The deeper I get into Greensboro’s music scene, the more I hear musicians complaining about the propensity of support for cover bands over original acts. And while it’s true that some local bands enjoy a steady following — The Mantras, Old Stone Revue, The Urban Sophisticates, to name a few — it’s a fact that most venues can’t consistently draw a crowd to check out (read: pay a cover) original bands, unless they’re retreads from the eighties like Pat Benetar or Van Halen.
And at that point, that’s kinda like listening to a cover band, you know?
There’s no silver bullet out there that will radically increase Greensboro’s patronage of original music to reflect, say, a Chapel Hill or Asheville, but I do believe in the power of cross-promoting community — from artists collaborating on projects to jamming together at shows to showing up as a band to listen to and support other acts, bringing new fans with them.
More can be done; I’m sure of it.