Charles Cullen

Local film maker, actor, singer, live performer and established television personality Charles Cullen writes weekly columns about life on the chicken farm and beyond.

More from Charles Cullen

• Cullen Studios

Recent columns

• The Final Column
• A Hall of Fame for mom
• TV Concerns

Recently a column was forwarded to me that had appeared in the New River Current section of roanoke.com concerning the live music scene in Blacksburg. It seemed that some musician was fed up and hitting the road to more artistically appreciative towns. The subject heading in the email to me read: "Does this sound familiar?"

Boy does it. Basically the musician was explaining how playing live in clubs and bars was dwindling and giving way to people dancing to DJ music whipped up at home on a computer. His studies and or conclusions, after asking around, were that people mainly went out to hook up, not listen to the band.

I can agree somewhat. Most of my experience in the late 90s and early 2000 with playing music was strictly on TV. You wrote a song, checked the lighting, tuned the guitar (sometimes), turned the camera on and sang into the lens. That was it. Turn the show in and thousands of people got to watch you sing and play. If they didn't like it, they turned the channel, and well ... I never knew either way.

Then came the Grandin Theatre benefit concert. They asked if I would do a live show to help raise money for the Grandin Theatre. I said sure. When it actually came time for the show, I was terrified. I had never performed live before. I recall sitting in the upstairs backstage dressing room (complete with ivy growing through the window) slugging down Old Milwaukees as fast as I could. It got even worse when the camera person came backstage to say "Looks like its sold out!"

Anyhow, it went fine. I actually caught the bug. Wow, if I can pack a theatre like that we need to keep doing this. What I didn't realize was the impact that a huge newspaper article on my shows and then another previous one on the then-fledgling Grandin, could have to do with drawing a large crowd.

I never was too cool on playing in bars and pubs. I would most always arrange my live shows in theatres. This kind of eliminates the possibility of you being background music while people hook up.

I watched my live shows draw less and less of an audience. We did several large theatre-type shows with music and stage performance. These occurred at The Grandin Theatre, Hollins University, Virginia Western and Northside High School. We then scaled down to shows at The Club, The Wyndham hotel, WROV outdoor birthday jams, and Livestock at Victory Stadium...we then trickled on down to trying the bars. I remember playing to one guy one time at the Coffee Pot, and it was my friend Dave. But I think he enjoyed the show.

So, yeah, it's tough. Janet used to spend a lot of time on the independent music scene in New York. She had close friends that played the clubs there. Not to my surprise, she said people actually came, sat down and really listened to the musician. So I feel a lot has to do with the atmosphere. I think these clubs allowed younger audiences and alcohol was probably not a big factor, so more concentration went to the artists.I have been in clubs before and looked up at the musician and thought "Man, I wouldn't want to be that guy up there." But then again, I've been " that guy up there."

I once went to the 3rd Street Coffeehouse to watch Captain Dangerous play, and beforehand we did three songs of my own. The place was packed, coffee only and all eyes were on the artists. Clapping after each song, laughter and appreciation. That's cool. But yeah, get in the bars and dance clubs, you are background noise. People just want to hear computer born DJ mix stuff and cover tunes. Notice that any time a band comes out of the cover tune segment and announces to the audience: "OK, here's one we wrote ourselves," well...that's when people go to the restroom or back to the bar to get another drink. Just the way it is.

So, that's my quick summarized opinion on the "Live Music Scene." You don't really need to find another town to play in or move to, just be choosy about where you play.

Take care,
Charles Cullen