I moved to Austin, texas for 8 years and then came back to Long Island my home...
The Live Scene? Well here its been a small community for some time. Since the 1990s. But then again, the economy in THIS area has been crappy since then (the fed gov has been GOP controlled since 94 and they havent sent money since the northeast stopped voting republican) (reduced funding, has led to higher taxes for NY to maintain infrastructure..which we have alot of)..so I think we have been in a bad economy ever since. Long before the rest of the US... and of course lately its been worse...
So yeah there are DJs. The clubs that use em would NEVER use live music, so there is no loss there,really. The Live music scene, that is left is 90percent cover bands (out of basically 2 agencies). They tend to be slickly marketed outfits that tend to shove the music out at a fast tempo, without any sensitivity to the material, and act like "rock stars". Which is amusing, because they're not. Google Omnipop entertainment, they are the big agency that books the cover bands of Long Island. Id be interested in what you think. Lots of pics, and clips,there.
The original scene is proud but small. And sometimes people emerge from it, but it is very rare. But thats where the AUTHENTICITY is.
Everything else is very unoriginal, very fake. I think Long Island has gotten used to this environment for musical entertainment, and I dont see any thawing just yet.
I have plans to try "a new model", but its very,very hard to find people to invest in trying a new thing in this climate. Just the investment in time is tough, everyone is sweating high rents, high mortgages, high cost of living. Its about 40% percent more expense for EVERYTHING than Austin (hearing me, ned?)
But there are private gigs that pay 2-3k....but those gigs are very hard to break into . Handed down. Like father to son type jobs.
Sorry for the long post, but thats how it breaks down.
Here is my speculation: NYers are a tough audience. They demand more than other markets, and "it better be good". I don't think we'll see Live entertainment make a comeback until 2 things happen
1) there is live entertainment that can deliver what current acts cannot
2) the economy returns to the northeast (and that includes the rust belt..scranton,pittsburgh,upstate NY, etc etc.
Can someone tell me how it is (in detail) in your area???????
I certainly gave you the full explanantion in mine.