Local Music Forum: Scene Kids
Conducted by: James Ferreira

Without fans, there would be no scene to cover. Worse yet no music culture would exist, there would be no one to make of, and no fashion trends to mock with your friends. Thankfully, a lot of central Florida is populated by an extenuating group of young individuals who do enjoy supporting live music; thusly, keeping the scene alive. The older you get the more apparent it becomes on any given Friday or Saturday night in Orlando and Tampa, two of our state's fastest growing markets and hot spots for amazing local music, art, and overall night life. This month we've decided to lighten the subject matter up a bit and discuss what exactly the “scene kids” are like in both cities. This month's participants are Paul Geller (AKA Paulie Crush) DJ and promoter from Club Firestone in Orlando and Brian Larsen, the extraordinary guitar player for Tampa's own prog/indie rock trio, Auto!Automatic!!.

Forum Topic: It's impossible not to notice the subtle differences between the “scene kids” in the various cities across our state. In your opinion, what makes the “scene kids” in your respective city unique? What defines them and how do you think they are perceived in other circles around Florida?

Paul Geller: There was a local music scene some years ago, but in 2004 I really think CRUSH became the staple of indie/dance in Orlando. It was the one place you were guaranteed to see all of your friends and listen to up-and-coming deejays take risks. We were dirty drunk motherfuckers who could care less about waking up for school or work on a Tuesday morning. Orlando has moved up in scale and maturity and now, yeah we still party on Mondays, but Firestone has sort of become that institution. What defines "scene" kids in Orlando as opposed to other cities in Florida? It's their hunger - their willingness to check out new artists and acts simply because a few influential kids say it was worth their time. Orlando kids are WAY ahead of NYC, LA and almost every other major scene in the country. They value innovative entertainment. I am excited for the next few months as we transition back into scene building. The imitator parties will all realize that stealing CDs and Vinyl and ripping tracks from the artists play lists' only gets them so far. You're gonna have to do something new before people start to respect you.

It turns out that Tampa is a dirty party town. Kids want to get drunk and fuck and they don't give a shit what your doing as long as they can go home with someone. I find it totally endearing and definitely look forward to partying in Tampa every single week.

Brian Larsen: This is kind of a funny question, cause when I think of “scene kids”, I really don’t think of the differences among them, more so their similarities: stylishly slanted haircuts, super cool, tight (unisex) jeans, half sleeve tattoos , etc… That may be more of a rant, so to answer your question, I guess what makes the Tampa “scene kids” unique can be summed up in one word: Awesome. Being a part of this scene, I know I personally strive to achieve extremely high levels of awesomeness. But it’s not easy. It requires dedication and hard work. One unique and overall awesome aspect of the Tampa scene is a little game called foosball. Most think of that game where one spins metal rods of small plastic soccer men as fast as one can until the tiny red ball is shot into an opponents goal. It is so much more than that. Foosball is a game where trash talking runs rampant and the overall goal of the game is to obliterate your opponent while making them feel utterly inferior. I think visiting “scenesters” will be surprised at just how awesome we really are and should be ashamed…that is unless they can prove themselves on the table. Bring it.