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fans of the local radio station were devastated. The Lazer was once rated by Rolling Stone magazine as one of the best independent radio stations in the country. But in September 1999, the station began playing Top 40 and leaving out bands such as Frogpond, Ruskabank and Ultimate Fakebook that had once made the Lazer famous.
"I think it did more to decrease the amount of good bands touring to our area," said Christopher Tolle, lead singer of the Lawrence band The Creature Comforts. "There's no one to really promote a Spoon or White Stripes show on KLZR because they don't play it and their listeners don't buy it, so the bands don't come."
The local music scene took another blow when The Mag, a weekly entertainment supplement in the Lawrence Journal-World. shut down in late January. The Mag was an all-out effort to cover local music. The Journal-World had hired an alternative journalist from Kansas City, Jon Niccum, and worked to create an in-depth music 'zine complete with band profiles, a concert calendar and quick-witted music reviews.
It flopped for lack of ad revenue.
Nicum said The Mag's defence would cause local bands to suffer.
"There's just less and less outlets," Nicum said. "One of our primary goals at The Mag was to really boost the local music scene. Now there's no way those bands are going to get the coverage. You'll never see a local band from Lawrence on the cover of another publication."
But you can see local bands
online anytime. The Web has an advantage over print media because of the freedom from production costs and the consequent need for advertising revenue. Peter Berard, Overland Park sophomore, said the Web took over where The Mag left off.
"I only think it's taking over because of the cost reasons," Berard, creator of lawrencerock.com, said. "In our case of lawrencerock.com, I've spent maybe $100 total."
He said newspapers couldn't compete with these costs.
Alex Logan, Lawrence resident, drummer for the local band Holstein practices with the group.
compete with these skills.
"They have to print it, they have to pay writers, and, with the economy the way it is now, with something as specialized as The Mag, there's not much money to be found in that. The Web has little to no cost." Berard said.
"The Web is my baby for sure," said Phil Cauthon, Web site administrator for rockkansas.com. "The Web obviously has a lot more potential to do more than any other medium."
Online music also gets points for its ability to be updated constantly and for allowing music fans to hear the music instead of describing it to them with mere adjectives.
The University Daily Kansan shares some of its content with rockkansas.com.
Caution said that when online capacity grows to be faster and able to carry better video, the medium of the Web will become even more powerful on the music scene.
Rockkansas.com is just one of the many local music sites that have recently jumped in popularity. The site is owned by The Topeka Capitol Journal's Web site, cjonline.com, which has garnered several awards, including Editor Rob Curley being named by
the Newspaper Association of America as the new media pioneer for 2001. This year cjline.com was recognized as the one of the best online newspapers in the country in the EPpys, a competition for newspaper Web sites, by Editor and Publisher magazine.
Cauthon compiled band info by sending out e-mails to hundreds of local bands, asking them for songs, bios and links during summer 2001. More than 50 bands responded to Cauthon's queries. It didn't take long for the site to become popular among music diehards.
"It's just a magnet," he said. "Bands want to be on it. Ten to 15 new bands sign on a week. We've gone from nothing to 2,500 unique visitors a day."
David Brodie, Prairie Village senior, plays bass for Holstein.
Local bands in Lawrence praised the Web as the newest and best way to get their music out to the public. David Brodie, Prairie Village senior, is the bass player for the local band Holstein. He said he and his band mates quickly got on the Web bandwagon after their word of mouth promotional efforts weren't bringing in the fans like they expected. Brodie said the site bolstered their status.
"We get a steady stream," he said. "It's like free advertising."
Andrew Luxem. Topeka sophomore and member of One Way Elroy, said he used the Web to introduce the public to their music.
"It's a new medium to get your music where everyone can access it," he said. "It's free; it offers a wider audience and helps them learn about us. Everyone has the Internet and you can beat their fingertips."
Larger metropolitan areas are following suit. Josh Churnick, content director for denverlocalmusic.com, said his site had 150
active bands from Denver and the surrounding area and they added new bands everyday.
"Denver receives anywhere from500 to1000 unique visitorsa day." Churrick said. "It really has varied, but our traffic has been steadily increasing. For only being open for a few months, we are ecstatic with the support we are getting from the scene."
Bands today are at a disadvantage if they don't have a Web site.
"The Web is a fantastic resource for local musicians," Churnick said. "I would say that at the very least 80 percent of local bands in the United States have some kind of Internet presence. If not, they are missing out on a great way to promote themselves. I know of several A&R reps that check our sites constantly. With the various types of media available to the Internet audience, the fans can basically form an opinion without ever seeing a band play or owning the CD."
And it can only get better from
here. In the future, the Web can expand even more with personal organizers and cell phones sending band info and music to listeners on the go.
Gregory Ray, curator of the St. Louis Area Local Music Page at lamp.anet-stl.com, a Web site devoted to covering the music scene in St. Louis, said the future of digital promotion for local music is headed in the direction of cell phones and portable organizers.
"Wireless Internet access just pushes us closer to the 'invisible' network that's been proposed all along." Ray said.
Ray said it would be some time before we'll see more media content, such as song clips, pushed out to a handheld device, but what started on the Web may move there next. "The Web is developing into the best way for new bands to find an audience," he said.
Contact Beatty at lbeatty@kansan.com. This story was edited by Justin Guenley.
Ezra Sykes, Lawrence resident, plays guitar for Holstein.
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