Epichoney has gone through a bit of metamorphasis in the past few years. It’s first life was a little site called StereoNet (defunct) back in `97, when MP3s had just started taking off and RealPlayer was king. We started that site off by profiling local Penninsula bands, putting pictures and streaming clips of their demos CDs off the site. We had a nice time and everything was fun for a while before I abandonded the site got on with my life. It seems that we were a bit ahead of our time and got discouraged that things didn’t pick up fast enough.
A few years later, inspired by Norfolk rave crew f(x) Productions and the online work of sites like the Betalounge and Raveworld.net (defunct) we gave it another shot, this time lugging our huge desktop computer and monitor around to the clubs, plugging it into the PA and popping a webcam next to the dj booth. The next day I would upload the files to the website, daHIFI.net, (defunct) which stood for Digital Audio HIgh FIdelity, and we had a nice local scene website. All this went on for a few years before the Norfolk rave scene imploded amonst bitter fighting between f(x), Planet X, and the City of Norfolk, and the site has since lapsed into history.
Now we’re back for a 3rd round here on EpicHoney. The term is something I made up, based off a surfer’s exclamation that a good wave was ‘epic’, and that honey is sweet. Silly, I suppose. I’m hoping it’s a term that will come to signify the best that there is; the best available, or something so good that you just have to share it with your friends.
I’ve lived in Hampton Roads since `89, coming here from the Midwest. I noticed after I moved here that most residents held an unfavorable view of the area, comparing it to other large metropolitan areas like Atlanta, New York, DC, &c. I can imagine that if you had moved here from one of these other places that it would be pretty depressing by comparison. It is what it is.
The fact of the matter is that Hampton Roads, taken as a combination of the 7 cites as a whole, is the 33rd largest metropolitan area in the United States, and the largest without a professional major league sports team. That last point I threw in there just to demonstrate the kind of things we’re missing out on by not having a cohesive regional identity. Due to the various political factors that keep all the various cities from incorporating together, this area exisits not as a cohesive whole but as a group of disparate cities.
Our local music scene has suffered as a result of this. With the exception of some very talented individuals such as Bruce Hornsby, Victor Wooten, Timbaland, Missy Elliot, Teddy Riley and the Neptunes: Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, this area doesn’t have much of an original music scene. William and Mary band Seven Mary Three eventually had to leave for Orlando in hopes to get a major label record deal, such is the dearth of interest here. While there are plenty of decent musicans and bands in the area, most of them seem resigned to playing covers for the local nightclubs and meet markets that don’t seem to be willing to book all-original acts. In fact, some of the smartest players around here seem to realize that this is the best way to make money around here; by solidifying a reputation as a solid cover/party band.
So there in a nutshell is the basic premise and history of EpicHoney. Our goals are:
1. Promotion of Hampton Roads as an individual regional entity worthy of regognition on its own. No more will Norfolk / Virginia Beach be the default city mentioned when issues affecting the area are mentioned in the news media.
2. Development and promotion of an original music scene. There should be many options available for people who want to hear fresh, originial music from local bands. There should be venues all over the area supporting new and developing bands. We should have places in our own back yards, we shouldn’t have to drive across the water when we want to hear something fresh and new.
That’s the basic jist of it; there’s a bit more that will become apparent as time goes on. I’ve got various interests related to technology and politics that I’ll continue to voice here when I can. In the future we’ll add more authors to the site to make it more well rounded and to ensure that we have ongoing content. For now the main focus will remain as stated above.
That’s it. Be sure and leave your feedback to let me know what you think. This time I think we’ve got the strategy and the energy to see it through, and I’d like to enlist everyone’s help to see these ideas to fruition.
Thanks,
Mike B
EpicHoney founder,
Hampton Roads, VA
