The fun began at The Co-Laboratory, where attendees were treated to live music, catered faire from newly launched local venture The Picnic Fairy and copies of the publication. We were all out to toast. As the release party came to a close, thrill seekers spilled over to Hangfire, where the PBR flowed like water, and Savannah proved that it deserves to be deemed the dance party capital of the East Coast.

The Outlet party was the culmination of an adventurous month that began, not only with New York is Boring’s 3-Day Play launch party, but with the symphonic invasion of Athens-based troupe Venice is Sinking onto our turf in the Low Country.

Athens, GA is no menial point of origin for a band. The city has, in the past, given us The B-52s, R.E.M. and Of Montreal. Venice is Sinking released their latest album, Sand and Lines, on June 15th. A quietly experimental live piece, it possesses a gentle, yet profound sense of melody and composition. With a creation such as this under their belt, Venice is Sinking might just be the next essential puzzle piece to emerge from that prolific locale.

Until recently, Savannah was a forgotten city on tour routes. The times, it seems, have changed. Venues such as The Jinx, The Wormhole and The Co-Laboratory create raw, honest experiences for audiences. Things are happening here in Georgia, and other locations on the East Coast could learn from its example.

The Old Scene

Music scouts and blogs hail Williamsburg as the epicenter of the music universe. But the grassroots spark that once filled the wider New York circuit is now absent. In places like my hometown of Merrick, Long Island, the current conducted energy level is equal to that of staring at the walls of a bank interior.

I attended high school in the mid-late 1990s, an era which many consider to be the “glory years” of the Long Island music scene.  My early LI musical experiences range from sitting in on countless basement band practices, to getting kicked in the face in a mosh pit at The PWAC.

At 13, I caught a Foo Fighters show at NYC’s Tramps – 3 months before the release of their first album.  When I was 15, my buddies and I made friends with a roadie outside of a show headlined by San Francisco punk outfit Tilt. Later that night, our new pal invited us up on stage to dance with the band.  That same year, I stepped in a pool of vomit at a Bouncing Souls show.

Those last two episodes took place at Coney Island High on St. Mark’s Place, which to me, is STILL the coolest place to have ever existed.  These accounts are remembrances of things past, and I regret to inform you that all of the aforementioned venues had shut their doors by the early 2000s.

The New Scene

Today’s fledgling LI bands often take to backyards for a showcase.  While in New York earlier this month, I attended one such exploit.  The event was to promote local band Midnight Mob’s debut as headliners at NYC’s Webster Hall on Sunday, June 27.

Opening acts Vision Through Sound and Harold’s Trousers kicked off the evening, which reached its climax when Midnight Mob took to the arena with its brand of self-described “Psychedelic Sex Rock.”  Their strong classic rock influence, and electric live energy, revved up the crowd, and conveyed that this band is certainly worthy of tearing up the main stage at Webster Hall.

After the bash, I sat down with the members, as they spoke of their roots and ambitions.  Produced by Chris Russell, Midnight Mob includes Lauren “Blackey” Palazzo (vocals), Mickey “Squeez” Occhino (lead guitar), Carly Quinn (bass), Sal “Spydyr” Manteria (rhythm guitar) and Michael James “Mikey Catastrophe” Sarna (drums). They formed as a cover band in 2008, but quickly abandoned that approach, in favor of creating original music.  They’ve spent the past year competing in a contest sponsored by Emergenza, winning 1^st place in both initial rounds.  The show at Webster Hall was the final round of the US competition, which sends the winner to perform at a festival in Berlin, Germany.

Midnight Mob views their debut at Webster Hall as a sort of “coming out party.” Their ability to work as a team has greatly expanded their fan base, and when Spydyr joined this spring, they felt that everything had finally come together. “This is just the beginning.  It’s scary and exciting,” stated vocalist Blackey Palazzo. “Life has been so small. I don’t think anyone grasps that it could be you.”

At just 21-years-old, Blackey has already shown the verve necessary for success in rock ‘n’ roll. Highly influenced by Southern gospel and blues, while still a teenager, she traveled Mississippi to aid in the post-Katrina clean-up. Blackey’s sense of gratitude rang out during their set that night, when Mob performed a wild rendition of Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire.”

To this band, it’s about more than just stages, fans and tours, it’s about the soul of the music itself.  It is a soul that is derived, not just from a Southern blues tradition, but from the roots of their own backyards. Guitarist Squeez is of the belief that the scene on Long Island fails to cater to original music, and that Midnight Mob is already playing a role in “bringing back” the vitality of previous generations.

The day after that backyard show, I jumped into my rented Dodge Charger to trek back to Georgia, stopping to spend a few hours in Athens with our friends from Venice is Sinking.  Bands such as Venice is Sinking and Midnight Mob make me optimistic about the future of music. Both are fueled by a passion far stronger than the superficiality that exists in much of today’s market.

When I first dropped into Savannah five years ago, I was a prematurely jaded stranger on a “blues tour” of the American South.  Equipped with a spiral notebook and a video camera, I sought to answer a somewhat rhetorical question: “Is the spirit of Rock ‘n’ Roll still alive in the land of its birth?”

While painting the town on one of those first nights, I was full of whiskey and a crisp 23-year-old attitude. At some point, I bolted from Sorry Charlie’s, which is now closed, across Congress St., over to The Jinx, hit the “record” button on my camera, and voiced my question to the crowd of partygoers. With just a few words, one man summed it up: “The spirit IS alive. The spirit is alive – HERE – in Savannah.”  I’ve seen it growing ever since. If that same fire can be fanned up in New York, that place might once again become, well, just a little less boring.