The Detroit music scene. The Brooklyn music scene. The Lansing music scene. The Chicago Roscoe Village music scene. The Berkley, DIY, underground punk scene…
In the music business, you hear the word “scene” a lot. And we often wonder how we can help or create a thriving music scene in our own areas.
But maybe one way to help a music scene is to stop calling it a scene.
Isolating music into a “scene” ignores its larger role. Music happens in bars, open mics, coffeehouses, museums, block parties, house shows, basement parties, porch jams, classrooms, charity events, Internet videos. The music scene is a part of a larger scene.
That scene is called a your community.
Musicians and artists need to be a part of their community to thrive. If we focus on a “scene,” we might be missing out what else is going on around us.
Natalie’s interview about her new book, Swedish Lessons, for Stateside on Michigan Radio will be on today at 3 PM and 10 PM!
Ann/Detroit: 91.7 FM, West Michigan: 104.1 FM, or Flint 91.1.
Or Stream at 3 PM and 10 PM at michiganradio.org (click Listen Live at the top)
Gov. Shutdown: Pretending It Doesn’t Affect Us
On day one of the federal government shutdown, any talk show host or news anchor who parroted the idea that the “shutdown won’t affect many people” lost credibility in reporting.
It’s not that the government shutdown will be felt by many of us, immediately. But you would never hear a news anchor or host say that type of statement about a natural disaster. That would be insensitive, and stupid.
When I was in the middle of my fall tour, the major flood in Colorado happened. I’ll admit, I didn’t feel it happen. I don’t live in Colorado. I wasn’t traveling to Colorado on tour. I don’t have friends or business contacts there. The family I know living in Colorado weren’t in the areas of flooding.
But it still affects my country, my economy, my friends and family who know people there, my thoughts…It affects me.
Yesterday, I didn’t feel the government shutdown, but my wife’s newly married cousin did. Ashley and her husband Mark planned on visiting national parks on their honeymoon, which started yesterday. The parks were closed. There goes their honeymoon plans.
They felt the government shutdown. And their story affects me. And I hope it affects you.
Let’s stop pretending this type of governing is acceptable.
Today, I ran across an article titled, “20 Great American Cities for Writers–That Aren’t NYC.” (Sure, the online article is click-bait, a list with photos, but it is still fun to read!)
And Ann Arbor made the list! Hooray!
Natalie’s making her living by being a full-time writer, a dream she’s had since she was in middle school. She also LOVES living in Ann Arbor.
This year, Natalie and I visited New York City for one of my gigs. We enjoyed our four day visit, but we agreed that our enjoyment of NYC as visitors only increased our love of where we call home; Ann Arbor just feels right for us.
The same feeling happened when I was on tour through Chicago and Nashville this month; and when Natalie and I honeymooned in Toronto last year.
This isn’t an account of one place being better than another; instead, this is an account of trusting emotions that say, “this is home.”
Ann Arbor has that quality for us. Here are a few reasons:
- While small, there is a music and writing scene, supported here.
- It’s close to our Michigan relatives.
- The large university brings bustle to the downtown.
- Ann Arbor is a college town that still features families and neighborhoods and professionals.
- Ann Arbor is known for it’s variety of unique restaurants.
- Three farmer’s markets a week, folks!
- It’s tree city! It’s beautiful here!
- It’s well located for traveling to other gigs in Metro Detroit, Lansing, even West Michigan.
- This is a town that loves to read, a town that houses Michigan Radio, a town with book stores and record stores and music stores…
- Michigan breweries! Local coffee roasters! Independent businesses!
- We can ride our bikes to many spots, or drive and park without fighting insane traffic.
- Here’s a big one: We can afford the rent of a house and writing studio for what we could afford an apartment in a larger city.
Nat and I couldn’t picture ourselves growing our careers and our lives together anywhere else.
It’s hard for one with a creative career to pick a home, but we don’t need to pick our homes because of an idea, a myth, or even a list of “best places to live.” Pick the place that feel right.
Natalie's editor emailed the edited copy of Nat's book while we were in Greenwich Village!
