Monterey Bay Area Live Music Thread (Oakland, Santa Cruz: how much, theater, colleges)

[California831]

I think the Monterey Bay area (Monterey and Santa Cruz Counties) has an underappreciated live music scene. Although the City of Monterey is still lacking a viable live music venue (Ive got big hopes for the renovated Golden State Theater on Alvarado St.), there is really lots of good live music here now.

In Monterey, there is the following music festivals:

• The three day California Roots Music Festival over Memorial Day Weekend that includes mostly reggae, dub, rock, and some hip hop. The fest sold out this year.
• The Monterey Bay Jazz festival, which includes all sorts of music. This year The Roots are playing.
• The Monterey Bay Reggae Fest in September.
• The First City Music Fest in August. Last year, the two day fest drew something like 20K people. The festival includes mostly indie rock stuff.
• MB Blues Festival

I mean all we need here is a true hip hop festival and life would be complete!

Beyone the music festivals here, there are two great venues in Santa Cruz, Moes Alley and The Catalyst that play great music from all over the world. And SF and Oakland are just a drive away for just about everything else.

[Tycho Brahe]

Very few locals went to the shows at the Golden State Theater before it closed down again last year. Trent Reznor did not sell out and the advance tickets for shows that were cancelled (Adam Ant, Alton Brown, etc.) were not selling well. The lobby shows were empty, even for the local bands which is incredibly sad. I have played the GST and talked to the promoter.

The problem with festivals is that they cater to neither the local bands or fans. The far majority that attend the festivals do not live in Monterey. Many locals did not know about the First City Festival even on the weekend when it was happening. There is no good local radio (KRML is a joke and I do not think the local "colleges" have radio stations). KZCS and KKUP have the best programming that you can hear in Montery, but are not based here.

BTW, Monterey Bay Reggae Fest and Monterey Bay Blues Festival have been cancelled. That is 40% of your list. The Santa Cruz Blues Festival was a hit. The difference? The locals.

For local bands, there are no rehearsal spaces (not everyone has access to a garage) and the few instrument shops are incredibly bad. Even the Guitar Center in Gilroy is awful. How many bars have DJ nights?

Monterey and old people are scared of hip hop. First City Festival did not book any either year.

If you build it, will they come?

[California831]

Originally Posted by Tycho Brahe

Very few locals went to the shows at the Golden State Theater before it closed down again last year. Trent Reznor did not sell out and the advance tickets for shows that were cancelled (Adam Ant, Alton Brown, etc.) were not selling well. The lobby shows were empty, even for the local bands which is incredibly sad. I have played the GST and talked to the promoter.

The problem with festivals is that they cater to neither the local bands or fans. The far majority that attend the festivals do not live in Monterey. Many locals did not know about the First City Festival even on the weekend when it was happening. There is no good local radio (KRML is a joke and I do not think the local "colleges" have radio stations). KZCS and KKUP have the best programming that you can hear in Montery, but are not based here.

BTW, Monterey Bay Reggae Fest and Monterey Bay Blues Festival have been cancelled. That is 40% of your list. The Santa Cruz Blues Festival was a hit. The difference? The locals.

For local bands, there are no rehearsal spaces (not everyone has access to a garage) and the few instrument shops are incredibly bad. Even the Guitar Center in Gilroy is awful. How many bars have DJ nights?

Monterey and old people are scared of hip hop. First City Festival did not book any either year.

If you build it, will they come?

No way, I did not know MB reggaefest was cancelled. Thats a bummer.

Im going to have to disagree about locals not knowing about First City Fest. It was pretty well advertised in Monterey and a lot of locals did go.

Well Santa Cruz Blues fest being a success is good. Still the MOnterey Bay!

Bars with DJs at night: Bluefin, Mucky Duck, and Britana Arms.

I do think Monterey is not down for hip hop which is a huge bummer. But Santa Cruz Catalyst books lots of good hip hop acts. I petitioned First City all kinds to integrate some hip hop into the fest. They responded with a indie rock linup which is a huge bummer.

But all that aside, this area has proven that despite the opposition from the older business owners, music festivals can thrive and i think more will come and this area can become a hotbed for the younger crowd.

[Tycho Brahe]

You are far more bullish about the future of the local music scene than I am. Your top-down view is that the festivals that come into town will help the local scene. My approach is that things should happen from the bottom-up. Things need to start locally. I am a musician that has played in town. I have seen how difficult it is to play in a band in Monterey.

These festivals are just carpetbaggers. They come into town, invite all the out-to-towners to our beautiful location, and leave as soon as the last note is played. Where does that leave Monterey? How many clubs have opened since Gentlemen of the Road/First City Festival? Trick question since they have actually all closed. How much does Coachella and Bonaroo contribute to their respective local scenes? Not much.

Beyone the music festivals here, there are two great venues in Santa Cruz, Moes Alley and The Catalyst that play great music from all over the world.

Santa Cruz has more than those two venues. The Civic Auditorium attracts bigger names, the Crepe Place is great for small national touring bands (and local ones too) and don't forget about the Rio Theatre. Kuumbwa is an amazing tiny venue with some incredible talent. I often complain about the old people in Monterey, but sometimes I go to events at Kuumbwa with a sizable contingent of older folk, and I am shocked at the difference. They are not like to crotchety old people of Monterey, but are fun and vibrant. Santa Cruz even has better old people!

Bars with DJs at night: Bluefin, Mucky Duck, and Britana Arms.

I am not talking about those types of bars that cater to people that just want to listen to Britney Spears and top 40, but eclectic DJs. If you can't have a myriad of bands playing locally, how about an indie rock night? Hip-hop, world music, soul, garage rock, anything! Someone like Jonathan Toubin: NEW YORK NIGHT TRAIN There are no bars in town where a DJ could play. Mundaka does have great DJs. Just wish it wasn't in Carmel and that their bar was better. They did open a standalone bar next door, I should check it out.

The best band according to the MC Weekly and the local population for the past several years is a cover band. The populace has spoken.