THURSDAY, APRIL 17, 2003
COVERSTORY
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN = 9
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fling, summer heat of Austin.
Dodge said he once made $5 playing a show in Austin; hardly enough for a few gallons of gas. He spent the money on a drink.
As for Nashville, Dodge said fierce competition among the droves of aspiring musicians killed any sense of creativity. Not to mention, as supply exceeds demand, the idea of steady pay becomes a joke.
"You can make more money here than you can as a band in Austin," Dodge said. "And you're kind of spoiled if you grow up as a band here because you're not going to make shit in Nashville. It's so cheap here to make a living."
Dodge added that industry executives in Nashville were afraid of anything cutting edge that might deviate from the main exports and investors wouldn't take the risk.
"I saw some good stuff," Dodge said. "But there's no more good stuff there than
"You can make more money here than you can as a band in Austin. And you're kind of spoiled if you grow up as a band here because you're not going to make shit in Nashville. It's so cheap here to make a living."
Arthur Dodge Member of local band Arthur Dodge and the Horsefeathers
anywhere else including here. But you have 100 guys with guitars and it's just fucking horrible."
Colors of home
Fans of music and the musicians themselves have learned to accommodate for the lack of big venues in Lawrence. Rather than give up, the locals just opened their
living rooms, or began booking at smaller more intimate bars. That means no glitzy stage productions, but it brings the fans closer to the bands.
"If you talk to most people who are going to house shows or Replay shows, that's all they want to see," said Peter Berard, an Overland Park junior, who DJs at KJHK. "I'm so spoiled from being able to stand close to the bands. When you go to big shows, you sort of feel alienated. The Lawrence thing isn't about spectacle with big shows and big lights."
Berard helps book bands at the Pink House and the Halfway House, both wellknown for hosting regular shows, and the Replay Lounge through Front Room Productions. He said the amount of culture packed into Lawrence allowed local artists to network fast, and thus, put together diverse performances in more personal settings. That means the Lawrence cultural experience is more organic and less inclined to become a
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Denis, a man who wasn't sure he wanted his last name published with this story sifts through records at the Love Garden. The Love Garden, 936 1/2 Massachusetts Street remains a constant outlet for music to thrive and remain independent in Lawrence