It can be hard to find news on your favorite local bands in magazines and newspapers, not to mention word about upcoming shows. This is one more reason why the Internet is great for music junkies-online music news sites.
A couple of years ago, the Phoenix music scene got an online boost with the creation of AZPunk.com.
"We thought, what a great opportunity to use that (AZPunk.com) for making a place where everyone can find out exactly what's going on in the Arizona punk music community," explains Micah Allan, AZPunk co-founder. "And who better to do that than a few local punk crazed computer geeks?"
Freshman history major Erica Harper says, without AZPunk, she wouldn't know about several bands she frequently listens to. She thanks AZPunk for introducing her to Not Quite Bernadette, Where Eagles Dare and Fourbanger-some of her favorites.
She added that a big bonus to the site is being able to find out about shows she might otherwise be clueless about.
This online community translates to the actual scene. "We've seen a lot of really good things happen in the short amount of time the site's been around," Allan says. "Shows with more diverse bands together, more people willing to help out others, even birthday parties out here can end up becoming a gigantic local bash. The site really has created something special in the community. We're very proud of that."
And they should be. For a long time, Phoenix has been considered a scene with little unity- bands that were not open to helping each other out. AZPunk is slowly, but surely, altering that. When more diverse bands play together to help the scene grow, everyone benefits.
The majority of the news and information on bands, shows, venues and the like at AZPunk is user driven. It is free to register and members (currently at more than 14,000) of the site can add shows to the calendar, post reviews and whatever else they think will be of use to others. There is also a highly active message board that allows members to say whatever they like to the group-no matter how idiotic.
"I think the most popular feature of the Web site is the message board," Allan says. "It's really the heart of the entire site. So much information is exchanged on a daily basis. Members can pretty much say and promote anything they want."
The message board even makes it easy to spot the new kids from the veteran AZPunkers. When people first sign on, everyone starts out as a "poser." They then have the change to work up the ranks of "Hardcore Punk" and perhaps continue to the pinnacle of "AZPunk Hero." The more a person gives to the AZPunk community, the more honorable his or her status. It's AZPunk's way of being cute, in a punk rock way.
The message board is also a way for those new to the scene to get to know people.
"I would have been afraid to introduce myself to people at shows," Harper explains, "but now I go to a show and know most of the people because they are also on AZPunk. I met all my best friends there."
The same goes for Allan; "It seems to have created an incredibly tight community. Everybody seems to know everybody. I've met more people involved with the music business (bands, promoters, fans, etc.) in the last two years than ever before."
Of course, national news is also just a click away. The staff at The PRP (www.thePRP.com), a site focused on rock, metal, hardcore, punk and independent artists, has been sharing insider news and rumors since 1999.
Founder Wookubus (yes, that is the only moniker the man uses) gets his news from a variety of sources, including band members and record label employees. He spends four to six hours a day, give or take, making sure his readers get their daily fill.
The difference between the PRP and many other sites, is PRP willingly post rumors. Wookubus justifies, "If I do post a rumor, I almost always know it to be true and only post it as a rumor because there's no officially announced source for it that readers can check out."
He adds, that while he could confirm the story early on, he might end up being asked not to run it. That wouldn't be much fun, now would it?
Print media and television are still running the show, but the real music junkies know where to get their overdose of music news.
Wookubus explains, "With the Internet, you can just put it right out there, and people can get their daily dose as opposed to the monthly wading through everything else BS like you are forced to do with magazines and TV."
Reach the reporter at chelsea.ide@asu.edu.
