What's the Live/Remote scene like in the Washington D.C. area?

Jungle Jazz · 20th July 2008

I'm going to be moving to the D.C. area very soon and was wondering if any of you know what the live/remote recording scene is like there. My wife got a great job offer there, and things have been mighty slow musically in the Bay Area lately, so we thought we'd give it a try. I don't recall there being much prior discussion about that area on this board, but if there has been, feel free to point out any pertinent threads. Of course, I'm including the surrounding Maryland and Virginia regions, and will probably be based just outside the city. I'm curious to know who might be the established people doing this kind of work there already. If any of you work in the area and have any pointers, I'd greatly appreciate hearing them. Thanks.

kzkingsley · 21st July 2008

Sorry this is the first response since I don't live there and can't give a "real" answer.. but many bands I've done shows for have complained a lot about the sound at some of the mid-sized venues there. It is the only city that I've had so many bands complain about that it is always at the front of my mind when I think of DC. Maybe that can give you some hope or confidence?

NorseHorse · 21st July 2008

I think the whole DC-VA-MD scene is great, as long as you've got a broad skill set. There is a ton of bluegrass and classical. Plus colleges and high schools. You might not be getting calls from rock bands every night.

Jungle Jazz · 21st July 2008

Thanks for the responses so far. I mostly record jazz, cultural (e.g. Brazilian), and acoustic music. I'd be happy to do bluegrass or classical, so that's cool. When I work with rock or pop bands, it's usually of the acoustic variety. I don't do sound reinforcement, mostly because it always seems too loud for me, and I want to save my ears, but I could consider working at low to medium volumes in small to mid-sized venues. Although, my preference is to concentrate on recording and let someone else deal with the house sound.

Does anyone happen to know which venues in the DC area have jazz, cultural, or acoustic music?

NorseHorse · 21st July 2008

Yeah, there is one place that has live latin/brazilian/"ethnic"/world music all the time. I think it's called the Zanzibar. I'll check.

If you kept tabs on their upcoming acts and started getting plugged in there, you'd probably get a great start.

NorseHorse · 21st July 2008

Zanzibar on The Waterfront - Washington DC

TADA! I've never been recorded there, but I nearly played there once... oh well.

Big E · 22nd July 2008

There's a pretty steady diet of jazz going on in DC. Blues Alley brings in the heaviest hitters (and makes you pay for it!), but there are actually a lot of places that have jazz several nights a week. And there's a fair number of concert venues as well - Lincoln Theatre, Kennedy Center, "CSPAC" (UM's music halls), etc.

There are also a heckuva lot of really good local players.

Jungle Jazz · 23rd July 2008

Thanks for those suggestions. It's good to hear that there are plenty of talented musicians in the area; that's half the battle.

Big E · 23rd July 2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jungle Jazz

Thanks for those suggestions. It's good to hear that there are plenty of talented musicians in the area; that's half the battle.

I don't know why I forgot to put this link in there. Most convenient source to see what's happening, jazz-wise: DCjazz, Washington DC's online jazz community

20th July 2008	#1
Jungle Jazz Lives for gear Joined: Jan 2007 Location: Washington, D.C. area Posts: 802 Thread Starter	What's the Live/Remote scene like in the Washington D.C. area? I'm going to be moving to the D.C. area very soon and was wondering if any of you know what the live/remote recording scene is like there. My wife got a great job offer there, and things have been mighty slow musically in the Bay Area lately, so we thought we'd give it a try. I don't recall there being much prior discussion about that area on this board, but if there has been, feel free to point out any pertinent threads. Of course, I'm including the surrounding Maryland and Virginia regions, and will probably be based just outside the city. I'm curious to know who might be the established people doing this kind of work there already. If any of you work in the area and have any pointers, I'd greatly appreciate hearing them. Thanks.

21st July 2008	#3
NorseHorse Lives for gear Joined: Jul 2008 Location: DC Posts: 2,095 2 Reviews written	I think the whole DC-VA-MD scene is great, as long as you've got a broad skill set. There is a ton of bluegrass and classical. Plus colleges and high schools. You might not be getting calls from rock bands every night. __________________ http://www.facebook.com/ArtsLaureate I-95, I-64, I-85

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Anybody in the Seattle, Washington area? Can I make a living?	StrykeBack	So much gear, so little time!	10	14th November 2009 03:54 PM
any remote recording guys here in my area?	indie	Remote Possibilities in Acoustic Music & Location Recording	2	16th July 2007 03:00 AM
Studio/Music scene in San Fran Bay Area	octatonic	So much gear, so little time!	19	8th May 2007 07:48 PM
Mic Rental in Washington, DC Area?	Robobo1	Remote Possibilities in Acoustic Music & Location Recording	11	31st December 2006 03:37 PM
Steve Remote in Boston area	gregrw	Remote Possibilities in Acoustic Music & Location Recording	4	26th August 2003 06:25 AM

21st July 2008	#2
kzkingsley Gear nut Joined: May 2008 Posts: 97	Sorry this is the first response since I don't live there and can't give a "real" answer.. but many bands I've done shows for have complained a lot about the sound at some of the mid-sized venues there. It is the only city that I've had so many bands complain about that it is always at the front of my mind when I think of DC. Maybe that can give you some hope or confidence?

22nd July 2008	#7
Big E Gear interested Joined: Aug 2007 Posts: 11	There's a pretty steady diet of jazz going on in DC. Blues Alley brings in the heaviest hitters (and makes you pay for it!), but there are actually a lot of places that have jazz several nights a week. And there's a fair number of concert venues as well - Lincoln Theatre, Kennedy Center, "CSPAC" (UM's music halls), etc. There are also a heckuva lot of really good local players.

23rd July 2008	#8
Jungle Jazz Lives for gear Joined: Jan 2007 Location: Washington, D.C. area Posts: 802 Thread Starter	Thanks for those suggestions. It's good to hear that there are plenty of talented musicians in the area; that's half the battle.