During Break Out West this year I had a chance to speak with Joel Baskin from SL Feldman and Associates and Chad Richardson the Creative Director of Ole. I got a ton of great information from them but when I asked about how to “Start a scene in your city”  both said the same thing:

—-Don’t create a scene, be the scene and it will be created around you —–

Woah. That’s some Yoda wisdom. This advice is so obviously simple yet totally overlooked. It’s a powerful idea and when I discussed the Toronto scene (Arts&Crafts/Broken Social Scene) , the Montreal scene (Arcade Fire, Wold Parade) etc, we found that in all the cases, the bands that are still around, still have a career, were the ones who blew up from their own quality work and were less reliant on a so called “scene.”  They worked on themselves first THEN the “scene” was able to expand around them.

So are you trying to start a scene?
Well there is no TRY there is only DO or DO NOT, and the thing with a “scene” is that it’s made up of many people….
So the only thing you REALLY have control over is your OWN SHIT.  So work on your own shit. Don’t worry about the rest because everyone should be focused on their own piece of the artistic pie and less about what others are doing. Do Your Work!

Of course this is easier to say then to do but at least now you know you’re not a freakin’ cat herder! Work on your own sound.

Music Consciousness
Voyno