The members of local San Luis Obispo band Central Currency cram into drummer Ben Matlock’s closet. They fumble around awkwardly for a few moments and wait for somebody to hit the light. No, this is not a twisted game of seven minutes in heaven. They’re actually at band practice.
A small sliver of light from above illuminates the musical equipment that has been crammed into a small space. Central Currency is a relaxed band that likes to lay low, literally and figuratively. With a slanted ceiling, their intimate practice space takes the shape of an acute triangle. One can only stand up near the doorway, so every member has to sit while they play.
In a college town like San Luis Obispo, where local band members are sometimes renting grimy, overpriced apartments, practice space is a limited commodity. Matlock was lucky to even find a spot to put his drums. Besides, two large guitar amps, a bass amp, a PA system, a full drum set, four sweaty dudes and a pesky writer fill the space more practically than some boxes of cheap party costumes and a slew of skeletons from other tenant’s past (although the “Zen Den” that neighbors across the hall created in their closet surely takes the cake).
This is life for college bands. Most need to be resourceful with not only with their space and equipment, but with their time as well. While jamming out is fun, every member has to keep his or her future in mind, as most are planning to go “pro” in something other than music.
It’s difficult for Central Currency to find times during the week that work for everybody and don’t conflict with any member’s class schedule. They unanimously agree that school always comes first, but want the band to succeed as well.
“Scheduling practice is hard,” said bassist Todd Landsman. “We all have tests on different days and different weeks. Someone will have a midterm one day and we won’t be able to practice that night ’cause the person will have to study.”
According to Matlock, another band he was a part of “fizzled out” because he didn’t have enough free time to commit and Central Currency was a higher priority. It’s a cutthroat world.
“It definitely sucks because you all have to be together,” said lead singer/guitarist Dave Carlsen. “It’s not like we can all practice individually and on the day of a show, be like ‘Hey, you guys are here too…what an awesome coincidence.’ You have (to) play together to develop a cohesive sound.”
Central Currency plays well together, but their overall sound is anything but cohesive. They play bluesy songs, funk, classic rock revival and acoustic serenades among other genres. Landsman deems it “party music.” Carlsen throws down lead vocals and acoustic guitar, Landsman lays down the bass and backing vocals, Matlock smacks the drums and Greg Mendosa is their lead guitarist.
“It’s a mesh of a bunch of different styles that we all play,” Carlsen said.
Nothing demonstrates their sporadic influences better than the arsenal of covers they have up their sleeve. Among them are “Twist and Shout” by the Beatles, “I’m Yours” by Jason Mraz, “Beer” by Reel Big Fish, some Ben Harper tunes and traditional Irish songs.
With 25-30 tunes under their belt, the band sometimes touches on serious themes, which play out like stories in their songs. For instance, their song “Billy the Duke” is about an old western gunslinger, while “Story of a Soldier” pays homage to one of Carlsen’s friends who was sent to Iraq.
However, most are satirical, touching on topics college students can relate to. In true college spirit, some of the recurring themes are drinking, girls and drinking heavily.
“I went to Ireland for three months and I was kind of gone,” Carlsen said, one of the band’s main songwriters. “I can’t vouch for what anyone else in the band was doing during that time. I’m not gonna get into what I was doing. (But) I came back with a lot of alcohol-related songs.”
“With song topics, you’re really rolling the dice. There’s one about lucky underwear, there’s one about your best friend stealing your girl and then you sleep with her sister. We even have a ‘Natty Lite’ tribute,” he added.
Landsman and Carlsen are promoters for shows at Downtown Brewing Company, the most popular and well known venue in San Luis Obispo. They understand the necessity for local bands in all communities, and where they fall into place.
“Most college bands are opening acts,” Carlsen said. “Venues will have a list of openers and they try to find a band that matches the genre of the headlining act. With big shows, headliners almost always bring bands with them to open up.”
According to Carlsen and Landsman, there are only two or three local bands that are big enough to play a headlining show in San Luis Obispo. Sometimes venues will look to neighboring cities like Santa Maria or Atascadero to fill slots for shows.
Central Currency has learned that it takes a lot of hard work and self-promotion for a local band to get recognized. This can be tough because almost all of their shows are scheduled on weekends. The band often takes priority over other things that may be happening. The other weekend, Matlock and Carlsen missed out on a free trip to Six Flags because they had two shows scheduled.
“We know that what you put into it is what you get out of it,” Matlock said. “If we want to really play bigger shows we’ve got to put in a lot of effort.”
At the same time, Central Currency is ultimately just looking to have fun with the experience. It is tough for students to get too involved with a band because of the massive time commitment.
“The people that aren’t in school are making a real go at it,” Carlsen said. “All of us are working on our majors and that sort of thing. Greg’s already got a full-time job.”
“I do feel like a lot of students are just doing it to play at parties, you know, to have a good time and see where it goes,” Landsman added.
For up-and-coming bands, getting noticed often comes down to having a good MySpace page (Central Currency’s is www.myspace.com/centralcurrency08). Venues often book bands based on what they advertise on the site. Having a lot of friends on MySpace is important, especially when businesses are hosting concerts because it lets them know how many potential customers a band will be bringing in.
“It’s interesting because I feel like there’s nobody on MySpace anymore really, but MySpace still controls music,” said Carlsen. “When you’re trying to get a gig, the first thing they ask is, ‘Do you have a MySpace?’ It’s kind of a tough cycle because you won’t have a solid MySpace until you get gigs, and it’s tough to get gigs until you have a lot of friends on your MySpace.”
The digital MySpace era has altered the balance of power in the music industry, mostly favoring unknown bands. Since so many people get their music for free, a large percentage of money comes from touring instead of record sales.
“It’s all grass roots nowadays,” Carlsen said. “Everybody is going the independent route. Because of the digital age everything is changing. Bands used to go on tour to promote a CD, and now you make a CD to promote a tour.”
Any band can create a professional sounding CD without signing their life away on a record contract. Landsman is convinced that independent music has been very good over the last ten years because artists are striving to create a unique sound. These types of acts become popular by touring rigorously and self-promoting. “I think you need to just play your ass off until you get recognized and get a ton of fans,” Landsman said.
For these bands, booking gigs often comes down to knowing the right people. Central Currency usually needs to have an in with someone involved with a show to get on the bill.
“If you just cold call and send your stuff to someone, you don’t get a call back. You basically need to have someone on the inside,” Carlsen said.
Central Currency is willing and ready to play any gig thrown their way. Playing as many shows as possible is basically the only route to increased popularity. In a way, playing shows has sort of a snowball effect. “Just getting out and playing is key. We played a benefit show for free and after we played, people came up to us and were like, ‘Oh you should play here,'” Carlsen said.
College towns are virtual breeding grounds for bands. Places like dorms provide great musical networking. Carlsen and Landsman lived in the same dorm and decided to form the group after a few jam sessions. According to Landsman, they originally had “zero aspirations.”
Carlson has noticed that there are hoards of people who play instruments in college, but very few actually play well.
“Just being in college, music is a good distraction. People have a lot of free time. I feel like with the guitar especially, so many people people fiddle with the guitar. You could probably find a guitar in every apartment around here. They might never touch it but they have them.”
You can call the members of Central Currency “realists.” They do not strive to control the music world. Like most college bands, they play music together for the sake of doing something cool and fun with their limited free time. As long as they continue to develop as a band, the rest will hopefully follow.
“Getting good takes a lot of practice. Getting big is a crap shoot,” Carlsen said.