How come almost all the famous rock groups are from LA???

[SmileyBoy]

And how come almost NONE of them are from the Midwest??? Does it really mean THAT much to be originally from a place close to the headquarters of a major record label???

This has kind of pissed me off lately.

Just another mini-rant from me.

[NashVegas]

1. Please Tell Me You're Joking

or, how do you define "famous?"

Midwest: Cheap Trick, Wilco immediately come to mind.

[Magrittes Pipe]

4. Seeing that "famous" does not equal "good"...

Chicago is a very famous band.

Smashing Pumpkins are from Chi-town, they're famous. Prince is from Minneapolis (and the Replacements and Husker Du, but they're not as famous).

[Screaming Lord Byron]

14. And the little-lamented Soul Asylum. Not to mention Bob Dylan.

[MissMillie]

20. Prince is from MN

I don't know if he still lives there, but that's where he comes from.

[vi5]

2. Do you have any in mind?

To be honest with you I can't think of very many currently famous groups from LA, especially since Hair Metal died down.

[NashVegas]

3. Maroon 5

not that they're any good ...

[vi5]

9. That's one semi famous band....

Hardly making a case for all famous rock bands being from LA>

[SmileyBoy]

6. I'm talking about new groups from today.

Linkin Park, for example.

[vi5]

10. Isnt' Lincoln Park from somewhere else?

Again, that's one band. And a not very good one at that, so I wouldn't be too ashamed that they're not from where you are.

[NashVegas]

11. Feh

If your guage of the current situation for modern music is determined by what's famous, you may as well just shoot yourself.

[SmileyBoy]

13. Don't get me wrong, most of my favourite bands aren't mainstream.

I'm talking about newer, famous bands, regardless of whether or not they suck.

My favourite band today is from kind of an obscure place, musically speaking. They're a punk band from Calgary called Belvedere.

[NashVegas]

15. Well, Yes, But So What About Fame?

We place far too much emphasis on it and so doing, allow the determination of OUR culture to be taken out of OUR hands and placed in the trust of people who want nothing more than to make a buck. It's not worth getting pissed over what's best ignored.

Go ye out of MTV-land and forage the wilderness for the music that appeals to thine own soul, and support the people who make it.

[SmileyBoy]

16. I already do.

I hate MTV.

Like I said, don't get me wrong.

[Screaming Lord Byron]

17. The home of Chixdiggit musically obscure? For shame!

[PVnRT]

19. Tool, Stone Temple Pilots,

what remains of Rage Against the Machine, all came out of L.A.

[asthmaticeog]

5. Most of 'em ARE from the midwest.

It's just harder to get noticed if you STAY there. Midwestern musicians with popularity ambitions move to LA & NYC in droves because those cities are industry and media centers. If you get noticed there, you don't have to work very hard to get coverage in national media and notice from the A&R people who sign bands to major labels. The whole Seattle/Chicago/Minneapolis thing 12 years ago was an anomaly.

My old band moved from Cleveland to LA (after I quit - I'm fine in Cle, thanks), and they're doing really well -- much better than when we were in Cleveland, for the reasons stated above. When we were in Cle it was a megabitch to network. We did better than most since we had friends in Chicago, which at the time was really hopping, but it's still no NYC or LA.

[SmileyBoy]

8. God, I hate LA.

I've hated it for many years.

I have lots of personal reasons.

Kind of like Homer hating New York in that Simpsons episode where he went there.

[asthmaticeog]

18. Yes, it's awful.

So many of my friends have moved there and thrived (I think it's because if you transplant a midwestern work ethic to a laid-back place like SoCal, you just can't HELP but thrive, but maybe a bit of prejudice on my part is showing in that assessment), but despite their constantly trying to get me out there, I just can't STAND it there! There's nothing old there, nothing tall there, nothing REAL there. There's no vegetation but palms. And a too-large part of the people are godawful delusional wannabes.

All that said, I'm in publications, so I may HAVE to head out there one of these years if I want to stay in my industry (which I do). But I'm gonna put it off and put it off and put it off until I no longer can before I give in, if I ever do. :)

[LWolf]

24. lol

As a mid-western transplant who grew up in the greater LA area (transplanted at the age of 7), I have to dispute these statements:

There's nothing old there


"Rancho La Brea is one of the world’s most famous fossil localities, recognized for having the largest and most diverse assemblage of extinct Ice Age plants and animals in the world."

nothing tall there


The U.S. Bank tower: tallest building between Chicago and southeast Asia. 7th tallest building in the U.S., the tallest outside Chicago, NY, and Atlanta. Not bad for a seismic area.

no vegetation but palms

It's true that not much native vegetation remains on the floor of the basin; it's been paved over. Palm trees are strictly a human introduction. These days, most of what grows there is; but it's not all palm trees!



The surrounding hills are still covered with chapparal; maybe you have to love the west to appreciate it, but the plant life is plentiful.



Of course, as far as the people go...I can't argue with you. L.A.'s biggest flaw, imo, is overcrowding. I live 50 miles north, and almost never head down to any of my favorite spots, because of this:

[asthmaticeog]

30. I should clarify

By "nothing old," I meant (but failed to state as such) in terms of architecture - there's not a whole lot of classicism going on, and what little I did see struck me as ersatz and Vegas-y. As for "nothing tall," I definitely overstated, you're right. It's better than Vancouver, for sure. :)

All other points taken.

[LWolf]

33. California is a funny place.

We're more diverse than any other state I know in terms of geography and people, and we have an abundance of both the best and the worst America has to offer. L.A. is just a small part of that; get rid of the traffic and the smog, and it's a great place.

Our architecture isn't really "old;" the oldest I can think of are the missions running up and down the coast and some of the adobe buildings from when California belonged to Spain, then Mexico. Then again, the U.S. is pretty young architecturally, anyway. I've never been far enough to see anything really old.

If you ever end up here, you'll find plenty of good to go with the rest.

:hi:

[Snow]

35. Agreed - as someone who lived here in the 50's & then moved

back again two years ago, the defining characteristic of the place is the huge variety. You can find whatever stereotype you're looking for, and conclude that that is indeed LA, and numerous writers and commentators have done so. Don't let it mislead you, though - the place is much broader than the cliche's, much more interesting, much more complex.

I come from a large old Chicago family of architects, and so even though that's not what I do myself, my uncles and grandparents and great-uncles all educated me, and LA does have quite a bit to offer between the missions, the old adobes, and the Transamerica building. For instance, there's a lot of old victorians, greek revival etc from the 1800's, there's some terrific Dada stuff, some really fine Art Deco buildings. The old Bullocks Wilshire building is beautiful, the LA City Hall, some of the museums south of USC that are actually left over from a long-ago World's Fair - Pasadena City Hall is beautiful, and there are countless smaller buildings & homes that are old architecture and remarkable. We don't knock 'em all down all the time.

[Philostopher]

29. No kidding.

My ex hubby was a sound engineer, and for a while in the late eighties, everybody was moving west. Besides that, Axl Rose and David Lee Roth both were from Indiana, and I can't think you could make a case for a much bigger 'rock star' than either of them, in their days/genres.

There was a smaller exodus, for a while, of Ohio musicians to Portland and Seattle. Didn't do them a whole lot of good, but they did go there in droves in the early nineties. For instance, Greg Dulli from Afghan Whigs/Twilight Singers has returned to Cinci to run Ultrasuede (his studio) because, presumably, it's a more reliable income.

[thisismyboomstick3]

7. A lot of good indie comes from the Midwest

There are a lot of New York and London Based Bands, not to mention Boston, Seattle, and Oregon.

[underpants]

12. I thought they were all from Manchester and Athens GA

:shrug:

[noonwitch]

27. And I thought the best were all from England

But I'm old.

[XNASA]

21. Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha...............

Haaaaaaaaaaaaa-PHOOEY!!!!!!!!

All the best bands are from the Midwest. The Flaming Lips, Wilco, Cheap Trick. The list goes on and on.

The only good band from LA in which all of the members were from LA was The Beach Boys.

[underpants]

22. Uh THE American band-Grand Funk Railroad?

[DelawareValleyDem]

23. Bob Seger

and the Silver Bullet Band

[GumboYaYa]

25. I'm hard-pressed to think of many bands who are actual L.A.

natives. Most bands who are "from" L.A. move there to get into the music business. I'm friends with the some of the guys in Better than Ezra. When they were originally signed to a label, the label made them move to L.A. As soon as they had a few hits under their belts they were back living and recording in New Orleans.

[Snow]

28. Siggy!

Siggy is pure LA! & they're having a party soon to roll out their new CD, "Cryptophasia"
http://siggytheband.com

They're also the most highly educated band in the business.

Okay, the lead singer's originally from Pittsburgh, but he moved here nearly 30 years ago.

[jmowreader]

26. Mix Magazine will answer that

The big studios are all in LA. The big record companies are all in LA. So everyone goes to LA (or New York) because That's Where The Industry Is.

You could ask the same thing about country--why are all the country bands from Nashville? Well...because that's where Tin Pan Alley is. If you want to make it in country, you go to Nashville.

Same deal with rock--either go to California or New York.

[asthmaticeog]

31. Nitpick

Grand Ol' Opry, not Tin Pan Alley.

[jmowreader]

36. Actually it's Music Row

That's where all the country music writers, session cats, etc., are located.

The Grand Ol' Opry made Nashville famous, but it's also the pretty face of Nashville country. Music Row is the factory floor--where the country is made.

[Blue-Jay]

32. They mostly only *move* to LA

after getting a contract and some noteriety.

[JVS]

34. Bob Dylan was a Minnesotan.

I suspect he mumbles to try to cover up a minnesota accent.