The return of local rock

I’m taking a break from politics for the moment because there’s been some exciting news on the local music front.

After a hiatus of three years or so, the fine folks at 93.5 The Beach (WZBH-FM) are bringing back the “Local Produce” radio show beginning tonight at 9 p.m. (I’ve linked to their Myspace site under “Local music.”) This means that groups who hail from an area spanning the Baltimore/DC/Philly/Norfolk region are finally regaining a regular outlet for their music after the demise of X106.9, the Bishopville station bought out by WYPR-FM in Baltimore and reformatted into a NPR broadcaster. (Ocean 98, WOCM-FM 98.1, does occasionally feature live performances by local bands – like my friends from Semiblind – on their 6 p.m. “Live Lixx” hour, but there’s no set schedule for the program.)

When “Local Produce” left the air, it began a chain reaction of programming changes that soon left local rock without a regular program on the air as competitor 96 Rock also ended their “Local Licks” program shortly thereafter. The slack was picked up for awhile on X106.9 but their other issues eventually forced the station to drop the alternative format featuring local music entirely.

The reborn “Local Produce” also promises to have a little heavier sound than the bands regularly featured on Ocean 98, which tends to feature more acoustic and mainstream rock groups. While I enjoy those performances (especially the plugged ones, as opposed to unplugged) and hope Lesley Bunting continues to schedule frequent appearances by local musicians for the “Live Lixx” show, the new “Local Produce” program will give local hard rock and metal favorites like Hard$ell, Falling From Failure, Goatbag, and others their chance for airplay and promotion too.

So now I have bookends for my Sunday radio listening because I also happen to enjoy and crank up the “House of Hair” program 96 Rock puts on Sunday mornings (in fact I’m listening to it right now.) Both are well worth the time, but with the music business suffering like the remainder of the entertainment industry in these difficult times, it’s this chance to allow bands to develop more of a local following which needs to be supported.

Author: Michael

It's me from my laptop computer.