Sound has the ability to move and flux according to the environment and it’s inhabitants. Music has the same affect and can progress even faster traveling from state to state, changing and growing depending on the audience and residents of a state, city, town, venue, house, etc. The importance of networking is prevalent in any city, but more so on a smaller scale such as Olympia, WA.

May the 4th was a great example of networking in a city of this size and again it revolved around the Rhythm and Rye. Monday night Jazz night was happening and The Cool Jazz Nonet was playing with a heavy horn and rhythm section. Monday Jazz at The Rhythm and Rye brings in a very decent sized crowd, ages around 30-70 with fellow musicians in the audience supporting the community and keeping Jazz alive and well. Many members of the audience were recognizable from previous Jazz Jams at Traditions Cafe, as well as choir members from The Olympia Peace Choir. Other community musicians such as Vince Brown and Andrew Dorsett were around and offered pleasant conversation with new venues to gig at and a friendly exchange of piano lessons (reading lead sheets for learning ragtime).

I was also able to meet and talk with Danielle, the trumpet player from DBST and soon to be The Pine Hearts, and learn a bit about her music and insight towards playing in different cities. Even though DBST has a great turn out and fantastic audience here in their hometown, Olympia, they still have an audience to build in Portland and Seattle. They recently played in Portland and the audience wasn’t as large as they had anticipated for a couple of reasons. The different pairings and possibilities for openers and main acts is an aspect of live shows that relies heavily on society and reflects back to the performer(s).

The size of Olympia may present a false perception of music in a city as well as a biased notion depending on what venue and genre one may be continually looking for, but the size is really in it’s favor. The community of musicians and music lovers is strong seems to be expanding. The Olympia Jazz Central group offers new jazz jams and upcoming events with local musicians.

Earlier this week I attended a show at Dickerson’s BBQ (The Pig Bar). The stage was on the same level as the audience and the space it self was small and intimate, offering opportunities to socialize as well as be attentive to the performance. The environment there was relatable and friendly, and I was surprised that I never went to any shows there before. A lot of people I knew that were there, knew someone in the band, or were supporting a friend of a friend.

This brings me to a question of the ratio of audience members who attended to support the band and audience members who attended because they knew there would be live music/pig bar is their home bar. And yet another questions, is music available to all or is it exclusive? Furthermore, what role does technology play in the accessibility of music, and how has it increased or decreased in the past five years? What are the different levels of engagement between the music in a city and the soundscape of a city, and how is it successfully stimulated?

I hope to answer more of these questions as the week progresses with plans to go to Live Wire, a radio variety show in Portland. There I will see Chuck Palaniuk, Janeane Garofalo, The Helio Sequence, and more.

I also plan on visiting some venues that are known to have ragtime and jazz shows and dropping off a sample of my music for more gigs.