Whats a metal head/rocker to do?

[dudewtf]

Hey guys, ive been here at the boards for awhile, I think this is probly one of my firsts posts. Anyways I got a big issue I was hoping you all could help out with.

Im a 21yr old rocker/metal head, long hair and the whole deal.
What Im wondering is, where the hell do all the rockers/metalheads hang out? Is there any kind of places like clubs that play metal n shit? I want to go somewhere to hang out on the weekends and chill and meet some cool new people with similar interests. Im not talking like a venue, im talking like a club that just plays music.

The other night I went down to where all the popular bars/clubs are at in Arizona. It really just wasnt my scene. All they play is pop/rap/country shit. Is there any thing like that but for metalheads? Or is concerts our only hope?

If thats the case, that kinda sucks. At least where I live, concerts are the worst place to meet people. People are always so standoffish and assholish when I go to concerts. Pluss everyones pretty much in their own lil groups and focused on their group and the band they came to see.

So where do you guys go to hang out? Is there any kinds of places that have what Im looking for? Am I just in the wrong state? In my opinion the music scene out here is pretty shitty. Local bands are either emo/screamo or straight up grindcore.

Let me know your guys thoughts!

 

[Ancestor]

Music stores seem a good place to start. The clerks are dying to try to sell you something, so they're into talking. Ask them where the metal scene is. You'll probably hear someone playing some metal at some point. Maybe you can strike up a conversation.

 

[SeanC]

I kinda know how you feel. Metal isn't real big in souther oregon, and the town I live in isn't very big either, so it's even harder to find a real metal scene. Theres plenty of people around who like metal but aren't exactly what you would call a 'metal head'. Me and my friends usually just end up throwing some of our own metal based parties and get a bunch of other people to come and jam with us and stuff.

 

[FortePenance]

Hang around the guitar store. I hang around there alot and there are quite a few metalcore/hardcore kids who come in and sometimes there are those really talented power metal/prog metal shred guys. I remember seeing a guy in a pink polo (drew..? @_@) playing some Suffocation once.

It also seems that quite a few employees at guitar stores are metalheads. There's one guy at Tom Lee (the guitar shop i frequent) who's really into Death and has his own folkcore band aww yeah.

Oh and check for any sort of smaller record shops. There's a place called Trinity Records right next to the studio me and the band practice in and it sells like purely metal. I wish it carried the Terrorizer mag though.

 

[cadenhead]

What part of Arizona do you live in?

 

[Vince]

The other night I went down to where all the popular bars/clubs are at in Arizona. It really just wasnt my scene. All they play is pop/rap/country shit. Is there any thing like that but for metalheads? Or is concerts our only hope?

MySpace.com - The Asylum

We play lots of shows in Arizona, come hang out with us sometime.

 

[Leon]

^

i was going to say, "Vince is the metal scene in AZ."

but, ideally, i think that's how a lot of us feel. metal (aside from the new American metal stuff that isn't... really... metal) isn't big, so the solid scenes are few and far inbetween.

 

[dudewtf]

Thanks for all your responses. Its really unfortunate theres no where to hang and meet besides the guitar shops and small record stores.
There needs to be a metal heads equivelant to the club scene. Some kick ass place where you can chill and drink and listen to metal. Maybe have special events and shit. The possibilities are endless of what you could have set up!
I think that be really fucking cool, and if I had the cash Id try and open something like that.

Im curious if possibly in the more "musicaly cultured" states theres some places like that? I hear the california metal scene is pretty huge, im sure theres gotta be someplace out there.

BTW vince, great tunes! Ill have to come check you guys out sometime

 

[Variant]

Thanks for all your responses. Its really unfortunate theres no where to hang and meet besides the guitar shops and small record stores.
There needs to be a metal heads equivelant to the club scene. Some kick ass place where you can chill and drink and listen to metal. Maybe have special events and shit. The possibilities are endless of what you could have set up!
I think that be really fucking cool, and if I had the cash Id try and open something like that.

Im curious if possibly in the more "musicaly cultured" states theres some places like that? I hear the california metal scene is pretty huge, im sure theres gotta be someplace out there.

BTW vince, great tunes! Ill have to come check you guys out sometime

Well, sorry about the delay on responding to this one but I've been vacationing in Miami, Florida for the last week (actually, I'm scouting out new places to live all summer) so I've been pretty busy. I lived in Arizona for 12 years after moving there from Upstate New York when I was 17... and well, while I won't go on a hour long rant on how the area has become socially retarded over the last six years or so, I'll just point out that I up and left.

There is pretty much nothing going for a metal/rock social scene in Phoenix. The Mason Jar got bought up and turned into a gay club, and even when it was a rock club, it was a haven for has-beens and burnout chicks. Only a band with a good cross section audience would pull a decent crowd there anyway. The same goes for shows at the Marquee. Me, personally, I didn't really maintain any 'metal' or 'musician' friends while I lived out there. My friends were friends because they were gamers, car guys, or whatever else. I found most of the concert crowd to be more than a bit juvenile and antisocial. Musicians are usually cool, but 'fans' leave a bit to be desired. But, in reality you're looking for friends to hang out with and girls to meet and potentially date... right? And good God, the rock scene is like a atomic bombsite wasteland when it comes quality females. And, 'musician' girls at the guitar store?

But, as a whole, I think it has more to do with Phoenix's denigration as a place to live, which I'll apply to every square inch of the metro area. It fucking sucks. People there nowadays are extraordinarily reserved and generally ambivalent with regard with socializing. People are just not outgoing at all, you can't smile or talk with someone without getting an uncomfortable response, and the women out there are impossibly dour. It wasn't always like that. I used to be able to go down to Mill Ave., hang out, meet a few people, have a few of them show genuine interest in my work (usually design, when I was doing it), flirt with a few girls, even get a date or two. I can't quite put my finger on what went wrong out there (rampant suburbanization, I suspect) but it's not fun like it used to be. Well... I guess I did rant a bit there, sorry. Anyway, unless someone from the area can give you a better explanation as to why the place is so bloody dull, I'd just give a thought to what I did about it.

 

[dudewtf]

I think you pretty much hit the nail on the head. Its really a shame that Arizona has lost what it once had.

So...this now leads me to my next question...

Where is there an awesome metal scene? Which states have you all found to offer the most for metalheads?
Ive been planning on taking some trips myself to different states and even some different countries to see what else is out there. I know sweden is an incredible place to say the least. So much good music coming out of there and the people ive spoken to are friendly as hell. Pluss you cant beat the fact that its 90% athiest

So where have you guys found to have the biggest, and best metal scenes/and metal heads?

 

[Rick]

Austin's metal scene blows.

 

[Zepp88]

Where you live sounds just like Fredericksburg....I just hang out at Guitar Center.

 

[eaeolian]

So where have you guys found to have the biggest, and best metal scenes/and metal heads?

Chicago (and surrounding suburbs) still has one of the best in the country.

The DC area - while a shadow of what it once was - is back to being pretty decent from bring horrid in the '90s. It's mostly still around because Jaxx never quit having metal bands.

Northern New Jersey is OK. Atlanta is OK - some cool bands, just not many good places to play.

 

[canuck brian]

I feel blessed that here in Toronto, we've actually got a bar called "The Metal Bar", where nothing but metal is played and metal bands play there a lot.

 

[dudewtf]

The Metal Bar huh? That sounds pretty bad ass.

The real solution to this entire problem is to rid the world of all pop/rap.