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• Editor's Note

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(Carter Henricks, CreativeWorks photographer)

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I have a hard time listening to people talk about how the scene here isn’t what is used to be. Yeah, bands aren’t getting signed right and left like they used to, but how does that contribute to a vibrant local scene? What matters is that we’ve got people in this town that love what they do.

And you hear it in the sound. We heard it June 26 in the beer garden of Mike ‘n‘ Molly’s as Elsinore belted out their tunes one last time before heading out West; We heard it December 19 at Krukid’s last show in town at Cowboy Monkey, and I hear it again, now, as I listen to New Ruin’s ambitious full length We Make Our Own Bad Luck (you’ve got to hear it).

If you’re caught up in what the scene used to be so far as to not give anything new a chance, than I think you’re missing the point of what local music is. It’s dynamic, interactive, collaborative and communal. It’s a conversation.

And I think this year buzz, WPGU and Illini Media have really understood that point about local music. Just four buzz issues away, The Local Music Showcase (LM5) will celebrate the scene’s accomplishments throughout the past year. The changes and improvements of this year’s event are a direct result of that conversation and I hope to see those already contributing to the scene at the showcase as well as new faces eager to be a part of the ever-changing sound of CU.

So to start the celebration off early, buzz has spent the past few weeks catching up with local restaurant owners, booking agents, promotions artists, music teachers, storeowners, radio voices, musicians and fans on their thoughts of the scene as it is today and their recollections of its past. In this special issue of buzz, we will be introducing those unfamiliar with the scene to the vibrant history of music in CU. In the upcoming weeks, we will look more to the present and future, focusing on the LM5’s spotlight bands and their accomplishments within the past year.

But in the meantime, flip through buzz to find out how Nirvana rocked Green Street just above where Jimmy John’s is now back in 1989. Visit the new LM5 Web site to take a look back at previous ceremonies. And lastly, join us in celebrating the scene by voting for who you think the “sweatiest band of 2008” on the217.com.