Music

On the Spot: Judd Kennedy

by Nick Pittman

Though not at all old, Judd Kennedy is an elder statesman of the Acadiana music scene, having ridden it out from the days of the Purple Peacock to deejaying at Nitecaps and running Renaissance. He still has his eyes on the scene — and booking, routing, subcontracting houses. And, oh yeah, triceratops, too.

How has the scene changed in all the years you have been working in it?
There certainly are a dramatically smaller number of local bands playing live and as often. Lately, in the local rock scene, I hardly see any promoting outside of the Internet. This is a bad trend. The most successful numbers I have seen in the last four years are the ones that have local bands who focus on real one-on-one boots-on-the-ground, old-school grassroots-style promotions.

Another difference is many bars do live music but it is not the focus of where the income is generated to keep the doors open. Less people are going out to see live bands. When they do, it is for shorter periods of time. This means less overall spending. The overall economy is not as good. Small- and medium-sized venues were supported by a large thriving underground college and working class culture. These smaller venues, local bands and radio stations combined efforts to pave the way for larger national routing-style venues to book heavy hitters. This helps set the tone for local bands to draw inspiration from these bigger acts’ energy.

I am seeing a small surge in this activity at the moment in Lafayette. With minimal local support, most venues can barely afford to maintain proper audio/lighting equipment and advertise. You need a thriving underground market, an all-ages venue and an actively participating radio crew to build a solid core for a live rock-based band scene to generate numbers. This formula leads to successful regional and national band-routing agencies opening up their gates to larger scale talent.

The general population was more willing to go out and support these live acts in the 1992-2005 eras. The genres of bands who worked hard on a localized level in venues were great. Funk, zydeco, Cajun, rock, punk, metal, blues, rockabilly, emo, hip hop, ska, reggae, etc., were all active and putting in time. This generated a live music culture I do not see now. Several music stores all had employees in local bands, thus more grassroots promoting. Bands hustled the streets, campus, neighborhoods and went to other shows with handbills doing grassroots campaigns earning one fan at a time. Now bands do not even stay at their own booked shows to watch the other bands on the same bill. It is sad and downright lazy.

Liquidrone
YouTube

What is a band or bands you wish you make a comeback? Why?
Bimora, Liquidrone and Frigg A-Go-Go. All three bands were pure energy live. All three had front men that held you captive from the beginning to end of the live set. All three had flawless musicianship that moved your spirit. These guys understood live sound dynamics, which created a sonic assault on the senses. All three allowed you to live in that moment only. All three provided an escape that provided therapy.

Take me through your day — from when you get up to when you sleep.
I wake up and spend (time) with my 4-year-old, Asa, and wife Amy. We usually work on our online dinosaur kingdoms and plan out the day. You have not lived a full life until you have evolved a triceratops to level 40 and then gone to battle with him. After that, I do an hour or so of research on upcoming bands I will be working with. The main style of music I am mixing live is Mexican, Brazilian, Dominic Republic, Puerto Rican and Cuban bands. It is a large market and I am doing very well with it. I get to interact with award-winning, international-level Latin musicians on a daily basis. Most of my early day is spent reviewing stage plots, input list and listening to live performances for the Latin bands I will be mixing live. It involves tons of percussion instruments and live horns, which I dig.

After this morning routine I throw on my steel toe boots and go to my real job and earn. I do sub-contractor work on foreclosed homes that are out of code and currently being prepared to be on market.

So, what is up with Grant Street? Will it ever be a regular venue again?
Grant Street is functioning as needed to survive in the late-night Downtown environment. It is a nightclub now that is only open for special events and private functions. The next booked event (at the time of interview) is the official Lil’ Wayne show after-party. As for it being a live band venue again: not until Downtown changes back to what it used to be at night. The general public that wants to see a national and regional touring act does not want to be anywhere near Downtown after dark on the weekends. The overall crowd and police mentality is of an aggressive demeanor. People who are needed to consistently support what Grant Street used to be do not feel safe Downtown. Those types of people now go to venues such as the District and Warehouse 535 that have private parking lots that provide adequate inside and outside security and the venues have a controlled environment to ensure the patrons are at ease. I know of tons of people who would rather drive to a casino or NOLA to get quality entertainment on a weekday rather than hope for a good experience navigating Downtown.

What is the hardest part about what you do?
Making inexperienced metal guitar players understand that playing very loud only hurts the overall band sound by overwhelming the front of house mix. You can sustain more powerful dynamics at a lower decibel level. The guy I learned the most about mixing live sound from, Bobby V., taught me that “less is more” when you have a good rig.

Would you rather book a band you like that doesn’t draw or a band you don’t like that does draw? Why?
I would rather book a band that does draw over what I like. When I set foot into a venue, it’s about providing the best live experience for the bands and customers. Providing that level of quality keeps my job security intact.