I’m officially burned out on all the Bon Iver buzz – for the time being anyway. But this letter isn’t really about Justin Vernon (or the fact that the new EP Blood Bank was officially released this week); so if you’re burned out, too, stick with me. For all the over-the-top awesomeness of the whole situation, for all the local pride, all the best-of-2008 lists, and all the beard-love going on around here – I need a break.

Of course the international media doesn’t care that I’ve had my fill; that flame continues to burn brighter for Bon Iver with each passing week. And now we’re basically at the point where it wouldn’t surprise me if the New York Times reported Bon Iver was playing a lunch-time set for Barack Obama in the Oval Office (right after a round of one-on-one in the new basketball court).

But what’s of interest to me is the explosion of local buzz, attention, and news coverage (yes, fueled in part by this very publication). It’s as if the Chippewa Valley finally woke up to the fact that there was some artistic talent in this town. Throughout December the Leader-Telegram featured several front-page articles, and TV-18 had multiple stories featuring local fans. (Which frankly, was just kind of weird. Of course they both did a great job, and I’m all for more such coverage, but didn’t they have a house fire or car crash to report on?) By the end of the year, thousands of local Bon Iver fans came out of the woodwork to join in on the chorus of praise.

All of that has been great, deserved, and important. But what I can’t get over is that Vernon is not necessarily any more talented today than he was four years ago – when people used to pack into the Stones Throw or House of Rock to see his band DeYarmond Edison, or when Volume One had stories about his efforts three or four times before dating back to 2002. Back when it was tough to get anyone outside of the rock-club regulars to pay all that much attention. Though he may have found a new voice, he’s the same talented musician, just now viewed through a shiny new lens.

Suddenly everyone is paying attention to the success – which has finally brought into focus the quality that was there all along. It just took all this fanfare for locals to realize what they had. Every famous band is somebody’s local band. And in many music scenes it wouldn’t be hard to pick out a local band that is probably better than half of the world’s famous bands.

This is the curse of local music. Not just here, but everywhere. Right now it seems the collective radar for buzz about a local artist is turned so far down that the artist needs to make it on national television (like two or three times) before most people will pay attention. It’s not good enough anymore if you hear about a great band from a friend, see cool posters around town, or even get invited to a show on Facebook. So what if they’re local? If their music isn’t on a huge TV show, or if dozens of high-profile blogs or magazines haven’t authorized it’s importance – who cares?

But there’s good news here. Now that Mr. Vernon has blazed a trail, suddenly all sorts of people – both locals and non – are asking a few more questions about Eau Claire’s music scene. Here at Volume One, we’ve been getting calls and emails from all over the world. A couple from New Orleans called to say they were coming up for the December 22 Bon Iver show at the State Theatre and were wondering if there were other local bands they should be aware of. A woman in the UK requested we mail her the issue with Bon Iver on the cover, excited to read more about the hometown culture of one of her favorite musicians. A producer from Wisconsin Public Television contacted us to see if there were other Eau Claire acts that might be good for his statewide program, The 30-Minute Music Hour. (This resulted in a performance from The Daredevil Christopher Wright last fall, and it’s rumored Meridene might also be featured soon.)

So now with most of the big-time success on the back of one artist, as a community of musicians and music lovers, we can either sit back and be thankful one of our own made it, or we can try to leverage it into something more. To uncover the potential of our other talent. And we all have something to offer in this regard – whether its getting out to shows, buying local music, or spreading the word on our favorite local bands as fast and far and hard as we can. And you don’t have to do it out of guilt or obligation to the local scene. You can do it because there’s genuinely some great talent to see and hear. Whether it’s the amazing songwriting of some of our local rock bands, the fresh perspective of UWEC jazz musicians, or the jaw-dropping chops of some of our veteran blues and folk players.

To try and help leverage the phenomenon further, Volume One intends to beef up our web and print coverage by launching a new music-centered blog at VolumeOne.org, where several insiders from various corners of local music will contribute. If Eau Claire can collectively elevate a few more of our own just a fraction as far as Bon Iver has been, we’ll be in a better place. And even though Bon Iver has opened the door and likely have the power to help out further in many ways, they’re not going to do it for us. We’re going to have to make it happen ourselves. All of us.

And it just so happens the world is catching us at a really good time. As any local music fan could tell you, Eau Claire’s music scene seems to go in waves. There are always great bands of varying genres at any given time. But seemingly every three to five years there is a cresting, a handful of bands become great and release records, and fans start to take notice and become more enthusiastic. (And I guess maybe once in a lifetime a huge tidal wave smashes down like it has done with Bon Iver.) The point is that we’re potentially climbing to the top one of these waves right now, with or without Bon Iver. For once the eyes of the music community across the world are upon Eau Claire, if only for a moment. Let’s show them what else we have to offer.

LOCAL MUSIC ACTIVITY
Here’s a list of most of the recent activity across the various genres of Eau Claire’s music scene. If we missed yours, or if you have a CD coming soon, contact us at  mail@volumeone.org.

Local ARTISTS that released finished albums in 2008:
Almost 70
Anna Johnson
Arms Aloft
Breakneck the Mage
Brian Bethke
Cranes and Crows
Davey J and the Jones Tones
Derrick Williams
Desolatevoid
Dios Mio
The Gentle Guest
Irie Sol
Jim Pullman Band
Magic Mama
Meridene
Mike O’Neill Band
Mike Quick
River City Ramblers
Stephanie Joy
Yata
(Note: Bon Iver’s “For Emma” was actually originally released locally in 2007.)

SELECT Local bands that released DEMOS in 2008:
I, Torrent
Kaptivating Kate
O’Israel
Snifter
Wake Up Poland, It’s Nine O’Clock

Local bands that HAVE A NEW RECORDING COMING VERY SOON:
The Jaggernauts (February)
Laarks (February)
The Cloud Hymn (March)
Fanoffbirdsafe (March)
The Daredevil Christopher Wright (May)
Desolatevoid (summer)
Eau Claire Blues All Stars