Originally from Texas, Jeremy Megert is an L.A. Rock/Blues/Jazz musician. His tunes are a catchy amalgamation of the three styles, and unlike other genre bending/blending artists, Megert manages to keep his sound consistent. Megert and his two bandmates kick out a great set and are a highly recommended live show. I was there for a February gig at the Room 5 Lounge. I spoke with Megert briefly after the set, and he comments more directly on the downside of a common practice of club owners known as “pay-to-play.” The video below includes some live footage at the beginning and end. Megert also talks about how he’d improve the indie scene in a short interview.
State of the Independent Music Scene
Archive for March, 2008
Jeremy Megert
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Dan Renfro
Dan Renfro is a musician and songwriter who’s been gigging around L.A. for about two years. His music is folk-blues style, and a track or two on his MySpace page shows off his saxophone skills as well. I spoke with him after a recent set at The Joint. When asked how he’d improve the indie music scene, he mentioned a distaste for a practice known as “pay-to-play,” which is a common complaint I’ve heard from other bands and musicians in L.A. Pay-to-play requires bands to pay a set amount up front in order to play at a given club. A percentage of proceeds from door charges then goes toward allowing the band to recover its money and maybe even make a few bucks profit if enough people show. Formerly from Kansas City, Renfro said bands there rarely have to pay in advance to perform at a club.
While I regrettably wasn’t able to capture any footage of Renfro on stage, he gives another unique answer to how he’d improve the scene in the video below:
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Aaron David Gleason
Aaron David Gleason played an acoustic set at the Room 5 Lounge in February, and I had the pleasure of watching him perform with guitarist Dean Moore. Gleason is an artist with Adrenaline Music Group, and his recorded material is a blend of electronica, blues, pop, and an occasional backbeat of Latin rhythm. Even in his acoustic sets, Gleason steers the listener on unexpected turns, with minor chord progressions just when you think a song may develop into a bluesy anthem. Recommended is a tune called Mastermind, which can be found on iTunes along with Gleason’s self-titled EP.
There’s two live clips in the video below, one of Gleason and the second featuring Moore, who also sports some decent chops on vocals. Both provided the most eccentric and more comical answers I’ve received from bands so far. Check it out:
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