It's obvious that right now, as I type this (and as you read this) the whole world is in an economic slump. The Stock Markets have plummeted, and every single industry is feeling the hurt.
The Music Industry has been in a general downfall ever sence 2005 when Nickel Back was the biggest band around. Obviously its a crisis.
Although many members of the Active Myrtle Beach Music Scene are trying their best, it's no doubt that shows are falling short of what they should be.
Recently I attended a show with 3 awesome local acts (Sleeping Policeman, The Baboon Brigade, and Aftermath) that in my mind should have had three to five times more people attending.
So I feel more now than ever, we need to all make this scene, or give up.(HOPEFULLY "make this scene")

Lets think about what we've been doing in this past:
*Note that I speak of the main/active part of the MBMS
*Also: this is just what i feel are the main factors hurting rather then helping our scene. Feel Free to post comments that contain other factors you feel are hurting our scene.

"5$ at the door"  We all recognize this as the standard pricing for Shows entrance, and for most situations thats not a big deal, and if you have respect for the MBMS you will pay it. However, I will admit that although I would like to see everyone in the scene making everyone else in the scene by donating this nominal fee, I would much rather see more people at shows. The only possible Suggestions I have for this are to slash the basic asking price. 3$,  would be my suggestion. As a band, you're not taking to much of a hit, and as a venue you can still expect your regulars in, who may come back for this band at later times, as well as a bunch of new comers who may very well want to buy drinks or food.

"Canceling Bands" There is a usual number of bands playing at one show. The reason being, that normally four or more bands are booked, and only 2-3 will show up.  In this area I must scold the bands without mercy. To bands that cancel shows they've been signed up for, at the last minute (which can be up to about a week in actual time) you are only ruining yourselfs.  Nothing infuriates me more then when a band commits to a show, and has the nerve, to either show up late, ask for a different playing time, or not show up at all. This hurts EVERYONE. First, you as a band lose respect from your local peers, next you lose the faith of your fans, who will then not come back for other shows, or even stay for the show you were supposed to be playing. Which can cause them to miss out on something they could potentially love. So if you're going to play a show, do whatever it takes to play it, i've seen quite a few bands who had to play without a member, or while they were sick, or just while they had other problems, and they get all my respect for it.

"Fickle Fans" Some of you may be saying "I hate those" not realizing that you are one of them. If you don't quite understand what a "fickle fan" is; then check out this dictionary entry i've made.

Fickle Fans- Adjective, Noun- A fan who goes to a show, doesn't pay attention to the band, then leaves during that band, or during the set of another band.

I understand that of course there are circumstances in which you have to leave. (I do) However, that does not mean, that you should leave if you don't have to. When you leave, you cause other people to leave. If you come for one band, and then leave, you have a problem. I have seen even kids who are part of the "hardcore scene"  come into a show for "The Majora" and they had more respect for the other bands than 90% of the rest of the crowd. (so hats off to them)*a special note on that show: it was not a "hardcore" show.
As a fan you are there to support your friends, idols, co-workers, and brothers in some respects. So it only makes sense that if you want them to survive, you would support everyone else that they're playing with, who in some occasions are the only reason they got that show. Bottom line, if you have to leave, do it during a set-up/break down of the bands, so that you don't absolutetly disrespect the band playing, and the bands who have yet to play.

"Getting Paid Upfront/Money Gurantee" This part applys to bands and venues ( the few that there are). In a nutshell, don't be so stupid. If you are SAVAS(arguably the biggest band Myrtle Beach has birthed) even you should not be demanding money upfront. It's disrespectful to all parties, from the other bands on the bill, to the venue you're playing at. (Editors note: not an attack on Savas) As for the bars that are willing to shell out 400+ dollars on a single band, don't do it. Instead invest that money into you're venue. The sound Garden, was the perfect venue for MB. However, it's dead. So it's up to the living venues to try and make your establishment just as ideal. Considering that they made quite a bit of money, and became the scene favorite. If you take the four hundred dollars you were gonna spend on that band, put it towards making your venue a tiny bit better, and tell the band they make a slice of the door price, you can easily attract more people to show with the impoved venue, which will make the band more moeny in turn, and it will force the band to convince more people to come, which will again, in turn, make all parties involved more money.
There are a thousand more aspects of the scene that need to change. Most importantly to make the scene a family. The Late Wicked Awesomes, and Chicken Day, worked feverishly with many local acts to show them, they had a crowd here, they would be supported, and they would be respected, as long as they respected and supported everyone else. (Kind of like Rock' N' Roll Communism.) There are a handfull of bands that refused to support/ respect the other bands of the scene, and they declined greatly or ceased function as a band.
So Lets all try and make this scene, come together, go to a show. Spend a couple bucks on a drink, by some of the cheap merch (Editors note, to bands: keep your merch prices down, people already paid to come to your show, don't make them bankrupt just SO THEY CAN SUPPORT YOU OUTSIDE OF THE SHOW) and lets try to save this scene.

-One Imaginary Boy