LOL! I'm sorry to hear about the "cheap-ass hippies" who never shared their weed with you, Dana, but the way you worded that really cracked me up. I'll take your word for it about the lack of industry exposure.
And NYC may not be what it used to be, but I still enjoyed my visits there. If nothing else, I love going to the top of the Empire State Building (Yes, I know that's "touristy," but I love the view), eating at White Castle (We don't have any here in Pittsburgh), hanging out at Manitoba's, visiting John Varvato's (the rock'n'roll boutique that opened where CBGBs used to be), strolling down St. Mark's Place, browsing the St. Mark's Book Store, walking around Times Square after dark (Yes, I know, "touristy," but I still like to do it), and occasionally meeting a legendary rock'n'roll figure, such as Roberta Bayley, Handsome Dick Manitoba, Bob Gruen, and Kim Fowley. If nothing else, I love soaking up all the history in that city.
Dana V. Hatch said:
As with CMJ, I'd advise bands who go down there to try and have a good time and have no illusions about industry exposure. Label scouts don't exist. Pretty much, a bunch of unknown or slightly known bands pay to play down there and the money is used to host big parties for established rock stars and major label scum. Still way better than CMJ just 'cause Austin's a cooler place than NYC. My band went down and had fun in 06 but there was crappy music everywhere you went and no one at the High Times-sponsored Stoner Rock bash offered me a toke of anything, those cheap-ass hippies!
