exposing Blacksburg's underground (with the help of a little radio show)

  When I was in school, Blacksburg had an amazing and thriving local music scene.  It seemed as if almost every night there was some kind of music being played at a bar or restaurant.  Bands such as Baby Igor, the Steppe Children, Milk Badger, the Pietasters and Pop Sloppy satisfied the indie rock/punk/ska crowds, while Electric Woodshed and the Kind delivered in the classic rock vein. Blacksburg even had its own record label, Squealer Records, and a rock festival, Life Fest, to raise money for AIDS research. 

  Over the years, outlets for these bands shut down.  Other venues would open up in their wake, only to fall along the wayside as well.  If it wasnât for a lack of venues, it was a reluctance of bars and restaurants to hire local talent for fear of not covering overhead if attendance was not stellar [[[[that diminished the local scene to practically nothing.]]]]  Over those same years newer local bands would arrive, only to seemingly disappear alongside the venues.  Spackle, Alegebra One, the ShamaLamaDingDongs, and the National Dust were among the few bands in the mid- to late 90s that I recall seeing around town semi-regularly, but even that number was small relative to just five years earlier.  Without the exposure that the bars were able to provide for these bands, it seemed as if the scene in Blacksburg had faded away. 

  I think that is why I was so into the idea of bringing back the Local Zone.  When I heard that Bob "Fun Bobbyä Cardoni was going to revive the show, I asked to be a part of it immediately.  Bobby had some new ideas and it sounded promising. 

  Instead of just one hour, like the original show, this time the show would cover two hours. The original show aired on Sunday nights.  I felt that a program showcasing local talent would best serve that talent if we made the show closer to the weekend.  Not only were we going to feature local bands but also bands that were playing in town over the upcoming week or so.  With the show on Wednesday or Thursday, the music and bands we played would be fresher in peopleâs memories and they would be less likely to forget about going to a show.  Another new element that Bobby wanted to add to the show was to feature live bands giving in-studio performances.  By giving bands a chance to play live on the air, the Local Zone could fill some of the void left by reluctant and/or missing venues.  The hard part would be finding the bands, especially in a town with no scene. 

  Or so I thought.  Believe it or not, Blacksburg did have a scene, albeit rather underground, and Bobby had it all covered.  Most of these bands played out of houses like the Brick House, the Solar Haus, and 708.  I think even the Meltdown had bands at one time.  The man was amazing.  By yearâs end we had booked about 12 of 15 weeks with bands from Blacksburg or the region, and during Winter and Spring 2002 we actually had to turn back bands because we had booked up every week.  And the exciting thing about all these bands is that they cover almost every facet of music.  We had punk, jazz, bluegrass, rock, metal, blues, country, hip hop and, of course, indie rock.  How can it be possible to have all these bands and not have a scene!?!    And now here they were playing in our studio.             

  Originally when the show premiered in Fall 2001, there were three of us roaming in the station: Fun Bobby, Deral Fenderson and myself.    The hard part in the beginning was getting organized.  At one point in time, our goal was to have a band booked by the day before airing.  Eventually we got things straight, and we even gained the services of a professional sound crew to help with the in-studio performances.  

  Now the show runs smoothly (on most nights!).  There are times that keep everyone on their toes, but that is what real radio is about.  Hopefully we will be able to have the Local Zone return in the fall.  With the departure of Fun Bobby in May, it is up in the air as to whether or not the show will be able to return, but word around the scene is that it isnât going anywhere.  For now, just tune in Thursday nights at 7pm and get in with some of the local flavor that is slowly but surely rising to the surface.

The following is a list of the bands that have played the Local Zone this year:

Leatherbrain

Input: Lust

The National Trust (now The Most)

Sister Maryâs Chicken

DâTruth

Liberation Jumpsuit

F150

Poverty Creek

Mike Mitchell Band

Brand New Disaster

In The Red

Malachi Constant (now I Saved Latin)

Avulsion

Rhesus

Round Robin

Slow Cut Groove

The Greatest

And a few more that have yet to play at the writing of this article.