by Danny Phillips, Independent Writer

I am but a lowly rock critic that is not talented enough to have an amplifier placed firmly in the middle of the tempest so I recognize that I am not qualified to decree definitely whether or not St. Joe has a thriving music scene. Granted, I do have opinions and theories on the subject but I will, for this article at least, try to set them aside. I have covered and discussed local music in print for over three years now; first, as a columnist for the dearly departed Mule News and now from time to time as an independent writer with The Regular Joe. Over these past few years, I have witnessed joy and sadness, success and failure, both at their highest and lowest of levels.

While contemplating this piece, I thought that the best way to have the question answered would be to ask those people that are out there every night what they thought. Does a scene exist or is it merely the Bigfoot of Downtown… a beast residing in myth and conjecture? The first person to respond to my Myspace bulletin with thoughts on the subject was Andy Armstrong, former leader of the pop punk band Hooray For Me.His opinions were strong and matter of fact.

“No, it doesn’t. St. Joe’s music scene is a joke… NO venues in town really support local music; they’re just about being paid. The Rendezvous books local acts but they are the same four or five bands. Cagney’s has come close but they are very genre specific, mostly hard rock or metal. The Scallywag did a decent job until the recent buyout and shut down.

For crying out loud, St. Joe doesn’t even have a rock radio station! That is a staple in promoting a growing local scene. What St. Joe has is a bar scene, not a music scene.”

Ally Varner, a fixture at local shows, echoes Armstrong’s point.

“There is no music scene. Local authority figures don’t want kids to have a fun, safe place to listen to music. It’s hard to have a scene with no support; we (kids under 21) have no place to see local music, all of the all-ages clubs are closed. There is no scene for us.”

Drew Balls, bassist for The Great Northern, took a somewhat skeptical optimist point of view.

He said, “I think some people really do try to make a scene work but most attempts fail. I believe most people that do go to shows go for certain people (their friends) and not for the music itself.”

I did come across some people that disagreed with the nay-sayers.

Rachel Hoffman, guitarist for the band Alice, told me, “I think we have an awesome scene that extends; it’s all over to K.C., Lawrence, Kirksville and the surrounding areas. From classical guitar players to country, alternative, punk and metal. It’s hard to imagine that St. Joe doesn’t have a thriving music scene, unless you’ve distanced yourself from it on purpose.”

There is a distinct split in the belief that St. Joe has a scene. What I could say, as if my thoughts mattered, is the local government must support places for kids to experience local music, the bars need to open themselves up to a wider spectrum of bands and musical styles and for God’s sake KJO, play some local music, more rock (other than Nickelback or Daughtry) and show some support for what is here.

Jimmy Myers, guitarist for The Rogers and I Will Strike You, gave me a simple answer, one that mirrored my own thoughts.

“I look at it this way,” Myers, said, “your band is your scene. That’s all you should worry about, keep working on your arrangements and getting better. The other part of the whole “scene” thing is about a dress code and tattoos and I can’t touch that. I’m sitting here in khakis and a cardigan.”

There are many bands in St. Joe: some very good, some very bad and more than a lion’s share of mediocre. What I can say to you, true believer, is do your part in building (or supporting) a local scene. Stop complaining, Get off the couch, go see some bands and show some love for St. Joe’s finest.

Is there or is there not a local music scene? It’s totally up to you to decide.

I know what I think…