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CJ Cox
UWRT 1101-28
Victoria Hamby
30 September 2014

Alternative Tastes

In a world of similar people, all anybody every wants to do is find a way to stand out.
Standing out can be scary, however, and may leave you feeling alone. It is because of this that I
believe discourse communities exist at all. It gives people a sense of individualism, but with the
comfort of knowing that they aren't alone. One of the most prominent survival instincts in human
beings is to stick with their own. People have throughout history had a tendency to group with
people who look like them, think like them, and act like them. Today, though, there are so many
different ideas and activities floating around. This results in the establishment of an infinite
amount of subcultures. In my opinion, the most interesting subcultures, or discourse
communities, are those that exist in music.
Sure all musicians have similarities, but even within the musical community there are so
many different genres. There's classical, country, metal, rock, alternative, indie, pop, rap,
electronic, instrumental, and some would say dubstep, but anyone with a brain knows that that
isn't music at all. I'll be delving into the world of rock music, in a smaller genre genre called
alternative. Alternative is a relatively new genre and is hard to define. Scouring the internet, the

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definition I found most suiting was from Collin's dictionary, which defines alternative rock as "a
broad category of popular rock music typically regarded as somewhat out of the mainstream and
variously including elements of punk rock, heavy metal, folk music, etc.". Alternative rock was
born about 20-30 years ago, making it a relatively new genre. Most likely the result of exposure
to any "music" that came out of the late 70s and early 80s, it was created as a means for more
progressive musicians to establish a new frontier for music; a frontier that was desperately
needed. Consequently, it is mostly made up of younger people, with widely varying
backgrounds, from all over the world. Some more notable bands currently in the alt rock scene
range from Phoenix, Foo Fighters, The Strokes, Taking Back Sunday, or Deftones. All of these
bands have different styles, but are all lumped under the same genre of alt rock.
I'm a member of the Alternative music community myself, having been in a band, and as
an avid listener of the music. As a result, I can provide some personal insight on the topic. In
addition to myself, one of my former band mates, and one of my best friends, Tristan Harvey,
can provide an extensive amount of information about the music scene. His credibility comes
from his experience and skill in playing guitar both in the studio and in concert, which I have
observed first-hand countless times. My previous observations came from interactive
experiences from behind my drum set during jam session. It was odd seeing my friend practice
with his band as an outsider. Fortunately, they didn't seem as bothered by my presence. They
played just as comfortably as they would have if I weren't there at all. I guess performing in front
of dozens and sometimes hundreds of strangers will desensitize any sort of shyness or stage
fright. I mostly noted their methods of communication. This obviously included talking, but the
more interesting and significant observations I took were non-verbal.

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I was fortunate enough to have an interview with Tristan as well, where I learned even
more about the goings-on within the alt rock scene. Naturally, it was as informal as their method
of music creation, and lifestyle in general. The interview took place over Facebook in a mostly
question-and-answer format, with a little bit of regular conversation in between. None of the
information was too contrary to what I would've expected to hear, but Tristan certainly wasn't
holding anything back. The interview ended up going well and it provided me the information
that I wanted. It was a mutually enjoyable exerience.
My research was definitely limited, though. Since alternative rock is such a broad
category, it is easy to focus on a small aspect of it. There are literally thousands of bands out
there that would consider themselves members of the alternative genre, and there is simply no
way that I can hear all of their opinions and observe all of their behaviors. So one fault in this
research process is the small sample that I am able to observe. It is especially difficult in the
music world to get an interview with any active popular bands. They are usually traveling
constantly and there is a lot of demand from their fans to have opportunities to meet them.
My interview with Tristan was far more informal than I would imagine any other
interview to be. This doesn't come as a surprise, though, as he has been a friend of mine since I
was just a baby. The interview took the tone of any other casual conversation, just with me
asking tons of questions. It did allow me to reflect on an observation I've had in the past though.
Alt rock musicians have a tendency to be very informal, and very friendly. It could be due to the
young nature of the band, but, even in watching more popular bands in interviews, I noticed that
they are often very humble, candid, and upbeat.

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Some of Tristan's answers were a bit surprising. I would ask a question expecting a pretty
generic, specific answer but rarely got that. I guess I didn't account for the artistic and
philosophical side of music, especially in the alt rock scene. Throughout the interview Tristan
was sure to explain to me why he does music, and what it means to him. A good example is
when I asked him what he was intending to accomplish through his music, to which he
responded: "...if I'm feeling something and I'm writing it just reflects my mood and when people
listen to it if they've ever felt that feeling, which they most likely have we're all human, it's
comforting to know they're not the only ones feeling that way". His goal, which I believe is a
common goal among alt rockers, is to make something that his listeners can relate to, or a to
make a song that empathizes with exactly what a person is feeling.
I was glad that Tristan and I stayed on the same level throughout the conversation.
Nobody tried to dominate the other. He answered all of my questions to the best of his ability,
and didn't really avoid answering any. We both got out of the interview what we needed. He got
the opportunity to share his experiences with me, a close a friend, and I got to get the information
I needed. I was especially interested in hearing about how he and his band communicate with
one another as well as their fans. He listed off things like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram,
Soundcloud, and text messaging. They each have their own personal accounts on said social
media websites, but they also created band pages which inform viewers of where their
performances will take place, where to find music downloads, and how to reach them. Tristan
explained to me that spreading awareness of his band's existence through the internet is just as
important as selling tickets for a concert. Simply putting your band in front people isn't an easy
thing to do. Tristan told me that the whole process is complicated and sometimes overwhelming,
but definitely worth the time.

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My observation of Tristan's band at his house was even more enjoyable than our
interview together. Obviously the sound was music to my ears, literally, but it was also
interesting to watch them play through a different lens, assuming the role of an observer. Of
course before they started playing, they would talk normally to communicate how they were
going to play a song. What was far more interesting, was the communication while they were
actually playing. When amplifiers are turned all the way up, and sound is blaring from all
directions, communication becomes insanely difficult. Sound becomes a worthless mean of
communication. The band mates are forced to use non-verbal queues. Exaggerated arm motions,
tapping of feet, and pointing of drumsticks were all methods used to communicate during the
tornado of sound that was prevent
ing verbal communication. This is something unique to the alt rock community. Think of a rap
artist, or pop artist, or classical artists. They have a very structured practice session where the
musicians can always communicate. The informal nature of alt rock, though, ignores
This community is an excited bunch of dreamers. It was born out of the desire for
originality, and welcomes any and all who are interested. Tristan let me into his world of music
in the same way that I would imagine any other alt rock band to. I've never heard of an instance
in which any new fan was discriminated against for being a new fan. The alt rock world is a very
accepting place for any kind of person. Why would anyone turn away a potential fan? It wouldn't
be a difficult community to adapt to either, because everyone in it is there for the same reason,
and communicates in the same way: music. I think that is one of the greatest things about this
discourse community. Whether you are a listener, or a performer, the community can always talk
to communicate their thoughts, but the deeper, more meaningful ideas will always be conveyed
through melodies.