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SO I have been thinking long and hard about this, after some crazy little girl adimentally told me that the SA music scene (at least in relation to its bands) is on par, if not better than the american or European scene.
I sadly, and greatly disagree, I have found thus far at least in the more alternative aspect of bands in SA that to start, they all seem to copy what was big in the USA and Europe, 2 or more years back. There seems to be very little good music written by guys who really feel that music in a natural way. All in all its seems to be a copy. there are exceptions to this I do know, a band I saw a while back called the BLK JKS were amazing, they seemed to fuse Jimi Hendrix styles and Sowetan music and made it work, however they were smart and left for the USA.
Qualtiy of bands seems to be a big issue as pretty much any band can get going for two weeks and secure a show and some bar or club and play ten of the worst songs ever, BUT because they have lots of can I say rich friends and family they go further. Just watch the local MK89 (which is improving) but some of those bands are really really bad, and therefore should not be aired however because they are afrikaanse and the channel must fill its quota as a Afrikaanse channel they are aired!!!
Another thing is bands in this countrey relying on BAttle of the bands to "reach FAMe" per month I can count maybe 5 or more batttles, sadly they do not judge on the strength of a band but on the money that band can ensure from door sales. The industry in the aspect I have highlighted seems to be run by failed bands that now find it fit to judge a perofrmance based upon the VERY little knowlege they have.
This is by no mean an attack on SA music it may well be growing BUT, to state that the industry is just as good as overseas is in my view VERY ignorant. Has anyone else experienced this sort of feeling that perhaps The music scene here is getting to big for its boots?

Oh yeh I have seen Fire through the window a few times. I beleive there is a fair bit of talent in SA as in every other countrey, its just kinda the attitude of the industry in genderal that
i find bad in SA

Few points:
1. Sometimes when you're in it you don't see it. Plus quantity doesn't equal quality, given the relatively small quantity we have the amount of quality is surprising.
2. USA has 300 million people, we have 50 million of which 90% are constrained by financial etc. considerations. I saw more crap bands in New York in 2 years than in South Africa in 20.
3. Europe is a continent and I would say that except for rock UK, we have a better music scene than almost any other country in Europe (based on experience looking for scenes in various countries)
So at very least I'd say we're on par but bands like Parlotones don't do us any favours - luckily bands like Dear Reader and Blk Jks do.

This is part of a bigger phenomenon.  South Africans have some rather bizarre perceptions of how our little country fits into the world.  We stamp our little feet when we're not included in groups of powerful nations and are aghast that no-one knows anything about the place.

But South Africa is a nation of 48 million people on the ass-end of the African continent.  We don't count next to Brazil or India, Indonesia, or the Ukraine.

These delusions of grandeur sometimes enter our music scene too.  The music listened to by the majority of South Africans, Kwaito, Gospel, etc. is fiercely competitive, and I think a lot of great acts emerge all the time (Mafikizolo and Vusi Mahlasela are two obvious examples that leap to mind).  Unfortunately, there's not a huge market for it outside the continent.

The rock scene on the other hand, is maintained by a handful of people.  Statistics will tell you straight out that there are unlikely to be that many brilliant groups.  Part of that is lack of competition.  If you're a band in Atlanta Georgia, and you suck, you're going to go down fast.  Because you're going to be competing for stage time with dozens of other groups.  You will not survive unless you have some performing ability, and some decent songs.

Here you can get by with maybe one good song and the ability to make eye-contact with your audience.  And then, if you are good (speaking especially for Cape Town here) there may be so few people who are into the kind of music you make that it's unsustainable - hence the domination of certain kinds of music that most people like.

It's a really tough ask to have good musicians, with good songs, containing lyrics that actually mean something to an audience, with the ability to put on a performance.  With so few people in the game here, it's rare to find this combination.  Anyone who thinks there's more going on here is kidding themselves.  Every now and then, the luck will come up and someone with all those characteristics, like Johnny Clegg, will emerge.  But generally, the numbers are against the SA rock music scene compared to the USA and Britain.

As with any country you do get some good and bad bands. However even I guesse my main gripe is the lack of original bands maybe. As said there are so few new interesting creative bands/acts. With the exception to a few african bands, which is fats becoming very old aswell. You see every metal bands sounds like trivium or Bring me the Horizon, or they are trying to be that or metalica. Every punk band is a skanky 70s brit impersonation or a rock a billy thing.
Yeh Dear Reader are OK, I have seen them many a time both now and when they wwere harris tweed. But I do find they are doing very little new these days despite they constant overseas gigging. But they are professional ad of an international standard I give them that.

Mik are you looking for somethign competely roiginal and not just original songs in the style of... XYZ?

I feel the same. Being wildy original counts, but doesnt seem so here..

I am just looking for bands that arent saying lets be like them, bands that use intuition and make msic instead of being someone else or trying. The parlatones are on a "world tour" but are by no means a good band in my books, they sound just like James (a band name not a individual). There are big SA bands but are they going to be a remembered band, do they even excel to be or fo they just want to be big for a bit. Consider the Beatles (not a great band) but they were fresh and had that lasting factor by capitlizing and sort of pioneering their music to an extent no one before had. Same with Nirvana, Guns and Roses, all these bands were not original really but pushed that music in a way never seen before, because they lived it. They didnt say "hey! lets be brit, or lets be grunge, or lets be stadium rock" They just were. SA I am sure has a billion different things it could be but chooses to be others

Go watch albino beach when they're around... you'll be amaze at the talent and the music. brilliant.