Comments (0)Jam Session
Baltimore’s young bands look to make it big
December 2009By Brandon Chiat
Guitar in one hand, saxophone in the other, Aaron Kovelman climbed onto the stage at the 8x10 Club in Federal Hill. Kovelman, 18, and his band, Homegrown, played with the artistic confidence of a seasoned group as they launched into their first song, an extended jam in the vein of the Grateful Dead. Who would guess that the collective, made up of five Jewish guys from the Baltimore suburbs, had yet to reach their one-year anniversary?
Across town, Jeremy Schon and Greg Ormont, co-founders of the College Park, Md.-based Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, waited to go on stage at Joe Squared, a hybrid pizza parlor-and-music venue in downtown Baltimore. Slumped on a couch, the two guitarists, who started their band as an acoustic-duo touring the coffee houses of College Park and Washington D.C., casually bide their time before the show.
“We’re fun, funky, jazz, rock,” Schon explains when asked to describe his band’s sound. “But we don’t try to pigeonhole ourselves.”
The pun was clearly intended.
Back at the 8x10 club, Homegrown had just wrapped up a 45-minute set and the lead-guitarist took the opportunity to pay homage to one of his biggest influences.
“The model has to be The Bridge,” Kovelman says, while packing up some of his gear. “They started just like we did, right here at the 8x10.”
Kovelman is referring to the Baltimore-based group, whose unique sound made up of blues and roots music, spiced with funk and soul, have propelled them to national stardom.
“The Bridge built their own niche between the jam, country and bluegrass genres,” Kovelman says. “They have an undeniably unique sound.”
If The Bridge is the archetype which emerging bands strive to emulate, then the first lesson is about identity.
“You need to make your band stand out from all rest,” Schon explains. “There are so many good bands out there, so you need to diversify, develop your own niche. Identity is something we’re very much conscious of, but as a young band, it’s something that’s always changing. We play what we think sounds good.”
The only way emerging bands can establish their identity, however, is to play—and play often. Coffee shops, house parties, open mic nights. Rising musicians should have no standard for live performances, because each show is an opportunity to hone in on their signature sound and attract fans.
“I’ll play for free anywhere,” says an adamant Kovelman. “Ideally, music should be free. It’s about love and expression.”
Luckily for these bands, the Baltimore music scene is burgeoning. In April of 2008, Rolling Stone Magazine named Baltimore the country’s “best music scene.”
The city has a thriving underground scene, supported by a host of venues. Small to midsize establishments, like the Ottobar and Sonar nightclub, cater directly to the hundreds of unsigned bands in the area, as well as regional and national touring acts. There are also more established venues, such as Rams Head Live, which attract well-known, internationally touring artists.
“Baltimore is a hotbed of disaffected, disenfranchised musicians who are content to make the music they love and play for like-minded people,” explains Jon Ehrens, lead singer of the Baltimore-based band, The Art Department.
“It’s difficult to describe Baltimore as a scene, because it is so diverse. There’s the hipster scene, the hardcore scene, the electronic scene, the hippie/jam band scene. The list goes on and on,” adds Schon.
The soul of any scene, however, is the fans.
“Baltimoreans appreciate music; people are coming out in numbers to support live music. Venues like the 8x10 allow young bands to grow,” says Kovelman.
The 8x10 features a ‘five for five’ night, a bill of five unsigned bands for five dollars. The bands, which otherwise might not get the opportunity to perform live, get the chance to play to a crowd, develop their live show and, most important, impress the promoters.
“The bands push each other creatively,” says Ehrens. “The Baltimore scene is so encouraging, but also very self contained. Keeping up with local music has caused me to lose track of the mainstream scene.”
Growing a Fan Base
“For growing bands, it’s all about networking with other local bands and sharing core fan base,” says Kovelman. “Those connections are so important; you could be the most creative, inspired, and talented musician, but if you don’t know the right people, you’re going to be limited. Networking helps the band grow.”
While some networking takes place backstage, today most is done on the Internet, through social media.
“Social media is the new word of mouth,” says Schon. “It gives fans instant access to us and allows the band to establish a real relationship with the fans.”
Prior to the advent of social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook, young bands struggled to tap into potential new markets and were forced to rely on record labels to help market and promote their product. Now everything is changing. The Internet is revolutionizing the music industry and it’s the younger, unsigned bands who have the advantage, not the major record labels.
“The purpose of the record labels is narrowly defined, and there will eventually be a point where they won’t even be needed,” says Schon, a marketing major at the University of Maryland College Park. “Emerging bands are using the Internet to research strategies, reach fans, and plan tours. The ‘do-it-yourself’ element is becoming more emphasized in young bands.”
This “do-it-yourself” culture, DIY for short, is a fast-growing trend among unsigned and independent label bands.
DIY culture was born out of necessity. Just like any other big business, the record industry is governed by the almighty dollar and, as such, is constantly seeking ways to commercialize creatively. For any musician this can be stifling.
By accepting the music business as just that, a business, emerging bands can attempt to regain creative control.
“The DIY trend is a cultural statement that acknowledges the business aspect but returns the focus to the music, not the dollar,” explains Kovelman.
These pragmatic rockers are members of the Millenials, a generation that came to age with technology, a leading roll in the transitioning music industry and their unprecedented access to digital music has jeopardized the record industry’s ability to profit from music.
“Labels are suing the fans for file-sharing and illegal downloading,” notes Kovelman. “But if weren’t for the fans, the music wouldn’t exist in the first place.”
Defining Success
“You have to separate commercial success from artistic success,” says Ehrens. “Writing a popular song that’s poppy and catchy and sells a million copies is successful in a different way than writing music that you as a musician love.”
On the other hand, Schon says, “I want to play professionally. If someone offers me a contract, I wouldn’t turn that opportunity down.” “Personally, I’d get a haircut and change my sound for a million dollars.”
Ultimately, the success of an emerging band is defined by the band themselves. Often performing for the love of music is success enough; other times a well-paying gig sparks the dream of becoming a professional rock star. In the end, most emerging bands understand that they hold a better shot of waking up before noon than playing music as a living.
This is why members of local bands are moonlighting in other areas of the music business. Kovelman works at the 8x10 and is majoring in music education at Towson University. Ehrens is an engineer at local radio station, WYPR-FM. Schon, who has worked promotional jobs for Walther Productions, a national concert promotion company, is sure his career will be in the music industry.
But when the guitars are unplugged and the crowds have all gone home, these emerging bands all share one thing: the love of music.
“At the end of the day, if our music has turned a few people on, and they had a good time, we’re a success,” says Kovelman.
Three young Jewish bands to watch
Shook
Scores of bands claim to generate a buzz in the local scene. This Towson-based band can back it up.
Towson University’s radio station, WTMD, recently hailed Shook as one of Baltimore’s “Top Five Underground Bands to See Live” and the former Baltimore daily, Examiner, listed them as one of “Baltimore’s Top Five Musical Artists.”
“We’ve been playing for a while and we’re just now starting to focus our creative efforts” says Mike Shugarman, lead singer and guitarist, who hails from Baltimore, along with the rest of the band members. “We’ve been getting great feedback and we’re using that momentum to carry us into other music scenes. We’re planning a spring tour.”
Shook’s high energy shows call on an eclectic variety of genres ranging from blues and R&B to dance and electronica. Part “Maroon Five” and part “Prince,” Shook has the skills to keep Baltimore audiences dancing for a long time to come.
Pigeons Playing Ping Pong
This College Park, Md.-based band, founded by guitarists Jeremy Schon and Greg Ormont, is making noise in the region with their infectious, jazz-inspired dance grooves, and flat-out musical talent. Joining guitarists Ormont and Pikesville-native Schon are Dan Schwartz, drummer, and Ben Carey-Beaver on bass.
The odd name, a tribute to psychologist B.F. Skinner’s conditioning experiment in which he taught pigeons to play ping pong, has garnered attention, but their good-times vibe is making them a household name for area college students.
Homegrown
As far as emerging bands go, this group could be the youngest.
The band features Elliot Fink on drums, brothers Sam and Matt Teitelbaum on keyboard and lead vocals, Mike Chuprik on bass, and Aaron Kovelman on lead guitar and saxophone. Although Matt Teitelbaum is a college graduate, Fink is only a senior at Beth Tfiloh Dahan Community School, while the other members are freshmen at Towson University.
The Pikesville-based band’s sound stays true to American roots’ music. While their soulful improvisations are rooted in Grateful Dead-esque Americana rock, Kovelman says the band is only just now developing their sound.
“We’re coming into our own, defining our own sound, incorporating genres like reggae and R&B,” he says.
The ambitious group plans to record their signature sound on a 12 to 14 track album, and is focusing on growing their fan base through frequent appearances at the 8x10 club in Federal Hill.