For love or money

A musical meditation

by Bob Gulla

Over the course of the last few days, I had a chance to do some thinking. Rare in this neck of the woods, but, eh, that's another story. During my journey, I had an opportunity to reflect a bit on the local music scene. More specifically, why our little scene hasn't made the kind of national impact we've been accustomed to seeing every few years. It's as if we're going through a sort of dry spell. What gives?

Well, perhaps it's because bands in Providence don't want to -- or, don't have to -- make a national impact. Perhaps it's because the music business being what it is, artists and songwriters don't want to endure the agony and ecstasy of climbing the corporate music ladder to stardom. But then, why would a band purposely not want to succeed?

As you probably know, there are two types of success. The first type is the very tangible, chart-action-oriented, record-selling, groupie-getting, idol-worship success. You go the traditional route, signing with a label, whose reps beg radio to play your song, which in turn sells records and sells out venues. Simple, right? But then even if you get there -- your chances being somewhat less than zero that you will -- you'll have trouble staying there, considering the short attention spans of audiences and label representatives.

The other type of success is even simpler. You can describe it thusly: To play music for a living. Isn't that, after all, what being a musician is all about? Isn't that what your dream is? Wouldn't that make for a virtually perfect life? Wouldn't it eliminate headaches, resolve the conundrum of how to escape the daily grind, bring you happiness? You don't have to achieve the kind of success described above to make a living as a musician. You don't need lots of scratch to get by if what you truly want to do is play music. Does music mean money to you? Does money mean happiness? My logic might sound naïve, but if these are your intentions, then perhaps you're barking up the wrong tree.

What I'm getting at here is something Raphael Lyon, a bookbinder over at Eagle Square, and Ben McOsker, the impresario at Load Records, helped me understand. "The bands who play around here," says Lyon, "are not out to make money, so they don't." He refers specifically the crackling outfit known to locals as the Olneyville Soundsystem and many others that play an exciting but unassuming place called Fort Thunder. "They won't become a raging commercial success because they're not interested in doing that. They want to play music. And Ben wants to sell CDs to anyone wants to listen to that music."

There's an organic and life-affirming cultural scene around Providence that exists almost completely underground and thrives by word-of-mouth and postering. Fort Thunder and Eagle Square host many unpublicized musical events featuring international bands that can't get a gig playing at the more commercial venues in town. "I've seen some of the most absolutely amazing things there," says McOsker. "There have been crazy things, dance parties, wrestling, and bands from Japan and the Czech Republic."

The trick is, you won't know about these events unless you pay close attention to what's going. Or you know one of the artists who has a home or workspace at Eagle Square.

"When you have mill spaces like this," says Lyon, "you're not paying the overhead of a club, so you don't have to charge money. There's no alcohol or anything -- it's pure, artistic performance."

It all sounds well and good -- and awfully idealistic. But how does a band make its nut playing for free? "Imagine this," Lyon extrapolates. "You're coming to see a show. You don't pay for anything. There's free food occasionally. Bands come from out of state and they can eat and stay for free. Then they pass the hat, asking for donations. And almost every one of the people in attendance will give money."

In Lyon's mind, this cycle of giving and receiving -- if many of the givers are members of bands themselves -- is so closely related that like you're spending money on yourself. "You have to pare down your life," adds Lyon. "Get rid of the excess. Adjust your life to be more economical so you can make music, nothing but music." Grab your blanket and a radio, don't forget your CDs, and ride the tiger. Like they say, you only live once. And during that one lifetime, what would you rather be doing? Racing with the rats, or playing your songs in front of an enthusiastic audience?

It's quite a concept -- idyllic or otherwise. At least it's an option to the nasty world of corporate tuneage. Anyway, one of the reasons I had Lyon and McOsker on the phone had to do with the fate of Eagle Square. A real estate raider by the name of Feldman and his company Feldco is negotiating with the city to buy the urban acreage and turn it into a strip mall, obliterating the art space, the cultural beehive, the raison d'etre of all who mingle there.

"The development they're proposing is the worst case," explains McOsker. "It would contain a strip mall, 750 parking spaces, involve a reduction of the bike path, and be a traffic nightmare. Right now we're at the worst case, but we're seeing a bit of a turnaround. Elected officials respond to people in the area. If we tell them there are artists working in this space, they want to protect it."

Still, the gentrification of downtown Providence continues, endangering some of the city's vital cultural resources. "I watched Bald Hill Road [Route 2] turn from farmland into an eyesore," says McOsker. "We don't need that to happen again."

The best case he says, besides leaving it alone, would be to change it into a mixed-use space. "Reuse some of the buildings to maintain the urban character the area has," he says. "A mall could bankrupt the neighborhood of an important asset. We don't need 25 stores. We need a community center, an artist space, something local people can have a stake in. We're encouraged that the planning commission might have more influence over the process than originally thought."

On December 19, McOsker, Lyon and hundreds of others (ideally) will sit in on a hearing at City Hall to discuss the future of Eagle Square. The talks begin at 6 p.m., but bring a snack -- it could go on into the night. Show your support. It might make the difference between having a future playing music and selling your soul to the devil in order to succeed.

THE OLNEYVILLE COUNTY FAIR. One great way to check out the space is to attend the fun-for-all Olneyville "County" Fair taking place at Eagle Square this Saturday, December 16 from 1 to 7 p.m. Not only will it be an excellent opportunity to hear the bands often featured at Fort Thunder, you'll be able to witness firsthand what goes on -- and what gets created -- at the space. It's a rare chance to look at a living, breathing artist community, a giant studio that people actually work in. There will be a bike parade, cotton candy, and Santa Claus for the kids and lots of other fun-fair type stuff. Call 276-2820.