James Moore's Blog, page 108

How To Act Like An Extravagant Rock Star… On A Budget!

How To Act Like An Extravagant Rock Star… On A Budget!

Some of the outlandish things that bands can splurge for can seem insane, to say the least. Sometimes, the most extravagant things they come out with are so unique or off the wall that they’re the ones that really get people talking. From creating actual vacations around a band, to exploiting the lyrics of your own song (Katy Perry Cherry Chapstick, anyone?) there are all kinds of ways bands are putting their names to commodities to create a hype. Now, why can’t you? Getting some quirky merch or branding up a good old fashioned (or not so much…) party could work as some really cool promotion! Here are just a few ideas to get you started…

Band Beer (Like Enter Shikari)

Sssnakepit beer from Enter Shikari was bound to give fans a buzz – quite literally – from the moment it was announced. Although your band may not quite be at the level to create a signature brew from the company of the same name who also work with the likes of Professor Green, you can impress your fans by handing out a custom-label drink of your own to some select lucky fans, in an age appropriate setting, of course. Try Chuckle Monster’s own custom label alcohol to get you started!

Source: Thrash Hits

Band Cruises (Like Paramore, Weezer and Kiss)

Cruises have been seen as a bit of a family affair – or even an old person’s foray – for quite a long time. But Sixthman are helping to change all that by offering music themed cruises. Oh my god, right? Paramore’s ‘Parahoy’, Weezer’s cruise and of course, the now infamous ‘Kiss Kruise’ and more have all had rave reviews, and whilst hiring a cruise ship would literally cost millions you most likely don’t have, there’s no reason you can’t get your own party vibe going and rent out a boat of your own. Say a small boat costs $500 or £500 for five hours, depending on where you live, and it can fit 50 people. Set up an intimate acoustic gig on board and charge everyone just $10 to get on board (literally). Voila, you’ve got an awesome event that will get everyone talking (and maybe even a tan!).

 

Photo Credit: Will Byington

Band Cards (Like Neck Deep)

Pop-Punkers Neck Deep have been offering their own Tarot Cards in their merch store, which is super quirky in itself. The fun doesn’t need to stop there though, as you can add your own spin to the card game (see what we did there?!). Everyone loves a good card trick, or casual game with a trusty pack of cards, especially when it comes to drinking! So, when it comes to your after parties, or even your merch table, stand out with your own pack of personalized playing cards.

 

 

Source: Neck Deep Merch Store

Band Sauce (Like Bring Me The Horizon)

Okay, so you’re probably not huge international artists, and as such, you probably can’t afford your own sauce to just be like, invented. The aptly named ‘Bring Me The BBQ’ sauce from Bring Me The Horizon is an exception because, well, the British metal-heads are REALLY, REALLY RICH. You could get crafty in the kitchen, have a designer friend design you some labels, and go in that direction, but to be honest, why not just play it safe? Nobody’s saying you have to do this for anything other than novelty at a select event (band picnic in the park, anyone?) but it’s yet another bit of fun that not many people think of, so add a personal touch to the table.

 

 

Source (Not Sauce!): NME Magazine

Band Toys (Like Fall Out Boy)

Fall Out Boy have their own amazing sets of Russian Dolls, which are not by any means just for little girls, because the detail on them is awesome. Any fan would most likely want these in their home – so why can’t you recreate the fun of it with you own band dolls? You can have a play with this one (see what we did there…) and go all out. Why not go one step different and create some cute teddies? If you’ve got a younger fan base, personalized teddies would be absolutely perfect.

Source: FOB Merch Store

 

These are just a few, simple ideas but there are literally hundreds out there. Are you thinking outside the box? That’s a good start…

As featured on Indie-music.com, Examiner.com, I Am Entertainment Magazine, Antimusic.com, and recommended by countless music publications, “Your Band Is A Virus! Expanded Edition” is the ultimate music marketing guide for serious independent musicians and bands. Get your copy now.

Fear and Loathing in Clisson-Coming of Age in the Pits of Hell: Part 1

Hellfest 2014. One of the biggest heavy metal festivals of all time. This year there would be such greats playing as Iron Maiden, Slayer, Carcass, and Black Sabbath. Suffice to say, the French metal scene was aflutter with anticipation for months before the fest. They were preparing what was surely to be the greatest heavy metal event the nation had ever seen. I was lucky enough to work for the festival, this along with my previous work with my heavy metal blog gave me an incredible level of access. I decided to take this intimate knowledge of the festival to divulge a story about Hellfest, not just another review.

Day 1-Arrival

Thursday, my friend Dennis from Sweden had stayed at my house the night before, we went to the station where we agreed to meet my friend Mike who had recently arrived from Texas and his new acquaintance Tai from Vancouver. Already, you get a sense for the very international nature of this festival. While the majority of festival goers were French, at least 50% of the crowds came from different nations and English was the predominant language. On top of that, I barely knew my travelling companions, having met all but one for the first time that week. Things were going to be insane, no matter what we did. We get in the train, France’s famous TGV, as we got closer to the sacred land of Clisson (Where Hellfest takes place) we gradually saw more and more metalheads in the train. This culminated in a jam packed regional train to the festival crammed with thousands of fans screaming as we roared down the tracks, ever closer to that sacred earth. On the TGV we made friends with a pair of older American couples who traded us liquor for food and water. Who knew that buying baguettes and Evian would one day help get me drunk? Reality was already starting to fade away. As my friend Tai put it, “This is what I love about metal, we’re one big, retarded, screwed up family”.

 

Finally, after a long walk from the station to the actual site (Put some signs up next year!) it was time to find our camp spots. As a volunteer, it took me an especially long time to figure out where I needed to be. I did however find a case of free beer, so the weekend was off to an incredible start. As I marched about trying to find my designated camping spot and plowing my way through a six pack I realized that this weekend may very well kill me. As long as I saw Sabbath first I knew it would be okay. So I continued my search for a campground before finally setting up next to my new friends Gerard and Gerome, the only people for about a hundred yards, they seemed nice enough. It certainly seemed like an ideal campsite. As a disclaimer, after this point things started to go mad, Hunter S Thompson style mad, alcohol took over my life, and walking in a straight line was but a fading memory.

After finally setting up my tent I head on down to the main campground and joined up with my drinking buddies, we leave for the vaunted ‘Metal Corner’ a camper hangout on the grounds filled to the brim with bars, places to eat, and general partying. One highlight of the early part of my evening was the discovery that you could actually purchase beer in 3 pint jugs for cheaper than buying just standard pints. This would soon lead to an alcoholocaust of the likes of which I had never before experienced. Night fell on Hellfest and the fans started to scream in anticipation, a mighty roar going up after every pint. I sat there with my friends as we realized we were on the brink of the best weekend of our lives.

As the night got colder we wandered over to the main campsite, fully ready to get trashed in anticipation of the festival. As I wandered around the campsite I bumped into a variety of French metal buddies, all of whom were excited and ready for the weekend to come. I had never felt a stronger bond with my French metal brethren, we were sitting on the brink of a weekend that would change all of our lives and we knew it. Towards one in the morning I went on a extended walk with my good friend James from the rising French death metal band Geostygma (Somebody book those guys!). As we talked about the future and the possible ways forward after my impending move to America it felt as if we were on the brink of something new, exciting and maybe a little sad. We started down a brave new world which we would start to embrace this weekend.

By three in the morning I’m wrecked, I know I need to get back to my tent, and as I wander I start to contemplate this festival as a landmark event in my life. Away from home and finished high school, this is the closest thing I would ever have to a graduation trip, and there was a clear significance for this weekend as a coming of age ceremony. Maybe I haven’t gone to Cancun with high school girls like my peers, but I certainly have made friends with random Scandinavians in a campsite of 40,000 people.   Stumbling out of the campground I bumped into my friend Willem, a guy who I had spoken to online for years and had very much anticipated meeting at Hellfest. Of course, I could barely walk at this point and our first conversation was simply limited to me using my crew pass to help open a few doors for him to be able to access the campsite. (Seriously, why did none of the security guards speak English?) This reflects the strange ability of Hellfest to bring fans together, from across the globe, seemingly by accident. It’s my first taste of the incredible magic of this festival. After some searching I crash in my tent and pass out. Hell is coming.

As featured on Indie-music.com, Examiner.com, I Am Entertainment Magazine, Antimusic.com, and recommended by countless music publications, “Your Band Is A Virus! Expanded Edition” is the ultimate music marketing guide for serious independent musicians and bands. Get your copy now.

Stagecraft 101: Why Performance Matters

Amon Amarth by Lana Nimmons http://www.photographerlana.com/

I’d like to thank Jeff Black and my friends at Vandala Magazine for allowing I.M.P to share this valuable editorial on the critical aspects of performance. Read on for some very helpful advice.

Article By Jeff Black

From Junes Vandala Magazine –  READ MORE REVIEWS HERE

If your idea of playing a show involves tying back your hair, slipping into your favorite Cannibal Corpse tee and staring at your toes and fretboard for forty-five minutes, you’re doing it wrong. Said it, I meant it, now I’m here to represent it.

Every time I go to a local show, I find myself confronted by these types of bands. Lazy, uninspired non-performers who look like they’d rather be at home munching on Doritos and watching reruns of Friends than onstage, and it shows in their crowd attendance and overall response. If your show has me reaching into my pocket for my iPhone (or for a gun to put in my mouth) then we got a problem. No wonder turnouts for local gigs are at an all-time low and bands can’t make any money; Your customer base is bored outta their skulls!

Let’s set things straight: There is more to being in a band than “making music.” Creativity doesn’t end once your songs are written, and rehearsal shouldn’t be about people simply playing their parts correctly. That’s only half the battle, folks. The Semi-Monty. The Kit, but lacking most of the Kabootle. Whatever. Point is: playing in a boring band isn’t a crime, but it should be.

I’m not saying that the music is less important, because that’s not true. The music is what brought you into this financial black hole, right? Why would you spend time working on your (hopefully) great songs and then shoot yourself in the kneecap with a crossbow bolt by half-assing it onstage? That’s like spending twelve hours a week perfecting your succulent rosemary Parmesan garlic bread recipe and then coiling a nice, ropey turd over it before putting it on the table at your dinner party. I’m not saying that every band needs to wear spiked platform boots and chuck severed humans heads into the crowd while an animatronic dragon barfs fiery acid over your heads. But have something there. Those nerds in Dream Theater are putting on more entertaining shows than 90% of local bands. Why would you let that happen?

Speaking of “Why’s”, Why is putting on a good show important?

Because let’s face it: most of your favorite bars and clubs are running paleolithic PA systems plugged in to a digital mixer (“Digital” meaning that you have to hold it between two fingers to get it to work) using XLR cables covered in spit, beer, sweat and tape residue, and the sound guy is probably popping pills and smoking dubious substances out back just to get through his hellish night of pretending to care about crappy bands.

Some places are okay, but the reality is that the sound is gonna suck. Just accept it. Embrace it. Become one with it. Breathe this information in and taste it, and try not to puke when you realize where it’s been. You can overcome this hurdle. If your audio is going to impaired, then fix yourself by beefing up other elements of your gig. You could start with, oh, I dunno, THE VISUALS?

You’d be amazed at what a visual accent can do to when it comes to making a song stick out, or a certain part more memorable. What could this visual accent be? Well, pretty much anything. A hair-whip. A stick-twirl. Foot on the monitor. Power jumps. Eating a platypus and using it’s poisonous barbs to carve a bloody lampshade out of someone’s face. Hell, you could even make EYE CONTACT with the people watching you! But let’s not get too crazy here.

Start looking at things you can do on an individual level to make certain parts of your songs stand out. I would start by finding parts with interesting rhythm accents and doing something to make those POP. If there’s something cool going on in your lyrics, you might find a way to let that influence how you carry yourself in certain sections. Let the dynamics of your song dictate what you do onstage. Some bands go as far as doing synchronized movements with their guitars a la Judas Priest or Scorpions. Try stuff out. You’re a musician, aren’t you? Be creative! If all else fails, pick up a few DVDs of your favorite groups and really watch them. Go see a band with a great live show and take notes. Learn something!

If you have strong performance skills, you will be more entertaining, and more people will come to your shows. More people means more tickets sold which leads to happier bars and promoters, better shows, more opportunities, more merch sales and  more money.

Did everyone catch that last bit? Let me say it again: More money. Again; MORE MONEY.

One more time, with feeling! MORE MONEY!

If your next response is “but dude, it’s not about money, it’s just about loving The Rawk, man,” then you’ve officially revoked your right to complain about anything band-related ever again. Not that you should ever waste your time complaining anyways, but please do me a favor and stop sharing your stupid Facebook memes about “supporting local bands” if that’s the attitude you have. Nothing kills the local scene more than boring, crummy bands.

When your band takes that extra step to amp up its live show, everyone wins.

Next lesson: Practice for Performance …..

Jeff Black is a professional musician and piano teacher based out of Edmonton, Canada. He has toured across the nation with groups such as Scythia, Samandriel, The Ozzy Osbourne Experience and has performed on nine studio releases to date. When he’s not busy in the lesson studio or onstage, he’s probably reading or writing, often enjoying a cold European ale in the process.

As featured on Indie-music.com, Examiner.com, I Am Entertainment Magazine, Antimusic.com, and recommended by countless music publications, “Your Band Is A Virus! Expanded Edition” is the ultimate music marketing guide for serious independent musicians and bands. Get your copy now.

“Lazaretto” finds Jack White bruised and seeing blue

When Jack White accuses The Black Keys of ripping off his sound, I have to agree with the man. The White Stripes–and only The White Stripes–are responsible for bringing back the rawness to some seriously over-cooked rock-and-roll at the turn of the century and every band after only followed suit.

Unfortunately, the distinction today is hardly relevant. On White’s second solo album, Lazaretto, he continues to inch away from the iconic, slapdash rock formations the Stripes made so cool over a decade ago. His charm is still in rock and roll, but seeping in are the sounds of instruments discovered in a Nashville garage sale: fiddles, mandolins, a pedal steel guitar, old Synthesizers, a harp–even a bass guitar. Slathered on top all that is White’s own contemplations of age and abandoned love.

Lazaretto opens with the Blind Willie McTell song, “Three Women,” a salute to the artists whose sound White has borrowed from. The organ pumps and the piano pounds as White divides his time between a redhead, a blonde and brunette. The album’s title track exhibits the classic Jack White guitar sound. Sludge slides down the fretboard and a piercing solo releases goosebumps up and down the body.

By the third track, “Temporary Ground,” all memories of White’s signature sound start to dither. The song, a duet with Lillie Mae Rische, who plays fiddle and mandolin on the record and is part of White’s touring band, hearkens back to the time of Cold Mountain. In the Civil War-era movie White plays Georgia, a poor wandering musician with a high-pitched down south whine. White remains in time and character for the regular ol’ country tune and darnit if it ain’t the catchiest melody on Lazaretto.

When The White Stripes disbanded in 2011 it was sad news for fans, and even more so for White, who had worked so efficiently under their self-assigned limitations. For his first solo album, the fair, but forgettable Blunderbuss, White enlisted the help of neighboring musicians and two full bands to fill the void.

During the recording of Lazaretto, the doors of Third Man Studios never closed. We hear White laboring over each transition, time change and layered track. It’s a new frontier for the man who made every effort to make music on the fly, from the gut and with little back-tracking. The songs are all carefully constructed, sometimes with excellent results, sometimes with an over-attentiveness that bloats the sound.

Nothing can replace the excitement of records done in one take with everyone playing right there in the room and a bit of fuzz invading the corners. Jack White understands this, but on Lazaretto, which he worked on for over a year, he allowed the new songs to simmer. Mostly, he benefits, but White, who also plays in The Dead Weather and The Raconteurs, seems to be searching in the dark for a sound to call his own.

Dusty piano notes flutter from the old saloon on “Alone In My Home.” “Lost feelings of love that hover above me,” White repeats with a steady Nashville twang pinching each last note. “That Black Bat Licorice” has the knee-jerk puncture of the White Stripes and on “Would You Fight For My Love?” White rips into an operatic crunch. The song creeps through the forests of jilted love along a thumping piano. “I’m getting better at becoming a ghost,” White sings with crackling despair, before the chorus blows up.

One of Lazaretto‘s best songs is the one without vocals, “High Ball Stepper.” A lucid arrangement quells around thorny stabs of guitar and the nervous hooting of some luckless owl. It’s the most psychedelic song White has done and one hopes there’s more of this to go around.

As featured on Indie-music.com, Examiner.com, I Am Entertainment Magazine, Antimusic.com, and recommended by countless music publications, “Your Band Is A Virus! Expanded Edition” is the ultimate music marketing guide for serious independent musicians and bands. Get your copy now.

Bloodmoon-Pure Heavy Metal Ascension

 

The West Coast is exploding with heavy bands right now all of whom have recently put out top notch records, these bands include, Witch Mountain (Whose t-shirt I am currently wearing), Agalloch, Ash Borer, Blackwitch Pudding and more. Yet for me, there is one rarely mentioned rising act who people should really start taking note of, I am speaking of the almighty Bloodmoon. With two records under their collective belts, these guys are only rising in popularity and talent. Through a deep knowledge of the scene, innovative marketing and a huge cloud of pot smoke, Bloodmoon have been able to climb the ladder of doom and black metal bands in their region, all while preaching a message that goes into the beyond, a band who is truly voidbound.

 

 

The origins of the band are murky at times. Once described as “two friends and a stranger making music together” Bloodmoon has an incredible ethos behind them. Asides from being inspired by shamanic wanderings, these guys essentially write their music through jamming, giving the entire thing a very open and engaging feel. The mix of dynamics is refreshingly direct and gives new power to classics like Come Whatever Storm (Which is a tribute to Chuck Schuldiner). Jason Goldie is a master of the drums and a pioneer in the mysterious Moeller method. Pat Mullholland has been reknown for having some of the most interesting and heavy bass lines on the scene. Meanwhile, Peter Tomis dropped out of high school to learn Death’s Sound of Perseverance album in full, need I say more? The line-up is the stuff of legends, and it has set Bloodmoon as a force ready to climb to the top.

 

 

Now, I’ve been friends with Bloodmoon frontman Peter Tomis for almost two years now, and since then he has become very much a mentor to me. As a doom metal fanatic I go to a lot of shows in my home city of Paris, and I am regularly shocked with how many friends he has in doom bands passing through. This is just one example of how Bloodmoon have been able to cultivate an incredible dedication to the genre in order to bring more people to listen to their good words. Another illustration of the magic of Bloodmoon lies in the bands who they play with, Tomis is a show booker, and the band helped to create a DIY venue in their hometown of San Luis Obispo. Through this, Bloodmoon has been able to play with noted acts like Agalloch and High On Fire. This has only helped to push the bands inevitable rise to popularity ever forward.

Perhaps the most important element in making Bloodmoon what they are today has been their seminal second album Voidbound which brings us from the black metal oriented and slightly more traditional approach of Orenda into a doomier and oftentimes more experimental context. It opens up with the seventeen minute long Voidbound which brings the listener into a brave new world and establishes this strange new context that Bloodmoon seem to be working in. These guys have broken rules and made new ones, all to create one the West Coast’s best bands. They are poster children of the DIYculture that has started to take this scene. More than that, they understand the beautiful spirituality that makes some of this music so special. Lines like “Awaken with the vision of your presence in a dream, Take the path that seems to fit for time grows shorter still, Diving higher, flying down, embracing the unreal, We are but the constructs of an ever turning wheel” prove that there is much more going on here than just the music.

Voidbound by Bloodmoon

So, Bloodmoon drive ever forward, masters of their own reality, worshipping Death and Black Sabbath without ever really imitating them. Fans are often left overcome, in awe of the triumphant trudge of this band. You see, Bloodmoon are not afraid to carve out their own niche. With a similar ethos to bands like Eagle Twin or Windhand, the fact that they don’t sound quit like anybody else doesn’t bother them, in fact, it only drives them forward. Combining so many elements it boggles the mind, Bloodmoon seem fit to capture the hearts and imaginations of fans across the globe. Falling into the strange void they have created for us to explore is a pleasure and is solid proof that this band is going somewhere. Now that they’re starting to get label backing and increased international interest their rumored upcoming split could very well push them to tour the East coast, and soon even Europe.

Perhaps Peter put it best when he said “The ultimate goal for me is this, I don’t want money or anything like that. I just want to be able to sit at home in my studio and work on music all day.The ultimate goal is just to have a home studio where we can record everything ourselves which will make the one album a year goal a lot easier. I just don’t want to work a normal job. I know it’s hard to use music as your only source of income but if there is anything that I have to say about it. I want it to get to a point where we wake up, meet up at the studio, work on our music, better ourselves, do band business for the rest of the day and just repeat. Go on tour whenever we can and play live. We just love doing this. It’s something that each of us has spent a good deal of time on. We’ve all been musicians for 10+ years. We’ve spent so much time on it it’s become an addiction, an obsession.. I’ll be sitting at work thinking about all the riffs that I haven’t translated to guitar yet. That I need to keep looping in my head until I can get to my guitar to play it. The ultimate goal is to always be in a spot every day so that when this idea pops into my head I can immediately stop what I’m doing and start working on that idea.”

As featured on Indie-music.com, Examiner.com, I Am Entertainment Magazine, Antimusic.com, and recommended by countless music publications, “Your Band Is A Virus! Expanded Edition” is the ultimate music marketing guide for serious independent musicians and bands. Get your copy now.

Inner Temple-The Saviors of Grunge?

It’s 4 in the morning in Benton, Pennsylvania, normal people are asleep, preparing to go to the 9 to 5 grind the next day. Meanwhile, 20 year old Dustin Schumacher sits in front of his computer and messages with fans from across the globe. The connection is important to him, and this mysterious insomniac is just trying to push his band to a new level. What band is this you ask? Inner Temple, one of the most promising new groups from Pennsylvania, a state whose music scene is simply incredible right now. Schumacher is simply trying to find a place for grunge in this brave new world, and it seems like he’s starting to succeed.

Why grunge though? Isn’t the genre dead, now only filled out by Nirvana imitators? Well, if you look at it, there’s actually a lot of strange parallels between new Pennsylvania scene and the old Seattle Sound. The spread out nature of the scene and the lower class pride it’s members have are dominant ideas from both scenes. On top of that, independent labels, like the Paris based Contorted Records are starting to take an interest in bands from the region. Grunge is, as Schumacher puts it “The bastard child of metal and punk.” In Pennsylvania right now, both the metal and punk scenes are taking off, so maybe it makes sense for grunge to be starting to spread its wings, trying to find it’s own solution to our culture spanning disillusionment.

This cultural sadness is really what Inner Temple are trying to speak to us about. In a recent interview, Schumacher said “I don’t think anyone is truly happy anymore.” This starts to get at the beauty of Inner Temple as a band. They are willing to face the harsh truths that make our everyday lives so difficult, and oftentimes bleak. Schumacher is depressed because the world around him is depressed, and the only way out might just be, in his words, “coming together as one and stop fighting each other because that gets you nowhere.” Benton, Pennsylvania might not seem like the ideal place to come into Buddhist ideologies, but it certainly has worked for Dustin.

After a critically mixed self titled debut EP it seemed that Inner Temple was really starting to get somewhere. While a lot of critics seemed to pan the record based on the vocals, others thought that it represented the heart and soul of the band. The fans loved it, the band has garnered a dedicated international fanbase which is crucial when coming from a scene as small as theirs. While dealing with criticism has discouraged them, Inner Temple aren’t taking any shit, they simply want to evolve their sound to a point that they can get the respect and acclaim that they so richly deserve. The problem is simply that they are too far removed from a lot of their peers.

Inner Temple EP by Inner Temple

Here’s the thing, Inner Temple do their best to distance themselves from accusations of Nirvana worship. These guys are trying to find their own path rather than follow the modern ‘soft grunge’ trend. One only needs to listen to some of the simply sick roars that Dustin unleashes upon his public in songs like Red or Father. While there is clearly a very marketable side to grunge music, Inner Temple are not especially trying to take advantage of that. While Schumacher does feel the youth need an icon to look up to, he’s not trying to be Kurt Cobain, but simply Dustin Schumacher. Or as he said “Trying to be Nirvana is sad. To that I say Fuck off. I’m not Kurt Cobain, I don’t want to be Kurt Cobain. My drummer is not Dave Grohl, he doesn’t want to be Dave Grohl. My bassist is not Kris Novoselic, he doesn’t want to be Kris Novoselic. We’re Inner Temple, we’re not Nirvana and we don’t want to be Nirvana.” This creates a certain sense of honesty which I personally feel we don’t get in a lot of new grunge music, and if grunge isn’t honest, it’s kind of pointless. Instead of conforming to rules on how you are supposed to sound and look, Inner Temple feels free to innovate and explore. In fact, Dustin’s so sick of Nirvana connections he actually has difficulty listening to the band.

As for the future, things seem a bit weird right now. Schumacher has entertained the notion of moving out to Seattle, but also appreciates the beauty of his Pennsylvania heritage. There was a proposed summer tour, but even that seems to be falling apart in front of him. Yet, we get the sense that the band will live on, crafting their own distinct path. Their first full length is set to drop in just a few months and acoustic demos have been made for all the songs. Inner Temple are now at a point in their career where it’s do or die. If they fail to deliver with their debut record, they have a lot to lose. But if they meet the potential shown on their EP, well, these guys might just take over the world.

In the end, we have to sit here and simply appreciate the strange triumph of this band. They’ve broken all of the rules, they’re riding a step ahead of disaster, bodies flying and balls out. These guys have gotten fans from Brazil to India, and demands to play shows across the globe. Now as they try to find the money to meet these demands, and simply record, we find the group at a strange position. Big enough to have the love of hundreds of die hard fans, but small enough to not be able to profit off of it, this is the moment where we see a separation of boys from men. Can Schumacher lead his grunge stalwarts to victory? Well, if you want to see the revolution that popular music so desperately needs, you should certainly hope so!

As featured on Indie-music.com, Examiner.com, I Am Entertainment Magazine, Antimusic.com, and recommended by countless music publications, “Your Band Is A Virus! Expanded Edition” is the ultimate music marketing guide for serious independent musicians and bands. Get your copy now.

“Do to the Beast” revives the muscle of The Afghan Whigs

I know you by now, Greg Dulli. I do.

In 2006 The Twilight Singers–Dulli’s main post-Afghan Whigs group–were playing Paradise Rock Club in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Dulli, dressed in all black, mopped the stage with the sweat of his movements, sneering at the audience and lumbering to the edge of the stage with every song’s moment of impact.

When an older woman heckled Dulli, he relished the exchange, sensing an opportunity to break the glass between performer and spectator. His grinned was soaked. He shot back at the woman with venom, on a level nearing flirtation–a sequence the man, in life and song, is no stranger of. The moment was borderline worrisome, the tension raw. Dulli seemed close to walking off stage to buy the woman a drink and disappear down the dark hallways of the club with her. Each song was more exacerbated as he continued to bark back. The performance is marked as one of my favorites.

Dulli is a man who does not apologize for who he is and the music he has been involved with, first with the Afghan Whigs, then The Twilight Singers and The Gutter Twins, reflects that. Do to the Beast is The Afghan Whigs’ return album. And this one is for real. Their last, 1965, was released 16 years ago in 1998.

Their seventh album comes appropriately in line of the The Whigs’ discography. Sound comes out thick as a steak, guitars of raunch rip and rumble, and somewhere along the way you’ll think to yourself, “I should make a drink for this.”

The perfectly titled, “Parked Outside,” starts the album off with a mudflap drumbeat and dirty guitars that gird and goad. Dulli sneers and rasps and whines as Dulli most skillfully does. “Matamoros” has a palm-muted guitar that warns then slithers into a snake-charmer trance. Dulli smokes a cigar and puts an old love firmly in the past.

Dulli aches all over Do to the Beast. “It kills to watch you love another,” he laments over the piano-driven burner, “It Kills.” On “Lost in the Woods” he slumps over two hard slabs of piano that rock back and forth. The trees pass until he arrives at a lake. “Sitting outside in the cold, I can see that you’re not alone,” he sings, unable to pull himself away.

The album is saturated with lonesome regret. On “Algiers” Dulli gives the ultimatum: “Dream your sins away, sin your dreams away.”

On most Afghan Whigs’ and Twilight Singer’s records there is one recurrent comfort: The Car. “Can Rova” finds Dulli strapped in for a slow drive out of town, away from the haunted past. “I can’t see you anymore,” he gulps down. The sinewy song takes off wistfully into a burst of hyper drum beat, then ends.

Do to the Beast is a strong return album for The Afghan Whigs. The darkness of the night comes in swinging and never lets up. If they’re looking to make up for the 16-year hole, I’ll be listening.

As featured on Indie-music.com, Examiner.com, I Am Entertainment Magazine, Antimusic.com, and recommended by countless music publications, “Your Band Is A Virus! Expanded Edition” is the ultimate music marketing guide for serious independent musicians and bands. Get your copy now.

Sean Lennon eats his father’s ghost and shines on Midnight Sun

What better relationship to have but one where music is the constant center? Sean Lennon and his girlfriend, model Charlotte Kemp Muhl, have been creating music together in their New York apartment since 2008 under the guise of The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger.

Midnight Sun, not their first release, does feel like the one where everything finally links into place. It is their first to go speaker-to-speaker with instrumental bombardment. In 2010 they released a collaboration with Mark Ronson titled Jardin Du Luxembourg, their own home-recorded Acoustic Sessions, then La Carotte Bleue, a limited release of reworked songs from the previous two.

For a guy with arguably the world’s most famous and inspirational musicians as parents–John and Yoko–Lennon, at 38, has maintained a scattershot musical career. He’s lend his expertise to the work of his friends in Cibo Matto, Albert Hammond Jr., and others, and released two solo albums eight years apart. The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger, then, is his main fling.

As a personal mode of literary expansion, I will try not to overuse the most obvious, and accurate, descriptors for Midnight Sun: psychedelic, sunshine pop. On it you’ll hear tremolo, ghost-like vocals, a crescendo of guitars thick with echo, everything thick with echo, walls of unplaced instruments that build-up, then slowly crumble. Hopefully there is a wide comfortable carpet to lay back on as the songs morph and take over the room.

Lennon and Muhl equally share duties on the record. They wrote every song together except for “Golden Earrings.” Muhl sings on “Johannesburg” in a tone soft as dandelion hairs falling on your face. The song opens wide in a field of sunshine with a wubby drum beat and something, somewhere dripping. The album’s title track thrives on a groovy acid-house romp with Lennon’s muttered vocals at the center. Both trade lines back and fourth on the bouncy cloud pop of “Last Call.”

On “Animals” the couple barrel down Fifth Avenue with a surging parade of big clashing drums, wound-up guitars and a rumbling bass. “Golden Earrings” begins calmly with a hide-out organ crawling up the spine. Lennon’s voice sails the Seven Seas and never returns. “Poor Paul Getty” sounds like a White Album outtake rediscovered in a time-vault left on the Moon. Midnight Sun ends with the loopy “Moth to a Flame” as it tunnels out from the Hadron Collider for a brain-charring finale.

Hopefully would-be listeners don’t get stuck on the fact that it’s “only the project of John Lennon’s son.” Make no mistake about it: Sean Lennon is his father’s son. There is no denying it when you hear the voice–the flat range of emotion, the coarse English drawl pulled deep from the throat, but pitched a bit higher. The comparison is undeniable, but let’s face it, just about every English singer to come around since the Beatles has had hints of John Lennon in their vocals, lyrics, style and experimentation.

On Midnight Sun, we’re hearing what the former Beatle would’ve made in this generation, with all precepts of song structure slashed, resold and lacking of fun. Lennon takes us down the choppy rivers of psychedelia his father’s band helped to create and restores it for a final product worthy to stand on it’s own, here, in 2014.

As featured on Indie-music.com, Examiner.com, I Am Entertainment Magazine, Antimusic.com, and recommended by countless music publications, “Your Band Is A Virus! Expanded Edition” is the ultimate music marketing guide for serious independent musicians and bands. Get your copy now.

7 Dangers To Watch Out For When Considering Music Promotion Services

Pretty Lights has built a massive following through dedicating himself to organic, DIY promotion methods and treating his project like the creative business it is. Focusing solely on building popularity through the distribution of a wide array of free music on a consistent basis helped him become a festival staple. You can bet he didn’t pad his efforts with push button tactics.

Almost every artist who approaches me has had one or more negative experiences with music promotion in the past, and this is largely due to the “quick fix syndrome” on behalf of both individuals who engage in the partnership. First of all, there are the automated music marketing services who I tend to call the internet cowboys. They offer progress and lavish promises at the push of a button. Facebook likes? You got it. Youtube views? Not a problem. Get your press release on the desk of thousands of journalists? We do that too.

The artists who tango with these folks also suffer from the quick fix syndrome. Rather than build a team of people and gain fans organically one by one, they instead aim for the mountaintop, neglecting to do the proper research or seek out the proof that Google can provide.

What are some common “warning signs” when researching music promotion type services and companies? Well, these are not hard and fast rules, but serious things to keep an eye on.

1) Do they have a “buy now” button, meaning they accept everyone?

Not good (unless it’s a service such as bio writing of course). This almost always means that their audience ignores their outreach. If there is no filtering whatsoever, it’s a virtual guarantee that the output is unprofessional. No quality control tends to mean no results. The service essentially has a welcoming face with no brain function.

2) Do they offer something called “email blasts”?

Same thing. Usually a sign you should run for the hills, ESPECIALLY if these email blasts come with promises along the lines of sending you to X amount of newspapers, magazines, journalists and music blogs. Find me a single story in a major publication that came about as the result of an email blast. When was the last time you welcomed something that was “blasted” to your inbox? Marketing must be more organic than that.

3) Do they offer those coveted Facebook or Twitter likes, $50 for 100 likes, and so on?

This can get your profiles removed and it will certainly reduce your engagement to almost nothing. It also means that you’ll have to spend much more on advertising because any genuine followers will be buried among all the fake profiles. Social media platforms are cracking down on this type of behavior.

4) Do they sell Youtube views and say they do it with real humans?

They’re lying. Even when they say they do not use bots, they do. Youtube is also cracking down on this type of behavior, and I’ve seen over a dozen cases recently of music videos being taken down after months of hard work had been put into them – all because of the desire for a shortcut.

5) Do they focus too much on peripheral services such as social media management, tweeting about you, distributing press releases, branding advice, and consulting you?

This is often emphasized to hide the fact that they are not driving real results where they matter, such as press, reviews, licensing deals, bookings, radio ads, and genuine, concrete opportunities. Anyone can post a status, blog a news release or tweet about you and you don’t need a company for that. Consulting and advice certainly have value, especially when it comes from knowledgeable people, but they are not worth thousands of dollars and under no circumstance should you be taking advice from someone who doesn’t deliver results in the first place.

6) Do they not have a client list on their website? When you ask, do they only provide a few of their “top artists”?

Client lists, generally, should be public (depending on the industry). Go beyond all site rhetoric and let Google be your truth teller. Google one company’s artists versus another to see the real results that are being driven. If you only compare one site’s rhetoric with another, you’ll end up going with whoever promises the most; almost always a poor decision.

7) Do they mention anything about getting a record deal?

Promises, promises. The loftier the promises, the less likely they are to come through. Stay away. There’s no need for that kind of “dangling a carrot” form of communication unless they’re referring to hard work and a team effort. Real marketing is not a one-stop shop. It’s a real, living thing and it can’t be achieved with the push of a button.

As featured on Indie-music.com, Examiner.com, I Am Entertainment Magazine, Antimusic.com, and recommended by countless music publications, “Your Band Is A Virus! Expanded Edition” is the ultimate music marketing guide for serious independent musicians and bands. Get your copy now.

Unscarred-French Thrash on the Rise

My first introduction to Unscarred actually came on a night of disappointment when I was 17. I had been meant to go see them and review their show in the Parisian suburbs, but at the last minute my parents told me it was too dangerous and I wasn’t allowed to go. Nevertheless, before the show I had taken the time to write a small review on my blog of the bands recently released demo entitled Fake Democracy, some of my first thoughts on Unscarred were  “A group who really understand thrash metal and essentially provide a ‘best of’ with their music the future seems bright for these French thrash purveyors.” Asides from a small magazine feature a few months prior, I had been the first person to give Unscarred media coverage, and I was very excited when I found out I would have the opportunity to see them live for the first time in August.

FAKE DEMOCRACY by UNSCARRED

That first live show was simply enlightening. A set I will never forget, be it because of how I immediately felt a connection between myself and the band, or simply the massive amount of stage diving that went down. In the small club, maybe 150 went simply insane, I can barely remember the other bands who played, I simply knew that Unscarred had hit on something special, triumphant even. Everyone present at the show seemed to be tapped into it, as if Unscarred had taken something from the very source of thrash metal and brought it down upon our unsuspecting heads, leaving dozens of fans dazed and confused.

It was around this time that I started to find out more about their singer, the mysterious Niloofar Melody, a girl who had been kicked out of Iran and exiled to the City of Lights. Why? For singing metal, in fact, she told me that the authorities in her home country actually think she is Satan. The bravery shown in this woman and in her dedication to music, and perhaps more importantly metal, is incredible, it speaks to the enduring power that all heavy music has. That she could rise from the ashes and be literally be “Reborn” and unscarred has never ceased to amaze me. Niloofar, or Nelly as her friends call her (And everyone is her friend) has often been seen as a driving force and the spirit behind the band, but true fans know that the story is a bit deeper than that.

Perhaps it’s most important to get at what has so far been one of the bands greatest triumphs, Mennecy Metal Festival, traditionally the last outdoor festival of the French festival season, and on this particular day Kreator was headlining. By this point I had started to get rather friendly with the Unscarred crew, Nelly, guitarists Boris and Nico, bassist Brice, and drummer Franck. Earlier in the day they had done a spectacular photo shoot with a talented local photographer, and almost all of the bands who had gone on before them were rather mediocre. When Unscarred hit the immense stage, Nelly immediately started screaming for people to get up off the ground and come headbang with her and the band.

Suffice to say, the response was immediately positive, though fans had mostly lay in the warm grass until that point in the afternoon suddenly a circle pit broke out. Within two songs they had won over the entire crowd. You’ve never seen a great live metal band, until they can take a crowd who don’t know their music, and convince them to do a massive wall of death in the middle of the afternoon. Pictures from this magical day still dominate the Unscarred Facebook page, a true crowning moment. From this show, the band saw the birth of something extremely rare for local groups to have, they got a sort of cult of superfans.

These superfans are part of what makes the band special, guys who come all the way from Belgium sometimes just to see their favorite thrash metal band. I am friends with one couple who live about an hour outside of Paris, yet have attended almost every single Unscarred gig since Mennecy. When their cassettes were released on Contorted Records in October the first run sold out within hours. Fans buy CD’s multiple times to give to their friends and put in requests for new merch they would like to see at the stand. There is a level of fan involvement here that you just don’t get in other French metal bands, and this is part of what makes this particular group so legendary and special.

What then really brings these crazy thrash fans to join the Unscarred legend? I can’t quite say for sure, but I think that the unique combination of the mythic backstory of the singer, sheer charisma, and a desire to try anything has set them apart. In a scene where so many metallers are jaded and tired I have seen old men jump in the pit because Unscarred makes them feel alive again. Is it the female vocals? Maybe. But to a large degree I think it’s simply the magic of the riffs, and the incredible energy the band bring to the stage with every performance. Be it in their stunning live shows (They are infamous for stealing the show despite being the first act on a five act bill) or in another triumph, their first televised appearance on Une Dose 2 Metal a French specialty metal TV show, these guys know how to capture hearts.

So where does that leave you and me dear reader? Well, I would say that Unscarred are the sort of band who have the potential to take over the world. Sure they’re a little older (The youngest member is 28) but even mighty thrash metal lords like Biohazard have sung their praises and ex-members of Venom, now playing in a band called M-Pire of Evil (A band which includes the almighty Mantas) have chosen Unscarred to open for them at the Triel Open Air festival in July 5. This is a band to watch, not just as a music group, but as a force, the sort of act who will triumph over the oppression that thrash has gone through and comes out the other end, stronger, faster, and somehow beautiful.

 

As featured on Indie-music.com, Examiner.com, I Am Entertainment Magazine, Antimusic.com, and recommended by countless music publications, “Your Band Is A Virus! Expanded Edition” is the ultimate music marketing guide for serious independent musicians and bands. Get your copy now.