My Scene: Miami
Hi! My name is Lauren Reskin, people call me Lolo. I've been out and about in the scene down here since I was 15, and started DJing at indie nights when I was 17. Since then I've promoted and managed tons of clubs, worked as a street rep, booked bands, opened an indie record store, started a label, published a 'zine, and done a few other things along the way... Here is my "State of the Scene" report:
First, there has never been a better time to write this report because Miami's music scene is blowing UP. Here's a category-by-category review of some of the main figures, venues, points, etc.
Clubs
The two main nights that birthed the indie scene down here
are PopLife by Aramis Lorie and Barbara Basti
and Revolver by Josh Menendez. PopLife is celebrating
their 7-year anniversary this June with a live performance by Jamie Lidell. Revolver is currently on hiatus.
Anyway, people in Miami tend to party LATE - last call here is 5am most places, some even have a 24-hour liquor license, and weekends start on Thursday. Here are some current club nights with their respective promoters in parentheses:
- Back Door Bamby Mondays at Snatch (Carmel Ophir/CreationsPMG)
- Takeout Tuedays at Buck15 (Keen One/Joel Meinholz)
- Roll Out Tuesdays at Gold Coast Roller Rink (Lolo/DJ Hottpants)
- Vibrator Wednesdays at PS14 (Jeremy Alvarez)
- Plastik Fantastik Thursdays at Studio A (Carmel Ophir/Lolo)
- Crush Thursdays at Tabu, Ft. Lauderdale (Brothers Alexander)
- Spiderpussy Thursdays at Soho Lounge (Andrews Lorenzana/
Raphael DeOnate) - BoB Fridays at Rex at The Marlin (Keen One/Joel Meinholz)
- Phoenix Fridays at Roxanne's, Ft. Lauderdale (Brothers Alexander)
- PopLife Saturdays at The District (Aramis Lorie/Barbara Basti)
- Switch Saturdays at PS14 (Par/Nastie)
- Chocolate Sundays at Purdy Lounge (Joel Meinholz)
Music stores:
Sweat Records is my store.
We opened in March 2005 because Miami really didn't have a classic indie record shop! All was well,
with great sales, tons of in-store events, and all-around prosperity, until Hurricane Wilma destroyed
our building last October. However, six weeks later we relocated into our current space inside of
Churchill's Pub, and thanks to our dedicated following are doing A-OK. We send out a popular
weekly email with a comprehensive local show and event listing.
Other cool local music stores include CD Collector (Ft. Lauderdale), and Uncle Sam's (South Beach and Lauderhill). The other stores are all national chains, and the Miami Virgin Megastore is closing down in May/June.
Bars/Venues:
Churchill's Pub: the CBGB's of Miami,
specializing in "the dirty end of rock 'n' roll" but also home to the long-running "Miami
Jazz Jam" every Monday night and a variety of other community events.
Studio A: Miami's new "Rock 'n' Roll Discotheque" perfect for mid-size to bigger indie acts and funky club nights. Gorgeous décor, 600+ capacity and a 24-hour liquor license.
Buck15: a funky airport-lounge style hangout with a living room vibe upstairs from a Chinese restaurant on South Beach.
PS14: a shady location but a chill bar with a patio that has DJs most nights of the week.
The District: upscale restaurant in the Design District that hosts PopLife.
Purdy Lounge: open every night and home base for a lot of locals and skateboarders.
Soho Lounge: multi-level venue in the Design District that caters to a younger audience.
Rex at The Marlin: bar/restaurant in the lobby of The Marlin hotel on South Beach.
Revolution is a large capacity venue in Ft. Lauderdale that hosts a wide variety of national acts - everything from The Roots to Skinny Puppy to They Might Be Giants.
Culture Room is another venue in Ft. Lauderdale who hosts national indie shows like Detroit Cobras, Benevento-Russo Duo, BRMC, etc.
Other random peeps:
New Art School are a solid duo who
throw tons of successful shows in a variety of genres, but mostly punk, rock, hardcore, alt-country and
more. They recently started a label and are putting out lots of quality garage rock, hardcore, etc.
PopLife bring down a ton of national acts, some highlights of the last year were Of Montreal, M.I.A., and Prefuse 73.
Misery & Co. is Miami's only local/indie clothing shop with arty duds by Cardiac, Weird Fuckr, Krelwear and more.
Stop Miami is a funky local wine bar with live music and DJs. There are always interesting people hanging out there.
Festivals:
Winter Music Conference and the
simultaneous M3 take over every March to bring electronic
music to the masses. WMC's main event is the massive Ultra
Music Festival which draws tens of thousands of people annually and is in it's 8th year.
South Florida also now has Ethan Schwartz' Langerado Festival which was headlined this year by The Flaming Lips and Wilco, and the Bang Music Festival which brought us Fischerspooner, the Brazilian Girls, and more.
Subtropics is an experiemental sound arts festival that's been going on for 17 years.
Art Basel also takes over Miami for a week every December, with tons of offical and unaffiliated parties and a free concert on the beach to kick it off. Past concerts included Scissor Sisters and the New York Dolls.
Now let's talk musicians:
Jesse Jackson is often
called "Miami's Tom Waits" - he's a multi-instrumentalist who sings and plays his own
quirky bluesy, bossa balladry all over the city, sometimes even busking on South Beach. He plays
with a variety of other musicians - stand-up bass, accordion, cello - always a crowd-pleaser and
one of the indie artists in the forefront in Miami.
Awesome New Republic was going to be Miami's "indie band that could" but unfortunately are breaking up to due to geography. They left a great album in their wake called "ANR So Far" that got a 7.9 out of 10 on Pitchfork.com. The lead singer, Michael-John Hancock, is working on solo material.
Otto Von Schirach is a bonafide electronic music star who calls Miami home. His new album is coming out on Mike Patton's Ipecac label.
The Down Home Southernaires are a 5-piece country-funk-R&B group and one of the sickest live acts down here. They will be putting out their debut full-length in the fall and touring America for the last half of 2006.
The Fabulous Shuttle Lounge are a hilarious combo comprised of a bunch of talented older musicians who take pride in polishing off bottle after bottle of Bombay Sapphire onstage while doing inspired covers/medleys/parodies of everything from Steely Dan to Modest Mouse to "Rhinestone Cowboy" - a live local favorite!
Humbert are Miami's staple indie power-pop group. They've been around for years, won "Best Band" a bunch of times, played SXSW, and etc. They're often compared to Weezer.
Raffa and Rainer are a 2-guitar folk duo. Raffa's voice has been likened to Joni Mitchell and people adore her offbeat lyrics.
Kentsoundz is a remixer and producer who is doing local and national remixes as well as smooth original material.
The Remnants are a shitty punk rock band who can actually play their instruments and have a huge range of influences from The Stooges to The Meters, as well as a feisty redhead lead singer named Cynthia Duvall who can WAIL like Aretha.
Modernage have an Interpol-esque sound and a significant local following.
Other bands making local waves: The Jean Marie, Inner City Bonfire, Bacon Bits, The Bittercups, Baby Calendar, Dead Hookers' Bridge Club, Fitzroy, Fashionista, Map of the Universe, The Brand.
DJs to know: Matt Cash, Induce, DJ Le Spam, Deejay Smeejay, Plot, Manuvers, Saul (Himself), Lahora, DJ Hottpants, DJ Immortal, Alex Caso, R. Milian.
Local labels: Schematic, Sutro, Atomisk*, Home-Tapes, New Art School Records, Merck, Counterflow.
Local websites to peep:
Adios, Lolo
Lauren Reskin (or Lolo), 23, is a Miami native who has been championing indie/obscure/international music in South Florida for nearly 8 years. After promoting and DJing at numerous indie club nights, she opened SWEAT RECORDS in 2005 which has since won "Best Record/CD Store" accolades in the Miami New Times 2 years running. Lauren also has a record label called SUTRO and a 'zine called THE SWEATER. Currently she is working as the Indie Consultant for the new Miami Performing Arts Center and on a wide variety of other projects to continue to grow the indie/music community of SouthFlorida. She can be contacted at lolo@sweatrecordsmiami.com.