Silver Platter "Cultural Hub of The Universe" Act 2 of 2

Turn off the lights, lock the doors, The Silver Platter is gone.

The pervading sentiment of tonight's show could best be summed up by a member of the band Rowdy Towdy who said "I really don't know where bands are going to go to play anymore...I don't know where I'm gonna go to buy a record anymore."

Hothouse which features all the old members of Jack Fendey opened up the show.





Rowdy Towdy played next.





The Riot Before( Richmond, Virginia) played shortly after.

And finally, Doug Davison and his band Pop-Pop closed down the shop.



Goodnight!

Silver Platter "Cultural Hub of The Universe" Act 1 of 2

Bob, owner of Silver Platter sits with Doug of Pop-Pop.

Tonight marked the beginning of the end for the last independently owned record store in Fort Myers.

The closing of this space is very important for several reasons. As a record store The Silver Platter has existed in several different locations along U.S.-41 for the past ten years.

Bob, the owner of Silver Platter has been an incredible boon to the local scene helping many a band along the way. To celebrate the closing of The Platter, two shows were put on featuring bands both local and touring.

Below are pictures from the first night:

Let's Go Exploring (formerly bears! formerly beards! formerly Tommy Lee and The Hydra)



Pegasus XL (Athens, Georgia)

For Documentation Only Recordings

For any of you interested (and you should be if you like local music) check out For Documentation Only Recordings. Naples very own record label. The owner Joe Merill is a one man band (literally) who has been releasing records from local talent and beyond for quite some time now.

If you find yourself curious about local indie music check this label out.

Being in a band is hard...

Being in a band is a lot of hard work.
Despite your best efforts something will always go wrong.
Below is a very old journal entry from a very old band.

"The first blow would come in the form of nothing more than simple numbers..."9:30". This is the time the show would start. It made everyone a bit saddened to know that there would be 13 bands playing and it would start at 9:30. With morale already low, our heroes take to the road. The day starts looking up. A short drive and we see our exit. Then the day quickly looks back down... almost to say that it's embarrassed it reared its ugly head in the first place. Lost. We become lost in a strange land in Miami, in what some may call a "ghetto."

A Soft Perversion

A Soft Perversion existed in one form or another from 2003-2007.

Some of the following I stole from the band's MySpace,which is fine considering I played in this band for a brief stint.

A Soft Perversion began in SW Florida in the summer of 2003,when Leo Ashline and Shaun Ringsmuth formed a group based upon the idea of creating short accessible pop songs that were intelligently crafted and tastefully layered. A handful of songs were written,and the group began performing regularly around SWFL.
Their first release was a seven inch titled Last Hoorah! Pressed on white vinyl, the record was heard by few due to the absence of a label, distribution, or a recording budget of any kind.

In 2004 the band relocated to Holyoke, MA, where they penned the songs that were later to be included on the two simultaneously released cd singles, "Holyoke" and "Year of the Strangler". Shortly afterwards, Ashline and Ringsmuth parted ways with ASP's original lineup and returned to Florida.

Upon returning to "the sunshine state", Ashline and Ringsmuth quickly regrouped with temporary assistance of a local power pop group (The Anchorite 4) and electronic artist Jonathon Glover (Ars Phoenix). They began working on "The Sensualists", which showcased ASP's most refined songwriting efforts to date.

In 2006 the founding members moved to Athens Ga where they continued on for a short while before disbanding.

Despite immense talent there are some bands that never seem to catch a break.
This band was one of them.

Interview with Jeremy from Jack Fendey

Jack Fendey played its first show on Dec 31, 1999 and it's last on Dec 29, 2002

What inspired you to start playing music?

The really big moment was when I found a bass guitar at school at the end of my freshman year of high school. I convinced my teacher to let me take the bass and an amp home for the summer under the condition that I would know how to read and play the sheet music for it well enough to be in the jazz band when school started back.

Do you think there is something to be said for striking out on your own?

Of course I think that it's important to do things in a way that makes you happy and not necessarily just the way you are told you should. I don't think this is always the way to success if that is what you are after. I also know some very successful people that are not very happy.

Do you ever feel as if there was/is/ a Fort Myers scene?

Yeah I do think that there is a ft Myers scene.
Although I don't really know what form it's in right now because I just moved back after being gone for a few years. When I first started going to shows I saw these people that were my own age playing music in whatever way they wanted. I had always wanted to be in a band and write songs but I didn't realize that there were these other people out there that did the same and took it to that level. And the fact that they were out there putting together DIY shows and such was kind of an eye opener. And they were good too. Failsafe just floored me back then. All I had known previously were concerts in Centennial Park or whatever was put on by radio stations. Looking back it was so inspiring.

What were you trying to do with your lyrics in Jack Fendey?

At that time I was just trying to make them not sound too terrible. I’ve always been a very slow lyric writer. As a result I would take lines from all different pages that I had written and piece them together in to something that kind of made sense. So anyone trying to read anything into any Jack Fendey song can forget it.

Bright Lights, Popped Corks and Tiny Lunches

Downtown has been undergoing some renovations for about the last six years. And with these renovations come changes that may not be for the better. Even if one is not a frequent clubber/ young up and coming cosmopolitan professional, and hasn’t been downtown in years, one can easily stroll down Hendry and First Street and see the buildings glitter in all their new architectural finery.
Now I’m not saying things were better the way they were before. Not yet at least…but as more drafting ink turns into concrete plans for even more Starbucks and various franchises to line the streets and flirt with the ever encroaching horizon line of waterfront condos- I cannot help but wonder who or what is leading the charge in this cultural vanguard of councilmen.

A quick internet search using words such as “Redevelopment” and “River District” brought up a city web page that reads more like an army manual than anything else. The below paragraph explains it’s motto concerning downtown:
“The Agency's motto, "New Direction - New Energy - New Life" aptly describes the desired outcome for the redevelopment program. The plan provides the "New Direction" for the future of the neighborhoods and commercial corridors. The "New Energy" is created by the extensive citizen and business involvement in creating the plan. The "New Life" is expressed in the viable commercial and residential neighborhoods which result from the implementation of the plan.”

Which means what exactly?

What would Bono say?

Within any given town it seems impossible to avoid a certain distinction concerning musical styles: bands that have grown and matured under the independent banner, and bands that wish very much to coincide within the mainstream.
Although these two styles share certain similarities inside the industry such as music videos and social status, one style of music seems to be content with being itself while the other seems to adopt the customary routine of the stereotypical alpha male.

And by stereotypical alpha male, I mean exactly that, except here in Florida we have the southern version; which is the basic working man cowboy who loves rap and Winger.

I bring this up only because aside from seeing alpha male countless times, I had to see it again at a show at The Buddha Bar a few nights ago which featured an eclectic mix of bands. The first band was an “indie” type band, and weren’t really received well as they weren’t playing to their normal type of crowd- whatever, no big deal. But as soon as the next band took the stage, the entire vibe changed. There were shouted proclamations to “fuck shit up!” and to “drink some fucking beer!” complete with numerous pelvic thrusts and growls- even the people watching the band before who were silent and reserved seemed more animated.

So I began thinking about the relationship between performer and audience, and the responsibility that comes with it to perhaps not encourage violence, drinking, or negative action.
Thoughts on this?

Fort Myers/punk rock/1980

Legend has it that many years ago (1980) in the sleepy sun drenched town of Fort Myers, three men decided to form a punk rock band called Antler Joe and The Accidents.

Which may not seem like a big deal, but consider the time and the town.
Punk rock or what was known as punk rock was still in it's infancy.
M.T.V. wouldn't exist for another year- (Compact Discs 1982).

If one wanted a vinyl record, one had to drive down to the record store and pray said record into existence.Especially if said record was "punk rock". If the record was out of print, that was it- no Amazon.com, no E-Bay, end of story.

Years ago a friend relayed a story to me about an early Fort Myers punk rock band who had started a fight at a biker bar; by playing loud snotty music. The band had set up and began playing only to be covered in spit and oaths.

At the time I wasn't sure if I believed it, but as it turns out it was true.