Photo Credit: Kalamazoo NOISE!
Munson Haver has a pretty nutty philosophy on what makes a local music scene thrive.
"The more unified a scene is, the stronger it is," the Kalamazoo native said. "We don't have to all love each other. I'm just talking about organization in general. If every band got the big picture of what was going on in the scene and not just their band, I think you'd see a little more crossover and just positive results across the board."
Haver's battle cry is not an empty one either, as he is poised to launch a Kalamazoo-area local music blog kalamazoonoise.com on Feb. 20. With the site, Haver is throwing his hat in the ring among a sparse collection of local music publications and Web sites. The last strictly local music web site, westmichiganmusic.com, was also based out of Kalamazoo and was utilized heavily before folding.
"Maybe I'm supposed to talk it up, but it's really not anything groundbreaking," Haver said. "I love local music. I bet 90 percent of all the music I listen to is local to West Michigan. This is just an outlet for me to write about it with a few friends. If it brings together area musicians in the process, then bonus."
But from the sounds of it, Kalamazoo NOISE! isn't your average blog ranting about how your professor is an ass and your neighbors are too loud. Haver and his friends are planning on releasing feature stories, concert schedules, artist spotlights, album and show reviews, a forum area and their down and dirty opinions on the local music scene.
Boosting Haver's cred is the fact he's also performed with area bands, knowing the ins and outs of the scene.
"All these bands will put their best foot forward when you're giving them publicity," Haver said. "I've interacted with many of these bands, some of those pleasant experiences and others not. We're going to be real at this site. It's not all rainbows and butterflies. Part of making a scene great is rooting out the problems."
Haver said his ultimate goal is to promote the local music scene and make it easier to navigate for outsiders. He added that down the road, he would like to offer dirt cheap services that are essential for any start-up band like CD duplication, recording and booking shows. But for now, Haver is perfectly content trying to become the voice of the scene.
"A lot of these bands work their tails off and get noticed by barely anyone outside their circle of friends," Haver said. "I want to start throwing props out in the form of taking the time to talk to them and writing their stories."
Haver broke down and admitted that the site's launch would feature an article on one of the most timeless Kalamazoo bands in the Hex Bombs.
"They'll give us their secret behind staying power," Haver said.
