The Santa Fe music scene is like an archipelago of musical islands, each with its own language, customs and rituals. If it's R&B you enjoy, there is something for you almost every night of the week. Simply enter a bar that hosts live music and you are sure to find a mutilated Willie Dixon song bouncing off the walls. For a relatively small town, the amount of music in Santa Fe may force you to re-think the Friday night mantra that goes, "There's nothing to do around here." All you need to do is look; you might be surprised or mildly horrified, but certainly not bored.
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That said, the lack of flexible venues to accommodate emerging, mid-career and underground artists can make the local music scene predictable. There is, however, a relatively new offering that makes a significant impact on the music scene. The College of Santa Fe's music series has proven to be a consistent bright spot and, at least during the school year, is the center of Santa Fe's indie rock scene. (I should mention that I am a part-time instructor at CSF.)
"We [CSF] have always had concerts, but my approach to it is slightly different," Yorgun Marcel says between drags of his cigarette. Marcel is entering his third year as the director of student activities at CSF. Along with a student-run programming board, Marcel and his crew book, promote and run the entire music series at O'Shaughnessy Performance Space and the SUB. "Before, it was closed to the public," he continues, "so we opened it up to the community and that allowed us to go after better acts. A lot of times we went with whoever happened to be in Santa Fe, as opposed to targeting national bands." The system for booking bands is simple. The programming board, comprised entirely of CSF students, ultimately decides which bands will play.
"There are two parts to it," Marcel says. "There are labels and management companies that I've worked with in the past who will let me know who is touring in the area and see if we're interested in any of them. And then there are the bands that the students will tell us about, so we target them as well." To be sure, this is a student-run music program. Marcel facilitates the logistics (i.e. contracts, etc.), but the series is entirely curated and maintained by the students.
Xaq Webb, a senior in theater management and a member of the programming board, says, "The student body is so supportive of new creative endeavors; the student-led manifested projects are at the heart of our education." Webb also works as a lead tech for the shows.
Bands that played in the past include CSF alumni Beirut and D Numbers, Albuquerque's A Hawk and a Hacksaw, Elvis Perkins and one of the biggest indie acts to ever play in Santa Fe, Xiu Xiu. Upcoming acts include indie wunderkinds Voxtrot (8 pm Thursday, Sept. 20. Free for CSF students, $8 others. CSF SUB, 1600 St. Michael's Drive) and the pared-down rock of the Gore Gore Girls (8 pm Saturday, Oct. 27. Free for CSF students, $8 others. O'Shaughnessy Performance Space, 1600 St. Michael's Drive). Many of these bands probably would not have thought about playing in Santa Fe if it wasn't for CSF.
"It's the niche that was lacking in town. So I felt that we were not only providing a service for our students, but also providing a service for music audiences in Santa Fe," Marcel says.
The financial risks of booking nationally known acts can be tremendous for what is, essentially, a nonprofit organization, and Marcel had to get creative with his strategies. "We've been able to book bands based on how flexible we are," Marcel says. "We know that we cannot pay what some of the performers are used to elsewhere, but we are really flexible with the dates."
Artist fees are typically about $500 and, on rare occasions, can reach approximately $1,000. "I have tremendous respect for the artists that we deal with and tremendous respect for them being on the road. If it's within budget we will gladly pay it," Marcel says.
The shows at CSF aren't all sunshine and unicorns. There's not a formal stage at either O'Shaughnessy or the SUB, so it's a drag to try to see shows from the back of the room. A portable stage has been ordered for both rooms to alleviate the problem. Quad Stock, the music series' crowning jewel, is a yearly outdoors music festival held on campus in May. In recent years, it has been ravaged by late winter storms. Marcel is reserving an alternative on-campus site in case the weather turns ugly again. Two bands have already been booked for the 2008 Quad Stock, The Asylum Street Spankers and the White Ghost Shivers.
Within each scene, there's surely something worth the ticket price. Regardless, it's the young people who know music best; it's an instinct that's obviously worth fostering and giving a platform to it. And if it's different and reasonably priced, why not try it? You might be happy you did.
