James Moore's Blog, page 96

What Heavy Metal Can Teach Your Band

The heavy metal underground is something that most people rarely, if ever think about. But – as touched on in my recent article here on the Century Media buyout there is actually an incredible financial force behind the music. The fact of the matter is that despite being an incredibly niche genre, heavy metal bands the world over have managed to maintain a surprising profit margin – especially considering how poorly the rest of the industry is doing. Perhaps by better understanding this we’ll be able to really dig in to a way that can help your band make more money at home and on the road.

What makes heavy metal still a fairly viable commercial form (relatively speaking of course) is the sense of fanaticism behind them music. Not a lot of other genres can say it’s a common thing to have fans tattoo their logos onto their flesh. Not a lot of other genres have artists who routinely make much more off t-shirt sales than net guarantees – and those t-shirts are worn just about everywhere, not just to gigs. What heavy metal bands have been able to do is to craft a cult of personality around the artists to the point that – while yes, there is hero worship, there is also a sense of community and looking out for ones peers.

Heavy metal band Windhand

What you need to do with your fans is to create the sense of ‘superfandom’ and dedication that heavy metal is known for having. How else could a band like Windhand, who only have 45,000 Facebook likes, routinely headline three to five hundred person venues? Picking apart what creates this sense of dedication to an artist is crucial for those who seek to make a living off their music or at least have their careers end up being sustainable.

One of the key things I think that metal essentially stumbled into is the culture of exclusivity. The fact that a lot of these bands manage to maintain an iconoclastic culture of rarity is really interesting to a lot of people. I feel that we can learn a lot from a band like Lamb of God who have managed to maintain their credibility as an underground band despite playing to tens of thousands of people at festivals and recently being featured on Kimmel. It’s reassuring to see that there are ways to maintain a unique vision and fanbase whilst in the spotlight of mainstream success.

Heavy metal band Lamb of God

The way that a band like Lamb of God or even Slipknot are able to maintain their underground credibility and stay ‘dangerous’ in the eyes of the mainstream stems from their ability to speak truth about society. Lamb of God who are among the best selling death metal bands of all time at this point managed to put songs about centuries of oppression in Eastern Europe on their latest record – hardly the type of material that might appeal to a mainstream audience. But that’s exactly the point – there is no such thing anymore as a mainstream audience and we’ve got to get used to that.

This means that now more than at any other time in music you can create music that has a message and still make a living at it. That doesn’t mean it’s easier, it simply means that you need to be able to figure out what makes your niche so cool and how to best take advantage of that for your own career as well as for your fans enjoyment. What Lamb of God has done is find a distinct balance between lowest common denominator mainstream metal (As heard in their Pantera-esque grooves) and much deeper more intellectual lyrics and a high degree of musicianship. This gives us a band that can appeal to your every day metalhead as well as someone who stayed up all night reading Faulkner.

Heavy metal band Slipknot

On an even higher level is Slipknot who have a far more mainstream sound that Lamb of God yet revel in a distinctly demented image. What Slipknot have proved (And for the record, I am not a Slipknot fan) is that there are a lot of kids out there who will dig into the fucked up realities that Slipknot paint – showing that truly iconoclastic bands can survive in this day and age. It’s not just a matter of pushing the limits as far as you can a la GG Allin. The reason that a band like Slipknot have mainstream success whilst GG Allin did not is by and large because they have been able to help pull together a much more intelligent image and refine the more terrifying elements of their iconography. Despite appearance to the contrary Slipknot understand the significance of subtlety in crafting your own unique image. It’s not just a matter of being as extreme as possible.

Now I understand that for your day to day rock and indie bands this may not be the most easily applicable advice. But part of why metal works as a good example is because it’s so extreme. It’s easy to see how more conventional bands apply this thinking once you’ve considered it in it’s darkest context. For example – bands like Modern Baseball have been able to grow in a far different way from metal acts – they don’t sell any sort of fantasy but instead emphasize the bleak realities of suburban life. But they still breed fanaticism in a similar way to metal bands? Why? Because they continue to play small venues, emphasizing exclusivity and have managed to create a distinct and silly image that a lot of people can buy into.

The fact of the matter is – you need to find what makes you special, emphasize that, and ride that wave until it dies and then go from there. You need to find music that doesn’t just appeal to the lowest common denominator but also shows the unfailing intellect and artistry behind your work. Instead of letting yourself be dragged down by the ‘stupidity of the masses’ or any of that elitist bullshit you need to instead reach out to eery day with a smile and realize the eternal power of music – especially when it’s unique, poignant and powerful.

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.

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New look indie legends Bloc Party return with fresh line-up, songs and tour dates

Ten years after their debut LP, “Silent Alarm”, shook up the indie rock world, Bloc Party have returned, with a new look, new songs and a batch of tour dates to fit.

With past members Matt Tong and Gordon Moakes having left in 2013 and 2015 respectively, and rumours of the band having recorded a fifth album in the rumour mill, it was with trepidation fans headed to a couple of small gigs in California a couple of weeks ago. These shows along with FYF Fest in LA, saw Kele Okereke and Russell Lissack joined by American Justin Harris and new drummer Louise Bartle. Both were promptly introduced to the world by Kele, and new songs ‘Eden’ and ‘Exes’ featured, alongside the classics.

Then the bombshell; that a new album had been recorded and was due for release in the near future. Fans everywhere, myself included rejoiced. Bloc Party are a pivotal band for me, a band that opened up my 11-year-old ears to what indie rock could be and “Silent Alarm”, was the first record that really grabbed my attention as a youngster. From the moment ‘Banquet’ dropped, with its pulsating guitar riffs and Kele’s grasping, fighting vocals, I was hooked.

So the very last announcement, of a collection of European tour dates this Winter, really gripped me too, with gigs in Holland, Germany, France and Belgium, along with the pair of shows in the UK, at Manchester’s Albert Hall and London’s St. John’s Church. With Kele’s additional claim that the new album will be ‘the most gentle and most abrasive music we’ve ever made’, plus those unique, different venues, the sold out shows will be momentous moments for the band, back in their own backyard with a new line-up.

While some fans might critique a new, drastic line-up, I see it as a new, exciting chapter in the Bloc Party story, we had the breakout, overnight success, the tricky second album, the wicked, dance-laden anthems of “Intimacy”, the indefinite hiatus, the comeback and now a fresh start. Throw in each members own side-projects, and it was clear to see different band members wanted different things from the indie band. At least now everyone who is in Bloc Party wants to be making brilliant music in Bloc Party, and that is only a good thing for fans.

So what happens next? The untitled new album could still drop before the year is out, but with November and December seeing that European tour, I wouldn’t be hugely surprised to see it slip into January next year, either way it’ll be a brilliant festive gift for the music world. Expect new stories to be written, new tales to be told as one of the most unique bands in the modern-day music business, is back and is raring to go.

Bloc Party Tour Dates

November 27 – Paradiso, Amsterdam, Netherlands

November 28 – Live Music Hall, Cologne, Germany

November 29 – Astra Kulturhaus, Berlin, Germany

December 1 – Alhambra, Paris, France

December 2 – Cirque Royale, Brussels, Belgium

December 3 – Albert Hall, Manchester, UK

December 4 – St John’s Church, London, UK

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.

The post New look indie legends Bloc Party return with fresh line-up, songs and tour dates appeared first on Independent Music Promotions - Guaranteed Music PR for Music With Depth Worldwide.

Reading & Leeds Festivals 2015 Preview

It’s that time of year again, when the summer is gently coming to a close, and the entirety of the UK nation prepares for the August Bank Holiday; a time otherwise known as Reading & Leeds festival start date.  Let’s take a look at the highlights of this year’s festivals…

Leeds Friday/Reading Sunday

Friday’s offering at Leeds showed a huge swing in the new outlook of the festival, with heavier rap/dance music influences alongside the largely indie rock showing. With the newly-reformed Libertines headlining later in the evening, there was lot on in the hours preceeding for fans to sink their teeth into.

Outside of Planet Kanye, Kendrick Lamar is probably the biggest rapper on this planet at the moment. Between the release of a critically successful album alongside a revival in all things ‘Compton’ nowadays, getting Mr Lamar over here for the dual festivals was really a coup by boss Melvyn Benn. Lamar brought all of his hits with him as well as an exceeding amount of showmanship and charm, too, that endeared him to the crowd. He even compared Reading to his home town of Compton, not so sure about that one Kendrick…

The likes of Ghostpoet, KWABS and Awolnation provided an eclectic afternoon’s listening on the NME/Radio 1 stage, before the man with one of the albums of the summer took to the stage, Jamie xx of the xx.

Early on in his set he gorged the crowd with one of the hits from the album, ‘I Know There’s Gonna Be (Good Times)’ before continuing in that form with an well-chosen mix of tunes – with 70s soul and dancehall going doing particularly well with the crowd given the sunset-circumstances. While many artist like xx, Mark Ronson or even fellow DJ Skrillex would have all sorts of on-stage distractions on-going, the on-stage presence is minimal to say the least, just Jamie xx behind the decks, as it should be.

It’s all about the music, and with no gimmicks or distractions to divert your attentions elsewhere, it’s that much easier to find yourself being swept up in the slowburning euphoria of ‘All Under One Roof Raving’, or the big, sonorous bass notes of ‘Gosh’. Personal favourite ‘Loud Places’ makes a fantastic showing late on, and gets the crowd going perfectly too.

Leeds Saturday/Reading Friday

Indie fans were well served by Bastille, alt-j and Mumford and Sons, over on the Main Stage, a trio that personally sends chills down my spine, although I have good news to report- they weren’t all that bad. Bastille, sure seemed to be eeking out their lengthy running time, but in the case of the latter two they seem to have fully developed as the artists they are; delivering on the success that I felt was undeservedly going their way following some promising debuts. Both are now fully established and are festival mainstays for sure.

Alternatively, and this is the great thing about R&L, Run the Jewels walked on-stage to the self-affirming anthem ‘We Are The Champions’, and you really wouldn’t have it any other way. El-P and Killer Mike killed it as expected and brought something fresh and new to the NME/Radio 1 Stage.

“We are going to f*ck this motherf**ker up”, announced the latter before launching into the duo’s self-titled track ‘Run the Jewels’. It didn’t take long for the crowd to lap up the on-stage chemistry between the two rappers and the energy from one another and their music seems to latch on to everyone present, resulting in some serious mosh pits. ‘Blockbuster Night 2’ and ‘Early’ saw the crowd engaging in plenty of raised ‘guns and fists’.

They even managed a cheeky thank-you to NME, and requested an award for next year’s NME Awards, that’s the type of balls RTJ have, and at this stage in their burgeoning career as a duo, with this much success so far, can you blame them?

Leeds Sunday/Reading Saturday

Following a barren seven year absence, Metallica returned to close Leeds Festival 2015 – with an extended two hour set that was by the fans, for the fans. With a debut Glastonbury set last summer in their back pocket the veteran metal band kept their ‘choir’ of hardcore fans at the back of the stage, which personally looks rather bizarre to me…

Entering the stage to Ennio Morricone’s western soundtrack ‘The Ecstasy of Gold’, while screens showed footage from movie The Good, The Bad and the Ugly, they kicked-off with the crowd-pleasing trio of ‘Fuel’, ‘To Whom The Bell Tolls’ and ‘Battery’. The set seemed to get the best from a crowd you expect would have been through a tiring third day.

For the encore, Metallica covered a raucous ‘Whisky In a Jar”, This is going to make you bounce,” pledged lead singer James Hatfield before jumping on into ‘Enter Sandman’. It was the perfect end to a perfect weekend for many, as pyrotechnics and lasers filled the sky before the release of hundreds of bouncing black balls added to the cacophony of sound and visuals to aiming to please the majority of the crowd.

The NME/ Radio One Stage saw a packed early-afternoon tent as thousands rushed to see a surprise slot from band-of-the-moment, Foals, whose album dropped the preceeding Friday. Kicking off with crowd favourite ‘My Number’, before dropping into new single ‘Mountain At My Gates’ as those lucky enough to catch the set were astounded by the future headliners.

It felt like one of those coming of age moments for a band four albums in and with designs to be the last act on the Main Stage in a few years time. That new album, ‘What Went Down’, will surely help their cause and don’t rule out a swift rise to the top for the Oxford band. Frontman Yannis Philippakis ended up in amongst his baying crowd of worshippers come the set’s close, and indication it went rather well.

It’s a shame that technical problems plagued the set of one of the hottest bands of the year, Wolf Alice, whose lead singer, Ellie Roswell’s guitar just stopped working during closer, ‘Moaning Lisa Smile’ (see what they did there?!). It was only a minor glitch in an otherwise triumphant time that showed just how far the British band had come in not that longer time at all. With a number one album behind them and this just one of several impressive festival outings, expect Ellie and the gang to be a constant presence around and about the scene for years to come.

A woman who seems to adore controversy, Azealia Banks, was headlining the 1Xtra Stage on the same evening as Metallica, tough pick right?! Well those who managed to catch a slice of the American’s set would’ve been pleasantly surprised as Banks proved there’s more to her than her hateful Twitter presence. Having had the wonderfully talented DENCH Lethal Bizzle as her warm-up, Ms Banks played many songs from her debut LP, ‘Broke With Expensive Taste throughout her 50 mins set, launching into ‘Desperado’ by shouting “You ready to have a good time?” to the heaving tent of festivalgoers. Getting the crowd going seemed to be her strong suit, as she built the crowd up with chants of “Let me hear you make some f**king noise”, receiving a huge response, as the launch of her greatest hit to date,’212′, got the crowd singing her words back at her. She might still be a little rough around the edges but Azealia Banks is finally starting to deliver on some of the hype that’s followed her since her debut.

Check out the poster below and let me know your own highlights!

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.

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Triumph and Tribulation with Pallbearer

Out of the silence lurches a melancholy chord. Then suddenly another. Their is a sense of sorrow communicated in just those few notes that has you wondering what this band is on about anyway. Suddenly a pedal is pressed, the distortion roars and you find yourself lost in crushing melodies, soaring vocals and triumphant riffs that Iommi himself would be proud of.  Rolling Stone’s favorite metal band of 2012 also boasts Pitchforks highly coveted and quasi legendary “Best New Music” tag. Suffice to say Pallbearer burst onto the scene rather unexpectedly. Now we sit here three years later, the band has just wrapped up their last tour before writing their third record and we have to wonder – what the hell is going on? What are these dudes like? And perhaps most importantly – why are they the most talked about band in doom?

Part of the struggle Pallbearer face is that there records tend to be, in their words “Grower’s” This is not a band that most people are going to get on first listen, and as I recall that it took me about 5 spins of 2012’s stunning Sorrow And Extinction before I fully ‘got it’. That being said – Pallbearer is wholly worth the climb. The sense of power and struggle behind the music is almost Wagnerian in scope and speaks to a much more profound reality that few of their peers would even dare to touch.

In fact – a large part of Pallbearer’s appeal comes from the fact that they have a distinct tie to classical music. Frontman Brett Campbell was raised in a church going family and learned how to write harmonies fairly early on, and he’s used this skill to enhance Pallbearer’s work. Furthermore – a lot of the bass lines used in their music employ ground bass techniques, adding a distinctly baroque vibe to a band that is known for being grandiose.

The lyrics in and of themselves are stunning and provide a glimpse into what makes Pallbearer’s music so god damn enjoyable. Even in the first song off 2012’s Sorrow And Extinction, the  instant classic, Foreigner features lines carrying you off to lands “Under swirling moons and galaxies” The bands stellar 2014 follow up, Foundations of Burden follows this path posing questions like “What can dreams be if nothing ever lasts/In a future where everything’s made of glass?” And yet, rather than coming off as over the top or even silly these lyrics actually seem to hold a certain poignant realism to them. If Pallbearer were any less epic in sound then it might not work, but these Southern boys have been able to find their way by taking it all to the next level.

So what are the dudes in this band like? Clearly they must be esoteric, ethereal and have a hard time connecting to modern life right? Well let’s just say a recent interview I conducted with them featured the quote “I was chronically masturbating” The point being – Pallbearer understand the separation between art and reality, and though the art may guide them through the daily pain of this reality, they’re not above making a joke at another band members expense or even elucidating on how Brett thinks guitarist Devin Holt has a hot mom. (In Devin’s words “She’s more attractive than the rest of my family. I don’t know how the rest of the dudes came from my mom. We’re a family of ugly fucks except for my mom.”) Another favorite joke of Devin’s is his nickname Captain D, a stupid nickname to be sure, but also a part of what makes tour life worth it. Above all else – Pallbearer are just a bunch of dudes.

That doesn’t mean the traditional artist fare of alcoholism and depression aren’t present though. Pallbearer are known partiers, and I’ve seen these guys accomplish feats of drinking that would vanquish many a lesser man, stuff that’s even impressive by metal musicians standards. Once after enjoying an extremely hungover breakfast with the dudes during Psycho California I was shocked to see them back in line to get more drinks early in the afternoon. My surprised reaction was fended off with a quip from Devin: “Such is the nature of alcoholism dude!”

As for depression – though none of the band members have been clinically diagnosed these dudes have been struggling with it for years. And while suicide doesn’t seem to be an issue at present… the band (Or at least Devin and Brett) seem to understand the logic behind it. Brett once said “If you get to the point that you’re not experiencing joy at all then I can’t really fault you for (killing yourself) but you should at least fucking try.”

And this is where we get at the most important aspect of Pallbearer’s music – the triumph. As Devin said “The value in life is pushing through. Everyone has bad shit and I’m not against killing yourself at all… It’s worth the fight if you have something to fight for.” Brett echoed these sentiments saying “”It’s about the struggle. We’re just surviving.” and furthermore “The world is too fascinating to give up on completely.” and perhaps that’s part of what makes Pallbearer great. Despite the darkest moments that can plague the listener and infect them with an all encompassing sadness, there is also a sense of hope that will carry on through the fire and the flames.

Now this is where things start to get interesting. Pallbearer allows us to extrapolate and get a better understanding of the doom scene as a whole. Sure – Pallbearer are one of the best known, most iconoclastic, and most well read bands, but they reflect a greater entity in their work. Behind the oceans of sound that dominate these songs you can glimpse into something profoundly beautiful, something reflected by a whole scene.

The thing is, even though they haven’t been around that long Pallbearer have become fairly influential with lots of younger bands trying to take up the mantle and be lords of all that is melodic, heavy and grandiose. And let’s be real, Pallbearer do it really fucking well – it’s a hard sound to emulate. That being said, they have also given a voice to a generation of lost metalheads who know they can’t push the extremes laid down by their musical forefathers. Pallbearer teaches us that we can still put out some of the best metal of all time and still have it mean something to disenchanted youth without coming across as trendy or meant for a mass market.

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As you hear the crash of the guitars, the splash of the drums and the soaring might of the vocals that define this band you also see yourself looking into elements that help define thousands of other heavy acts. It gives you a chance to pick apart this incredibly diverse style of music and realize that at its basis there are a few core concepts that these groups need to rely upon, and if any band get’s that, it’s Pallbearer. In a world where bands try to go faster heavier or more fucked up Pallbearer remind us of the essential elements that make heavy metal, and music in general so valuable. More than just a doom band, Pallbearer is a reflection of our humanity and shows us what it truly means to look out and face tomorrow with a sense of hope, despite the sentiment that no matter what we do we will be weighed down by the struggle of this world.

Perhaps I’ve waxed poetic long enough, but I just can’t emphasize enough the significance of this band. These dudes are smart (Devin often cites Beat writers in conversation) and extremely self aware and beyond that, they don’t even try to market themselves as a metal act at this point. In one interview Brett said: “We consider ourselves a prog band and a metal band and whatever we feel like doing. We have a certain vision of the band but we don’t limit ourselves.” And their Facebook page simply lists them as “Heavy” (As for what is heaviness… that’s a whole different story!)

And so we close this particular chapter. It’s impossible to deny that Pallbearer have become perhaps the defining heavy act of their generation, one dominated by slow and powerful bands. Despite the thousands of competitors Pallbearer manage to outdo almost all of them. As they look ahead to their new material we’re promised work that’s more oriented around soundscapes and tracks that will leave the band exploring new sonic territory. Perhaps their latest travails are best summed up in a quote from Devin: “We want to grow and hope people grow with us.”

We’ll try Devin… We’ll try.

 

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.

The post Triumph and Tribulation with Pallbearer appeared first on Independent Music Promotions - Guaranteed Music PR for Music With Depth Worldwide.

Op-Ed: On Century Media being bought by Sony

As some of our more metal-savvy readers may know, Century Media was recently bought by Sony records for a cool $17 million. It was a deal that had been rumored at for months but with fairly minimal details reaching the public asides from a few small  interview pieces with Century Media owner Robert Kampf. Given the tragic and untimely passing of his longtime business partner Oliver Withöft it seemed like it would only be a matter of time – Century Media is too big an operation for any one man to run on his own, and given the fact that the label had their best year yet in 2014 it seemed only appropriate that they would end up working with a major – but a buyout like this? I don’t know if anybody was anticipating this a year ago – but the gradual process to get there seems to have made sense.

One of the things that most struck me about this deal early on was that a lot of the artists haven’t really been given any official update unless they went directly to the offices and talked to their A&R guy there. Parker Jameson of Starkill told me “You need to keep in mind that literally nobody from the record label has informed me of any changes. I know about as much as the next guy” which is… concerning to say the least. Meanwhile, Jarvis Leatherby of Night Demon seemed to have a much more firm grasp of the situation, probably because he lives much closer to the Century Media offices than Jameson does. He assured me “If there’s one thing that you should take from this… it’s that Century Media’s basic operations have not changed”. He also mentioned that while there where some staff changes he felt fairly confident that they were done independently of Sony. It seems that, for the moment at least, Century Media is operating as a subsidiary of Sony.

And what about that age old question –  Will artistic integrity be violated by this deal? After all, this is metal we’re talking about, where artistic integrity is everything! Fortunately, the artists I spoke to seemed to feel safe. While some of this sentiment may come from the fact that they have had no official word from their label, it would still seem that Century Media has no interest in really directing their artists in what they do and instead trusts them to release a strong overall product. It seems unlikely to me that Sony would want to change that given the record industry’s general attitude of “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” But who knows – one meddling exec could leave a whole bunch of bands and fans very disappointed.

That being said I feel that it’s important to compare this to some other similar situations that happened fairly recently. The key difference being between this and major label absorptions of labels like Roadrunner and Ferret is that Century Media happens to have a significantly more ‘kvlt’ set of bands. Even some their larger groups – for example acts like Napalm Death – probably don’t belong on a major label. Asides from it going against the vision of some bands it also seems to me to be a little too reminiscent of 1993’s ill fated deal between Earache and Columbia where six Earache bands (Including Napalm Death, Cathedral and Carcass) had a chance to put out their music on a major label.

None of them made it big.

Perhaps it speaks to the hardship of being a band trying to make the mainstream (Especially for bands as extreme as Napalm Death or Carcass) but it also just proves that certain types of music were meat to stay underground and by taking it out of the underground it can alienate hardcore fans. In Choosing Death Albert Mudrians history of extreme metal Cathedral’s Lee Dorian said it was “too glossy for the underground kids… but… still too heavy for the commercial kids” Which I think speaks to how this particular incident is going to go down. If you look at what ended up happening to Roadrunner and Ferret, both seemed to initially be subsidiaries of a larger label but within a year both were essentially dismantled and almost wholly absorbed into the major label structure.

If there is good news to be taken from this it’s that the metal side of the industry is clearly doing better than ever. As Jarvis Leatherby said “They wouldn’t have spent 17 million dollars as a favor to Century Media”. So clearly Sony see that there is still something profitable happening in metal – even if they may not full understand the underground spirit that makes it so great in the first place. Nate Carson of Nanotear Booking and Witch Mountain said to me on the matter “It’s nice to see the mainstream taking note of underground metal again. As pop sales flag, heavy metal has experienced remarkable support and growth. Keen business people can’t be expected to ignore that forever” He also went on to say that given the changing state of the industry this will be different from 1993’s debacle because in his words: “No artist will get the same investments, but no label will be losing as much money on the bands, either.” Does this mean that this time it will work out? Only time will tell.

If there’s any one takeaway to be had from this it’s that the music will stay the same in the grand scheme of things. For the foreseeable future we’ll still have kids hammering out fast riffs in their basements and rock stars playing out vivid fantasies on massive festival stages. Even if the worst case scenario plays out and Century Media ends up getting taken apart by Sony and the label tries to give massive distribution to the next Watain record remember, we’re just talking about a handful of bands. The metal scene has survived worse, and they will always have a new Neil K to come and save the day (Bonus points if you get that reference, bonus points if you know who Neil K is) The point is – This is simply another exciting change in a very exciting scene and it will be interesting to see how this plays out – expect updates soon!

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.

The post Op-Ed: On Century Media being bought by Sony appeared first on Independent Music Promotions - Guaranteed PR for Music With Depth Worldwide.

Young Derbyshire band aiming to be next bright act from the East Midlands

The East Midlands is a pretty fruitful region in terms of music nowadays. Leicester has Kasabian, Nottingham Jake Bugg, Indiana and Sleaford Mods, but Derby? Not a lot comes from Derby. That’s not to say there isn’t a thriving music culture in the city, one of 2015’s biggest breakthrough act Slaves put part of their success down to touring cities like Derby extensively. Aiming to add to the esteemed list of acts preceeding them are The Fine Art Society, an indie-rock trio from the city.

The trio as it is right now consists of guitarist and vocalist Matt Turner, bassist and vocals Ben Marshall and Max Chambers on the drums. TFAS specialise in shouty vocals and catchy chords which when following some intriguing drumming beats, creates some fullsome slices of rock and roll. The band have been active since 2011, gaining pace and accruing members, but Turner and Marshall have been there since the beginning, and 2015 has seen the two fully focus on pushing the name of their band. They’ve played countless venues and festivals around the region over the years, sometimes playing to a man and his dog, other times filling dancefloors and creating raucous atmospheres.

Two of their most important shows as a band came just this past month. The first saw them make their debut at Y Not festival, Derbyshire, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Primal Scream, Nottingham’s very own Saint Raymond and California rapper extraordinaire Snoop Dogg…well they didn’t get close to Snoop but they were on the same bill! Just a few weeks later, the lads played their home city, at Bar One in Derby city centre, and I was there…

Kicking off with your lead single is generally a ballsy move, but ‘Omegle’ has recently been given a glossy, comedic music video (see below), and it seemed only right for it to be the opener. The song pretty much sums up what the band are about, with frank lyrics, that cut directly to the point, and some extremely catchy guitar riffs backed up by tight drumming. One of the things I admire with the band is their ability to tell a story within 3-minute tunes. They’re often comedic in nature, and you wonder what adventures they’ve been on to influence the song-writing experience!

With the night being the launch of their EP, ‘For Old Times Sake’, ‘Omegle’, ‘Plaything’ and ‘Sadie’ were all strong high points of the night. Most importantly they offer enough of a musical variety in terms of the music compositions for newcomers to the band, ‘Plaything’ is probably a song most young people can relate to, with tales of ‘borrowing a couple of quid from a mate’. Another point of note is the band’s decision to delay the release by three months to allow them to master the recording process perfectly, and you can really see the fruits of the labour that must have gone into the process. ‘Sadie’ is a bit seedier, keeping in tone with the subject matter of the song, but the rawness of the drums and the catchy ‘woah’ vocalisation fit perfectly for the song. Turner’s vocals are strong and guiding as usual, with his throaty rasping quality Frank Turner-esque in its qualities.

The band decided to throw in some covers, most notable among them were their renditions of Outkast’s ‘Hey Ya’, Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Go Your Own Way’ and the unique mash-up of Taylor Swift and Stereophonics ‘Shakota’. The last one in particular is an ingenious combination of ‘Shake It Off’ by Swift, and ‘Dakota’ by Wales’ famous sons, which is insanely catchy, proving to even the most ardent Swift hater, that she can write some damn good pop tunes.

But aside from showcasing other artists work, TFAS also showed off some of their ‘oldies’, as much as a band with a 4-year history can have ‘oldies’ anyway! ‘Long Walk Home’ stands apart in the live environment for many reasons. A) it is one of the fewer slower tunes, with an ability to get a crowd swaying and bobbing their heads B) it’s melodically terrific and shows the lads are musically talented in more ways than their louder songs, such flexibility hints at a bright future. It may be about partying, yet again, but is a much tender tune and does all the well for it. ‘School Days’ and ‘Ticking Clock’ round off the list of original tunes, and take us back to more familiar territory, with yet more humourous, catchy compositions.

By their own admission, The Fine Art Society aren’t at their most complete yet. They’re a band halfway through a big year, their biggest to date, but they have much more promising milestones to come and achieve before they can raise a light to their East Midlands counterparts. But you just get the sense, if they keep working three gigs a weekend, and keep plugging away, they’ll certainly be able to achieve a certain level of success in the not too distant future.

Links: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thefineartso...

Twitter: @tfasband

Bandcamp: https://thefineartsociety1.bandcamp.c...

Instagram: TFASband

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/thefineartsociety

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.

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Independent Industry Figures: Andy Patterson

Independent Industry Figures is a weekly column at IMP where we do a feature on a different music industry figure every week and try to better understand what they’re all about. With each installment we try and get a better sense of what it means to make a living in the music industry and how people can get involved. After all – what can we do but work hard and try to help each other live the dream?

Andy Patterson is one of the most accomplished producers in metal right now, with bands like Call of the Void, Eagle Twin, Visigoth and Gallowbraid to his credit. Beyond that he also plays drums in what I’ve long regarded as the third best band of all time, SubRosa and has had stints with all manner of acts, including the legendary Inside Out. What I’m trying to say is that Patterson has his shit together, despite his convoluted path to getting here.Obviously getting to pick his brains about his work at Boar’s Nest studio was a true honor and gave me a long sought after glimpse into the mind of a man who can only be described as an understated genius, or perhaps more accurate would he is own definition: “A blue collar producer”

What a lot of people don’t understand about Patterson is that he is perhaps the single most decent human being I have ever met. He’s been through a lot, having lived in LA as well as Salt Lake and spent the last twenty odd years touring the world and helping to craft legendary recordings. A fixture in the Salt Lake City scene Patterson always has a story, be it how he used to live across the street from where they shot Punk SLC! to the time he spent in legendary Utah band The Red Bennies, a massive influence on his current main group, SubRosa. In the words of SubRosa singer Rebecca Vernon “Andy sure has gotten a lot out of life!”

A self described “sound photographer” Patterson delves into how he models his career after Steve Albini and relies predominantly on word of mouth to get more work. The kind of dude who relies on being in the scene to make his money, Patterson has come to terms with handling all the trials and tribulations that this kind of work can hand you and has instead found a way to look beyond and create epic, transcendent sounds  that will ring out all across the globe for generations to come. If you’re looking for a top notch producer to make your record sound grand, you’ve come to the right place.

Find Andy’s band SubRosa on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SubrosaSLC?fref=ts

So Andy, the last time I saw you was back in May and I was super fucking high. What’s been up with you since then?

Just recording. Subrosa played in Portland for that thing Nate Carson put on. Now we’ve been laying low a little bit and writing and we’ve got that Cult of Luna tour coming up in a couple week and all the while I’ve been making records.

Can you explain to me your background as a producer and how you got to where you are today?

Well, I’ve always been a drummer and I’ve always been at the mercy of whoever is writing the songs and that generally wasn’t me. I had the urge to branch out and do my own thing. So I got a sampler and started making beats back in the 90s. That evolved into a computer and software and mixers and all that shit that comes with it. Then I moved to LA in ’98 and lived there for a couple years. I put out an ad in The Recycler which was their local mag and said “I’m a drummer and I also make beats” and this girl calls me to start a band together. That didn’t work out because her band was wack. It was 90’s LA electro metal a la Marilyn Manson.

In meeting her I met her roommate Jeff who goes by the name Critter and he worked on the Ministry stuff back in the day and at that point he was working on the Chinese Democracy record. I was like “Dude, teach me the ways”

I had some money saved up and I was thinking about going to school to learn how to record and he was like “Don’t do that, buy gear and get to it” So I bought a Pro-Tools rig and he taught me how to negotiate that operating system. I met a dude that ran a studio that needed a Pro-Tools rig and I needed a place to put it and we came up with an agreement. I dicked around for a few years in LA. I recorded some of my friends bands and made a lot of mistakes and figured out how to do it as I went along. Then I moved back to Salt Lake and decided to pull the trigger and get a dedicated space and charge for my time. I built it up slowly and moved into a place and started recording my friends for super cheap. Then I just never stopped.

I got kicked out of the first place because I was too loud. I was recording a doom band and it shook the building. It shared the space with a storage facility and the ladies who ran that were freaked out and didn’t like my vibe. About a year after that I found the place that I’m in now that I’ve been in for ten or eleven years. I just kept doing it, building up the equipment and experience and people kept calling now here I am. I’m a terrible businessman, I don’t advertise I just rely on word of mouth.

So even in this day and age word of mouth works?

Yeah. But now after ten or so years I have enough material out there that people can draw on that. They can be like “Oh, he recorded so and so” and they’re looking for the same sort of treatment. It’s the same way that Kurt Ballou or Billy Anderson get work. It’s based off their resume.

Is their anyone you modeled your career after?

Steve Albini. Not sonically so much as morally. I always say that I consider myself to be a blue collar engineer. I’m not really into producing so much as engineering and capturing the sound and being helpful along the way. I’m not one to be likely to tell a band “We need to re-write that chorus” I’m more of a utility guy like “Oh you’re looking for that kind of sound, well I have an amp that does that” and I don’t have my own vision of what a record should sound like. I consider myself to be more of an audio photographer than an audio photoshop.

At this point can you choose your clients?

I don’t have that luxury yet, but I can say no to people, which I do. I basically book whoever calls me unless I have an issue with the band. By that I mean, am I the right guy for it? Sometimes I’ll have people call me who are in metalcore bands and I’ll pass it on to another guy in town who actually works with those kinds of bands. He’s the guy that will do that. I don’t care for the music, but I also wouldn’t be the right guy because my instincts wouldn’t be where this band would want to go. They could tell me to do something that I would never want to do. I’m just not the guy for that, they need someone in that wheelhouse.

What percent of bands your work with are really in your wheelhouse?

The bands I like the most are the ones who know what they are doing and have their own vision put together. My job is to capture and help them out along the way. That leans towards doom bands. They’ve taken the time to write the songs and play their instruments. They know their tone and what they’re going for. I like recording adults who have spent the time and have their shit together. I’m not a producer and I’m not super interested in mentoring or teaching bands how to be bands although I do stuff like that and that has its place. But really I just like being part of the capturing of awesome stuff. I don’t want to have to worry about explaining why you need new heads on the drums or cymbals that aren’t cracked. That’s not stuff younger kids consider because they don’t have the experience, but I do work with some kids. My preference though is to work with people who have done this for years.

Eagle Twin are a great example. They just do their thing and I do my best to capture it and make sure that nothing gets fucked up in the process. There would be no occasion for me to question them when they record. I trust them implicitly. That’s what I prefer. To work with people I trust and whose music I can enjoy. Some of my favorite sessions are just seeing those bands play just for me.

How do you handle the live setup? How long does it take you to record their stuff?

Setup time is always a little different but for the last Eagle Twin stuff it took two or three hours. Then we recorded eleven hours worth of material over the course of a week. Then Gentry the guitar player and singer takes those files home and edits together concise performances. He just cuts it all down and then he brings it back so we can do overdubs, vocals and then mix. There’s a lot of improv with those guys and they feed off each other so we have to do it live. There is no other way to do it. They will play the same song like twenty times or play it in a different key and change it up or whatever. I capture and then we cut it all up and put it together to a reasonable sized record and then their it is.

Do you do stuff to click tracks too?

I would say it’s about 50/50. About 80 to 90 percent of the time that I’m playing drums I play to a click. It makes it easier for editing just because I know everything is sort of locked in but I don’t cut drums up or put them to a grid or anything like that. I just use it as a tempo fence to keep me in the ballpark of where I’m supposed to be. Almost anything I play drums on I use a click track too.

Do you think that 50/50 split is just you? Or is that an overarching rule?

Any producer who specializes in a genre will have a different split. If you’re doing pop type stuff you obviously will need a click all the time. I record all sorts of music so it just depends on what they’re going for. If someone comes in and wants a click track my question is “Have you played to a click track before?” and not a lot of people have, they just think that it’s something you have to do. If that’s the scenario and they haven’t then I either suggest we do it without the click or… in one instance I had a drummer who couldn’t play to a click but really wanted to. He was having trouble acclimating to it though because it was new. I made a CD for him with a bunch of click tracks and told him to go home and play on practice pad and get it in his brain. When you use a click track and first start doing it it’s like a task master on you and then after a while it turns into more of a safety net that you can dance around. You know that you’re in the right ballpark. A lot of people get freaked out by that. If people insist on using one I’ll usually stop the session and let the drummer take time to get acquainted with it so it’s not freaking them out. Doom bands use click tracks too. Subrosa is done to a click.

But there’s a different between a doom band like Subrosa and Sabbath, Black Sabbath don’t need a click…

Or another example is Earthless. I guarantee they don’t use a click because they’re a jam band and their stuff is kind of ebbing and flowing. They keep a solid groove but I would bet money that they don’t use a click track when they record.

Or Elder… they don’t use a click

Some bands will use a click on certain parts but not on other parts. It’s sometimes nice to have spontaneity. Especially with a doom band when you have long hits and space. You may want to extend that out or do it whenever it feels right. At that point I’ll use basically click count-ins. There are some spots where I just dictate where the hit goes and feel it out. When it comes to overdubs I put a count in before the hit so they can hit it without having to punch it in. It functions as a little conductor.

What I wanted to get back too before wrapping up is how you said you’re a bad businessman… how do you reconcile that with using this to make your living?

I don’t know man. It sounds like a stupid answer but I’ve just been doing it and people keep calling me so I keep doing it. I put an ad out in 2001 in a local magazine and made business cards and I literally gave out zero business cards and no one called me about the ad. I do advertise but I do it in kind of a backwards way. If I look ahead in the schedule and see that there’s a lot of open dates then I will go to a show. Every time I go to a show or play a show I have a conversation where someone says “We’re looking to get back in the studio!” I do more hands on stuff than any sort of social media stuff.

So being part of the scene is a crucial part to how you sustain your income?

Pretty much.

That’s both encouraging and terrifying at the same time…

A little bit, yeah! But it does a couple things. One, I can be seen. I’m visible at shows and you can come talk to me or I can go talk to you. Because of the shows I go too and play it kind of narrows the field of potential clients. If I’m going to see High On Fire I’m not likely to find a dude who wants to sound like Jimmy Eat World asking me about recording. It keeps me in a zone of what I’m interested and what I excel at.

It’s basically like going door to door but I don’t actively knock on doors. I just go out and see people. I strike up conversations and ask when bands will be ready to do stuff. Every time I go out to a show I have a couple conversations about booking time if not actually booking time.

How long did it take you to build up that kind of reliability with going to shows and then generating income from that?

That’s how I’ve always done it. I’m terrible at business I don’t know how to advertise myself. I don’t want to come off as douchey. I don’t want to post like “I have open time next month, give me a call!” That just seems a little desperate and I’m uncomfortable with that kind of vibe.

It’s interesting because I share the studio with another dude and he’s great. He’s gone to school, he’s done internships, he’s way more business oriented in the old school sense. He has interns and I don’t. I can’t have an intern because I wouldn’t feel comfortable with that. I feel like it has kind of a schmarmy vibe to it. I don’t hold anything against people who do that but it’s just not for me.

It’s the blue collar thing you mentioned earlier…

That happened today even. Someone posted on one of the local music pages “who does everyone record with?” and the usual suspects got listed and my name got listed a couple times. That’s also advertising. That’s a tangible word of mouth thing. You can actually see it happening at that point. I’m just like “Thanks man for helping out my name!” When I charge people at the end of the session and they’re like “Is there anything we can do for you?” I just say “Tell people about me, if you had a good time, tell your friends!” I’m like any good drug dealer.

So you’re the music drug dealer?

Hell yeah!

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.

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Kevin Parker slips into the “Currents” on new Tame Impala

If you find yourself in the ceiling-staring days after a breakup you’ll probably hug tightly with both arms Tame Impala’s new album Currents. The Australian psych-tinkerers return with their third album, a sort of wilting comedown after hours of tripping.

On opening track, “Let It Happen,” Kevin Parker sounds vulnerable and weak in the knees. “All this running around,” he sings, “bearing down on my shoulders.” He seeks stability in a world passing him by.

Four minutes in the song skips like a scratched CD, nearly to the point of annoyance, until a luscious, drooling synth creeps in and revives the beat. The trick is meant to fuck with the listener’s head and it does, like an extended EDM crescendo, but the anticipation of any kind of “drop” is dimmed with only a pregnant pause, then a snare crack. The enchanting rhythm is regained and the song continues on like nothing happened, journeying through a Pac-Man maze in space.

The tremoloing seawater of “Nangs” washes into the canals of your ears, making you wonder, Am I dreaming? Then a drop-dead gorgeous drum beat fixes into place and the follicles at the back of the neck start to dance, hand-in-hand. The groove on “The Less I Know The Better” is something to cry over. Parker attempts, through the bars of a rhyme, to persuade the one he loves to leave her current flame.

Currents is all psychedelic atmospherics, waves of grooves colliding, synths eating each other alive. It’s an emotionally more dense album than their first two, Innerspeaker and Lonerism.  

The first song to successfully break through the trance is “Yes, I’m Changing.” Parker deals with the heartbreaking realization that his relationship is long-dead. He’s haunted by the discovery that his love isn’t the one for him. “They say people never change,” he sings, “But that’s bullshit / They do.”

When I first heard these lyrics it made me groan with its ultra-simplicity, like some scripted dialogue in a bad TV romance. But, it’s these same lyrics, pumped with the song’s rhythm, that had me singing out loud days later with infectious irritation. Now, I look forward to the song.

Not every song here is great. “Disciples” passes by without much thought and “Eventually” beats the schmaltzy, way overused chorus into the ground. Sometimes the keyboard atmospherics sound chincey, weak-kneed. Currents uses all the sweet-spot-hitting psychedelic tricks, but lacks the muscle and expansion of their debut, Innerspeaker. Released in 2010, it’s one of the finest musical pieces to accurately claim the label psychedelia.  

The final song, “New Person, Same Old Mistakes,” is new void unto itself, a separate entity from the rest. The bass burbles up like bubbles in a humid swamp. Parker finally, fully transcends himself, detaching the cord from all earthly ties. “Finally taken flight / I know you don’t think it’s right,” he sings. Later he acknowledges, “I feel like a different person.” There is a clearing and Kevin Parker is taking it.

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.

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Summer Slaughter 2015 in Philadelphia

When I was first moving to America one of the things I was most curious to check out was the famed “Touring festivals” Of course now, Mayhem Fest is dead and gone and Summer Slaughter is the last real legitimate touring metal festival out there. And yet, as I continued through the day I was shocked to see how poorly it felt like the festival was doing. With a mere 200-odd people showing up to check out 6 fairly huge extreme metal bands you couldn’t help but feel a sense of let-down. That being said, the bands I got to see where all on point – and it reflected the internal might that extreme metal will always have, even if this particular soiree was on a far more mainstream stage than I might ever dare to normally look upon. All things considered, Summer Slaughter 2015 was an interesting experience and certainly one that I feel should keep on going. With Beyond Creation, Cattle Decapitation, The Acacia Strain, Veil of Maya, Born of Osiris and the by now legendary Arch Enemy all taking the stage, it was hard not to really get into the grooves of what this festival represents.

Unfortunately I missed Beyond Creation due to a condition common in the suburbs known as “Fucking traffic” and so, when I arrived, after a brief chat with one of the Season of Mist dudes it was time for Cattle Decapitation to play. Easily the most extreme band on the bill, their set was, as always, wonderfully brutal and left me gasping for air. One of the things I had been concerned about with Cattle Decapitation live would be their execution of the new stuff which is… a departure to say the least featuring some borderline clean vocals. And yet Travis Ryan seemed to have no difficulty belting out lyrics in his various vocal stylings and making for some of the most interesting death metal out there today. Sure a lot of the kids in the crowd weren’t ready for something this fucked up, but for the few true metal brethren who showed up, it was impossible to look away.

As a result of my awe from Cattle Decapitation I was afraid I might not be able to fully appreciate The Acacia Strain. The Acacia Strain are one of those bands I never really got in to (Probably because I am a bit too young for that mid-2000’s deathcore thing) so I was curious to see what their live experience would bring. I was pleasantly surprised at the destructive breakdowns and occasionally atmospheric guitar work. It shows a band who have found a sort of holy union of styles and deliver it with a deliciously fucked up intensity. Sure, The Acacia Strain conform to a lot of the day to day rules of modern death metal (Or is it deathcore? I don’t even know anymore), but at least they do it well, and at this point, I’m not sure what else you can ask from a death metal band, beyond things like that. I may be too underground at heart for this band, but I gotta say, I can see the appeal! I think I can live in a world where bands like these guys are the titans of the scene.

One of the bands I had most wanted to see on the day was Veil of Maya, and largely just for their song It’s Not Safe To Swim Today, one of the first truly insane guitar pieces I learned in high school. Long story short – they played the song to close a truly exciting set. While I’m not sold on their new singer (Unrelated: he looks exactly like some coked up dude who helped me and a friend change a tire at 3 in the morning on the way home from MDF) but I think the band might be on to something. The clean vocals felt reminiscent of 2010 metalcore, but maybe I’m just being an asshole. That being said, Veil of Maya remain one of the most technically proficient and sonically interesting bands out there, I just wish that they could get a better mix so you could hear all of those triumphant melodic lines in all of their spiraling glory rather than the thudding 8 string bass lines that so cruelly dominate the sound.

It was around this point that the night started to get a bit nutty. I was running around trying to score interviews, yelling shit in multiple languages (Beyond Creation are Quebecois) and I suddenly started to wonder if this whole thing had been worth it. The thing is, with music journalism, your entire job is based off trusting people who are famously not trustworthy, that is to say, musicians. You run around trying to figure shit out, and then you find yourself waiting, and then in the end realize you were waiting for nothing. Why I love it I don’t know, but it always feels like the best job in the world for some stupid fucking reason.

By the time my interviews were done Born of Osiris were already halfway through their set. Though they remain very similar to Veil of Maya I couldn’t help but be charmed by their hardcore edge. The djentier moments that infiltrated the sound made me nostalgic for 2011 and I smiled at the crushing power of the bands bottom end. I hadn’t realized that the band has essentially two frontmen, with the keyboardist occasionally taking the stage alongside the main vocalist. This was actually really interesting to see, especially as their dynamic was so perfectly put together. I don’t think I’ve seen something like that since I was about 16 watching French legends L’esprit Du Clan. What I’m saying is that Born of Osiris understand how to craft a tight song, and get a surprising amount of mileage from a seemingly limited sonic palate, it makes their live shows strangely rewarding.

Finally it was time for Arch Enemy, a band mostly famous for having a chick singer. I wasn’t too interested in staying for their whole set, but I decided to give it a shot. I will say this – their frontwoman is a fucking monster. She has a great stage presence and understands what it means to get a crowd riled up. It felt… distinctly European, but for me that was part of the charm, adding a bit of nostalgia to what they do.  The Philadelphia crowd was freaking out over their live sonic explosions, frothing in the pit and singing along even to the new songs. It’s fascinating to me how Arch Enemy have been able to craft such a distinct spot for themselves in the metal underground, even now when they stand as one of the biggest bands in the genre, or as one of my buddies put it “Practically a legacy act”. Despite all that, Arch Enemy seem to have what it takes to keep going for decades longer.

Overall, though the lineup may have gotten a tad monotonous, I feel Summer Slaughter should get more recognition. Even though the crowd was fairly diverse, with old metal dudes standing alongside middle school girls, there was a sense of disappointment, at least among the elite. Sure, high school kids had the time of their lives, but does the fact that a band like Arch Enemy can’t fill a fairly small venue mean that metal is suffering? Or does this just mark the end of the touring festival? These were the questions that haunted my mind as I drove home, swearing through traffic, and these are the questions that need to be answered before next summers festival season starts all over again.

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.

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Art Spaces and Your Band

Ahh all ages art spaces, perhaps the most important part of any scene. While I’ve touched on some of these ideas with my previous article on punk houses, I feel like dealing with art spaces is a wholly different, and equally rewarding endeavor. I’ve covered one especially important art space (at least on a personal level) before on this blog, when last summer I wrote about Fennario’s Coffee. But I think it’s important to take a little bit of time to talk about what you can do to get involved at your local art space and thus set up a relationship with a venue that your band can base themselves out of. Having a home venue like an art space solidifies your place in the scene and gives you a solid fan base to grow out from.

The thing is, art spaces aren’t just a place for a new band starting out to play their first show, although that is a great function for them. Beyond that art spaces provide a reliable tour stop with a built in audience for when you’re on your three month trek throughout the country. They also give you a place that you can call home. If you can cultivate a local following and center it around our favorite art space you can be sure to have a great show to film a music video or at, or merely have a great time. Suffice to say, cultivating a relationship with your local art space is crucial, but how do you do it?

Perhaps the primary piece of advice I can give is also one of the most obvious, just be around. It’s amazing how much scene cred you can earn with a friendly attitude and a willingness to help out. Beyond that, there is a certain power you get in the scene just by being at shows. Even if your involvement is nothing more than carrying the occasional amplifier people will start to get to know you and respect you. Obviously, being polite is crucial if you really want the people who matter at the space to like you. But then when your band needs a show, they’ll be a lot more likely to want to help you out and hopefully even set you up on one of the better bills coming into the venue.

This is where it gets truly interesting though. I’ve seen several bands in my local scene, namely Rollin’ Loaded and Meteor Smash who have been able to take Fennario’s and essentially make it their home venue. Every time those guys play there they know they are guaranteed 20-30 people because they followed the rules from before and instilled themselves into their local art space and the scene around it. It means that when fans come to check them out for the first time they are stunned by how powerful the band seem because they manage to fill up a tiny room with enthusiastic cheering fans, and best of all, they know that whenever they want a gig there it’s basically going to be their crowd. They have managed to make the local scene bend to them and act as a spring board so that they can go on to bigger things. I’ve seen this happen time and time again, in a variety of cities, in some ways it’s a reflection of the enduring power that the punk rock ethos can still have.

Music isn’t the only reason your art space could be important though, a lot of the truly great art spaces in America also have a chance for local artists to show off paintings and sculpture. This stands as another great way for you to boost your bands draw by getting involved in the local arts community. If your cover art for whatever project you might be a part of comes from a local artist that’s going to generate buzz in your town, assuming the artist is any good. This will help get more locals checking out your music and interested in your work. This way everybody wins. When James Moore writes about guerrilla marketing in Your Band Is A Virus this is exactly the kind of thing you can do.

Perhaps most importantly though, if you’re the kind of person who chose to become a musician and want to promote your work, you’re probably a little more intellectual than the average cat, and what better place to meet other local, young, intelligent, liberal types than at an art space? It gives a chance for people of all ages to hang out and provides a forum of open discussion that people can use to help grow as individuals. In the long run, it is my sincere belief that hanging out at most art spaces will lead to personal growth which can in turn be reflected in the music you create. If nothing else, you can’t complain about the individual benefit that it can give you!

At the end of day, I don’t know what else I can tell you to help get you into your local art space scene. I know that the punks can be pretentious and the indie kids annoying, but that’s part of the beauty of it. Trust me, you have your own flaws, but you can work them out with the surprisingly diverse gatherings of people who gather around your local all ages spots. It’s been shown time and time again throughout history that the arts do best when artists are surrounded by their peers, challenging them to take on bold new levels of triumph. Go out, and find your competitors, people you can build off of and help use that to grow your band, but also their projects along the way. One thing I’ve found in my years in independent music is that the self serving person will never get biggest. Instead open your heart, go into that patchouli scented dive, light one up if you have too and prepare yourself to guide your band through one of the most important parts of breaking into the independent circuit.

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.

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