Piss Poor Lighting

by David Holland

Music is my life is a saying I have heard or seen used by many people over the years. For most it is just a cliche used because they love a lot of music. However for some like myself, it really is my life. I have spent many nights over the last 12+ years of my life at shows. Most of those nights involved me supporting indie artists mainly in archiving their sets whether via audio recording, photography, video or of late all 3. So with that in mind, I have to get this off my chest!

When will the majority of venues get a clue in terms of lighting? It is beyond frustrating to attend a show & have quite a hard time properly filming due to the lack of quality lighting. It does not cost much to have even an average lighting setup so people in attendance can actually see who is playing without having to fight a lot of darkness.

I had been thinking about this issue a lot of lately. My frustrations boiled over when I was at a recent Leaves Of Green show in the upstairs lounge at Piano's in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. The lighting upstairs is absolutely terrible & makes it next to impossible to even shoot unless I set off my flash which I just won't do while people are performing. Mind you, I am not shooting with a regular digital camera as I am using a DSLR with a low light lens.

In my honest opinion, the biggest problem with a lot of venues in NYC is that they are not really properly setup to be such things. Whether it is the lack of space/poor use of the limited space they have. I feel the upstairs part of Piano's is a prime example of a space that is not meant for performances. The majority of people flock upstairs to drink & be loud because the space downstairs is crowded. Who can really enjoy a set with all the racket that usually takes place. Luckily I can tune things out but most people can't & for those I feel sorry.

In the next couple of years, I might be opening a lounge somewhere in NYC & believe me when I tell you that the performance space will be run properly no matter how much it costs as I believe in the indie music scene & I want to do my part to help it grow with quality lighting to boot!

How Do They Have A Record Deal?

by David Holland

I know we have all experienced this at some point, we hear an artist & wonder how in the hell did they get a record deal! I have experienced it countless times over the years although mostly with mainstream stuff.

The experience once again played out in October when Melanie & I went to Terminal 5 to see our favorite band, the Smashing Pumpkins. I personally was not thrilled that they had 2 bands opening for them as the last time I had seen them in 2008 at United Palace, they had no openers. The first band was Light FM & to be honest, I actually liked what I heard in their short set. It was the second band that had me pondering the aforementioned question.

The second band to hit the stage was the Fancy Space People & how I wish they never did. They were absolutely terrible from start to finish in every aspect from the music all the way down to their banter & costumes. Seriously we are adults, stop with the "people of earth" nonsense as it comes across as completely stupid & tacky. The bigger insult was their set was longer than Light FM's by quite a bit.

This band honestly made me think Laserbrain was probably better & that is a very scary thought as you now know. I seriously have to wonder how in the world is Light FM unsigned but the Fancy Space People are? Pathetic..............

Ruining A Classic

by David Holland

Back on September 13th, I decided to head to NYC. Since it was a Tuesday, my usual plan of action was heading to Chelsea for dinner & movie night with my good friend Melanie. However on this particular Tuesday, she was not available so I decided to catch up with 2 of my best friends Carolyn & Dino & catch a free show. We ended up going to Bruar Falls that night & for the most part, I wish we never did.

When we arrived, I saw an old musician friend Lynzee who I had just ran into a few nights earlier for the first time in a few years. She was just about finished with her bartending shift & wondered what made us come by. I told her we were here to check out the bands for the evening. As we sat there, I kept wondering when the show was starting as no one was really there & I did not see any equipment setup. A short time later, we started to see the first act setup. Eventually they were ready to go & that was when the experience began.

The first band to hit the stage was Laserbrain. I don't really judge artists by their name although I admittedly found it to be cheesy & was concerned that the music would match. Boy was I write, actually no, cheesiness is not a strong enough word to describe how horrible they were. The first few songs were ehh but I wanted to give them a chance. However once they decided to do a cover, my feeling of giving them a chance turned into full hatred.

You see for people that know me, they know that I can't stand 80's music. It is hands down the worst decade of music ever which is saying something compared to the mainstream crap out there now. Even with that in mind, I do have a soft spot for a few artists or songs from the 80's that besides standing the test of time, were actually pretty good. One of those songs is Paul Simon's You Can Call Me Al. So when I heard Laserbrain announce their intention to perform a cover, my curiosity was peaked. After the first 30 seconds, I wanted it to stop as it sounded awful. I toughed it out & listened to the whole song or more accurately, the complete destruction of a classic.

After this, I kept telling Carolyn & Dino how I should go up there & just punch them all in the face for ruining one of my favorite songs. I was not really going to do it as it would be an unfair fight for them as I am clearly stronger. Plus let's be honest, it is not the mature thing to do. However the performance was so bad, I couldn't help but have such feelings. The three of us made the call to get the hell out of there & promise that we would never see this terrible band again. I am proud to say we continue to live up to that promise as of this writing.

Welcome To My Rockbox

December 11, 2011

Let me take the time to introduce myself. My name is David & I am the Owner/Founder of SurgeFM. This will serve as my personal station blog or more appropriate, my "Rockbox" where I will wax poetic on all sorts of things. While I can't guarantee that every entry will be about indie music itself, I can guarantee that some aspect of music will be the focus. So hop aboard, enjoy the ride & comment as you see fit.