Edgefest 2008

That six hour drive is more than worth it: from my driveway to the French Quarter is 360 minutes and well-worth every one.

Great seafood and fabulous live music! So many venues, including the Marigny District, which sits just behind the French Quarter, right past Esplanade.

It’s a locals hangout that has some of the most authentic, unique music around. It can be next to impossible to find the equivilant here, which is why I am very excited about this Saturday’s Edgefest at Matthews Bar and Grill.

The host, Coyote J, wants me to introduce alternative rockers Black Tie Dynasty, the first headliner out of Fort Worth, Texas.

Their inspiraion includes The Smiths, The Cure, Joy Division, Echo and the Bunnymen, Bjork, Psychedelic Furs, Cocteau Twins, Air, Morrissey, R.E.M.,  Human League and Pet Shop Boys.

A few of their accolades: DOMA Nominated Best Male Vocalist - Cory Watson, DOMA Nominated Best New Act - Black Tie Dynasty, FWWMA Nominated Male Vocalist of the Year - Cory Watson,
FWWMA Nominated Album of the Year - This Stays Between Us and FWWMA Nominated Song of the Year - “Crime Scene.“
 
This promises to be a night to remember for those who like music and artists a bit off the beaten path. The brains behind it - Coyote J of The Edge.  Birmingham Weekly Editor Darrin Powell has this to say: “Simply put, Coyote J. is the ‘Rodney on the ROQ’ of the Southeast.“

Check out my interview with Coyote J below as well as the Edgefest 2008 link.

http://www.theedgefest2008.com

Coyote J’s Web Interview:

JH: How did you come up with the idea of Edgefest?

CJ: I went to Atlanta to see IAMX on a whim last year mostly because I knew it was Chris Corner’s new techno-dance project and I had heavily supported his first band, the Sneaker Pimps on THE EDGE in the late 90’s.

A number of Sneaker Pimp’s tracks did so well for me that THE X, the station I was employed by at the time, starting picking up on my spins and adding tracks like “6 Underground’ and ‘Post-Modern Sleaze’.
Now, up to then I only had heard a few tracks from IAMX and was not firmly in their camp yet; however, the performance in ATLANTA just totally blew me away and at that point I started considering doing a live showcase in Birmingham for new blood in Post-modern who were being ignored by radio, which was and still is the reason for THE EDGE since day one.

Yet, another motivating factor was that so many of the really tight, new post-punk, post-modern bands I was now airing on THE EDGE on Sunday nights on ROCK 99, were American post-punk bands.

In the 1980’s when I was doing the show, 80% of the postmodern music I was featuring was from London, Manchester and Birmingham England—and it would have cost an arm and a leg to book five or six bands in the scene back in the day, with travel and all….so I decided since about 80% of The Edge’s post modern play list today are fresh, new AMERICAN post-punk/new wave outfits, that NOW I could book such a show and not get totally killed at the box office.

Also, I meant this show to be a final celebration of good music and good radio, as I see an imminent end coming soon to good radio and radio as a new music medium in general.

Today so much content for active music lovers is at their fingertips to down load in seconds off the web, so much so, that radio is being replaced as the focal point and the once primary go-between for people longing to discover fresh, new music…and now that dynamic is morphing into oblivion…

Most new music is released on line today or on myspace before I HAVE THE PROMOTIONAL COPIES in my hands at the radio station!

Bottom line? ...some blue collar formats that cater to economically challenged listeners may survive, like country or urban, and people who just can not afford to spend money on free content, but music radio as the thrust of FM radio’s programming is going bye-bye;

Now it may take 15 years or more, but most formats that push the envelope at all musically, which once attracted active listeners and music lovers of all ages, is going the way of the dinosaur…
In the year 2025 (hey, isn’t that a ZAGER AND EVANS song?)  FM radio will have a smattering of country, urban and a classic rock station for the old farts, but the rest will be sports, news, talk and other services.

Heck, you think radio kinda sucks now as the venue for new and exciting music?

You all just wait, the worst is yet to come !  YAY !

JH: Which band this year do you think is the most unique and why?

CJ: Well, to me ‘unique’ is doing something that most other bands in their genre are not doing, so that conjures up the image of a lot of fringe bands like ‘ Architecture In Helsinki.‘
but certainly KRISTEEN YOUNG, our headliner warm-up for IAMX at EDGEFEST would be a contender in that arena, as she sounds a little like KATE BUSH (who near nobody ever captures), fronting The Dresden Dolls, only with far stronger hooks on the whole.

Of course, RADIOHEAD , with their amazing body of work has to be considered one of the tightest and most unique music outfits in all of music today and their ‘In Rainbows’ release this year is just amazing, and Silversun Pickups are really getting it done too, though technically that album was out last year.

When you use the descriptive term ‘unique’ that tends to knock out bands who are somewhat derivative of their assigned genres (although they may do it extremely well) and that’s A LOT of bands…
oh, and THRICE’s 2008 ‘Fire and Water’ was damn amazing and unique.
 
JH:Do you hand pick the bands? Any particular process you use?
CJ: I absolutely hand pick every second of music on THE EDGE…

I have always had compete autonomy over the program which is pretty amazing considering all the different stations the show has aired on throughout it’s 20 year history (over 20 stations, many of those during the show’s syndicated run between 1992-2002).

As far as the process, it an old process we used to use back in the day before radio strangled and researched the life out of everything: it’s called a gut feel for an amazing song with a strong hook.

BTW, this is a gift an individual either has or does not have for, like the sense of smell, it can not be taught.

The only way one knows he even possesses such an ability is to put it in play on the radio (or some other music medium) and see if the reaction is overall positive or negative via the ratings….
THE EDGE’s ratings have been phenomenal, always outperforming the host station that airs it…
JH: You seem to have quite a commitment and passion for music. Where did that first spark?
 
CJ: I just had a fascination for music since I was a young boy…And as a very young lad I was fortunate enough to hear virgin releases from then unknown bands such as , LED ZEPPELIN, BLACK SABBATH, THE DOORS, KING CRIMSON, THE WHO, PINK FLOYD, YES, STEVIE WINWOOD, BLUE OYSTER CULT, TRAFFIC, JIMI HENDRIX, THE ROLLING STONES, FLEETWOOD MAC and so on.

Then in the next generation, maiden releases from such post-modern ground breakers the caliber of U2, REM, THE CURE, DEPECHE MODE,  ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN, THE PSYCHEDLIC FURS, NEW ORDER, JAPAN, THE CHAMELEONS, THE CARS, PUBLIC IMAGE LIMITED, CLASH, THE POLICE, THE SISTERS OF MERCY, THE ESSENCE and so on..IN MY NEXT LIFETIME, ground breakers such as NIRVANA, METALLICA, SOUNDGARDEN, ALICE IN CHAINS, PEARL JAM, GREEN DAY, MODEST MOUSE, WEEZER and so on…

If all that can not keep one interested in contemporary music, you’re either dead, or very tone deaf.

JH:You’ve been here since 1987. How has Birmingham’s live music scene changed and is it for the better?

CJ:    Yes, it’s way better than in 1987, mostly because back then the local band’s first order of business to survive was to play covers.

Today that’s the last thing most people want to hear so there’s way more innovation and creativity in play…..simple as that…

JH: You’re retiring in 2009? Are you sure? What’s next for you and does that mean this is the last Edgefest?

CJ: I am not sure-sure, I am but pretty -95% -sure…as I have explained many times before, THE EDGE started bleeding red around 2003 and ever since then it’s been a loss leader as far as my income goes.

I have other sources of income, but I just don’t need to be taking a hit from the show year after year.

Beyond that, THE EDGE is no longer the indispensable clearing house for new music it once was because of the reasons I’ve already stated;  namely, people now being empowered to find their own music through multiple sources and choices on the web.

I find that many of my most loyal Edge listeners do not make it a habit to turn into the show like they once did because it is no longer the only place to discover new post-modern music—as it was even just 8 years ago.

Worse, when they DO tune in and hear a cool, rare import I’ve discovered that just rocks, they can then go on-line and download that entire CD before I leave the air that night !!!

KA-POWI—there goes my exclusive like sands through the hourglass—these are the days of our past lives.

It sure does kill the special-ness of it all, ya know?

It goes like this now: I got it exclusively….okay, it’s on the air…uh…EVERYBODY HAS IT !
Video did not kill the radio star, but the web will, end of story;  it really already has with the younger demo.
Of course, having all the new music at one’s fingertips is nice for my peeps, but it totally depresses radio listener participation and my edge as the primary purveyor of new music  

lol…so, as I’ve said, the writing is on the wall, so what’s the point?