Does South Florida Rock?

BY SCOTT FISHMAN

Jamie Brown has the typical rock & roll dream. The gigs. The groupies. The money. The music. The sex. The drugs. While in no particular order, it all encompasses a lifestyle many have envisioned, but few have achieved.
However, for Brown and many other budding local artists the path to rock superstardom has been a little harder in South Florida than other regions of the country.
Brown has been leading the psychedelic punk rock group Dr. Gonzo's Bazooka Circus for the past seven years. During this time he has seen the once bustling rock scene fall by the waste-side with rock clubs closing and popular 94.9 Zeta leaving the radio airwaves in 2005. Throughout its near 20-year history, Zeta was a strong supporter of local artists. A big part of its efforts was a Sunday show called Zeta Goes Local dedicated to South Florida bands.
“Local music in our area has no mainstream exposure,” said Brown, who frowns on the current rock station 93 Rock.
“93.1 is a fine station to brainwash and limit the brain activities of music lovers. However, do not be fooled. 93.1 isn't there for you and the spirit of rock & roll, they are there to make a profit. It's a subdivision of the essence of rock & roll. Also, without naming names, mid-capacity level venues have severely declined in hosting local artists compared to three years ago.”
There are only a handful of longtime hotspots for rock aficionados that are still standing. Brown has performed at the Culture Room and Revolution, as well as newer places including the Talent Farm and at Conine’s Clubhouse Grill.
“I've visited Tallahassee, Orlando, and Riley, North Carolina while traveling with my band and saw that all three of those places outdid the South Florida scene,” said Brown, who turned down record contracts from wealthy businessman who ended up being drug addicts and were putting in contract provisions he didn’t agree with.
Much like Brown, Nonpoint drummer Robb Rivera is in it for the music. Rivera’s group formed in Fort Lauderdale in the mid-1990s. Nonpoint has toured all across the United States and other countries for the past decade alongside bands Disturbed, Linkin Park, Sevendust and Staind. Nonpoint gained mainstream notoriety with its cover of Phil Colins’ In the Air Tonight for the Miami Vice movie in 2006.
“I’m not sure that there is a rock scene right now in South Florida,” said Rivera, who joined his band in headlining the 93 Rock End of Summer Slam last year at Markham Park in Sunrise.
Rivera says one of the reasons for his opinion is the lack of clubs who cater to the South Florida rock scene.
“There really is nowhere to play,” said Rivera. “We need clubs to support local music. We had one called the Scene and it was an all-ages club, but Hurricane Wilma kind of wiped that out. There just needs to be someone out there to believe in the music scene.”
Jessie Gilmartin spends many nights going to clubs to listen to some of her favorite bands. She disagrees with the picture Brown and Rivera paint.
“I don’t think the rock scene is dead by any means,” said Gilmartin.
“If you go to shows at Revolution or Culture Room you've got tours constantly coming through and there are tons of kids at every show. The Talent Farm is in the boondocks near the Everglades and hardcore bands mostly play there, but a lots of kids that go there every weekend. It’s as much of a hangout as it is a venue. It’s like this little treasure that not many people know about.”
Gilmartin stays on the pulse of rock in South Florida through Radio Revolution, a program she DJs for on Saturday nights. The show, broadcasted on Spanish formatted station 88.3 showcases alternative rock with trance and hip hop to mix things up.
“The station didn’t create Radio Revolution,” said Gilmartin, who hosts the 10:30 p.m. block of music news for the show. “But the station has been really supportive of us, and we're so thankful to have those airwaves.”
Since 2005, 93.1 has ruled the new rock radio airwaves in South Florida. The station has been criticized by its audience for its lack of variety compared to rock stations in other markets. The station’s program director Kevin Vargas feels otherwise.
“We think we're doing a good job since the station grows more and more successful with time both in size of audience and as a business,” said Vargas, who can be heard 3-6 p.m. weekdays.
“There may be those who may wish there was an alternative station, or those who wish there was a true classic rock station, as BIG 105.9 WBGG is majority classic pop hits and 60's oldies, but that is not what we are all about. We are a variety station with a commitment to more of the old stuff you love, more of the new stuff you want. It's an ever evolving presentation, and we'll do exactly what the majority of rockers say they want and expect when they turn on South Florida's pure rock station.”
Vargas says the problem in this market compared to others is the difference in segmented audiences.
“This is a very challenging market as it is truly one of more ethnically diverse and with more people who hold onto their culture or heritage rather than assimilate,” said Vargas.
“It's part of what makes Miami/Ft. Lauderdale so colorful and interesting. Because of that diversity, the rock and country music scenes are smaller than most areas of this size.”
As people continue to debate and choose their side when it comes to the rock scene in South Florida, the potential rock stars of tomorrow move forward. When Brown thinks of all the times he has been denied a record deal or a gig, he remembers a quote from the late journalist Hunter S. Thompson or known more famously as Dr. Gonzo. The controversial creator of Gonzo journalism, a style of reporting where the reporter becomes the main part of the story, was an inspiration to Brown.
“The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side,” said Thompson.



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