been to some rock clubs in Brooklyn and Queens but it's like they're not only out of the way, but they're far from the train. I don't get that.
Ha, I knew Hatebreed were from somewhere in CT but thought it might have been Hartford. Wikipedia says they are from Bridgeport. Just learned that Taking Back Sunday are from LI. Also realize I forgot about Prong, Swans, Unsane, Blondie, and The Pretty Reckless for NYC too. See, NYC is chock full of rock bands. CT also had this band Emmure, but they moved to Queens. I’m not really a fan of them though...they pretty much only have one song I like. I think any city would be glad to NOT associate with them lol.
NYC is a media mecca, so a lot of musicians from elsewhere will come to NYC, meet up with other musicians, and form a band. Much like the hair bands in LA.
What are the bands from LI? I doubt the existence of higher rates of bands coming from LI than anywhere else.
one thing i found being a musician is it was harder living in the city not only as a musician myself but when it came to finding other musicians , because apartment house living is very very common . with more than 55,000 apartment houses , practicing restrictions even solo can be a turn off to learning and playing .
as a drummer i found practice even on my pads very difficult . i spend a lot of money on studio time just to practice alone .... so having single family homes like long island can do a better job cultivating musicians in my experience .
i spend hundreds a month on drum studio time so i can translate my pad work over to a set of drums .
i started life as a pro drummer back in the 1970's ..gave it up for decades and got back in to it again again after retiring 3 years ago ....
i am obsessed with playing . my wife was the one who pushed me in to picking up the sticks again and she gave drugs to a recovering druggie ....
so much so that i am now going to sit in with a very well known group on their 50th anniversary tour .
Last edited by mathjak107; 04-07-2019 at 04:56 AM..
one thing i found being a musician is it was harder living in the city not only as a musician myself but when it came to finding other musicians , because apartment house living is very very common . with more than 55,000 apartment houses , practicing restrictions even solo can be a turn off to learning and playing .
as a drummer i found practice even on my pads very difficult . i spend a lot of money on studio time just to practice alone .... so having single family homes like long island can do a better job cultivating musicians in my experience .
i spend hundreds a month on drum studio time so i can translate my pad work over to a set of drums .
i started life as a pro drummer back in the 1970's ..gave it up for decades and got back in to it again again after retiring 3 years ago ....
i am obsessed with playing . my wife was the one who pushed me in to picking up the sticks again and she gave drugs to a recovering druggie ....
so much so that i am now going to sit in with a very well known group on their 50th anniversary tour .
I keep an electronic kit and what my friend did was put his actual drums in a vocal booth type thing in the living room so he can close the door and play. A lot of folks in nyc keep electronic kits.
I keep an electronic kit and what my friend did was put his actual drums in a vocal booth type thing in the living room so he can close the door and play. A lot of folks in nyc keep electronic kits.
i have one but the feel and sound is very different compared to a kit set ... it is like going from pads to drums ... there is a big difference in rebound to deal with so it just is not the same .. i am a very technical drummer , big on rudiment training so anything that is different then i m used to feels very different and control is different . the day i try to put the set in the living room is the day my wife throws me out ....
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
