African American Musicians In Twin Cities Area (Minneapolis, Ada: fit in, live in)

[jazzymentality]

I know. Well, if you are a Black person who doesn't "act Black" in the entertainment industry, then you won't get specific jobs. The media is infatuated with stereotypes. I'm ashamed Minneapolis has this mentality. It's ridiculous.

[User032009]

I am female. I am not a troll. I have lived in MN for 18 years, and have been working in the music biz for a few years now.

I am not writing off every Caucasian person in the TC Metro Area - just expressing my feelings towards a lot of the ones with whom I've interacted and how I was treated and wanted opinions from others who may have experienced/be experiencing the same issues. I know that most people in the music industry in general can be very shallow and harsh when it comes to what a person looks like, so this is part of the problem. Looks and race shouldn't be factors when it comes to making great music, but I am aware that it does.

Even if I show up looking good, feeling good and sing my heart out, when I show up to an audition or if a person shows up to audition for me, the most shallow, racist person will ignore me and rule me out immediately upon sight, never to be heard from again one way or the other.

Also, there seem to be many pockets of cliquishness here in the Twin Cities area when it comes to promoting one or several artists over another, and there also seems to be a fair amount of nepotism and favoritism. AGAIN, I'm just going off of my own experience when I have had to deal with people in this industry. It does not mean that this is the way it is for everyone.

At any rate, thanks for responding.

[NumberPlate]

First of all I am not too good in music except watching american idol. I love all kind of music though. (But not loud music). Anyways if you are a original song writer or a musician producing your own music give a try at http://www.ClownBasket.com. This one seems to be a place for people producing some original music. I listened to some songs in there and it seems to be good. My 2 cents.

[DinerCoffee]

Originally Posted by BlackOut

I can't believe people still think this way. Isn't it 2009?

Yeah, it's 2009. It is only 2009 and race is still a big issue in this country, no matter who our president is.

It's true that the OP could be being discriminated against if she is attempting to find work in a genre that is traditionally considered "white."

Who Racialized the Music? at Racialicious - the intersection of race and pop culture

It's also true that young, white, liberal, hipster bands might foam at the mouth at the thought of adding a minority frontman to their band. White people turn ethnicity into a commodity all the time.

Sociological Images » why and how people of color are included in advertising: 2nd in a series

Some people might see adding a person of color to their band as a way to get street cred, flavor, and authenticity. It can be used as a signal that the band is post-racial and progressive, and other white people can feel good about themselves for listening to music that is racially integrated and yet comfortable and familiar to them.

I am saying this as a white person. You don't have to agree with me, but this is how I see other young, progressive 20-something white people thinking and acting. They aren't conscious of what they're doing, and it doesn't come out of a place of hostility, but it can hurt black musicians all the same. It means that race is still a factor, and it limits the way people of color can advertise themselves when looking for a position.

It is similar to white people looking for black friends:

Sociological Images » “BORING WHITE GUY” REALLY WANTS A “SOULFUL BLACK FRIEND” (http://contexts.org/socimages/2009/04/14/boring-white-guy-really-wants-a-soulful-black-friend/ - broken link)
#14 Having Black Friends « Stuff White People Like
Black People Love Us!

[XXclimberX]

Originally Posted by User032009

I am female. I am not a troll. I have lived in MN for 18 years, and have been working in the music biz for a few years now.

I am not writing off every Caucasian person in the TC Metro Area - just expressing my feelings towards a lot of the ones with whom I've interacted and how I was treated and wanted opinions from others who may have experienced/be experiencing the same issues. I know that most people in the music industry in general can be very shallow and harsh when it comes to what a person looks like, so this is part of the problem. Looks and race shouldn't be factors when it comes to making great music, but I am aware that it does.

Even if I show up looking good, feeling good and sing my heart out, when I show up to an audition or if a person shows up to audition for me, the most shallow, racist person will ignore me and rule me out immediately upon sight, never to be heard from again one way or the other.

Also, there seem to be many pockets of cliquishness here in the Twin Cities area when it comes to promoting one or several artists over another, and there also seems to be a fair amount of nepotism and favoritism. AGAIN, I'm just going off of my own experience when I have had to deal with people in this industry. It does not mean that this is the way it is for everyone.

At any rate, thanks for responding.

Minnesotans like to pretend to be open minded. Minneapolis is a bit clicky. Everyone remains friends with people from highschool and they go off to some crappy small college and shop at a co-op and in the summer they go to their cabins up north to experience the north woods and talk about visiting Norway next year when no one in Norway can gives a dam.

The chicks cut their hair really short, and the guys enjoy gopher hockey and they all talk about how Minnesota is the greatest place on Earth.

[Cruz Azul Guy]

Originally Posted by jazzymentality

I know. Well, if you are a Black person who doesn't "act Black" in the entertainment industry, then you won't get specific jobs. The media is infatuated with stereotypes. I'm ashamed Minneapolis has this mentality. It's ridiculous.

Saying that all of Minneapolis (I assume you're referring to all Minneapolis residents) has a certain mentality is an unfair generalization. How is that any different than somebody buying into a stereotype? What does the entertainment industry have anything to do with Minneapolis, or the media for that matter?

[uptown_urbanist]

Just curious, does Jazzy actually work in the entertainment industry? She (he?) has a history of posting broad, sweeping stereotypes about people in Minneapolis and the Twin Cities (ironically usually in context of critiquing that very same behavior), so even if she does have excellent credentials to back up her statement(s) I remain skeptical.

[User032009]

UGH! I am so pissed!!!!!! It happened - again!

I saw an ad for a choral group seeking all musicians, so I responded to the ad and had an audition set up. Without divulging too much information, here is part of the ad:

Auditions for volunteer Choral Musicians
Eclectic – Sacred to Secular; Inclusive – Ancient to Avant Garde
Broad-Based - Classics to Jazz, Pop & Ethnic
Always Relevant - Always Essential
Mostly a cappella
Sunday evening rehearsals, September through May.
Especially need tenors and basses. Auditions by appointment.

Ok, so I show up to the audition, and I pass every vocal test that the person threw at me - from the warm ups to singing a couple of classic tunes. He knew my singing abilities were excellent, HOWEVER, I was told at the end of the audition, "I can't say yes just yet. I'm not sure I want to add another female voice. I really am looking for MALE TENOR VOICES." But wait, didn't the ad specify CHORAL MUSICIANS in general, and not "seeking male singers only for tenor and bass"? It read seeking tenor and bass, but not necessarily male parts. I told him, "Well, let me try to sing tenor and see how that goes," and he replied that "A female tenor voice is different from a male voice..." Yes, obviously I know male and female tenor voices are different, but not THAT much different. Now, if he knew all along he wasn't interested in adding another female voice, then why waste my time, having me go through the motions of an entire audition? I never would have bothered to respond to the ad if, in the ad, it was listed that he was looking for male singers or if he would have e-mailed me ahead of time that he was looking only for male singers.

I sent a follow-up email thanking him for his time, and he never responded. Before the audition, however, he sent me several e-mails and there was never a problem. What a guy, huh?

Granted, some of you may could say I'm overreacting and looking too much into it, but I don't think so. It's like showing up for an interview for a job knowing that they placed an ad for help that day only to be told when you show up, "We're no longer hiring. The position's been filled."

It's very sad that many musicians/bands in Minneapolis are so wishy-washy, fake, phony and prejudice/racist, and it's because of that, they miss out on working with some extremely talented musicians of color.

[golfgal]

I always find it interesting that people automatically assume that they didn't get the job, audition or whatever because of the color of their skin. What if he was just being nice and didn't really like your voice. Maybe the add was very general so they could collect a pool of people to use in the future or maybe they would get lucky and that one outstanding person they were looking for would audition. Maybe they really did want male voices??? Why do you assume it is because of your skin color? Maybe you aren't as good as you think you are??

[kurls]

That sucks that you feel that way. I wouldnt be surprised if people are writing you off. It seems funny that they dig your music but when they see you they start the MN Nice. People in this state tend to be clicky. We moved here from another state and pretty much all of our friends here (actually all) were not born/raised in MN. Funny, but works fine for me. I hate those stupid fargo/sarah palin accents anyway.