So where did I leave off? Oh yes, Death. So on Saturday, Rob Fields interviewed the trio, brothers Bobby and Dannis Hackney and guitarist Bobbie Duncan about their punk rock band and how, after about 35 years, they are making a comeback. The band were engaging, insightful and funny. The interesting thing - and kind of sad, is that not much has changed since the 70's. They mentioned about the problems with marketing and I asked them how much ( because in all the articles not once did they mention the undeniable fact that as black men playing and influenced by "white" music) race played a factor into the dissolution of that musical project and the development of their later incarnations as a gospel rock and reggae band.
They said that yes, being black and trying to market them was a problem and someone asked them a great question about how the 1967 Detroit riots might have played a factor in the music industry in the city. They said that before the riots the racial tension wasn't there; that things had essentially gone to pot after that. but I have to admit, I was a bit surprised at their positivity, their ability to let sleeping dogs lie and get on with their lives.
I got to briefly meet them afterward and that night we checked out their show, which was good. The crowd was about 95% white (the black folks you see in the pictures were their relatives) and the space was filled to the brim, which was great to see. About the white people? It's SXSW, for goodness sake. As I was standing near the front of the stage, this white girl grabbed my arm and said, "you must be so proud." I just looked at her, stunned. What do you say to that?
About a month ago, Decibel announced that Action PR was having a showcase and mentioned the "Music Industry douchebags" that populate Austin at that time. I'd been to SXSW before for the Interactive portions but never did I think I would encounter the madness that is the music portion. For me, It was fantastic to see the young kids ( whom I guessed were locals) take advantage of the festival, and to see so many Latino, Asian and black kids at the Full Metal Texas showcase was great ( too many tattoos on young children, though). Made me think that the younger generation is simply living - not too concerned with the racial/musical baggage that I dealt with at their age.
On the other hand, I realize that my issue with hipsters has nothing to do with how they dress - I did see many young guys wearing skinny jeans with ill-considered tattoos, those mustaches where they curl up on the ends, and the beards - The BEARDS - were a'plenty - it has to do with the fact that I saw a lot of arrogant young men and women who had their air of superiority that bothered me. Especially at the Death show. It was like the crowd felt that they were doing the band a favor. Ooh look at them playing punk! oooh! I'm so kewl for being here! Also....call it years of experience going to shows and basically living around 'em....I won't get into specifics, as I'd be typing all day, but today I found a random comment from someone on the Stuff White People Do blog that summarized how I felt about SXSW:
Another thing that is overlooked is that prejudice can get more intense the closer you are to the other group in terms of status. So, a white person going to a developing country can be totally nice to lower class locals, and be totally undiscriminatory. He can even dress in the same outfit that the lower class people wear, listen to music that is associated with the lower class in that country, and yet he is still white. He can afford to do this because it doesn't matter what he does, his white appearance will not make him any less white. The locals still see him as white, and therefore, privileged, etc etc, and treat them accordingly. However, if a local (lower) middle class person started to do the same, everyone will mistake him for a lower class person, and he will be treated accordingly (i.e. with disdain by the non-lower class in that country as well as other white/foreign travelers, etc). I am not excusing the fact that he has hang ups about being associated with the lower class. But that is his problem. Not ours.
Yes, I know that this is a stretch, but I thought that what was interesting in relation to the throngs of shabbily ( but fashionably) dressed men and women with smelly, unwashed hair who had this air of superiority. Sadly, I saw a young black woman twice around town who by her mannerisms, was clearly suffering from severe mental illness. I saw the correlation in the dress and the unwashed hair between her and the young hipster types.....but not in the holier-than-thou attitude. The thing is, when they get tired of being fashionable bums, they can take a shower, put on a suit and conform. I don't think that black girl is going to have that luxury.
These people are the same people that gave me dirty looks (and on more than one occasion, a white girl shoved me out of the way when I was taking photos - with my professional camera - to take pictures with her cellphone). When checking out the myriad of metal bands I saw, and as I said in an earlier post, I had to check myself a few times because at times, I gave the hipsters the side-eye too, for the same reasons: What are they doing here?
While the urban music industries have been widely successful in the past decade, the lack of melanin on the panels was sadly lacking. I know how this shit works - it's all through 'friends of friends' as to who gets to speak and who does not...that's how I got my seat on a panel. And admittedly, it makes sense, right? I just hope that in the future to see more, but it gave me a sense of how racially segregated the industry is and how people choose to fraternize with their own kind. A bit naive, yes, but because of who I know, I know there are black industry people who are heavily promoting black alternative / indie music. Were were they? I guess they didn't know the right people.
Anyway, despite my cynical observations, I had a great time. It was an expensive trip but after spending a number of days hanging out with friends and constantly talking about metal and cute boys (with Keidra) I wouldn't have traded it for the world.
Hey this is Max from the IO blog.
I've definitely bookmarked your blog and am going through older entries.
From what I can gather, you're up in Canada. If you ever come down to California, hit me up and we can be the two black girls at a metal show haha.
Posted by: Max | March 29, 2010 at 07:40 PM
Great series--makes me wish I'd been there. I especially enjoyed your reflections in this post. What is needed is a whole socio-history of White people "slumming"--especially as it relates to the consumption of music....
Posted by: PPR_Scribe | March 26, 2010 at 08:49 AM
The trick is to get in and then drag all your friends with you.
Posted by: Phil | March 24, 2010 at 09:27 PM