SA BANDS SUCKS?

Mmmm...Is that a trick question? Perhaps not, but on the contrary it could be scrutinized both ways. Being a South African and being exposed to the different genres of music, one seemed to have gotten so used to what is perceived as South African music. It’s African, Kwaito, House and not to forget Cape Town’s all time favourite, Jazz. Hip Hop and R&B is mainly influenced by the US market. As much as there are really some good South African bands, question remains, why is there so many struggling artist or bands? Struggling to make it, especially in Cape Town, that is perceived to having South Africa’s most talented singers and musicians. Cape Town is a typical example of having the most struggling bands. Looking at the US and UK music market, the bands there just seem to be excelling. South Africa on the other hand has some good bands, but there are so many of us that are not familiar with them, and some of us choose not to familiarise ourselves at all with South African music and bands. This is the core problem, we as South Africans don’t support our local bands, why is that? This occurs, because we are so wrapped up in international music, especially American music. South Africa lacks support and motivation from its own people, this is sad. Some SA bands again don’t have ambition and goals, the don’t dream big, they just think locally, they don’t imagine themselves tapping into the international market, there are many reasons for this as well, they either want to keep their music locally, or they feel inferior to the international market, some SA bands just feel they aren’t good enough. Another problem some SA bands has is, they refuse to expose themselves to different genres of music, example Cape Town is know best for Jazz, so most SA bands do jazz. Some SA bands are into R&B. How many rock bands are there in South Africa? Some people may be pulling their faces now, because you’d rather die than listen to rock music. Sa Rock Band…, why not? Today, rock is one the best selling music on the planet. The US and the UK were generally felt to be world leaders when it came to rock music, followed closely by Germany, Japan and a number of other European countries. There were also very positive signs that the South American countries were stirring in a big way too. Freshly Ground is one of South Africa’s, Cape Town most unique and talented bands and their music sold so quickly they even won an award at the Grammy’s. If only we all could support our local bands, then maybe they can all wake up and smell the Grammy’s, so that everyone can see that they don’t actually suck.