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For the ongoing ethnography project, I conducted a series of interviews of various members of the metal culture. I asked similar questions about broad themes. This group of questions has to do with cultural traits, rather than the music itself. One element that keeps coming up is the diversity of fans (this does not translate to bands themselves being representative of human variation).
According to my friend in a band, I may be chasing unicorns: "You might be hard pressed to find a narrow template metal head these days. It might be a unicorn. It's not like back in the arena parking lot days." The arena parking lot caricature is exactly what I expected to find. Happily, this adventure is far more interesting than I expected.
The sample size is small, and I've already pointed out the limitations of ethnography. You can check out my previous posts on this topic here, here, and here. Enjoy!
Clothing/Regalia
AU: "What should I wear to the upcoming concert so I don't draw too much attention to myself and can just hang back and watch/listen?"
Overwhelming consensus: Jeans and a tee-shirt. Here's a quote from "Dog", a member of the culture:
"Yes, and depending on your sex, and how into the bands you are about to see will add further stipulations. Jeans and a T-shirt are a good place to start. As a young buck back in the day, going to a Metal show meant I strap on my black boots with buckles. I never cared too much about what covered my legs, but T-shirts from previous concert attendance were always on the top of things to wear. If I’d watched the headliner play before, and I purchased a shirt of the band at that show, it was going to go with me. As always, the older the shirt/show, the higher the scale of coolness. Hoodies are another popular piece of clothing to take to shows. Hats or beenies were also something that was thought out. If you don’t have a hat or beanie you want to wear, throw in some gel and make it wild.
Females are another matter. Usually centered around a Dark theme. Although, there have been the few that show up wearing Pink plastic like dresses, colored hair, and make-up like crazy. Colored hair is a pretty popular thing I’ve noticed. Colors are from the whole spectrum."
Status and symbols:
Concert tee-shirts seem to signify status. It demonstrates a history with the genre. Tee-shirts of the band playing the event are even better, and signify a dedicated fan.
Killyosaur, the commenter who inspired my interest in metal culture, said:
"As for symbols, depends. The Asa Tru tend to wear Thor's Hammers, you might see wiccan stars, possibly no symbol what so ever, it really isn't at all certain. Most of the taboos you might run into are mostly found within black metal circles, the rest of the metal fans tend to be rather easy going about what is and isn't a "metal" thing to do."
My good friend NattyB, who along with her husband has attended many concerts and observed the culture up-close, said:
"That's not to say that every metal fan is a social outcast or that they are incapable of passing judgement, or that there aren't dumbasses in the crowd, just that the whole status thing is not nearly as front and center as in the more status-conscious indie and hipster crowds."
Alcohol
AU: "Since alcohol is available, can I drink a good microbrew (assuming that's an option), or will that invite ridicule?
The consensus was that I could drink a microbrew, or anything else I'd like.
"Member of the Metal Tribe", a friend who is in the band I'm going to see and who was also a source for
a previous post had this to say:
"It's a bar! but it's dive-y. I think they have [good microbrews]. I also think you'll be surprised at how cosmopolitan things are. No one makes fun of anybody, no one is going to hassle anybody else. I've rarely drank at shows. I either have to drive, or take care of a million little things or don't want to spend disposable income like that... My bandmates are a mix bag. [Name redacted] is like me, a rare drinker. [Two other guys in the band] are a grab bag. If I do drink I go for clear cocktails so I'm not sloshing around. [...]
Venues are such a grab bag. I've played some classy establishments but for the most part it's whatever is cheap. Usually when you are in the band you get some drink tickets that'll get you a few free drafts. [The venue you are attending] gives no freebies but we get to run the door so it balances out. Freebies are bad news bears sometimes."
Dog says:
"Drink what you want. You only get questioned if you don’t have at least 1 beer in each hand. Be prepared to shell out $8-$10 for that Rocky Mountain Pisswater(Coors) at a show. Since mixed drinks take too long to serve, a lot of vendors have offered the Lemonade for those that don’t want beer. Unless the show is at a small venue, shots are mostly not an option. That’s what the bottle of whisky in the boot is for."
Diet
AU: "This may sound strange, but I'm really curious about diet. For example, in my parent peer group, there's a strong preference for minimally-processed, whole-grain, organic, low-sugar, types of foods (access to these foods is of course another signifier of status....). What types of restaurants would I be likely to run into metal fans pre-concert? Are there andy food/drink taboos that you are aware of?"
Killyosaur: "
As far as restaurants, probably something that is cheap and open late. Same goes for Goths."
Member of the Metal Tribe: "The biggest universal band ritual that I'm aware and have been a part of is after shows at 2 or 3am you more often than not end up at a 24
hour place. Truck stops, National Coney back in Detroit, Denny's, Waffle House. Those are always fun."
Dog: "There is no more rock in a burrito from Toxic Hell than there is roll in the Mighty Chicken McNugget at McDucks. Be prepared to accept drinks from other fellow concert goers. Usually strangers don’t give out free drinks, but if you happen to befriend a random metalhead, and they think you are the coolest thing since sliced bread, there is a chance you will be offered a drink of somesort. Could be a Jagerbomb(Typical amount metal concerts I’ve been to. Jagermeister and Redbull)."
NattyB: "Denny's?"
Mating Patterns
I asked Member of the Metal Tribe about groupies and also about band members' personal lives. I was curious about whether band members followed generally the same patterns as the rest of society (with the realization that there is a very broad spectrum of "normal"), but assumed groupies and other unusual opportunities not available to most of us might present themselves to members of a band.
AU: What about
that one guy you said comes to all your concerts? Is he a metal fan, or something else entirely? "
Member of the Metal Tribe:
"Nah. He's just a guy who'd be at that bar anyway. He really does look like Kenny Rogers. You get all sorts with the bands. Pretty sure this guy is just... that guy who is always there. We once got a guy whose myspace status was: 'Just got off probation today, whose going to the [band name redacted] show?'"
AU: "How do you balance your band with your personal life? Do you or any of your bandmates have significant others and/or children?"
Member of the Metal Tribe:"Bands, at least in my experience, come in two varieties: One where it is very much a part time job run by one or two individuals and you are an employee in some sort of quasi-organization OR where a band crops up as the natural extension of a group of ambitious friends - which where we are at.
Being married or having kids isn't a disqualifier. One of the bands here signed to a major label (read: tours a bit) has a member with a kid. He's divorced. You won't seem them at shows but yeah, a few folks have kids. Lots of people married, lots of people divorced. It's a case by case thing; it's all based on the marriage and family and what people are willing to do and put up with. Sometimes hobbies get to be kept, sometimes not. I'm a single bachelor so I get to do what I want. The drummer of my old band in Michigan was married and his wife is still one of the most awesome people I know. They did everything as a team, she came to all our shows and kept everything in line, he helped her with all her side business projects."
AU: Do you have groupies (aside from that one guy mentioned above)? Is this a good thing?
Member of the Metal Tribe:"Groupies? Not that I'm aware of. And no, it's not a good thing. We're all dorky guys with a cool side profession. There's a big disconnect between perception and reality. Sure, girls (usually the wrong kind) might give you the time of the day when they normally wouldn't because you have that whole thing going for you. And old bands I was in had a little bit of groupie things going on. Some of the bigger bands I've spent time with had a ridiculous amount of cachet. Girls that do that though? The common thread seems to be 'watch out'. Playing with something dangerous. Secretly, I think the bigger the bands pretensions means the bigger the members problems which draws the bigger crazies which is how you end up dating a groupie and then end up on Cops."
Next time: more about the music itself, what constitutes a true fan, and where the hell are the metal girls...
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