Exile Radio: March Edition

The Vise the Exile podcast is up! Check it out here: http://vise.podbean.com/

The Local "Scene"

Click images to get a good view as they are crucial to my many arguments.

Been a long time since I last posted hasn't it guys? Well, I just haven't had the inspiration up until now. I mean, I've been keeping up with current world and national events (like always) but something has stabbed me in the eye and I will finally take that something out of my eye TODAY. For a while now I've been into the local music music scene in my town of Hayward,Ca. What makes Hayward special is that it's in the heart of the San Francisco Bay Area. Living in this city, I have access to some of the best music on the West Coast. Being a fan of both punk and metal, it's not surprising that I would enjoy Hayward's alive and well hardcore scene.

The thing I love about metal, punk, and hardcore is that it embodies what music is all about; expression. Not only are those three genres full of expression, but bands who fall under those styles present their expression in a surprisingly melodic and creative way, not being pressured to write songs which consist of age-old themes that the mainstream thrive on. They don't need to reach out to fans by wearing fashionable clothes or by having gimmicks. It's all about the music. True fans of metal/punk/hardcore discover bands not virally, but often in coincidental situations. Once hooked on one of these bands, they are life-long fans, not ever questioning why they liked said band when they first listened. But these things aren't my point.

There's a very popular band from the East Bay Area. I don't want to promote them so I will only refer to them as "Gaylin". Gaylin hit the stage about a year ago and have since been on the lips of scene kids, from Oakland and further down to San Jose.

For those who have never heard of the term, a scene kid is a teenager who dresses a certain way, based on the music they like. To spot one, all you need are a good pair of eyes and these characteristics in mind. Look for a kid with very colorful clothing and/or hair. They will most likely have 'cute' facial piercings and appear very cheerful and happy. To make a long description short, they look like it took them two hours to get ready dressing up in their Hot Topic apparel. Their choice of attire is inspired by the hope that they will attain a certain "look". They have the attitude of "Look at ME! I listen to indie/alternative music!"

Now, I cannot say that my style of dress hasn't changed since being a Metalhead/hardcore fan but I can honestly tell you through this PC that it doesn't take me two hours to get ready in the clothes I wear. Listening to music that rails against conformity actually encourages one to develop a PERSONAL style of dress. To put myself out there, I enjoy wearing a t-shirt with a cool design (generic or brand name, doesn't matter) and some camo shorts. Speaking of PERSONAL, I come to my next topic.

- Typical "Gaylin" fan.

- Other possible fans of Gaylin.


Now that we've covered the difference between a scene kid and a dedicated fan, conformity versus individualism comes to the table. Gaylin reminds me of MTV Favorites such as Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance, and Panic! at the Disco (Yes, I used the exclamation point on purpose). Fans of those bands aren't really into music at all. They see something on TV that looks pretty and they just like it. To be honest, everyone including I, have gone through this phase. Intelligent people however, break out of this phase. Part of maturing as an individual is critically analyzing your environment and yourself. If one truly calls themself a fan of music, they know to dig deep within the surface of said music. When I listen to a song, I shouldn't be able to understand the lyrics as they smack me in the face. I should be FORCED to read them at least a few times over and come up with a good interpretation. When bands describe their lyrics as "straight to the point", it usually means they're simple to understand.

But I still haven't gotten to the point!

One Saturday afternoon I came home from a hard day's labor and I sat in front of my computer. I signed onto Myspace, twitter, and Pandora and I noticed that Gaylin was online! Out of mere randomness, I sent them a comment reading "Legitimate Question: Why do you guys choose to have a demographic of only young scene kids?" I was awarded with the beautiful response of "Why do you care?". It is true that most of their fans are scene kids. It only takes one look at their Myspace friends list to back that statement up. This question was really important to me because I honestly wanted to know why bands choose these kind of fans. Whether intentionally or subconsciously, musicians choose their audience just like any politician. If you want to grab the attention of black teens, write lyrics about the thug life and hustling. If you want to target hardcore kids, incorporate breakdowns (vamping) into your instrumental structure. Getting an answer like that ensured me the quintessential fact that most bands that have these types of fans do so because they DON'T think about who their audience is. The attitudes of most mainstream bands are ones that made glam metal so popular in the 80s. Gaylin is like the parallel of Avenged Sevenfold, only A7X sells themselves with their music instead of gimmicks.

Gaylin describes their music simply as "DIRTY ROCK!" (Whatever that means) Look, I'm so for a fan having personality but a line is crossed when you won't admit that your genre falls under (In my opinion) Pop-punk/Post-grunge. Progressive Metal band Mudvayne has described their sound as "Math Metal", but I have NEVER ever heard any one of their fans say "I love Math Metal!" Do you know why? Because it's the same as repeating an inside joke to a stranger, hoping they will comprehend what the fuck you're saying. I talked a lot of trash to Gaylin. They wrote a blog about me and all of their scene fans had a lot to say, boy did they!



Once again we cross the paths of the mainstream culture. Kid's point: Because many hardcore bands that I support can't be found on iTunes, they suck. Does that make any sense? Just because great bands aren't POPULAR enough to be recognized by the media, they... suck. That is the world's worst argument right there my friends.



To tell you the truth, I have been bragging. But not for the same reason as this asshole thinks. I've been bragging, because I clearly hit a toad with Gaylin. For them to write a blog about me really tickles my side. If Gaylin is confident in who they are as a band, why should a comment from a clearly angry teenager like myself phase them? For the things I pointed to and underlined, all I can say is thank you for proving my point. By assuming that Gaylin is my favorite band, you are insinuating that anyone who dislikes a band, does it out of pure jealousy and deep inside, I really adore them. Well isn't that great! NOT. That's the same argument people use against people who oppose homosexuality. "Well if you don't support gays, you must be still in the closet.." I can't begin to talk about where that logic fails so desperately. The second person who described Gaylin as "Rockstars" only reinforced this idea:



In this blog posting, I tried to use proof AS WELL as opinions. In order to limit my douche-baggery, I even blurred images of Gaylin's fans. They aren't the focus of why this band disgusts me. It's Gaylin itself and it's bandwagon of followers (Or as I should call them as Gaylin does, "Sinners". Get it? 'Cause it's Dirty Rock?) that make me despise the band. Raelin's inevitable success is not a question, but it's how you attain success that really counts. I'd rather have 1,000 strong fans than sell out to get 100,000 fans that are just with me for the night. But who am I to speak. I'M NOT IN A BAND! Here's the Gaylin Blog if you were wondering.





For your blatant ignorance Gaylin and all your fans,
GET A GRIP!