Once upon a time, Binghamton had one of the strongest local music scenes in New York State. Alternative rock, progressive rock, punk, metal, hip hop, folk... you name it, and Binghamton had it. Binghamton had countless bands invading any number of venues on a nightly basis, and it remained that way until somewhat recently. But today, the local music scene is mostly gone. How did this happen?
I came into my own in the music world in the mid-90's. At that time, Binghamton had one of the most reputable music scenes north of New York City. Bands like Yolk, Shiver UK, Wookie, The Yellow #5 Orchestra, and countless others were packing venues wall-to-wall, and people would travel to Binghamton to sample our music scene. Venues included Cheers, The Taz, and a number of other locations, and there was rarely a night where you couldn't go out and find some quality live music. But sadly, those days are behind us now.
My first "serious" band was formed in 1993, and stayed in business until 1996. That band, called Stargrove, was the first band with which I played real gigs, recorded in a professional studio (at McNeil Music), and made a name for myself in the local music scene. After that band broke up (in the wake of teenage-level disputes), I went through several other bands, the last of which was called Piso Mojado, which disbanded in 2002. After that, my music ambitions took a back seat to other creative ventures, including video game development and my attempts to write a novel.
Over the years, countless people have approached me asking when I'd get a new band together, and why I haven't done anything with music recently, and eventually, I decided to get back into music again. Currently, I'm in the process of forming a new band. We have a drummer (me), bassist, and our variable pick of the litter when it comes to guitarists and vocalists. But there are three detrimental factors preventing our new project from forming, and after asking other local musicians for their input, it seems our project isn't alone. Here are three factors that are preventing a new local music scene from blossoming:
No Venues: Binghamton doesn't have any real venues for bands to play in these days. Acts are left struggling to find gigs, and the ones that can't afford to travel to Ithaca or Syracuse aren't able to build a proper fan base. Binghamton needs two or three competing venues where bands can book gigs and create fans, and build up the necessary experience for eventually spreading their popularity to other areas.
No Reputable Rehearsal Space: A forming band will find it incredibly difficult to find rehearsal space in the area. If the group is lucky, a member of the band might have a basement or garage where the group can get together for writing and rehearsing, but several bands end up homeless and unable to form into a real act. Music City used to rent studios (they might still offer them), but those studios lack security, and are more for partying than getting serious work done. NYPenn Trade Center also offered studios for rent, but countless people are telling me that they aren't returning phone calls anymore and are starting to move away from renting studio space. Which is fine really, since those studios are only one or two steps above the ones at Music City. To make a long story short, bands needs a place to rehearse in Binghamton where their equipment will be safe, other tenants aren't intrusive, and work is more important than partying. This is the only factor that's keeping my new music project from forming.
Few Local Acts: And here we find a catch-22. Binghamton's music scene started losing local acts, and this contributed to the closure of several venues and the lack of decent rehearsal space. But without those venues and places to rehearse, local acts can't form or develop. I'm not sure what Binghamton had ten years ago that it doesn't have today, that allowed local acts to flourish here, but Binghamton is currently suffering through a talent drought, and without water (venues and rehearsal space), nothing can grow here.
As for me, I'm still trying to find a place for this new band to meet and rehearse. All of us are between the ages of 25 and 30, so we all live in apartments and can't find suitable digs for a private studio. We could rent studio time in a recording studio, but that would cost us a fortune, and we'd need to tear down our gear after every scheduled rehearsal session. We need a place where we can show up and rehearse whenever we want, for as many hours as we need, without worrying about bothering neighbors. And after we find this place, we need to get bookings at local music venues so we can work out set lists and establish initial fans, allowing us to tour down the road. We need bands to open for, and bands who can open for us. None of us are going to give up on music, but if we don't find a solution soon, we might not have much of an option!
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