BY JAMES NICHE

Before I explore the future of the Rochester music scene, I'd like to go back in time and give a big shout out to George Eastman, his genius vision, and the birth of professional music in this city. Without the Eastman School of Music and the hard work of dedicated community members, we wouldn't have such artists as Steve Gadd, Renee Fleming, Chuck Mangione, conductor Mitch Miller, and the other award-winning musicians Rochester calls its own.

It was people like George Eastman who made musicians like this possible, people whose hearts were in the right place, and who worked for the greater good of the community. They put their money where their mouths were and took risks, both personal and financial.

Aside from the mainstream, we have always had a hungry and healthy underground music scene in our city as well. Rochester was a key player in the "chitlin circuit," providing venues for black jazz and blues musicians during the early and mid-1900's. This city proved that it didn't always take dollars, just pure wit and determination to move music worldwide. This tradition continues today with clubs like the Bug Jar and Water Street Music Hall.

So, where are the George Eastmans of today? What's the next big thing?

Today the popular music scene in Rochester houses some incredible talent. And thankfully, we still have great music venues, studios, and some beautiful sites to hold large events. But there is no one in this town taking local talent seriously outside of the few clubs that generate local crowds, and the few fans the local bands may have. (Or should I say: the people that are guilt-tripped into seeing their friend's boyfriend's band on a Tuesday.) I'm not talking to you in the radio or print field; you guys do a great job of giving lots of time to local artists. Cheers to that; keep it up.

I'm interested in bigger plans for these artists and venues in Rochester. I'm interested in making Rochester the music hub for artists and venues outside of New York City. I'm not interested in being a secondary market in the music industry. We could produce events and artists that have the power to pull from Buffalo, Ithaca, Syracuse, Utica, Albany - and don't forget our Canadian friends between Niagara Falls and Toronto. They seem to make it, too.

To attract these people, we need to get the city and investors working on the construction of better facilities, venues designed to house large events, with retail spaces, restaurant spaces, and other ways of generating revenue for the community. Venues that will make us a destination, like Red Rocks in Colorado or the Beacon Theatre in New York. There are existing spaces that could be better utilized - Highland Bowl sits mostly unused except for a few concerts during the summer; Manhattan Square Park could be transformed into a multi-use, year-round facility; and the empty buildings at Kodak Park could be turned into indoor resorts, like what you might find in Japan.

While these venues should help draw bigger acts, attention needs to be paid to local groups as well. There's talent here in this city that's comparable to what's found in other cities like Nashville, Oakland, or San Francisco. If people could see that, and knew how to harness it, there are some big things a few of these artists could do. It all may sound like fantasy, but I believe in these local artists. I've been all over the country and dealt with agencies and groups, and there's a really big ball of talented entertainers in this city.

I believe strongly in the power of our community efforts. And I believe that the city, promoters, clubs, and musicians need to be even more cohesive for the Rochester music scene to blossom into what it could be in the next 25 years. We need to talk about bigger plans, bigger projects, and getting bigger brains involved. We also need to think about realistic plans that are relevant to our region, and represent who we are as Rochesterians.

But the people in charge need to listen to the people who truly know music in this community, to get them in on these proposed projects. It takes a true community effort to get these things done right. Example: when Aaron Costa, owner of Krudco skate shop, explained the need for a community planning board on a skate-park project, his answer always came down to: "If you just let a bunch of suits that have never set foot on a skateboard and have never even seen a skate park slap together a skate park, we'll get a turd on a tennis court." Rochester doesn't need another turd on its tennis courts.

Niche is the owner and television-music producer for local the music and event production company ACT:LIVE, and is talent buyer for DubLand Underground. He has traveled the country as a tour coordinator and music marketer. A Rochester native, he lives in the Park Avenue neighborhood.