Supporting Live Music: What's The Problem?

Supporting Live Music:
What’s The Problem?
by Lisa Hummel

If you build it, will they come?

In recent months, just as the Central Pennsylvania region has opened its arms to a new, exciting venue, it has seen two of its most prized venues — The Wire and The Chameleon Club — close its doors and cut back its operations, respectively. What was once an area that boasted national acts on a near-daily basis at a variety of places, is now home to only one true concert site, Whitaker Center, a state-of-the-art theater-style hall that holds some hundreds of people and, since its opening in September, has brought more than its fair share of musical acts to the area.

But is it enough? Or is live music on its last leg in the region? Can live music in a populated, dare we say metropolitan, area such as ours survive?

Music has a long and storied tradition in Central Pennsylvania — it’s produced acts like Live and Fuel, The Badlees and The Martini Brothers, Jeffrey Gaines and Big Tubba Mista. It’s the home of a great music weekend, the Millenium Music Conference. And, sure, with Hersheypark, there are big names in our backyard every now and then. But is there a true place for ardent music fans to go on a consistent basis? A venue where music — of all kinds, across all spectrums — can be heard?

And if there were one, would it be supported?

Getting the music heard is the number one priority of any band at any level, large or small, new or experienced, local or national. And, unfortunately, the major downfall for live music in this market — an area that seems to be continually overshadowed by the venues and acts of Philadelphia and Baltimore — is the fact that, unlike those cities, we lack a venue that will draw big names and, further, we lack the proof that such a venue will draw big crowds.

Ed Glazier of Save the World Entertainment, Ltd. of York has been spending much of the past decade on a mission to make Central Pennsylvania a hot bed of live music on a larger scale. He’s thinking past the smoky bars and clubs and thinking straight toward the arenas, the stadiums, the amphitheaters — the type of venues largely absent in the area. Besides Hersheypark’s establishments — the Star Pavilion, the Arena, and the Stadium — area music fans are forced to attend concerts in Philadelphia, Baltimore, and State College, something that frustrates Glazier to no end. “This area is in need of a venue in the 1000 to 2000 seat rage,” he said. “True, the music scene in this area is changing and getting better and better, but until you have that 1000 to 2000 person venue it’s still not going to amount to very much … there’s not that cross-over [venue available for both local and national acts]. There are local bands that are going to be bubbling, but they’re never gong to be able to sell 1000 to 2000 person venues every month here on their own.”

Glazier, who spends much of his time bidding on bands — placing offers to lure them to local venues — says he has dealt with many a person who finds Central Pennsylvania a “tertiary” market, in line behind the areas with larger venues and, more importantly, proven crowds.

“Collaboratively, there’s, what, a million and a half people in York, Lancaster, and Harrisburg?” he said. “And the market is becoming more and more enthralled in the D.C. market, the Baltimore market — like Recher Theatre in Towson, Maryland … if those acts that play there would just stop in Central Pennsylvania once a month that’d be wonderful, but if they would, is there a place to have them play? Right now? No. that’s the downfall of this market.”

But what about Whitaker Center? Hasn’t that filled a void left by the closing of The Wire, the cutting back by The Chameleon Club, or the hole created by the lack of a large venue?

Yes and no. Depending upon whom you ask.

“I think you’re going to see a lot more attractions at the Whitaker Center that will cut across the spectrum,” said Stephen Krempasky, Executive Director Performing Arts Whitaker Center, “we try to bring in acts that weren’t readily available in the Harrisburg market.”

But are those acts enough?

Not to some. “In my opinion, places like York’s Strand-Capitol Theatre and Harrisburg’s Whitaker Center only want upper-crust artists in there,” Glazier said, asking, “But tell me, where do I bring Offspring?”

A place for younger, rougher, edgier acts such as Offspring, an alternative act out of Southern California best known for their hit, “Pretty Fly (For A White Guy),” and their younger, calmer counterparts is a complaint worth considering. There’s no doubt that Whitaker Center can be credited for breathing new life into the local live music scene, working with companies such as New Park Entertainment out of Philadelphia to bring renowned acts like Dave Mason and Leon Russell, Richard Thompson, The Klezmatics, and Alison Krauss to the Harrisburg stage. But where are the newer acts, where are the acts that aren’t, in the words of Maria Wilson, a local promoter who deals with bands such as The Jellybricks and Rhyne McCormick, “leaning toward the 35 and over crowd”? Could Offspring play at the Whitaker Center?

Not likely, says New Park Entertainment’s Jesse Lundy, who reiterates that that fact is through no fault of the Center, a venue built in a theater-style environment with some hundreds, not thousands, of seats. “The Whitaker Center fits neatly into the theater shows that we do — it’s a perfect fit for us in that sense,” says Lundy. “But when you do shows in any kind of a theater situation, there’s a lot of expense involved … you just can’t sell $15 – $20 tickets, shows that will lend themselves to a really young crowd, and that’s not anybody’s fault, that’s just the way it is.”

Further, Lundy says that the procuring of younger or more contemporary acts is just as much the responsibility of the people as it is the venue, much in the same vein that seeing a favorite band return to a local bar is a result of repeated, successful audience numbers. “The younger crowd is probably a pretty untapped market, but it’s probably an unproven one, too,” Lundy said, adding, “it’s almost the responsibility of the people to say, ‘yes, we want this entertainment,’ and then ‘we will support this entertainment by buying a ticket and going.’”

A comment that begs the question, is there still a core audience for live music in the area? Are there people who care enough to take such a stand? But if this area truly needs a larger-sized venue, or even an alternative venue to Whitaker Center, shouldn’t the bars and clubs in the region be filled to capacity first? Central Pennsylvania may be desperate for national acts and lacking that “one” great venue, but the fact remains that we’re also home to mid-sized venues that are often filled with just marginal crowds.

Why is that? It could be the work of an over-saturated market, according to local music consultant John Harris.

Harris is the figure responsible for the aforementioned Millenium Music Conference, the musical showcase that celebrated its 4th year last month. He is also responsible for promoting such acts as The Martini Brothers and such venues as Gullifty’s, one of the remaining premier live music spots in town. Simply put, Harris is a man many consider synonymous with music in Central Pennsylvania.

So, what does Harris think of the state of music in the area? He’s highly optimistic. “I think it’s better than ever,” he said. “I think we’ve got more bands than ever before.”

And while Harris’ observation may or may not hold true in the eyes of everyone, something obviously has to be said for the number of bars and clubs in the region that do open their stages to the bands and whose establishments are attended by ardent fans. But, if all of these bands are playing and a fan basin exists who are hungry for entertainment that is no longer available at The Wire or The Chameleon Club, what can be said about the increasing number of venues that are turning toward cover bands and DJ nights or the number of people who don’t turn out to hear the music? Could it be possible that this large number of bands is a bad thing? Harris isn’t sure.

“Maybe [the market] is over-saturated with bands, maybe audiences don’t like to try new things,” he said, admitting that with the closing or cutting back of such highly regarded music venues as The Wire and The Chameleon Club, his job as a promoter is becoming, if ever so slightly, more of a challenge, causing him to become more creative in booking his talent.

But, be sure, by no means has Harris lost hope. “It’s a cyclical industry,” he said. “We’re not New York, we’re not Washington, D.C. … we have to find what would work in this market.”

And what would work?

By all indications, this area needs something that will get people out of their houses and into the seats.