Step aside, New York City. These days, Baltimore is a hotbed for new bands.
This city has some of the most exciting and innovative performers in the country, according to a slew of music magazines such as Rolling Stone and Blender. Rolling Stone even gave the city the Best Scene award for 2008.
Though much of the attention is focused on the experimental arts and music collective Wham City and hip-hop beat makers Darkroom Productions, performers from all corners of the city's scene are getting national exposure. Music lovers around the nation are buzzing and blogging about ambient pop duo Beach House, fierce female hip-hop twosome the Get 'Em Mamis and the contagiously energetic electronica artist Dan Deacon.
But as the scene gets more and more attention, local artists and musicians are looking to add some history to the hype. They're drawing inspiration from the clubs and bands of the '90s, and documenting the recent past through photo exhibits, books and Web sites. Their goal is to give the past its due and also potentially influence the newest wave of Baltimore musicians.
"A lot of people in the national press are saying, 'Oh, what's happening in Baltimore is a new thing,' but it's not new at all," said Roman Kuebler, the 36-year-old front man for the veteran indie rock group the Oranges Band. "Keep in mind - we've been doing this for 20 years."
Back in the '90s, Candy Machine was one of the city's biggest punk rock bands. They signed to a label and regularly played at local clubs before disbanding later in the decade. But Kuebler recently realized the band was largely unknown to a new generation of music fans.
Kuebler was stunned. All kinds of questions popped into his head. Could Candy Machine really have just faded into obscurity so quickly? And were all of the clubs and bands from the '90s lost on the new wave of Baltimore musicians? The idea shocked him.
"It's surprising," Kuebler said. "It occurred to me that the history of Baltimore music doesn't pass down in a way that it might in other places."
Kuebler began drawing from the old Baltimore scene for his new album. One of the first songs he wrote was "Do You Remember Memory Lane," a track about the now shuttered rock club in Southwest Baltimore. Kuebler wove in lines from other bands' songs and the names of venues such as the Rev, which is now Gordon's Nightclub.
