Welcome to the maiden issue of Bay Area Beat: Bay Area Local News. Why, you may ask, are we doing this? Here’s yet another monthly local magazine claiming to cater to the Bay Area Music Scene. Ho hum. Boring. Yes, the spirit is always willing but is the journalistic flesh definitely weak, right? Why all the fuss? Isn’t our Bay Area music scene already being journalistically saturated? What’s the root cause of our altruistic endeavors that result in stockpiled hours of intensive heartache, time, money, and overall madness? Why incessantly labor (with, hopefully, the utmost of meticulous accuracy) for addressing the needs and concerns of local artists and musicians. Hasn’t this been done before? Perhaps, but our mission statement is very clear, concise, and relatively simple: Bay Area Beat is all about promoting LOCAL artists and musicians. Period. No priority coverage for national acts. No inconsequential and incredibly boring film reviews (unless, of course, the film written and produced by a local producer like Marcus Koch’s “100 Tears” or Shelby McIntire’s “Strip Club King”).

You won’t read cd reviews for, say, Kelly Clarkson, Kayne West, or U2. However, you’ll read and subsequently be exposed to the talented artistry of Lorna Bracewell, Deb Hunseder, Jeremy Thomas, and Francillia. Don’t expect to read news about Grey’s Anatomy but do anticipate reading about local television producer/writer Kara D’s exceptionally brilliant “Future Baby Daddy.” Our inspiration for tackling this monumental task – a much-needed service, we think, – arose from our numerous encounters with you, the Bay Area artist and musician. We’ve encountered a veritable plethora of extremely gifted individuals these past five years and finally decided to give them a much needed voice. If this was a psychology class, we would be considered staunch Adlerians propagating the concept of Gemeinshaftsgefuhl – or, as translated in English: “social interest.” In this case, we’re banking on your dedication and commitment to the Bay Area musical community’s social interest.

Our editors have a combined 100 years of experience working in the entertainment industry. We’re studio owners, record producers, marketing executives, A & R executives, label CEO’s, songwriters, performers, radio personalities, and entertainment journalists. We know this business. We’ve been successful. We hang out at Dave’s Aqua Lounge, Big Shots, Sacred Grounds, Ringside, Brass Mug, Pegasus Lounge, Chic Bar, and Bourbon Street. We buy your T-shirts, bumper stickers, and hats. We write letters and send emails. We add you as friends to our myspace, twitter, and Facebook accounts. We help promote the local scene as much as possible, whether it’s through promoting original artist showcases, word of mouth, or A & R consultation. Basically, we not only see and hear you but admire and respect your effort. Most of all, we appreciate your tenacious commitment to stay true to your musical goals. Our primary mission, then, is to provide coverage for local musicians, artists, clubs, labels, promoters, film producers, and, basically, any participant creators therewith.

We remember the excitement of grabbing the new issue of Musician’s Forum, Focus, or Jam Magazine and read about our musical friends and the happenings therewith. We want to recreate that thrill and excitement when artists see their names and events in Bay Area Beat. Obviously, this is the first issue of Bay Area Beat is pretty barebones. Nothing too chic or fancy. No eye-catching glossy covers with oodles of locally irrelevant national advertisements clogging and squeezing out editorial content. Securing expensive advertisements at the exclusion of editorial content for Bay Area artists is definitely not a component of our visionary agenda. In fact, we plan to keep advertising to a minimum. We recognize this formidable and potentially fatal editorial skirmish may result in publishing suicide, especially when crafting and subsequently maintaining a periodical of such latent magnitude and interest. But we’re not in it for the money.

Our mission is quite simple: This is a comprehensive, collaborative effort among those who feel Bay Area Beat is necessary for fostering the growth and promotion of the local music scene. Most important, we want this to be your magazine. We’ve partnered with several independent resources, including local management companies, radio stations, club owners, promoters, producers, and record labels who share the same vision. And this is just the beginning. Bay Area Beat, with your help, will only get bigger and better. This is a mutual partnership between Bay Area Beat and you! We have big plans in 2009. To accommodate the advent of technology, we’re in the process of creating an interactive electronic version of Bay Area Beat (thanks to the dedicated work and vision of Ken at www.tampabaymusicscene.com) which will allow artists, writers, promoters, club owners, and record labels to electronically submit news and information about themselves and their respective services. We eventually want to create an interactive networking forum for anybody involved in the Bay Area music scene. We also plan on hosting monthly original artist showcases featuring original music by area artists. Our first Bay Area Beat showcase features local musicians Rebekka Pulley, Blind Buddy Moody, and Chris Elliot.

As you can read, We’re committing to three full-length feature articles on a local artist or musician per issue, as well as specific sections dedicated to local venues, bands, promoters, managers, record labels, film and television producers, recording studios, radio personalities and other “movers and shakers” in the Bay Area that warrant much deserved exposure and media coverage. The “Bay Area” includes artists and musicians, who live, work, hang out, and perform in Pinellas, Hillsborough, and Pasco Counties. Granted, some artists reside outside these areas; eventually we’ll encapsulate these folks, but give us some time to establish our journalistic bearings with our immediate catchment area. And, as is our ongoing policy, if you feel we should be addressing a certain topic, artist, musician, performer, etc., let us know. We don’t bite!

Bay Area Beat will cover the all genres of the local music scene: Rap/Hip Hop, Blues, Country, Electronic, Rock and Heavy Metal, singer/songwriter, techno, club, folk and country. We also want to include news about local clubs and venues, musical showcases, recording studios, as well as local film and television producers. It’s quite a herculean task, but we’re confident that this can be done both effectively and efficiently. But we need your help. We’re currently looking for beat reporters and editors dedicated to covering the aforementioned musical genres and areas in a monthly column. If, for example, Hip Hop is your respective area of expertise, then you’ll be our hip hop “eyes and ears”, so to speak. If you have an idea or feel we’ve ignored a particular aspect of the local scene, let us know. Call us. Email us. We want to know what’s going on in your musical life. We won’t yell at you!

We welcome the feedback, both positive and negative.Remember, Bay Area Beat belongs to all of us. We’ll eventually be accepting solicited submissions from local writers so if you want to contribute, just contact us. Together, Bay Area Beat and you, the local artist, musician, film producer, club owner, record label owner, recording studio, Management Company, booking agent, and promoter will create a collaborative conclave of musical community; together we’ll combine our respective talents and efforts and make our local music scene shine beyond the perceived shadowed pale. Let’s do this together and have fun! Hope to hear from you soon.

The Editors,

Bay Area Beat