thePULSEI knew them when…
House bands: Cultivating a music scene, striving for success
January 2005 – On a recent Thursday night, as Mullethead took The Lucky Dog’s stage to give fans their weekly dose of 80’s hair metal, it was obvious why house bands have long been a part of the Worcester music scene.
“House bands work out well for everyone,” Vincent Hemmeter, owner of Ralph’s and Vincent’s, says. “A band that wants to be recognized gets to play every week, and it is good for the club, ’cause you can get bands with the right feel.”
Some bands and venues go hand in hand, and it’s hard to imagine the end of their synergy. For years, locals couldn’t think of The Lucky Dog without thinking of the band Craig. Monday nights at Tammany Hall meant jamming out to The Late Messengers. And Uncle Wally was as much a part of the scene at The Plantation Club as the bar stools. While those bands may have left their well-known residencies, a different cast of characters is hoping to become new staples at local venues.
Dan Whynot, senior bartender at Tammany Hall, says that things haven’t quite been the same since The Late Messengers moved on to other projects.
“We used to have house bands like The Late Messengers that would pack the place, but times have changed. Overall business has been dwindling,” Whynot says. “We are looking to get new bands, but there is less interest.”
Erick Godin, manager and booking agent at The Lucky Dog Music Hall, has worked to retain house bands because he sees them as integral to logistically arranging a week’s worth of live music. House bands draw regular customers from the fans who come to see their friends play in opening acts.
“I’m using the bands opening for Mullethead to draw more of a crowd,” Godin says. “These kids are here, and they have a good time after their friend’s bands play, so I figure they’ll show up again. I guess that’s the point.”
Hemmeter agrees that business has been slower than in the old days, despite resident bands like Frank Morey and the Night Train bringing in a crowd to Ralph’s and Vincent’s on slower nights.
“It’s hard to sell out on weeknights,” Hemmeter says, “unless you get a good resident band. They work better for those nights when you aren’t as busy.”
For most local bands, being a resident band is the way to get started on the scene. While it may be hard to build a fan base while traveling around to small restaurants and clubs for early gigs, having a residency at one venue means that it is more likely the same fans will come see you every week.
“It gives the fans familiarity, and they know what they’re gonna see every week,” Godin says.
It’s a symbiotic relationship, with the fans getting to be a part of something and the band getting to establish a fan base.
A more recent trend is the idea of a band being a fixture at a venue — playing regularly instead of weekly, falling short of house band stature.
There are also the bands who don’t lock themselves into one venue. Local musician Jediah and his band are residents at a few places. On Sunday nights, you can find Jediah playing solo acoustic sets at Irish Times. On Thursdays, he plays at Tony’s Pub in Southbridge. And the band plays a few times a month at Sakura Tokyo, as well as Bottom’s Up.
A less recognized “residency” is open mic nights, where resident talent hosts an opportunity for new talent to showcase their music. Club Oz offers open mic hosted by Jonathan Lacouture on Wednesday nights, and Milan in Shrewsbury has open mic on Wednesdays with their house musician Billie Blue.
Sometimes, clubowners concede, it may be hard to draw in business with a new house band. But often it is just a matter of standing by one band and allowing them to prove themselves.
“If it’s something that’s good and if you believe in it, then you stick with it,” Hemmeter says.
In January, Hemmeter will welcome local band White Chocolate to Ralph’s, who’ll rock their Parliament-esque, modern funk every Thursday night. He says that he tried a few different bands, including some from Boston, but he thinks that White Chocolate will suit his Thursday evening spot “perfectly.”
House bands will always be a part of the Worcester music scene because the city’s club-goers are eager to be a part of a grassroots movement where new music is being cultivated. Fans are inspired by a vision of success for the local talent — to one day hear a local band on the radio and be able to say, “I knew them when…”
