I couldn't wait for Scene Magazine and the Cleveland Free Times to come out so I could run down to the local newstand every week and pick them up. Not for the restaurant reviews, not for an interest in local politics, not for art, not for theater, but for the Music.

For myself and thousands of others, these two magazines represented the world of local music. The Free Times is no more and has since been absorbed by Scene Magazine. Support for the local music industry couldn't have been more dedicated than it was in an age when the clubs were larger and always packed with fans. The clubs rocked with many of the best musicians and bands. Many have gone on since to earn national recognition. For some musicians, they have since come back or have remained and are still rock'in us today in local bands. The local music scene may not be as influential as it once was but the local music scene does still exist.

The Scene used to be the go-to place to find out who was playing what, where, and when. You looked forward to seeing pictures and reviews of your local favorite musicians and bands. Your favorite clubs were all listed with their performance schedules and calendars. The majority of the paper was blasted with advertisements geared towards the local music industry. In recent months, I have noticed the ads for musician services even diminishing. What's up with that? It would seem that less and less of the newspaper is being dedicated towards the support of local music.

However, in defense of the Scene, understandably, expansion into other area's was needed to survive. The number of clubs have declined tremendously over the years and advertising budgets have fallen off to nothing with only the major clubs left with any kind of advertising budget. The internet, online publications as well as Myspace and Facebook has made it possible to acquire this same information in an instant which was once only available through the Scene and the Free Times. For the Scene to survive, changes were imminent, no way around it.

I still do pick up the Scene now and then and continue to support them.
They are a fabric of our society and the last in a run of great free entertainment magazines.

You can also view Scene Magazine Online Here.