NYLON - November 2007 - (Page 98)

ROCK AMERICA We polled experts across the U.S. to unearth the best, unexpected local music scenes. Now pack your bags and cue the tape deck—it’s time for a road trip. Illustration by Rose Stallard Olympia, WA “The source of Olympia’s music scene is (and has always been) Evergreen, the local college. It’s super liberal, there are no grades or traditional classes, and so it draws a lot of cool, likeminded folks. It’s an inexpensive place to live, which makes it a great place for people to play music. Some amazing bands have come out of here like Beat Happening, Sleater-Kinney, and Bikini Kill. Luckily because of Olympia’s incredible indie music history we still get a lot of great bands that come to play here, which is rare for a town of 35,000 people.”—Mariella Luz, K Records BANDS: Mirah, the Blow, Gossip, C.O.C.O., Romanteek, The Old Haunts VENUES: Le Voyeur, The Brotherhood, Manium, the Capitol Theater RADIO STATION: KAOS 89.3 VENUES: LoBot Gallery, Mama Buzz, Stork Club RADIO STATION: 90.7 KALX Tucson, AZ “It’s is an eclectic mix of genres that reﬂect a typical college town: hipsters, longtime residents with roots in traditional country music, as well as close ties to Mexican culture. Calexico combined these elements to create a unique sound that deﬁes categories. We’re the halfway point between two other music meccas, L.A. and Austin. Take the heart of Johnny Cash, the soul of traditional mariachi, the indie-slacker attitude of Pavement, all on a tequila and Tecate bender. That’s the Tucson music scene.” —James Hudson of the Jons and creator of tucsonscene.com BANDS: Calexico, Musica Obscura, The Swim, the Jons Mostly Bears VENUES: Club Congress, Plush, Solar Culture RADIO STATION: KXCI 91.3 FM Lawrence, KS “The Lawrence music scene can feel like the center of the world: The college kids keep it fresh, the out-of-college crowd keeps it purposeful. Musicians linger here because it’s so conducive to their craft: a lot of like-minds, a ton of venues, college girls When you think about the music that’s emerged from here, the vibe comes into focus: it’s a place where musicians can do whatever they want. Music is the heart of this town. Without it, Lawrence would be one big sports bar.”—Zach Hangauer, president, Range Life Records BANDS: Ad Astra Per Aspera, Fourth of July, White Flight, the Appleseed Cast, Archetype Davan, Minus Story VENUES: The Granada, the Jackpot Saloon, the Replay Lounge, the Gaslight Tavern, Liberty Hall RADIO STATION: KJHK 90.7 FM Oakland, CA “There are some art warehouses in this three-block stretch of Telegraph where the art and music community has ventured. It’s in a very low-income part of Oakland, which is why artists are able to thrive there, and that’s where we played most of our shows in Oakland. It’s more of a low key, relaxed feel than San Francisco. There’s a lot more experimental music. Our favorite venue is Mama Buzz, which offers all-age free shows, a rare thing in the area. We just go in there with acoustic instruments and start screaming, it’s really fun.”—Van Pierszalowski from Port O’Brien BANDS: Port O’Brien, The Morning Benders, Experimental Dental School, The Matches, Street to Nowhere, Audrye Sessions, minipop Denton, TX “Denton, Texas is a strange land. We have no major parks, rivers, nor mountains to speak of, and we have little appeal as an obvious tourist town. Unlike our show-stealing neighbor, Austin, Denton doesn’t have the renowned reputation as a ‘music town.’ What do you do with the ﬂat and sprawling partialsuburban American landscape? If you’re an artist, you harvest your own imagination and build your own landscape.”—Annie Clark a.k.a. St. Vincent BANDS: Midlake, Robert Gomez, the Baptist Generals, St. Vincent VENUES: Hailey’s, The Cavern, The Granada Theater RADIO STATION: KNTU 88.1 Denver, CO “They have labeled the ‘Denver Sound’ as American Gothic. We will live with that. We sing of religion—good and bad— and faith and unfaith are common themes. They ask us if something is in the water, they wonder if something is under the mountains; we answer, ‘Yes there is, it’s also in our hearts.’”—Jay Munly of Munly BANDS: Munly, DeVotchKa, Woven Hand, Swayback, Vaux, Slim Cessna’s Auto Club, the Denver Gentleman, Bright Channel VENUES: Marquis Theater, BlueBird Theater RADIO STATION: KRCX 93.9 Champaign, IL “The music scene in ChampaignUrbana is vibrant, especially for a town of our size. There is a constant inﬂux of new, interested kids. There are several active venues for shows. C-U has always had solid local artists from REO Speedwagon to Alison http://tucsonscene.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of NYLON - November 2007

Contents Editor's Letter Par Avion Behind the Scenes Contributors Stars and Stripes Forever Mass Appeal: Los Angeles Mass Appeal: Austin Mass Appeal: New York Mass Appeal: Sneakers Haute Stuff Private Icon: Slums of Beverly Hills Cult Of: Ralph Lauren Blue Label Memory Lane Nesting: Top of the Block Factory Girl: Road Rules Fashion Road Trip Fashion News Mania: The Price is Right Canned Heat Counter Culture: Universal Picture Private Icon: Jane Fonda Beauty News The Future is Now Smoke And Mirrors King of the Jet Set Rock America Country Death Songs A Fond Farewell Personal Investment Stranger Than Fiction Film Strips Culture Club En Route: The Grapes of our Content Miller's Crossing I'm Too Sexy The Perks of Being a Wallflower Tourist Attraction Star Maps: Fair Isle Shopping List Bag Check: Roam If You Want To

NYLON - November 2007

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