Local bands have a bit of a problem. It is not just a problem in Gloucestershire: unsigned musicians the world over suffer from it. But Gloucestershire is part of that world, and so are the musicians, so let's talk about it.

"Excuse me, do you sell 'Deck the Ho' by the Vintage Chimps?"

Walk into any high street record shop and you will find a plethora of bands' albums. Posters for albums by Travis, The Darkness and Robbie Williams adorn the walls and windows. The racks will be filled with CDs by best selling artists like The Beatles, Pink Floyd and Fleetwood Mac, right down to the lesser known bands that your cool big brother listens to: God Speed You Black Emperor, The Goo Goo Dolls and Gorky's Zygotic Mynci (plus other bands whose name doesn't begin with the letter "G").

What you will not find, however, is locally produced music. As anyone who has spent two minutes on this web site will know, Gloucestershire bands and artists are producing EPs, singles and albums by the bucket load. Talented musicians seem to be everywhere. So where is the problem? It's a question that many people are asking.

Go Straight to Jayl

One person with some experience of this problem is Jayl, the creator of the single (with accompanying video) "Sweet Baby Shark". When asked about the problem, he does not mince his words: "I think it's narrow, short sighted and elitist," he says. Jayl is not happy.

It is particularly irritating for this artist who has been producing and performing music for the best part of two decades. While he can sell hundreds of copies of his first album, The World and the Hooded Man, on the Internet, he still cannot get the high street shops to budge.

When Will I Be Famous?

The problem is exactly the same for bands such as The Vintage Chimps, or The Lakes as they have recently re-christened themselves. However, while they regret the fact that it is difficult for bands like themselves to get the HMVC Megastore treatment, they are also ready to accept who some shops will be reluctant to take the local band risk.

"The problem," they explain to me, "is that everyone picks up a guitar and wants to be on the telly." And if everyone of those people demanded their rightful place in the record shops, not only would there be no room to move in the high street, but there would also be a great deal of un-sellable rubbish around.

It is here that the Cheltenham based cat lovers agree with Gloucester-London commuter band, Earnest Cox. Though Nicky, the keyboardist, laments the passing of adverts for bands' gigs and sales of tickets in record shops, Simon, the bassist, points out that anyone could get along in the music business, so long as they had a rich mum and dad. The question for him comes down to quality control. Where The Lakes explain this in terms of needing to perfect the art of self promotion, Earnest Cox are keen to emphasise the need to earn your place in the music world.

Substance over Style

Perhaps, then, local unsigned acts should regard the lack of high street shops' interest as a challenge, rather than a shallow minded corporate attack on the rights of struggling musicians. If you can keep and develop the quality of your music, while all about are losing theirs, then you'll be a band, my sons and daughters.

In the meantime, while you are waiting for the bands to attain the quality and the high street shops to identify it for themselves, what is the fan of locally produced talent to do?

The Return of the Dot Com Boom

The best thing, of course, is to get clicking. Most bands who have produced any hard copies of their music sell it or make it available through their own web sites. This is certainly true of a whole host of bands and artists in Gloucestershire. Jayl has been busily selling his music to European and North American audiences in this way for a long time now. Meanwhile, other younger bands have embraced the Net for music sales too: The Penance, The Trauma and Murdoc are three such examples, while The Lakes, under their old Chimpish name, have had their music featured on US band Ween's web site.

So there you have it. If you want local music, use the international medium of dot coms, clicks and cursors. Although there are some good independent shops out there who are more willing to help promote local bands, the Internet remains one of the best places to get Gloucestershire music at its best.

03/11/03 - First published on www.bbc.co.uk/gloucestershire