I love Liverpool Sound City, but like
almost every gig I’ve been to in the last five years, it is a sobering reminder
that the rock star dream might be dead. As one of the four hundred
‘self-taught’ guitarists in my sixth form, I assumed that the only thing
between me and the moment I returned to my school grounds in the middle of the
afternoon, leather jacket over my shoulder, signing autographs for the younger
kids and sharing congratulatory hugs with my old classmates and teachers - was
time. By some cruel, sadistic twist of fate though, it turned out that I was
about as useful writing a song as I was sailing to the moon.
Studying for a degree in Popular Music (I
know) here in Liverpool lead to a position at Ditto Music, an independent
digital music distributor based in the Baltic Triangle. I mean I don’t sign any
autographs, but I can at least pretend to idiots in Heebies that I’m a talent
scout for a record label or something. I actually asked my bosses why they
chose to set up their head office, for what is very much a global company with locations
in Nashville and Melbourne, here in Liverpool as opposed to say London or
Manchester. Their response was something I recognised almost instantly, having
wrestled with the same sort of decision as an eighteen-year-old music fan
looking at prospective universities. They suggested, with absolute assurance,
that as a music company, this was the place they needed to be. This was the
place where they could establish an identity for themselves, where they could thrive
off the enormous pool of local artists and local enterprises, whilst retaining
that sense of individuality and personal pride that Liverpool’s arts and
business culture so often celebrates. And one look around today is all the
vindication they’ll need.
More than this though, and what makes
Liverpool an almost unrivaled city for fan and curator alike, is a striking notion
of collaboration and fellowship that underpins operations. Of course Liverpool
has always been renowned for a fierce sense of community. But the way Sound
City brings in bookers and promoters from all corners of the industry, the
ridiculous range of venues that gleefully play host for the weekend, as well as
the huge range of local business (like ourselves at Ditto) who are invited to
contribute to the conference, is indicative of a scene functioning not in
competition, but in unison, all working towards the idea that this is our city
and this is our scene, the success of which, whatever the source, is ours to
share. I’ve always regarded this festival - with every photographer, every
booker, every journalist, every sound tech, and every other volunteer - as a fantastic,
and deserved celebration of this.
Mike Townsend
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