| PRESS Nathalie Voirin asks Joran about In the Raw, his dream line-up and his
dream super-group! "In the Raw" Returns for an Encore "In the Raw" was the "MTV Unplugged" of the Tampa area music scene, except it stayed much more true to the unplugged concept than did the television program. Although acoustic performers were part of "In the Raw," its goal was to feature singer-songwriters who "don't traditionally perform acoustically," says Joran Oppelt, founder of "In the Raw." The name refers to "the ability to perform naked," Oppelt says.
"It's a testament to the songwriter's ability," he says. SMAsh Radio wins 2007 Best of the Bay Award BEST PLACE TO HEAR LOCAL MUSIC ONLINE: SMAsh Radio
(Critics' Pick) Doing the Bay Area Proud Thanks to affordable digital recording programs and sites like MySpace, anyone with a decent computer can make music and post it online for the world to hear. Due to this unprecedented deluge of homemade tunes, separating the worthy from the wretched has never been more difficult. But that's not to say Tampa Bay isn't lacking in talented bands. In fact, we have plenty, and many of those artists are affiliated with the Southeast Music Alliance (SMA). It's a name to be trusted. Over the years, SMA's accomplishments have included issuing two compilation CDs that excellently spotlight the best the Bay has to offer. And anyone even remotely curious about the local music scene would be remiss not to stop by SMAFlorida.com, which offers free monthly podcasts focused on Bay area bands among its many user-friendly features. Saturday's show at the State Theatre commemorates SMA's fifth anniversary and will coincide with the launch of a new, even richer website. The benefit concert features a diverse lineup of local bands ranging from emotive art-rockers Auditorium and indie-rock faves Giddy-Up, Helicopter! to reggae-funksters Tribal Style and hip-hop from Breakdown and DJ Effex. Also on the roster are folk-rockers The Human Condition and Rebekah Pulley with her backing band the Reluctant Prophets. Experimental jazz duo Legato Staccato, which features members of Gravy and Saturn 5, will make its debut. - Wade Tatangelo Praise for Southeast Music Alliance presents
"Volume 2: Tampa Bay & Beyond" If you live
here, buy two copies of this CD - one for yourself and one for out-of-towners
who ask, "Who the hell's from Tampa anyway?" Pop, rock,
hip-hop, folk, country - if you have doubts about the quality
and diversity of the Tampa area's music scene, this disc will set
you straight real fast. This 20-track collection of local/regional talent, the second such release
from Pinellas-based musicians' co-op Southeast Music Alliance, delivers
an eclectic and consistently strong assortment of homegrown tuneage. In
addition to the usual SMA suspects (The Semis, Soulfound, Auditorium,
Rebekah Pulley, John McNicholas and others), Volume 2 runs the gamut from
hip-hop (The Villanz, the genre-busting Daylight District) and emo (Rumors
of War) to alt-country (Have Gun, Will Travel), synth-pop (Summerbirds
in the Cellar) and singer-songwriter fare (Steve Alex, Geri X), rarely
sacrificing quality in the name of breadth. Scenesters know these names,
but it's an invaluable introduction for the uninitiated. (4 STARS) A New Age: St. Pete's Fountain of Youth No Particular Place to Go There's been an outpouring of support for a sensible compromise to a sticky issue. A county ordinance that went into effect on June 1 bans 18- to 20-year-olds from entering nightclubs such as Rockerfella's, where food makes up less than 10 percent of gross revenue. But the musicians and club management have a system in place for curbing underage drinking that the Manatee County Sheriff's Office has been complimentary of. Local musician Ben Bakker will request an addendum to the ordinance at the county commission meeting that takes place at 9 a.m. Tuesday. A poll posted at our Web site, HeraldToday.com, on June 2 suggests that elected officials may wish to re-evaluate the situation. "Should the Manatee County Commission grant an exemption and allow people under age 21 to go to bars when musical acts are performing, assuming measures have been taken to deter underage drinking?" 504 people had voted as of press time. Here are the results: No: 127 votes (25%) I'm not sure: 3 (1%) I don't care: 8 (1%) The number of respondents is remarkable. It typically takes a controversial issue involving a polarizing figure like Katherine Harris for this many people to weigh in at HeraldToday.com. There were also dozens of comments submitted by readers. "I am 20 years old and I go to bars to watch live music," reads an excerpt from a typical post. "This doesn't mean that I am drinking. I go for just the music as do many other people my age." The response? "Keep them out! Bars are for adults to drink and party in peace without having to deal with some reverse cap sporting, baggy jean wearing . . . zit-faced, puke-causing problems." Hmmm . . . A woman who identified herself as a "band mom" and manager of a rock group consisting of underage musicians from Cape Coral also opined. "The young people who go to live shows at a venue are there for the music and nothing else," the post reads. "I am sick and tired of young people always being discriminated against because of a few 'bad apples.' " There were several comments that speak to the problem of not providing young adults with a supervised environment. "If 18-20 year olds can fight our wars, serve our country, take lives, save lives, and make differences in the world, why can't they go to a club in their own city? This is so ridiculous. 18-year-olds will drink in their friends' homes, in parking lots, at parents' homes, in the woods, and anywhere else they can find. Banning them from clubs is not going to deter young adults who are underage from drinking alcohol. It's the bartenders responsibility and door people to I.D. and not serve to underagers." County commissioner Ron Getman met with Bakker on June 8, as was reported on my blog, In Tune With Wade. Getman agreed to view the HeraldToday.com poll results before the upcoming county commission meeting but he did not immediately return a call for comment. Perhaps Manatee County's seven commissioners - Getman, Donna Hayes, Pat Glass, Joe McClash, Amy Stein, Gwendolyn Brown and Jane von Hahman - could free themselves Saturday night and head over to Rockerfella's for a night of diverse local music featuring Bakker's band, Rumors of War, offering a rare acoustic set. Other music acts are The Chase Theory's Matt Burke's popular new alt. country project Have Gun, Will Travel; former Bradenton resident Frank Friend with his funky group Daylight District; area folk-rock mainstay The Human Condition and St. Petersburg-based rock outfit Auditorium, which is led by Joran Oppelt. The event is being billed as a Bradenton showcase for the Southeast Music Alliance (SMA) that Oppelt heads and all the music acts listed above belong. The organization was created in 2002 by Tampa Bay musicians who decided to pool their resources in order to raise awareness of the local music scene. SMA has grown to include bands from across the state and as far away as Austin, Texas. In between sets, I'm sure the Rockerfella's staff wouldn't mind illustrating to the commissioners how their system works for curbing underage drinking - a system that has led to a clean record in regards to serving underage persons. And maybe the commissioners will notice that the Rockerfella's crowd behaves as well as those drawn to concerts at the Manatee Convention and Civic Center, which is exempt from the new ordinance, and ball games at McKechnie Field, for that matter, where alcohol is also served in the presence of minors. 9 p.m. Saturday, Southeast Music Alliance Showcase featuring Rumors of War, Have Gun Will Travel, Daylight District, The Human Condition, Auditorium, Rockerfella's, 5520 14th St. W., Bradenton, FL 34207. Admission: $6 cover. Information: 756-2831 or www.myspace.com/rockerfellas; www.smaflorida.com Wade Tatangelo, features writer/music critic, can be reached at (941) 745-7051 or wtatangelo@heraldtoday.com. His blog, "In Tune with Wade," can be found at http://blogs.bradenton.com. CROSS-POLLINATION FAQs Summit Puts Local Music on the Map Local Bands, National Goal Joran Oppelt | Local Hero Not too shabby for a loose-knit organization that originally sprang from little more than an incensed reaction to a 2001 98Rock publicity stunt that had local bands literally fighting one another over a slot on the station's annual LiveStock festival. "[The stunt] seemed to enrage a lot of people. We viewed it as disrespectful," says Oppelt. "To those of us that hold our music as an art form or a livelihood, it seemed like a fucked-up thing to even suggest. That was when we said, 'we have to do something; let's pull together, put out a press release, boycott,' but you can't realistically boycott a Clear Channel station. "We decided to go after the actual artists that respect themselves instead. And from there, it went on to meeting and talking with other bands, finding out when they were playing, trading shows and merchandise." By and large, the SMA has received, and given, a refreshing amount of support. While most scene-unity initiatives peter out after a couple of meetings at the local wing joint, the Alliance is still gaining momentum. A second compilation is in the works. In The Raw is scheduled to start up again around Thanksgiving. And next month will see the organization's most ambitious undertaking by far to date. The Southeast Music Conference, a showcase-style festival, will take over downtown St. Petersburg venues on Oct. 17 and 18, putting 40 local and national acts on numerous stages for the edification of not only diehard pundits and pedestrian live-music fans, but also music-industry representatives from across the country. "Everybody and their cousin knows [somebody working in the industry]. Everybody's got these ties, people they grew up with or met through playing, who are all climbing their separate ladders," Oppelt says. "It's been said more than one time that if one band makes it to a larger level, regardless of who or what they are, it can only benefit the rest of us playing in town. That's how it works." Oppelt and company have been laying the groundwork for the conference for well over a year, and there's still plenty of work left to do. And while the success of it in particular, and the SMA in general, certainly holds the potential for Oppelt's own musical endeavors to profit, it would undoubtedly be easier for him to focus on promoting himself, rather than the scene (or part of it) as a whole. So why bother? "Now is a funny time, actually, because I'm between bands. In essence, I have no product to push, so it makes me even more vulnerable -- I have to figure out what it is that matters," muses Oppelt. "And it's music that matters, it's the fact that there are tons of us out there, friends who live and breathe our original forms of music, sleep with it, shower with it, day in and day out. "Here's the thing: The SMA starts off, and everybody says this is a great idea ... a lot of musicians who have good intentions lack the organizational skills or motivation. They don't pick up the phone or type out a press release. An organization that might be able to do those things for them seemed like a good idea. I figured if I was sending out e-mails every week anyway, it might as well for everybody, because it couldn't hurt. And there's the small glimmer of hope that leading by example might inspire somebody else to do it for themselves, or show them a better way to do it. But that's all you can do, provide an example." OTHER WINNERS IN THIS CATEGORY: Click here to read the article by Angela Delgado Tampa Tribune (03.13.05) Praise for Southeast Music Alliance presents "Volume One: Tampa Bay" Tampa went a long way to reminding me of home... sandy beaches, Cuban sandwiches and choice beers from Ybor Brewing Co. brought to you through twenty-one tracks of Tampa's latest and greatest. While I have yet to find a compilation where every single song appeals to me (which in my humble opinion means they did something right - a true mix of styles with a little something to appease everyone's appetite), I did come across quite a few standouts: The Saturn 5 who tip their respective hats to Mr. Roger's with "Neighborhood" immediately blew me away with moments of hip hop and super funk reminiscent of Red Hot Chili Peppers; Misfortune chimes in with a very slight Bare Naked Ladies comparison on their poplicious "We're The Same"; Cocktail Honeys' "Pay Attention" reminded me a bit of Soul Asylum mixed with The Used; D'Yea's classic sounding "All Around The World" struck a Velvet Underground and White Trash chord performing "Taking Care of Business"; The Semis' "Asian Girls" had a fun, almost Men at Work intro which drove into a heavier guitar riff and a Brit rock vocal along the lines of Smashing Pumpkins (their heavier stuff); The Hazies' "Hola Baby" has a nice bluesy vocal with a really cool groove and techno underscores; Four Star Riot's "This Can't Be All" is a fabu surf rock/Ska tune and Black Honkeys' "Let Me Into Your Party" is a heavy dose of funk. In the interim, for those who dig the female Lilithy vocal, we've got Anna O. with her strong Aimee Mann-meets-Sarah McLachlan, and if funk's your game, StarBaby's "My Own Sun" with it's nifty guitar riffs simply shines. Ghetto Love Sugar brings in an instrumental with retro-like guitar with a touch of ska with "Cracker Etiquette". - Score! Music Magazine ### From the passionate torrents of the Cocktail Honeys, the cosmic slop of D'Yea, the beacon balladry of Rebekah Pulley, the sugary punk of Four Star Riot, the big rock of Harry Dash, Anna O.'s catchy musings, the power pawp of Barely Pink to the subterranean explorations of Ghetto Love Sugar, this disc features the best of the Bay Area's talent compiled and annotated for a varied hour's-length listen. If you read this mag or this column on a regular basis, you already know most of the names here. If you go out to any clubs, you probably know most of the people. All you others should hear what you're missing. (contact: Mekka Records, (727) 394-1264, sma.toosquare.com) - Focus Magazine ### The disc also includes wry and empowered spoken word from poet Rhonda Nelson. On Freshly Squeezed, Nelson's ode to citrus and all things sultry, the poet muses about Southern women who can "craft this year's fashions out of last year's curtains." Scarlet would be proud. - Gina Vivinetto, St. Petersburg Times ### "Dubbed the [Southeast Music] Alliance, the organization ... came out of
a basic frustration with the scene, and out of a lack of local support." "... Alliance bands will share mailing lists and marketing information
... as well as sell each other’s CDs at their concerts. What’s
more, the formation will give the bands increased leverage at local clubs
and help to fund compilation CDs and room and board for A&R reps from
major labels to scout concert showcases." "With a unified schedule of calling, e-mailing, faxing and, you know,
claiming your Catholic priest whispered sweet nothings into your ear in
1982, you can help to force at least one of the corporate-owned radio
stations to air a local music show or at least show the music some respect.
When you call, give your full name and tell the radio station you represent
The Southeast Music Alliance." |