I’m writing to say that I am unimpressed by the current music review structure of the Coast.
Currently, the Coast reviews 4 or 5 discs a week, and only 1 or 2 are of local acts; those local acts almost certainly pertain to the indie-hipster demographic.
Additionally, reviews of live local bands are also limited to the indie-hipster demographic.
My suggestion is that The Coast adopt a similar music review format as Exclaim! magazine: each genre is given a section of CDs to be reviewed.
Additionally, since Exclaim! already reviews nationally released albums and acts, most who come from the three major Canadian cities, The Coast should concentrate, if not exclusively devote, its reviews to local CD releases. There is an abundance of local talent that releases CDs regularly.
The unfortunate thing is that there is no other alternative to The Coast when searching for competent reviews on local music. Thusly, if one’s musical tastes encompass more than trendy indie-music, he is out of luck.
If anything, expanding the musical palette will draw new readers to your paper, which will increase ad exposure, which will make ad space more valuable, which will increase The Coast’s profits, which ultimately will lead to further improvements for the paper.
This article appears in Jun 19-25, 2008.
what can you do.i doubt the coast is about to change it’s ways. even considering the fact that various local scenes are a lot more dedicated then in some of the bigger cities. i can assure you, that the local metal is a lot more dedicated then the toronto metal scene. here, at any and all metal shows, you see about 20-40 people who are ALWAYS there (plus a couple dozen more of the less prevalent), no matter who is playing, no matter where or when. in toronto, youd be lucky to have 50 people all together at a show with only local bands playing. trust me, i know. having gone to most (local and out-of-towner shows) here for the past 2 years, and in toronto for 5 years before that, there is not even a trace of doubt in my mind that hfx metalheads are more dedicated to anything thats head-bangeable then torontonians, with their beefs between bands, promoters, and even fans.yet the closest to a metal release ive seen reviewed in the coast was the Vennt EP. i havent seen any reviews for Hellacaust, Thy Flesh Consumed, or Collapse who all have/had records released in the last couple of years on bigger (in metal terms) labels. i doubt that Burning Moon will have their new album reviewed (even though it also happens to be released on a bigger label), and the fact that the Fistfight EP was not reviewed, despite quite possibly being the most innovative local band (after Cephalectomy, who coincidentally have a new album out now) did not surprise me at all (though i was suprised by Fistfight’s interviewappearing in the paper).nowadays, i only read the coast for the bitches, and show listings.oh, and before i get flamed for being closed minded about my music (blah blah blah liking only metal), i used metal as an example of what im most familiar with. my music tastes are wider then you can imagine.
Grindcore, you beat me to the punch! I was going to mention the metal scene here in Halifax too. We’ve got a wicked blues/jazz scene going on top of that, but none of that seems to be given much attention either, aside from the Garrett Mason article a few months ago.It’s a shame too, with metal bands having even less and less venues available to them (especially since the Attic closed its doors) they could really use some exposure from The Coast. I’m sure you’re familiar with it but for anyone that isn’t, Mutants on Parade is a great metal show that airs Sunday nights on CKDU radio if you’re looking for more metal info.Indie bands are great, but they’re not the only good things coming out of the Halifax music scene.
I wonder if the publishers of this “indie paper” feel a loyalty to the indie community (whatever that is) and in doing so ignore (or at best under-report) on metal or other legitimate music genres… Alternately, I wonder if there is a business reason why they choose to segment the market so narrowly…Either way, I’m pretty sure its intentional… And for 666 issues over 15 years in Hfx with NO cover-price, they damn well must be doing some things right…