Comments (0) Best Television Show Hyping Local Music - 2009
Indie Music Phoenix
Shane Matsumoto hates it when people trash the local music scene. "I'm tired of people calling our scene the red-headed stepchild of L.A.," he says. "We're the fifth-largest city in the U.S., and there's lots of good musicians here. People who criticize Phoenix just don't know where to look for it." The 33-year-old co-owner of the Highland Recorders Studio certainly knows where to look, as he's dedicated himself to ferreting out the best our burg has to offer for his TV show, Indie Music Phoenix. Since debuting last November, the weekly 30-minute program has broadcast interviews with dozens of Valley outfits across multiple genres, ranging from shoegaze indie to punk and hip-hop — not to mention concert footage from recent gigs. IMP also one-ups MTV and VH1 by actually showing music videos on a regular basis (shocking, we know). And if the public can't make it home from the bar in time to tune in, Matsumoto will sometimes bring the show to them by hosting occasional live-music nights at venues like Tempe's Yucca Tap Room, featuring many of the same bands seen on the program. He also posts episodes online. From meatspace to cyberspace, Matsumoto has Phoenix music covered.
