My views on the Greenville Music Scene

My views on the Greenville Music Scene

A Story by Jake Xingu
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Hello, my name is Jake Xingu. If you're like me, then you're not satisfied with the mediocrity prevalent in the pop music industry today. Sure, the music is catchy, but the songs just leave you wanting something. Today's pop music leaves a void in your soul, and you feel empty of a quality that you're not quite sure how to describe. So you seek out local music in the hopes that you'll find something different. But there are many types of local music, and not all of it can fill this void. Some local music even adds to the void. There does exist, however, local music here in Greenville that will fill this void. This music is made up of small factions that have split off from the mainstream local scene.

Now, I know what you're thinking. "Why should I care about this?" Well, I'll tell you why you should care. In the Greenville music scene today these different factions exist right under the very noses of our bourgeoisie citizens. I will explain them to you as best that I can, but I urge you to go out and experience them for yourself. And please, do not be offended by the opinions expressed here. They are merely the rambling thoughts of a musician that has experienced all of these groups.

The first faction is composed of the "coke-head" bands. These bands often times do copious amounts of drugs, but there are exceptions. Regardless of said drug consumption, this faction is perhaps the most tight-knit and exclusive group that exists in our scene today. I will not name any bands that are considered to be in this faction, and I do not mean to imply that this faction contains "bad" music.

The second prominent faction that exists is that of the punk scene. This faction is much, much better than the coke-head faction, but still has it's faults. Some of the faults that could be observed within the punk scene are that the scene sometimes lacks organization as a result of an anarchist political mindset, and that they -seem- exclusive and cliquish. Now, as anyone within the scene can attest, these faults are also strengths. The lack of organization does not stop them from putting on shows, booking bands, and finding venues, but rather a larger more long term goal-oriented organization. And while this scene may seem exclusive, one could break into it relatively easy by simply going to a show and making friends. The exclusivity of this scene is meant to keep out unwanted peoples such as junkies, dealers, and other shady individuals. That being said, there are still junkies and dealers within the scene, because no scene is 100% pure. I will not discourage people from this scene, because I believe it to be a great thing. Also, the scene has recently made great strides in the community, and is currently setting up a new space that holds an amazing amour of promise and hope for the local music scene in Greenville, punk or not.

The third faction that exists within Greenville's music is that of the bedroom producers. This scene is an integral part of many communities. Now, this term is broad and general, but for those who may not be aware: a bedroom producer is a musician who records at home, usually with lower quality than that of a professional studio, but with as much passion as a professional recording engineer. Many of the punk, metal, rap, coke-head, etc bands also fall into this category somewhat, but there is a distinct difference between the two. There is not much that can be stereotyped about this faction because it is so broad and there are so many in it. Sometimes peoples of this faction move into the other factions, or even into the mainstream scene. This is the "scene" that I fall into mostly.

So those are my thoughts. A rambling prose about music in Greenville. That is all.

© 2013 Jake Xingu


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This is a well written essay on the Greenville, SC music scene. You did a good job in describing each of the three scenes. You could write for a newspaper. Good job!

Posted 11 Years Ago


1 of 1 people found this review constructive.

Jake Xingu

11 Years Ago

Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it.

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Added on February 18, 2013
Last Updated on February 18, 2013
Tags: essay, greenville, sc, music, scene, punk