The SLAGLands
07-06-2004, 23:59
(OOC: Basically, a "Where Are They Now?" sort of statement about the bands and musicians presented in the Jukebox charts (http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=60052). To summate in brief: the company that created the Jukes, the Billco Company, went under. That's really all the explanation necessary, since Billco Co.'s collapse effectively gutted The SLAGLands' entertainment industry for a while.
I hate long OOC intros. Don't you?)
Still Kickin' Out the Jams
The collapse of the Billco Company not two years ago was the cause for what has now been dubbed "The Day the Music Crashed." While the collapse of The SLAGLands' music scene took longer, it was still brief: within six months, SLAGLandic album sales had suffered a nearly 85% cut. What was once a multibillion dollar industry collapsed under itself, sending SLAGLandic musicians back to the glory days of independent music. So how did the musical heroes formerly of the Billco Company cope with this loss?
by Teresa Stonehill-Stoermer
"It was like an explosion, and then nothing," singer/songwriter Day Mascus said regarding the Billco Company's collapse and the fall of the hallowed Jukebox Charts. "What was on top just got too heavy, and the bottom fell out. Now, we're all just left picking up the pieces, trying to put everything back together."
Three years ago, our interview with Mascus might have taken place in an upscale Orgla high-rise overlooking the Emerald Sea, with Mascus sipping expensive champagne and waiting on his limo to pick him up for his latest show. We met Mascus, however, at a back table of the Shanty, a Kelder bar and club that received notoriety in the one hit by Nine-Second Tractor. Mascus dragged from his joint, wiping his grimy left hand on his denim jacket.
"'Course, it's just fine with me," Mascus said with a small smile. "I mean, I'm used to not making any money. I started with nothing, and nothing's where I find myself again."
Mascus is one of many of The SLAGLands' most prominent musicians hurt by the collapse of the Billco Company. Many of them survived the fall and managed to bounce back on their own terms; others, however, weren't so lucky.
So where are they now? Pick and Fret magazine investigates.
Day Mascus
Age: 28
Best Known For: Breakout album Uh... Hey and hits "Try and Stop Me" and "Uh... Hey."
Currently Resides In: Kelder, Kelderia
When Day Mascus says that he started out with nothing, he means he started out with nothing--except an old acoustic Bender guitar and a gift. Born and raised around the shipyards and factories of Kelder, Mascus earned his breakout selling demo tapes out of the back of his clunky, 19-year-old beater, paint peeling from the exterior and muffler dragging the pavement.
"I'm used to playing the local gigs," Mascus said. "Kelder's my home, and even if it wasn't on my own terms, I love being home again."
http://www.newsreview.com/issues/Chico/2001-05-03/music-1.jpg
Goin' Electric: Day Mascus, best known for his work with nothing but an acoustic guitar, goes electric for his new song, "Smoky." Here, Mascus performs the song in front of a sparse crowd of 3,000 at the Kelder Celebration of Jams.
Mascus was scheduled to finish work on his album for the soundtrack to the film Lis, a filmic biography of legendary SLAGLandic folk musician Elisabeth (LAST NAME GOES HERE). With the collapse of the Billco Company, however, the project was put on hold indefinitely. Mascus has an hour of studio work sitting around his apartment now; he plans to re-release the project as a tribute album later in the year.
"What I admire about Lis is the way she never cared if she had an audience," Mascus said. "She would play, and if you liked it, you'd show up. If you didn't, you at least had to realize that there was something going on, and that it was something special."
Mascus said he is optimistic about SLAGLandic musicians pulling together in these difficult times.
"I've had tremendous support from my friends at this point. The former members of the Trapeze Accidents, the old Slayer Hater crowd, my old opening band Bends McCracken... they're all great. Like it or not, we're a family, and we'll be here playing music even if there's nobody left to play to."
I hate long OOC intros. Don't you?)
Still Kickin' Out the Jams
The collapse of the Billco Company not two years ago was the cause for what has now been dubbed "The Day the Music Crashed." While the collapse of The SLAGLands' music scene took longer, it was still brief: within six months, SLAGLandic album sales had suffered a nearly 85% cut. What was once a multibillion dollar industry collapsed under itself, sending SLAGLandic musicians back to the glory days of independent music. So how did the musical heroes formerly of the Billco Company cope with this loss?
by Teresa Stonehill-Stoermer
"It was like an explosion, and then nothing," singer/songwriter Day Mascus said regarding the Billco Company's collapse and the fall of the hallowed Jukebox Charts. "What was on top just got too heavy, and the bottom fell out. Now, we're all just left picking up the pieces, trying to put everything back together."
Three years ago, our interview with Mascus might have taken place in an upscale Orgla high-rise overlooking the Emerald Sea, with Mascus sipping expensive champagne and waiting on his limo to pick him up for his latest show. We met Mascus, however, at a back table of the Shanty, a Kelder bar and club that received notoriety in the one hit by Nine-Second Tractor. Mascus dragged from his joint, wiping his grimy left hand on his denim jacket.
"'Course, it's just fine with me," Mascus said with a small smile. "I mean, I'm used to not making any money. I started with nothing, and nothing's where I find myself again."
Mascus is one of many of The SLAGLands' most prominent musicians hurt by the collapse of the Billco Company. Many of them survived the fall and managed to bounce back on their own terms; others, however, weren't so lucky.
So where are they now? Pick and Fret magazine investigates.
Day Mascus
Age: 28
Best Known For: Breakout album Uh... Hey and hits "Try and Stop Me" and "Uh... Hey."
Currently Resides In: Kelder, Kelderia
When Day Mascus says that he started out with nothing, he means he started out with nothing--except an old acoustic Bender guitar and a gift. Born and raised around the shipyards and factories of Kelder, Mascus earned his breakout selling demo tapes out of the back of his clunky, 19-year-old beater, paint peeling from the exterior and muffler dragging the pavement.
"I'm used to playing the local gigs," Mascus said. "Kelder's my home, and even if it wasn't on my own terms, I love being home again."
http://www.newsreview.com/issues/Chico/2001-05-03/music-1.jpg
Goin' Electric: Day Mascus, best known for his work with nothing but an acoustic guitar, goes electric for his new song, "Smoky." Here, Mascus performs the song in front of a sparse crowd of 3,000 at the Kelder Celebration of Jams.
Mascus was scheduled to finish work on his album for the soundtrack to the film Lis, a filmic biography of legendary SLAGLandic folk musician Elisabeth (LAST NAME GOES HERE). With the collapse of the Billco Company, however, the project was put on hold indefinitely. Mascus has an hour of studio work sitting around his apartment now; he plans to re-release the project as a tribute album later in the year.
"What I admire about Lis is the way she never cared if she had an audience," Mascus said. "She would play, and if you liked it, you'd show up. If you didn't, you at least had to realize that there was something going on, and that it was something special."
Mascus said he is optimistic about SLAGLandic musicians pulling together in these difficult times.
"I've had tremendous support from my friends at this point. The former members of the Trapeze Accidents, the old Slayer Hater crowd, my old opening band Bends McCracken... they're all great. Like it or not, we're a family, and we'll be here playing music even if there's nobody left to play to."