Abstract:
This thesis examines the independent alternative music scene in
the city of Hamilton, Ontario, also known, with reference to its
industrial heritage, as "Steeltown." Drawing on the growing
literature on the relationship between place and popular music,
on my own experience as a local musician, direct observation of
performances and of venues and other sites of interaction, as
well as ethnographic interviews with scene participants, I focus
on the role of space, genre and performance within the scene,
and their contribution to a sense of local identity. In particular, I
argue that the live performance event is essential to the success
of the local music scene, as it represents an immediate process, a
connection between performers and audience, one which is
temporally rooted in the present. My research suggests that the
Hamilton alternative music scene has become postmodern,
embracing forms of "indie" music that lie outside of mainstream
taste, and particularly those which engage in the exploration and
deconstruction of pre-existing genres. Eventually, however, the
creative successes of an "indiescene" permeate mass culture
and often become co-opted into the popular music mainstream, a
process which, in turn, promotes new experimentation and
innovation at the local level.
