Santa Cruz ska band Sneaky Creekans borrowed money from guitar player
Jon Moriconi's father to put out their first CD last fall. The
recording was done in a living room, but it has sold 500 copies.
Heavy rockers Automatic Animal help finance their tours through sales
of CDs, T-shirts, stickers and sweat shirts. Guitar player Mason C.
says on some nights the sales can mean the difference between sleeping
in a motel or huddling in the back of their 1986 Ford van.
When Comets on Fire released their first album, they decided to cut
costs by hand-making, via screen printing, each one of their album
covers.
"Our records have our sweat and blood on them," boasts band member
Noel Harmonson.
The local groups are just a few examples of the current rock musician
ethos of do-it-yourself. Whether it is driven by artistic temperament
or simply a result of a non-existent support system, finding the way
on their own is the predominant path taken by rock musicians these
days.
"It's a full-time job," says Automatic Animal singer Mat Fitzsimmons.
"We're all on the same level doing something every day, either
individually or together, whether it's booking a show, practicing in
our bedroom, rehearsing or whatever."
Automatic Animal, which formed initially under the name Herbert, is
about to record its third album. The last, under the former moniker,
was paid for and released by a South Bay record label, Fueled Up
Records. Band members are back to doing it themselves on the this one.
With the low cost of manufacturing CDs — about $1.40 each for
everything from the artwork to shrink wrapping — and the ability to do
at least rudimentary recordings on home equipment, it is well within
most band's reach to serve as its own record label.
"For every band out there with three to five members, it's really easy
to produce a CD yourself," Fitzsimmons says. "I would encourage any
musician to do it."
However, in the anarchic world of rock music, where some dream of a
major-label contract and others simply hope for a day when they can
get paid well for playing a club, there is little money to be had
between making it and the constant struggle of trying.
"It's this revolving door," says Creekans drummer Matt Lieby.
The Creekans just released their second CD at a total cost of $4,500
for recording, this time at a San Jose studio, and for manufacturing
1,500 copies. The money came entirely from sales from the first CD.
Lieby estimates the band will have to give away 500 copies in
promotion just to attract sales for the other 1,000.
"We are finally making money, and then we have to put it back in,"
Lieby says. "But I'd rather be broke than have outstanding debts to
someone's father or the bank."
But even the $4,500 is a major expense for some bands said Ethan
Miller, guitarist for Comets on Fire.
"Kids like us don't have that kind of money," he said. "We can barely
make rent around here."
Besides the area's obvious drawbacks like high housing costs, Santa
Cruz has its own particular obstacles. Local bands bemoan the lack of
a steady club to play, the stores — other than Streetlight Records on
Pacific Avenue — that will take their CDs, and, more importantly, any
kind of semblance of a "scene" despite a town rich with musicians.
"Right now the Santa Cruz music scene is pretty disjointed,"
Fitzsimmons says. "It's not really in a thriving state at all. For a
place that is supposed to be a cultural hub, you'd think there'd be
more places to play."
Vamp magazine, the area's most visible rock publication, disappeared
suddenly in mid-summer just after announcing plans to go glossy, and
just a few months after sponsoring a lengthy Battle of the Bands
performance series, which culminated in two nights at Palookaville.
That downtown club folded last week. The business owner, 2B1
Productions of San Francisco, said Friday that high city taxes made it
impossible for the club to operate at a profit.
The Catalyst also ended its Thursday night showcase series for the
under-21 crowd after having lost nearly $50,000 during the past three
years.
"It's really fragmented right now," says Ben Flashman, bass player for
Comets on Fire. "There doesn't seem to be a niche."
Comets on Fire and their heavily distorted tone have been one of the
more popular bands in Santa Cruz over the past few years. However, the
band's experience is that clubs and bars tend to offer live music for
short periods and then stop. Harmonson, who also plays in the
long-running band Lowdown, recalls Comets on Fire first got popular by
playing to packed house parties, but even those have dried up recently.
They do sprout up from time to time. Sometimes the Jury Room on Ocean
Street has offerings, the Aptos Club consistently offers local music
on certain nights, and at one time, until the mid-1990s, the Red Room
on Cedar Street was a regular venue.
A more recent casualty was the Wired Wash Cafe, a coin laundry on
Laurel Street, which was drawing punk bands from as far as Chicago.
The crowd was mostly under 21 and willing to brave the awkward
acoustics for weekend entertainment.
However, Wired Wash failed to obtain the necessary permits and when
faced with having to, ended the entertainment.
"Everyone gets shut down by the cops sooner or later," says Harmonson,
offering a not uncommon complaint in an average barroom discussion.
Fitzsimmons says Automatic Animal tours as frequently as possible to
get out of the "Santa Cruz bubble." Shows outside of town also pay
better. In planning their tours, the band winds up balancing the club
guarantee and projected merchandise sales against the price of gas.
The group also maintains flexible jobs and schedules to allow them to
get away.
Most rock band members are in their 20s, though there are a few still
in their teens, and a few in their 30s.
The drinking age issue has also been an enigma for clubs since being
raised to 21 two decades ago. The music industry, after all, was built
on support from teen-agers in the 1950s.
"No one has been able to figure out how to do it and make it pay for
itself," says Gary Tighe, booking agent for the Catalyst. "It's very
hard for bands right now, especially for those who look to do the
under-21 shows."
The Catalyst will continue offering local music Thursdays but only to
a 21-and-older crowd. Tighe recalls one 21-and-under night when 500
people filled the hall and the back cash register rang up just $22 in
soda and snack sales.
"It was a great opportunity for local bands, but it couldn't sustain
itself," he says.
The Catalyst often gave each band up to 200 free tickets to fill its
800-capacity room. That allowed some bands to build a following. One
younger band, the Expendables, was able to sell out a recent show
after being featured on several showcase nights. Sneaky Creekans also
took advantage of the nights and drew well, Tighe says.
The Creekans are also one of the younger bands on the Santa Cruz
circuit. A year ago, they overcame their first obstacle of getting
shows through Lieby's perseverance in calling clubs on the telephone.
"Eventually they get really annoyed and hook you up," Moriconi says.
The Creekans also are willing to play anywhere to get noticed.
Immediately after playing the Battle of the Bands in the spring, the
group went outside Palookaville and jammed on Pacific Avenue, drawing
a sizable crowd while other bands were still playing inside.
That love of music is what keeps all of them going, even if it means
taking lesser-paying day jobs, incurring costly equipment expenses or
struggling to make rent.
"This isn't a second job for us," Harmonson says. "We do it because we
love it. It's harder for us not to do it."
Says Fitzsimmons, "To me the rewards of being in a band with people
you like playing music with far outweigh the sacrifices. Music is an
all-consuming passion in my life. We need to do what we do."