Local artists who are stuck playing their music in their basement or garage all have one thing in common. They obviously have a love for music but can’t quite seem to get their foot in the right door to land a gig on stage. Well, band members look no further.
Creativity, personality & energy is what Mixed Tape Grotto is all about. This organization reaches out to the talents of local bands and artists, bringing their determination and musical abilities from garage practices to local stage performances.
Trevor Brown and Aaron Harvey put this idea into action after having it loom around their heads for some time.
“We encourage the music scene by providing venues for musicians and their music each month… our goal is to create one mix tape CD a month with various local artists,” says Brown. The first event for Mixed Tape Grotto took place in October of 2009, brining a number of various types of music together, including local artist Sarah Kinlaw and James Ethan Clark. The evening took off with a bang with fans loading up for the first mix CD.
Ever since that October night, the track submissions and audition CD’s have been flowing into the hands of Brown and Harvey and things have been getting better and better for the team.
“We are gaining momentum,” says Brown. “Each month we get a good 25 to 30 submissions that we have to pick from… we choose ones which will flow together for the CD.”
Mixedtape Grotto has had two other release parties since October, with new music and a great environment at each one.
In January, Sara Brown, a UNCW senior who enjoys listening to live music and discovering new songs, attended the release party that was thrown at 16 Taps downtown.
“It was a really cool concert they had. I had never heard of this organization before January so I didn’t really know what to expect. The music started out real mellow and got louder as the night went on…the energy in the room definitely grew with the night,” Brown says. “I plan on coming to the next event that they host. I loved the atmosphere and everything it brought to the crowd.”
“We have big plans for the future,” Harvey comments. “This is growing to be something huge!”
Music submissions are always welcome to the group and can be accepted on their webpage at http://mixgrotto.com. You can also keep up with upcoming concerts and events by following them on twitter @MixTapeGrotto .
