1/12/07, 5:45 pm EST

Assignment One Finalist: Jason Coon on Orlando, Florida

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Note: This is not an official Rolling Stone article. What follows is a submission to the “I’m From Rolling Stone” writing competition.

AIN’T WHATCHYA THINK

by Jason Coon
Age: 33
Orlando’s music scene? Don’t say it. Don’t think it. You are wrong. Picture a multi-headed rock-n-roll, hip-hop, funk, country, soul monster and you begin to understand. Orlando’s scene is a blossoming, burgeoning, beautiful mish-mash of styles, talents, and personalities. It is a community finding itself and smiling.

On any given night I can find a band or a group or a DJ worthy of my dollars and my time. The Legendary JCs are at the top. They own this town. They are this town. Their soul revue kills. Motown soul and R&B mixed with a healthy dose of Chuck Berry guitars and dancing feet, inviting you to take part in the funkiest church you ever done been to.

Sol.illaquists of Sound’s staccato-voice- and MPC-led hip-hop attack on the bling-bling status quo makes me weak at the knees. The layer-upon-layer- upon-layer rock of Summerbirds in the Cellar’s ethereal vocals, blasting guitar, marching drums, and serene synth lines is enough to make me scream, cry, and bellow into the night, thanking God, Jah, Allah, and Yahweh for the opportunity to bear witness.

The thing is, Orlando is still in the South, and we can still work it country-style. The Heathens are the future of alt.country: simple, shootin’ crooked, and lovin’ it. The Band, Son Volt, banjos and fiddles and horns mixed-up with lyrics about embracing home, one-night stands, and dad yellin’ to turn down the damned guitar.

And on and on and on, from punk to electronic to metal to jazz, Orlando is an amazing place to be right now. Our scene is misunderstood and underestimated by outsiders, unaware of the intensity of those involved, not knowing that Orlando is much more than its past, and is, indeed, leading the way toward the future.