club attendance...

[Sc'Eric (aka darkFIN)]

Wow... I'm really glad I made the post.  I've been asking this question to ppl I know for a while and usually just get a shrug.  You guys have put some thought into things--which, of course, shows you care, and that makes you all totally balls-out awesome!   
 
Living in State College, we have a completely different kind of problem here.  This town was built entirely around the university.  There was never any industry here, so we have no large, empty spaces that could be cheaply turned into an all-ages club-space.  (Decades ago, the university bought the old dance-hall and turned it into cubicles for the English dept!)  Plus, with about 3 crotchity old people owning every property in town, you're extremely limited in who will even talk to you about it.  We've no empty storefronts that are baffled enough to prevent noise from disturbing the tenants upstairs (or passersby on the street, for that matter).  Everything would have to be professionally re-engineered.  Almost all the bars/pubs are waaay too small or poorly laid-out to even consider talking them into doing an all-ages thing--let alone something that doesn't involve Dave Matthews or Phish.  There's only two all-ages spaces in town: one has such a reputation of being assholes that
 even large tours won't deal with them, the other is small and doesn't have enough electrical outlets to even host a 3-piece industrial setup without blowing circuits.  (And, oh-yeah... 21+ shows simply can't draw enough people to pay the bills.)  Finally, any space on campus that might be appropriate as a venue or performance space can only be reserved by students (unless you want to pay out the wazooo) and only during limited hours that aren't going to mesh with an incoming tour.  And let's not forget that students want things handed to them, not to be in charge of something...
 
Which leads to something that The Caped Avenger brought up: Not only do kids NOT realise that they are the scene, they don't realise that THEY have to take some responsibility for the scene continuing--whether they continue to live here after graduation or not.  They don't realise that the guy who puts on the show is just a schmoe like them who started out just as broke (and probably still is)... and once that promoter decides to move on in life--if no one's there to take the reigns--all things will just fall apart and shows will stop.  [And what an incredible run-on sentence that was!]
 
To be honest, Batz, I'd love to hear what your version of the politics is.  It would give me a more complete picture of how things work.  
 
I mean, here... I have friends who want to promote or even perform themselves, but no place to do it.  My friend Corey moved here from NYC and was all gung-ho about setting up shows.  A year later he's done two local performances--one of which he and I put together to raise funds for our student radio station.
 
In my own opinion--and also the opinion of Peter Cummings, editor of gay youth mag XY--the raising of the drinking age to 21 has severely hampered the underground scene.  In fact, all scenes, and it's only now beginning to fully manifest.  (To read an excellent article on the subject, visit: http://www.xy.com/xycontent/articles/xy-articles.php?&a=articles/mag/xy28%20underage --and don't just think that what he's promoting is middle-aged adults trying to screw 16 yr-olds in some sleazy bathhouse-bar.)
 
It just feels to me like all of this stems out of things that were set in motion long before we were even in any "scene" and the only way to dig our way out--if we're not beyond the point of no return--is to take some serious strides toward social deregulation.  If promoters can't reasonably expect the most musically-oriented age-group of people (13 to 20) to show up to an event, they're losing money.  If kids can't get into the clubs to be "socialised" into different scenes--and help figure out who they are in the process--they won't have the skills necessary to take on leadership roles in their chosen scene so that the scene can perpetuate itself.  And if promoters are forced to pitch their events to overworked 30- & 40-somethings who can only afford to come out on the weekends when there's too many people out to even consider targeting the social-fringe... 
 
I'll just stop now.  I guess I worry that this monster is just BIGGER than all of us at this point.  But if you're going to effect social change, you have to start somewhere.  (Why am I not promoting?  Thx to asthma and a distinct lacking of smoke-free venues in the area, I've been forced to take a less active role in the local "scene".  And besides, I'm just an average schmoe who's got hardly any experience and barely enough money to pay his bills...)  >.<  
 
~sc'eric 




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