Depressed North American Rock Scene

There was once something known as the Great Depression in the 1930's where people were starving and didnt have jobs. People were depressed, the government didnt know what to do and there was an overall feeling of hopelessness.

This pretty much SUMS UP the rock scene in North America. Rock musicians are starving and dont have crowds or gigs, the fans are depressed because of all the rap and hip hop and teeny-bopper CRAP that is being shoved down their throats, and the record labels dont know what to do! There is an overall feeling of hoplessness.

In 2008 we see a few main 'meat and potatos' rock bands selling in excess of a million copies (which is quite a large feat in this era) like Buckcherry and Nickelback. Nickelback actually is going strong towards selling 8 million copies of their latest offerring. Yes...you read it right: 8,000,000 units sold!! This one CD alone has outsold ANY other genre of music including country, rap and hip-hop or pop. Hell, even the latest Guns n Roses Greatest Hits CD which features material thats over 20 years old sold over 3 million copies! In fact, CD sales for rap and hip hop are declining on a yearly basis! Like, when was the last time you heard of Eminem or Fiddy?? Britney's gone nuts, Avril's sales are down, Christina's a slut and JLo is gonzo! 

     WTF?   

Major Labels

So with the success of Buckcherry and Nickelback why on earth would the major labels not sign and promote more rock bands? The labels are crying for sales, and there seems to be mass confusion on what strategy to take. I dunno about you readers but if you owned a store and saw that the Doritos bags that you put on your main display shelf were selling like crazy and one day they sold out -what would you do?? You'd probably ORDER MORE DORITOS!!

North American Public Attitude

The general concesus seems to be that anything sounding like party rock is instantly labelled '80's'. And as soon as something is seen as being '80's' then images are conjured up of cheesy sex songs, teased out hair, men with make-up and bad leapord-skin tights. While this arguably WAS the image that dominated the scene from 1984-1989 it didnt seem to last that long. Guns N' Roses quickly brought forth a more street-tough image with leather and ripped jeans. When was the last time you saw Axl wearing blush??....no I didnt think so! This poor '80's' image also seems to overshadow the great TALENT that some of these straight-up rock bands have!

• Did you ever hear Kurt Cobain drill out a guitar solo?
• Is John Mayer really as soulful a musician as other songwriters from the 70's or 80's??
• Is Tom Morello really a guitar hero in the leagues of an Eddie Van Halen or Jimmy Page?
• Does anyone really care about new Pearl Jam albums?

...didn't think so!!!

With that being said there are some nice indie bands on the scene making some waves. With the exception of newcomers who are signed to a major label EndEverAfter, most of these are straight up loud rock n roll bands that the labels are blatantly ignoring.

 

Bands To Watch Out For:

EndeverafteR

In the annals of rock music, you’d be hard-pressed to find a band that’s been championed by both Pete Wentz and Bret Michaels. You’d also be hard-pressed, at least nowadays, to find a rock band that possesses a guitar hero for the next generation, a sexual swagger and an actual sense of fun. EndeverafteR is that band. They (unironically) kick ass.

On Kiss or Kill, EndeverafteR’s debut album, there are big Big BIG choruses, thrashy drums, a little bit of punk, a lot cocksure attitude and a whole lotta guitars. The band is creating the anthems for a generation: “I Wanna Be Your Man” and “Baby, Baby, Baby” may very well soon be heard across strip clubs worldwide.

This isn’t some kind of sex, drugs, rock n’ roll gimmick. Lead singer/songwriter/guitarist Michael Grant writes what he feels, be it a huge power ballad (“Next Big Thing”) or a savage Crue-inspired (“Tip of My Tongue”). “The core of this band is heart,” says the singer.

An EndeverafteR live show is quite a sight. You’ll notice things you haven’t seen at rock show in a long time: a bunch of long-haired, open-shirt rock gods struttin’ around, putting on an actual show. It’s theatrical, energetic, cocky and while there’s no pyro yet, it’s on its way.

EndeverafteR has already captured the public’s eye; a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the “Baby Baby Baby” video was 1 on YouTube with nearly 500,000 views in one day. The band is about to go out on tour with Fuel/Trapt and expose a whole new group of fans to the wonders of their rock’n’roll circus.