If there’s a band from the Santa Cruz music scene of the late ’90s/early aughts that deserved to blow up big, it was indie popsters Sin in Space. I came across a never-released downloadable EP of more recent work on Kai’s blog, and man, they had some great songs, it really makes me sad that they never received the exposure they deserved.

Listen: “Otherwise” “Otherwise” off the 5-song EP
Hellfire “Hellfire” off of Asteroid Band - Buy the CD on Amazon

Myspace | Website

I think they’re an good example of how geographically damning Santa Cruz, and the Bay Area in general, can be for bands — I have no doubt that if they were doing what they were doing in a place like Chicago, Austin, Seattle or Portland they would have been scooped up by at least a mid-level indie, if not one of the uber-indies like Sub Pop or Merge. They were tight, had great songs, and enough savvy to put out a great record and a couple of other tentative recordings, but not only is breaking out of the peninsula hard enough, navigating the Santa Cruz mountains to play an out-of-town show, but let’s be honest, San Francisco just can’t effectively nurture a sustainable indie scene. I’m sure you can whip out plenty of examples to argue this point, but the fact is that most successful current Bay Area indie bands are on labels based out of the midwest or Pacific Northwest (Two Gallants=Saddle Creek, Comets on Fire=Sub Pop, Fucking Champs=Drag City, and it goes on and on.) And in most of those cases, for those bands to make an impact out where the labels will notice them, they have had to resort to insane touring schedules and burned up a lot of gas. Meanwhile, there are plenty of midwestern bands that are far inferior that get snapped up for deals every day out here, because they have the geographic advantage.

Not to turn a post about the fine band that Sin in Space was (is?) into a rant, and this is certainly not the fault of the Bay Area community or the midwest music community, but I believe it really underscores the huge effect something like geography can have on a band’s success. I firmly believe that the tech industry and the insane cost of living in the Bay Area has made truly sustainable and develop-able indie and DIY culture a near-impossibility. People can’t start long running independent media organizations there because no one has any money or time.

So my sage advice to bands as a former SC musician who now works in the midwest indie game? Get thee to the midwest/east coast/southwest, and enter the perpetual touring circle that exists east of the Rockies. Get past those infernal mountains and never go back except for vacation and the occasional hometown tours. It may be beautiful and it will always be home to me, but the Bay Area is a place for people who are trying to make their first million by 28, who crank out reams of code by the hour, who will never give a shit about independent culture or sustaining or supporting it. People like us aren’t wanted there, and we will never be able to do our best work there.