Interviews

Interview w/ Brian Allen of Confederation of Noisemakers

By Jessica ⋅ March 10, 2008 ⋅  Print this post ⋅ Post a comment

If you’ve never met Brian Allen, creator of the Confederation of Noisemakers web site, then chances are you’ve at least heard him pound the skins in one of the many Augusta bands he’s been involved with over the years. Neato Torpedo, Mary Jane Jones, Ghost Script, Turtleneck, Hellblinki Sextet, and most recently Joe Graves & the Dirty Left Hand as well as rockers American Skin. Proven to be loud behind the drums, Allen is equally just as loud away from the stage. Never one to shy away from the truth, or as some would say, HIS truth, Allen is possibly the perfect person to be addressing pressing points as it relates to music in the CSRA. If you tend to stand a little bit on the “too sensitive” side then you may want to stop reading now. But you may want to take a chance as Allen tackles the questions as only he can. Blunt, upfront and to the point.

LL – First off, we’d like to throw out the welcome mat to CON and give a big congrats to this great new Augusta Music Blog Page you’ve created.

BA – Thanks for the welcome…..the responses to CONFEDERATION OF NOISEMAKERS have been pretty positive thus far, so that’s been a pleasant and unexpected reward…….one of the most difficult points at this juncture is just getting the word out……..so thanks for having me in for this interview.

LL – Now you’re certainly not a new face on the Augusta music scene. Do you feel that your experience as a lokal musician gives you an edge as far as overseeing a site such as CON?

BA –I suppose it couldn’t hurt…..I might be just a bit more plugged in than the average Joe on the street…..but really the bottom line is “you write about what you know”……..and I really enjoy writing……I was doing a personal weblog for about a year and a half and was getting a little frustrated with how insular that got to be…….I wanted to reach out to my favorite community…OUR music community…….and I was hoping to make a positive impact……so I think that desire might be the real advantage……..I actually do care about the music and musicians of Augusta, Georgia……..much like yourself.

LL – It’s been said, over the past few years, that one of Augusta’s strengths has been the sense of community amongst the musicians yet there are some that look at CON as a competitor to Lokal Loudness as opposed to an ally. Is there still a sort of “look over your shoulder” mentality that exists in some aspects of the Augusta Music Scene?

BA – I don’t see CON as competition for LOKAL LOUDNESS at all……that was never my intent…..I had already been writing about Augusta music on my personal blog…….I like the format you get with blogger and how easily updated it is……I simply wanted to focus on music……..and as far as I’m concerned, the more outlets to read about local music news the better…….I can never get enough of it personally….

and btw…….sense of community and friendly competition are not mutually exclusive……..it’s probably good to have a little competition as long as it stays healthy…..when you get people firebombing rival bands’ practice spaces, you’ve gone too far.

LL – Getting back to the bands, there’s been a huge buzz in the past year or so with bands such as Veara and Edison Project making the move to break out of Augusta but they aren’t the first Augusta bands to attempt to do so. In the past we’ve seen bands such as Impulse Ride, People Who Must and most recently Jemani try and break to a regional or national level. What is keeping these great bands from doing so and what do you feel a band such as Veara of Edison Project have to do to break through that barrier?

BA – Let’s face it, Stoney….the possibility of breaking into the music business on a national level is miniscule when you consider the sheer number of functioning bands in this country….and if I had the magic bullet answer to making that happen, I’d be getting interviewed by Rolling Stone right now instead of Lokal Loudness(no offense)…so I can only speculate……I guess the obvious answer for any band is trying to distinguish themselves from the gozillians of other groups out there…….for JEMANI, I think the timing was off by about 5 years…..whatever they choose to label their music, the rap rock thing was already petering out when they hit their stride……as for IMPULSE RIDE and PEOPLE WHO MUST, maybe entering the jangly guitar pop lottery was part of the problem…….the odds were just too long and there were already lots of successful groups doing the same sort of thing at the time(I’m sure I’ll probably hear from Joe Stevenson on that one)……as for VEARA, I think they’re in about the same boat right now……there are a mega shit ton of bands doing just about exactly the same thing they are, music and image wise…….so I think they need to find a way to distinquish themselves……they do write some seriously infectious tunes…….and I think the way they stay on the road CONSTANTLY can’t hurt either………I wish them the best of luck……..EDISON PROJECT has that x-factor……they’re tremendously competent musicians and very tight as a live band………I do feel that their songwriting to this point has been far too linear……..when the hooks come along, those guys might end up on easy street.

LL – Do you feel it’s worth it for a lokal band to fork over the funds to try and get into an industry event such as the Atlantis Conference or would they just be wasting time and money?

BA – Speaking anecdotally, very little ever comes of doing things like Atlantis…..having said that, a lot of bands have broken big after playing SXSW……however, even the organizer of SXSW stops short at taking credit for those bands’ successes……..I guess if anything is gained by doing those conferences, it’s network expansion…….I’d say the benefits by and large are negligible……….but there is certainly no harm done if you can get on a bill at SXSW………I haven’t heard many good things said about ATLANTIS at all.

LL – So we’ve talked about the possibly break-out bands. Who do you see as bands that have the potential to be the next ones in line to make a big move locally or even regionally?

BA – I suspect that THE SHAUN PIAZZA band could’ve already done it if they’d just spend more time on the road……..as for anyone else, that’s hard to say…I would think CHAIRLEG could make a go of it…….I heard them last night on RADAR RADIO and their music is fucking BRUTAL…….and very precise…….and there’s a market for that sorta music……..a BIG ONE…….they just need to play out of town…..alot………I also feel like TARA SCHEYER could take her MUDPUPPY BAND national with a little bit of effort……..it’d be easy for me to see her band doing a syndicated children’s television show.

As far as moving locally, TBUC has the tools become VERY POPULAR…….they just need “pull themselves together”.

LL - One thing we’ve seen, after a sort of slow period the past couple of years, is a lot of action musically to start off 2008. Why the sudden explosion of new music?

BA - Well, you know these creative types………they can only sit on their hands for so long………I also think we have a lot of people making music in this town lately that we hadn’t heard from before now……it’s exciting ain’t it.

LL – From what you’ve heard so far what bands are you most looking forward to seeing new cds from this year?

BA – I’m really looking forward to “Mechanical Advantage” by THE CUBISTS…..I’m also curious to hear the BAYOU BLEU EP………of course I’m really looking forward to releases by my own bands this year……..but that’s for another interview at a different time.

LL – You’ve seen a few shows this year. Any new bands catch your eye live so far in 2008?

BA – LANGUAGE ARTS is a new band that I think will do very well here……….I only managed to catch the last part of their debut at THE SOUL BAR……..but I loved it instantly……….very solid songwriting with excellent hooks……..I honestly didn’t see any weaknesses…..long live the power trio!………I also really enjoyed DIRTY SONS OF IRELAND at the awards show this year(although they’re not new, just new to me)………

LL – Now we’ve seen it time and time again where some people still refuse to come off a meager $5, $3, even $2 cover to get in to see a live band. While cover charges haven’t gone up in the past thirty years or so, why do you think it’s tough for some folks to part with a couple bucks to see some great live music?

BA – I think that it’s an engrained cultural attitude towards music in this town……I mean look at how poorly we(collectively) treated JAMES BROWN…..to the average blue blood from the Hill, local musicians are like trained circus animals……and they shouldn’t have to pay for that sort of entertainment while they sip their appletinis……it’s so cheap to drink in this town that I couldn’t imagine them worrying about having money for one less PBR if they pay the cover charge.

LL – We’ve also seen situations where bands are having to split that cover charge with a venues’ soundman. Should the cost of sound, whether to pay a venue’s soundman or by providing their own PA, be put on the band or should the venue be covering this cost?

BA – If a venue is providing sound, it is not the job of the bands to pay the sound man unless that is explicitly understood in advance……..I’ve seen situations where the soundman was getting paid off the top of the door with the venue taking a cut as well………the end result is that these sound guys end up getting paid more than the band……..does anyone else see something wrong with this?……..we’re already struggling to make half what the bartenders make in tips……..so to me, that’s insulting…….and demonstrates misplaced priorities…….again, all part of a negative cultural attitude toward live music in this town………especially original music.

LL - There’s also been criticism over bands playing non-charity events such as First Friday without compensation. Some have even said that bands willingness to play these events for free adds to the issue. Is this really a problem or a worthwhile opportunity for a band to be seen and heard?

BA – If you always play for free, an amateur is all you’ll ever be…….now playing the occasional First Friday probably doesn’t hurt…….but for a stretch there, every time you turned around, local bands were being asked to provide free entertainment for this benefit or that…..and a gaggle of bands were always willing to jump at the “opportunity for exposure”……..and what it seemed to lead to was every band being EXPECTED to play for free……..and that just adds to this overall problem of bands being undervalued in this town…….sure it’s fun to play these events……but how bout a little respect in exchange……….how bout throwing an opening slot for some of these larger PAYING shows to the local bands that end up sacrificing to play your fundraiser for free?………..asking too much?……apparently.

LL – What’s can we expect in the future on the CON site?

BA – Oh more of the same………..I did decide to start featuring hip hop on Sundays………and I’ll probably continue refining until it’s constituted mostly of regular features……..also look for lots and lots of good photography……..Elizabeth Benson of Bird In Hand Photography has come on board with me and does excellent work………more of that to come………..one other thing I’d like to do is have some other folks come on as collaborators………it couldn’t hurt to get some different voices and perspectives in there.

LL – As expected, you’ve tackled some of the hard-hitting questions that some folks would be afraid to answer so thank you for taking the time to do so.

BA - Here’s the thing………I know that if someone wanted to be critical of me, I’d prefer that they do it to my face instead of behind my back…….and like I stated earlier, I genuinely care about this music scene and the musicians who make it go……….I’m not helping EDISON PROJECT by proclaiming them to be rock gods…….they have enough people blowing sunshine up their asses already………so I’m a little bit critical in a public forum……..but I mean, I feel my criticisms are mostly constructive……..and can only help, even if I don’t have all the solutions……I don’t feel like it’s worth it to tip toe around the issues facing us all here for the sake maintaining a sense of family among the musical community.

All that said, I fucking hate all of you……….kidding………thanks for the opportunity to ramble, Stoney…….best of luck to everyone in 2008…….y’all knock it out of the park, ya hear?.

Want to hear more from Brian Allen and his CONFEDERATION OF NOISEMAKERS?
Check out the site at http://sinisterrail.blogspot.com/

Also be sure to check out Allen in American Skin at http://www.myspace.com/americanskinband and Joe Graves & the Dirty Left Hand at http://www.myspace.com/joegravesandthedirtylefthand.

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