DRUMMER CAFE

Yes.  DJs.  The people whose jobs would not exist if it were not for actual musicians.

My band is working their tails off to get bumped by a DJ for $300 a night.
That really s%$@*. I don't think it is quiet this bad but I only see the
local music industry in this area. The George Jetson thing, now that is funny.
                Nutty

I'm not sure I agree with some of the things posted here.

Live music may be in a decline, but it certainly isn't dead.  I'm gigging more than ever in my 20 years of playing live.  Tours that were once used to market albums as a losing proposition are now money makers in their own right.  However, as always in the music biz, the target audience is younger than we are.  Sure, when I was 22 I would go see as many bands as possible, because I could.  I had $$ to burn, no wife, no kid, no "real job", etc.  Fast forward 15 years and I'm lucky to get the time away to  play a 5 or 6 gigs a month.  The last thing I want to do on my Friday night off is go see a show, unless it's a band I feel passionate about.

Cometition for kids entertainment dollars is still the same.  Beaches, amusement parks, video games, sports, etc.  these things aren't new.  They've always competed for the $$, at least since I was a kid in the 80's.  DJ's aren't just dropping records, they are a show in and of themselves, complete with lights, smogg  , crowd interaction, remixes on the fly, etc. At least the ones that are booking a year in advance. These are not your cheesy wedding DJ, although these guys still exist and still are cheesy   (Sorry Dave, just kidding)

Along with Smoggs "Music with a statement" thread, I am recognizing a theme.  Unfortunately, many of us who participate in these threads and lament the days gone by are getting old.  While today's music scene may not appeal to us, ours probably didn't appeal to the 30-50 year old set when we were 17-28 either.  Can you imagine a room full of 40 year olds checking out the Crue or Twisted Sister in 85?  Please, we would have run them out of the room  When I went and saw Motley Crue and Ratt in NY in 86, they oldest person in the joint had to be the 35 year old guy running sound!  However, when I took my niece to see Hillary Duff, the arena was jammed full.  The Radio Disney tour is selling out arenas around the country.  Live music is for kids.  I personally can't handle or stand arena shows anymore, for the most part.  I saw Nickleback last year and it was all right, but I had a headache and couldn't figure out why the singer kept having to say "F##k" all the time.  

It's really a generational thing.  

There's a lot of good discussion going on here.  I think drumwild added a crucial point.  There is a lot of competition for our entertainment dollar.

Another thing I've seen around here, Orange, CA, is bars aren't booking bands as much as they used to.  I don't know if it's because a DJ is cheaper, or if bands bring the riff-raff, but I see more and more live music nights being changed over to Karaoke.   I blame American Idol and shows like that.

My sister is really into electronic music and she is always going to DJ concerts. I always tell her "It's not a concert, its a record listening party."
A DJ is not a musician in my book, it is in some folks' opinions though.

I selected once a month.  I totally disagree that live music is dead simply because I live in an area that overflows with great venues that regularly have fantastic shows.  The San Francisco bay area prides itself when it comes to music.  The Fillmore-the Warfield-Cow Palace-Bill Graham center-and a plethora of small places that regularly host jazz,blues, everything.  Taj Mahal just moved back to Berkeley from Kaui too.  Will see his show next week at a smaller club in Berkeley.

It's not just live music. There was an article out today indicating that more people are watcing online videos and it's really eating into the time people are spending watching television.

I know one of those DJs who does mixes on the fly. Maybe I'll put a mini kit on stage and kick beats with him.

Indeed, the theme parks and ocean aren't NEW things. However, they are things that don't exist in certain parts, like Indiana. Growing up there, I had two choices for entertainment. It was checking out the band playing at the Lodge or watching the grass grow.

Them whipper-snappers and their internets!

You know Drumwild,
You may have something with that last statement.  I had a very good 18 year old bass player that wanted to get together and play music but he didn't show up and didn't call.  That is the problem with youth but youth does sell if you can find talent that is dependable.  Maybe if the age groups were mixed up a bit instead of only playing music with people our age.  I saw John Mayor playing with Steve Jordan and an awesome bass player on a DVD while I was up in Wisconsin a few months
ago.  I have also seen John Mayor with Double Trouble. It was live and it was really good.
                            Nutty

I read an article in some music business magazine that talked about how music instrument manufacturers survive. Much of their business comes through large chains or online retailers today. Much of thier business is not from their high end or player level gear, it is from the beginniner or lower level lines. There are tons of kids playing and buying (or their parents are) but the decline in live music for working semi pro and pro musicians has directly resulted in fall off of revenue from the working player lines of gear across all instrument types, and was also a contributing factor to the closure of so many local mom & pop music shops.

I find this illustrated when looking at my home town. I grew up 2 hrs north of NYC, there were a number of resorts up there and the Village of Woodstock, plus the local clubs in towns within 20 or 30 miles of there. Even my own dinky little town of 3000 people had 3 bars that drew decent crowd for original and cover music.

I knew plenty of musicians that made their living and supported their families quite comfortably by playing 5 or 6 nights a week at those places in the area. Now, all the hotels are gone, the bars are closed, and the Village of Woodstock, once a really good place to see a lot of great, great musicians, has maybe one or two small places for musicians to play.

There are many contributing factors for this decline but the fact remains, just like a factory closing, those working musicians had to move on or find another vocation.

I'm sure that experience is not unique across the country. 

Man, I haven't heard of any of those bands, except for Yes.
Are you sure you don't mean Cream, Pink Floyd, Metallica?
PS: Who is this Blah, Blah, Blah band that have spanned the decades? I've heard of Wet, Wet, Wet.
Sorry 

Are you kidding, I've had tinitinitus since the 1960's. Front row at Jefferson Airplane & Janis Joplin took care of that. Then along came a Grand Funk concert in a small venue, when they were still a 3 piece band.....  Huh, what'd you say?