Backyard Brunch Sessions Keeps Music Hyperlocal
Last week, I called out for hyperlocal music bloggers. Little did I know that net friend and SoundCtrl author David Chaitt hosts a video blog called Backyard Brunch Sessions. This is a project that he's just starting to get off the ground, but event wise has been doing for a while now. It's a great example of trying to raise awareness for local music and create community. In our current landscape, I think hosting events like this is a great start to combating much more human related issues like the health of local ecologies and artists in places where actually we live.
Why did you create Backyard Brunch Sessions?
David: Backyard Brunch Sessions started as a result of a weekly music industry homemade pizza night I was hosting at my Greenpoint apartment. With the video series, the goal was to create content that revolved around the intimate experience I was curating with my pizza nights, but expanded to include bands performances and food outside of just pizza. I’m passionate about both food and music, so it seemed like an organic fit for the content. In addition, I wanted to do something that came completely from my design with an outcome that would hopefully yield personal and professional growth.
As for the bands I chose, they were mostly friends of mine or bands I discovered through friends, so it has a personal touch to it. Here are a few examples. Josh from The Canon Logic has been a close friend since pre-school. My audio guy Dan aka NYCTaper suggested The Loom. Pearl and the Beard was suggested by Franz Nicolay. And so forth.
In what ways are you looking to expand and build the experience?
David: I would like to develop Backyard Brunches in other cities to support different local music communities and generate connectivity between each other. I have a few other ideas, but I prefer not to talk too much about things that aren’t yet manifested. As for the individual gatherings, I have no intention to make them open to the public or allow more people to come. It serves a greater purpose with intimacy.
Does Brooklyn have a healthy ecology of music culture and fans?
David: Yes and no. No band is truly from Brooklyn. It inhabits individual musicians or whole bands that relocate from towns and cities where they felt unsatisfied from their local community. There is also a large amount of people who think that Brooklyn will yield creativity, growth, and monetary success. However, it is healthy in certain pockets of especially the indie and folk scenes because they hustle and support each other.
How can we foster local communities that support creativity?
David: To make a very complex question simple, I suggest this three-step process.
- Make good music
- Find other likeminded musicians who make good music
- Grow together
One is something that not everyone is capable of doing. It is a gift and if you don’t have it, even the greatest marketer in the world can’t fool the consumer in the long run. Two is something that takes research and filtering to find the right partners. Three comes naturally once you find the right partners. For example, what Okayplayer has done for intelligent urban music is for which every local community should strive.
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Tonight, Monday November 8, David is hosting Bruch After Dark at Brooklyn Bowl. $5 for 5 bands. If you live in NYC, go check out David's work and food.
