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Current mood:  accomplished
Local bands buck two-year trend and go long
Groups like Keyser Soze and Cranium cite friendships as key to longevity
MARK EARNEST
SPECIAL TO THE RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
Posted: 12/21/2007
t's been a tough decade to be a musician in Reno. Most of the challenges are just par for the course: big expenses and lots of little ones, varying crowd sizes, venues opening and closing at will. But some are unique to the '00s: free downloads, a huge spike in gas prices, tons of other media vying for an audience's attention.
Keeping a band together and happy for two years is practically a miracle, so what keeps one together for a decade or more? Interestingly, Reno has more than a few bands that are close to that milestone or well over it. The simple answer band members from Keyser Soze, Cranium, Darque Carnival and the Saddle Tramps gave for their longevity is respect, both for their bandmates and the music itself.
"You're not a musician for a few years," said Dave Adams, bassist for instrumental rock band Cranium. "I'm going to be a bass player forever. The band that I'm in, that I love playing in and have such a great time and meet such great people doing it, I want it to last as long as possible."
"Every show that we do could be the last in town," said Scotty Roller, guitarist and vocalist with country-rockers The Saddle Tramps. "The town could turn on you, and all of a sudden they aren't into what you are doing anymore. It's a privilege to be able to make money at it and have people come to it. You don't know if it going to last a year, five years, 10 years. You can't take it for granted."
This isn't meant to be a complete guide to the Reno music scene. That would take a whole section of the Gazette-Journal. This roundtable simply gives the view of people who have shared common success and failure, all while in the trenches of a nightclub scene that is practically invisible to most of the city's residents.
And when it comes to that scene's overall health, the bands agreed that it has been a struggle of late. Adams said that "it's hard to get people to come out and listen to local original music. It's tough in this town. People will turn away if the cover charge is $3."
Several musicians thought this was a more recent development. Pasquale Zagari, guitarist with heavy metal band Darque Carnival, said that you used to get 400 or 500 people to a show "in our genre, in metal. There would be people lined up. Now you're lucky to get 50 people in the door and that's even if it's free."
"Maybe you guys won't agree, but the cost of living nowadays with gasoline and everything has eaten up so much expendable cash that people used to have," said his bandmate, bassist Tim MacDonald. "Even just three years ago, there were more people in the clubs. Nowadays, hell, I can't even afford to go see a concert anymore."
Jammal Tarkington, singer and sax player with the diverse band Keyser Soze, did point out a contrary example to that: another of his bands, Who Cares, recently drew 350 people. "There's got to be something said about how people are doing stuff and what you do to reach people," he said. "We have 20 people on (the Who Cares) guest list that did MySpace promotion for us."
Despite that, Tarkington said that it does seem like there's more of a detachment from music, especially in radio.
"Radio is really corporate right now," he said. "When I was in the Mudsharks we were in heavy rotation (locally), and I've never known another band on heavy rotation. Not that we were great, but it's just corporate f--ks that own the radio stations now, and they won't play local music."
Several also agreed that having a good venue -- one with a soundsystem, a solid door person, a good owner -- is also harder to come by.
"We do better out of town," said John Von Nolde, bassist and singer with The Saddle Tramps.
Whatever struggles come up, the bands are all working on projects that will keep them busy well into 2008 (see sidebar). All agreed that it's a genuine passion for music that keeps them together.
"We can do whatever we want," said Ryan Hall, guitarist with Cranium. "We want people to like our music, but we only worry about, really at the end of the day, the opinion of Dave, Jason and myself. We don't care what the marketplace is telling us."
All of the musicians also praised their peers. "The bands here will share a bill, too, regardless of the genre they are playing in," Roller said. "I think we even played with (Darque Carnival) before. That won't happen in a bigger city."
MacDonald agreed that there is a lot of camaraderie and cooperation in Reno, and that he's seen few bands slighting each other, mainly because "all of the other bands are solid. Reno is at a much higher level, to me personally, of decent bands. When you go to a bigger city there's such a plethora of so-so bands, some really good bands and bad bands."
For some, though, longevity is about something more basic than just good musicianship or support: simply getting along with someone as a person.
"When you find musicians that have a common understanding personally, that has a lot to do with the longevity," said Mike Mayhall, bassist with Keyser Soze. "It's not about the music so much but who we like to be surrounded by. You will be in a band for a long time if you have a relationship with that person other than music, too."
Meet the bands: Keyser Soze; Cranium; Darque Carnival; Saddle Tramps
Keyser Soze
A willfully diverse band that mixes reggae, jazz, rock and ska. Together since 1998. Members include Jammal Tarkington (vocals, saxophone), Mike Mayhall (bass), Kevin Lum (keyboards), Rodney Teague (vocals, trombone), Justin Krueger (drums), Anthony Postman (guitar) and Ruben Garcia (trumpet). Released two CDs and played in California, the Pacific Northwest and Arizona. Releasing its new CD in January.
Cranium
Instrumental rock with twinges of world music, heavy metal and the avant-garde. Together since 1994. Members include Ryan Hall (guitar), Dave Adams (bass) and Jason Thomas (drums). Released one CD and played mostly in California ("and once in New York," Hall said). Releasing its second CD, "Phantasmagoria," in March.
Darque Carnival
Relentlessly intense hard rock with a dark lyrical edge. Together since 1996. Members include Pasquale Zagari (guitar), Tim MacDonald (bass), Shane Whitecloud (vocals) and Rick Brenner (drums). Released four CDs and played extensively in California. Currently on a live-show break to write songs for a new CD, with plans to return to the stage in March.
The Saddle Tramps
Traditional country and early rock with comically crude lyrical concerns. Together since 1998. Members include Scotty Roller (guitar and vocals), John Von Nolde, (bass and vocals), Mike Young (drums), Jon Perry (guitar) and Suzy Switchblade ("she's our go-go dancer, such as it is," said Von Nolde). Played extensively in California, Wyoming, Utah and Colorado. Released seven CDs, including several for a now-defunct indie label. Currently working on a new CD and a book with reproductions of the original cocktail napkins and other detritus used for lyrics.
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