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Maybe all the year-end deadlines are driving us crazy, but we thought it would be a good idea to gather a bag of ingrained Orlando music genres from across the style map—some of which no one has ever seen—and grill them. 2023. What problems might arise? It turns out, nothing!
Dear Panel of Experts:
Amber Teicher: Bar Manager at Conduit and Will’s Pub.
Brielle Bennett: Watts’ lead vocal.
Nadeem Khan: Bingo host, Big Jef Special, Obliterati member, underground lifer.
Pete I am: Endoxa Booking Sponsor; Co-Owner, Conduit.
Eva Strangeles: MACE vocalist; DJ as Hexorcist; wearer of many musical and other hats.
Rogelio Velasquez: As Mother Worm’s beatmaker/producer, Gwadcip$ is the curator of the monthly “Please Understanding” hip-hop nights.
Jim Leatherman: Music photographers from decades ago “couldn’t help but interject” while taking photos.
Orlando Weekly: What has been a major musical moment in your life this year?
NK: I no longer love music. I’ve been doing this for a very, very long time. My entire adult life. I just started listening to the news non-stop, just NPR. I just can’t stand it anymore. Then on my wife’s birthday…she gave me a surprise on my birthday which was tickets to the Electric Daisy Carnival. We went there and we had a great time. It made me fall in love with music again.
exist: I can understand. A lot of things have become very repetitive over a period of time. There really doesn’t seem to be anything new. So it’s great to have Conduit open, and honestly both of your bands (Watts and MACE) are two of my favorite bands I’ve seen recently this year. Young people start new things, appear on stages, play in bigger venues, even a girls rock camp band, watch them grow.
back: One of the things I really enjoyed was doing the flyer wall at Conduit – it was Amber’s idea. We quickly received a lot of old flyers. I’ve been playing in orchestras since the 1990s and it’s great to see this continuity. It’s like, “Wow, I’m looking at this Morbid Angel flyer from 1986.” All this stuff, it’s really cool.
English: This is crazy. I think Florida has such a great musical history, not that it’s ignored – because it hasn’t – but I think wherever you get into it, it’s a great thing to be a part of. Orlando has always been like this little bubble. We all feel safe here. Get out of it, you never know what you’re going to get.
NK: This is a place with many bubble tea shops.
English: Last year I played and sang with Call In Dead and we played a show at the Punk Rock Flea Market in Lakeland. I took over from the older singer and changed some of the lyrics to be more trans and queer oriented… A bunch of kids were playing at our show and then, they mobbed me. All queer punk kids. They’d say, “Thank you for giving us a voice and making space for us.” I was like, I’m shocked… I’ve been playing music for 40 years and I’m like, “Okay, this is what I’m here for. I found it in Lakeland.”
BB: I would say that my relationship with the band members will become even closer. We’ve always been friends, but having someone I can like… Lyrics is a really important part of being a singer. It’s really important to me to write them down and think about what you want to share; having to decide what’s worth saying? How do I do this? I’ve never been creative in this way. This is my first band and I’ve never done anything like this. So get over the fear of: What will people think of my words, how will they react?
What’s your favorite thing you’ve heard or seen this year?
exist: MACE, when you opened for HIRS Collective.
back: I’m really excited about Cynic playing Conduit because that’s a band I’ve been listening to for 30 years.they are doing focus The album is complete. It’s crazy to have the opportunity to listen to this album from start to finish, and to be able to put it in a new venue where we both work… very, very crazy.
English: Seeing young people here bringing noise. It’s great to see young bands forming because I think scenes come and go. So that’s the positive part of it; it’s nice to hear new voices.
NK: Hey, there’s something to be said for swinging old men.
Are things changing a little faster here than in other cities? Orlando is a transient city.
RV: There have been a lot of kids coming in lately. I’ve been doing shows here since 2016. Now, there are all these new bands coming out, like Warm Frames. I think that’s the way it is. It should be because we need fresh faces, we need more people to participate.
back: I think that’s one of the benefits of something like Girls Rock Camp, too, is that it takes away the anxiety.
English: So they end up saying, “Okay, I’m standing in front of a group of people for the first time and I have a more solid understanding of this.”
I’m curious about perspectives on the larger challenges of making music in this city – TMG is being built next to Uncle Lou’s as we speak. Will we do this next year in DeLand?
RV: You don’t want to go to DeLand! (laugh)
Jie Lin: Uncle Lou’s underground lounge and Grumpy’s underground lounge are both larvae. Kids can play their first show…
NK: Lou’s is the most authentic punk spot in the world.
back: Money aside, Orlando isn’t in a bad situation, as few other cities have facilities like Lu’s. We also have Will’s Pub, Iron Cow, and The Abbey.
English: In 1998 there was some goth night every night of the week except one, maybe two or three. We are building this backup. In fact, I think compared to most other cities…we have more goth nights than Tampa. Make sure it goes in there.
Jie Lin: (Pause while taking photos) I-4 Gothic War.
Do you see a lot of intergenerational collaboration between musicians or art lovers?
English: There’s definitely a generational thing going on, because even within the goth scene, a lot of the people are 20 to 25 years old. And then you’re like me doing this fucking thing all the time. I love the feeling of sharing ideas between different groups from different generations.
NK: Can we do this at the Villages Publix Deli next time?
BB: Like the Stardust film, I was amazed. I grew up there. I feel like in a small place like this, anyone can come in and talk to someone older or younger, come up with ideas or share experiences. These open forum spaces are important where people can speak freely.
Going into 2024, is there anything you want to highlight or something that’s happening for you creatively?
RV: I do shows every month at the Nook in Robinson – every third Friday. I do my own experimental electronic hip-hop type stuff. I host these shows called “Please Understand,” and I call it that because that’s what we’re talking about here. I felt like I needed to create something like a community of not just my lo-fi hip-hop friends, but my DJ friends, my noise friends, my modular synth friends. I want everyone to come in.
NK: I’m doing two songs with Jef (of Big Jef Special). I’ve been playing with him for 21 years and I’m really looking forward to it. It was very simple, he just played bass drum and guitar. (Editor’s note: Khan plays stand-up bass.) So far this sounds completely different and I really, really like it. I haven’t figured it out yet. …I’m excited about the future. (Looking at my deskmate) you gave me hope.
English: (MACE) is planning an East Coast tour sometime in late March, perhaps also hitting Buffalo and Chicago. I’m working on some cello stuff, bits and pieces. I’m working with Meka (Ms. Meka Nisim) about a steampunk cabaret project that has been kept under wraps. We haven’t talked much about it yet.
BB: My band is about to be a year old. I never like to be involved in anything like this. It’s so fun and so freeing to be creative. I’m really excited to keep making more music. Putting on shows and meeting new people is probably one of the best parts.
Jie Lin: I looked at Watts and saw world domination. You are the future.
back: This year we did 260 shows at Conduit and about 300 at Endoxa. Some of them have crossovers, but I’m not keeping track. We’re hoping to open a bigger room in Orlando and maybe do more in Tampa. Start a tag. That’s the plan.
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