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PHOTO COURTESY OF BAND

NOW PLAYING. Tacoma band the Elephants is just one of 12 groups included on the newly released DVD “Scenester. ”

‘Scenester’ DVD highlights local bands

By Dawn Quinn

By Dawn Quinn

For Tacoma Weekly

Many bands make their homes and practicing spaces here in Tacoma. There are a handful of small venues to play, and throngs more fans and eager listeners waiting to hear what the newest, and also the established young bands here, are churning out next.

Traditionally, one of the only ways to find out about our local music has been to check out the concert calendars online and in print, and see if any of these bands could be worthy of praise, following, and support on their unique roads to musical fame and glory. Silent Music recognized the situation many Tacoma bands are in, and how great a need there is for some of these bands to gain recognition and a larger fan base to find success out of the South Sound.

Silent Music Tacoma has created a DVD of musicians playing various shows live at venues throughout the city. The DVD is called “Scenester,” and it contains two volumes showcasing the work of 12 bands and delivers 30 songs. Over the span of about an hour and a half, a few bands prove themselves worthy of being watched through blurry footage and shaky camera work.

Friskey is a band that appears as though it should have earned a record deal by now. Their indie rock sentimentalities and sweet, silly lyrics are thoughtful and reminiscent of jangly British pop. The hip band mates nicely complement an exaggerated emphasis on words and dreamy scenarios while onstage. They would be quite at home on the Sub Pop record label, and attracted quite the eager crowd.

During Umber Sleeping’s two sets on the DVD, the camera took on some shaky filming that took away from the multiple instruments, sounds and vocal stylings that help this band woo its audiences. The primary focus seems to be following the instruments through the set, but the inability to focus and the effect utilized in editing tend to take away from the overall performance.

Garage rock, 60’s rock, the Velvet Underground, grunge and hardcore rock all are notable influences on the indie band Mama Loves Daddy. Low, drone-like vocals and gentle rhythms combined with intriguing guitar tunings form the basis of this band’s method, and works well to cement their unique sound. The filmmakers primarily focused on the band during their sets, which made their impression on the viewer a more potent and favorable one.

The “blurring” editing effects utilized by the filmmakers did not appear to be the best choice for the film – it potentially re-directs attention from the actual music and bands to the odd blurs on the screen. The sound quality also was sub-par, and was most likely recorded with the microphone on the camera itself, as opposed to using a soundboard recording.

Despite the quality of picture and sound that could be at times distracting, “Scenester” does a fair job of representing the vibrancy and variance that is present in the local music scene. Whether it is the ska-punk sound of The Vamanos, the Death Cab for Cutie-esque lyric styles of Colin Reynolds, or the electro-rock presence of Paris Spleen, there is definitely something for every independent music fan on “Scenester.”

For more information, visit the Silent Music Tacoma Myspace page at myspace.com/silentmusictacoma.

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