James Moore's Blog, page 98

I Am Functionally Insane – The Dark Side of Working in the Music Industry

One of the things that makes anyone who makes their living in the music industry grimace is when people say “You’re so lucky!” or “I wish I could be you!” I mean – it’s definitely an honor that people admire your work, but most folks don’t see the dark side of it. See – I may have a lot of glamorous moments, and sure, I may know a lot of famous people in bands, but there is a flip side to the coin, a flip side that many of my music industry friends also suffer from. Despite the glistening veneer my career might portray, I am functionally insane.

Not a lot of people are aware of this side of me, despite my attempts to be open about it. I’ve mentioned before how much hard work it takes to have any sort of success in the industry but I think it’s time I was absolutely frank. When I fully describe all that I’ve been through to get to where I am today many people genuinely worry – and it’s this way for almost everyone I know who scratches out a living in music. Navigating the music industry can be a nightmare of almost biblical proportions.

In the last two months alone I have covered more than twenty thousand kilometers, I have slept in strangers homes, I have hitchiked, I have snuck on board trains, I have gone nights without sleep, I have walked many a dusty mile carrying a massive pack, I have slept in the dirt, I have gone without food and water, I have run from the cops and I have wondered if I was going to die.

In that time period I also have been directly in contact with members of KISS, Def Leppard, Judas Priest, Pantera and Motorhead.

I’m not sure where that leaves me – but I certainly hope it gets you realizing that my life might not be as glamorous as some make it out to be.

It also should be noted that I have about two friends who aren’t deeply invested in the world of music.

What I’m trying to say is that this… thing… takes over your life. And while I love it – you need to be ready to ride the bronco. As Jocko Marcellino from Sha Na Na once told me “If you’ve got the bug… you don’t really have a choice!”The thing is – in this current climate (Though things certainly seem to be improving) it seems that if you want to make it you need to want it more than anyone else you know… and then some.

In 9th and 10th grade I had a half hour commute via public transport to get to school, so every day I would recite every diatonic scale in every key. When I finished that I would then recite every note on every fret of the guitar. If I got to school before I was done these exercises I wouldn’t talk to anyone until I was through. During classes I would obsessively draw out complex fretboard diagrams and do finger exercises until I was finally allowed to go home and play guitar. I was a lad possessed.

That may sound obsessive compulsive to you (And in many ways it was) Yet with what I’ve seen this behavior is often par for the course. In fact – I’ve found out I might actually be one of the more reasonable ones! I know people who have dropped out of high school because they wanted to learn a record from back to front, and I’ve known others who effectively ran away from home whilst severing connections from their families so that they could tour. My biggest sacrifice was dropping out of university – yet even this seems fairly meager compared to a girl I know who was actually kicked out of her country for singing metal. The worst part is – most of these people still don’t make their living off music!

I’m not saying that you should immediately drop everything for this, quite the opposite in fact. To paraphrase my friend Renee Robyn, a professional photographer and photoshop artist, if you want to make it in the arts just keep trying. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take a day job, but no matter what just keep generating content and pushing forward. This is not an easy path to take, and like I said – insanity is a plus, you just need to know how to handle it and take calculated risks.

Perhaps the biggest step forward I’ve made personally in the last few years (And probably the thing that made this career path feasible for me) has been learning to harness my own brand of insanity. For example: I know that my brain doesn’t handle down time well. As our mighty fallen friend Athon was fond of saying: “Idle hands are the devils plaything.” Realizing that and realizing how to make even your downtime productive is crucial. For example – every evening I relax by doing my daily guitar practice. Even this is productive, I’m getting better at guitar, but it gives me a chance to chill out. Maximizing efficiency whilst maintaining some level of calm in your life is crucial if you seek to really make inroads for yourself with this industry.

It’s one thing though to say “I want this and I will do anything for it” and quite another to actually get out there and fucking do it. The number of people I know who use Jack Kerouac’s beloved “manana” is stunning. As corny as Shia Laboeuf might sound, and as much as I might dislike him, his motivational video certainly hit some key points. The fact of the matter is if you’re not out there doing it, going without food, running from cops, and making your name as a trustworthy rock and roll badass then nobody is going to give two shits about how much you ‘want’ something. Don’t risk it all though throwing your life away on a poorly calculated gamble won’t get anyone seeking to hire you. You have to provide concrete evidence before anyone will seek you out and bless you with a job, it’s a hard truth that took me years to comprehend, but it’s one that I will keep beating out with these columns until changes take place.

I’m not trying to come off as a conservative asshole, and as much as it might seem like it, I really am not. It’s just that the music industry, especially on the independent side of things, is in my experience the most perfect example of free market capitalism in the west. Hard work pays off, and though there are millions who are doing stuff for free those who really seek to advance and make money off it tend to find a path sooner or later. Music may be the love of your life but until you show that you too are possibly insane you’re going to have an uphill battle getting anyone to give you any money.

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: Bob Lugowe of Relapse Records

Independent Industry Figures is a weekly column at IMP where we interview music industry figures to try to better understand what they’re all about. With each installment we try and get a 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?

Bob Lugowe is one of those dudes who’s managed to rapidly rise into becoming one of the most influential figures in heavy metal. Despite having only graduated in 2008 from Northeastern University Lugowe already runs the Relapse marketing department with an impressive degree of success. Sure, we can credit the rise of metal in recent years to a part of Lugowe’s triumph, but his pioneering the use of social media in the metal world has made him crucial in the underground.

Beyond that, I’ve always admired Bob’s up-front friendliness as well as his straightforward honesty, both traits that seem to run strong in many significant industry figures. What I’ve come to understand in my personal conversations with Lugowe is that he truly does want the best for everybody and is always willing to give advice and guidance to those who ask. In other words – one of the things that makes him so prominent is the same thing that guides so many other underground figures, a relentless dedication to helping make the scene better for everybody involved.

At the end of the day, it’s hard to deny that Relapse has only grown in recent years and it seems to me at least that a large part of this is due to Lugowe’s hard work behind the scenes. Beyond that – his personal label, Brutal Panda seems to only be expanding, having recently put out records by such killer acts like Mantar and The Atlas Moth. It’s kind of surreal to speak to someone so dedicated to this music that they can describe one of the coolest bedroom labels in metal as “A hobby”.

 

Yet here’s the thing – Bob Lugowe remains humble and down to earth, like I said, he’s always willing to help out someone with a question and his active role in things like Metal Injections On The Record series prove that he really seeks to help make the industry an easier to understand place for everybody. Truly a titan of the scene, our interview sees him dissecting the role of record labels, the changing market for metal, and much more.

So Bob, to start, what exactly is your position at Relapse?

I’m the director of marketing, publicity and promotions.

Could you outline the path to get there?

I started as an intern when I was in college, I went to the music industry program at Northeastern. I did a six month internship, unpaid of course, for Relapse. I happened to be at the right place at the right time because social media was really starting to take off. Twitter had just launched, Facebook had been around but was only just launching band pages and Myspace was still the king of the internet. But we knew things were changing. When I came in they knew it was something exciting but labels and artists didn’t really know what to do with it. Myspace dominated things.

I kind of spearheaded making Facebook pages for artists, making a twitter account for the label and just generally staying on top of social media. That ended up being really important to do as you can see by how important it is for artists now. Since I was there for six months I really got to learn the ins and outs of working at a record label. When I finished my internship they took me on part time while I was still at school. Once I graduated I wanted to work there since Relapse was my favorite label as a kid.

I grew up outside of Philadelphia and would constantly shop at the Relapse Retail store which unfortunately no longer exists. It was this really great hole in the wall with the gnarliest death and grind albums you could find. I subscribed to the catalogue and got to see Mastodon play in front of 30 people or Avenged Sevenfold open for them in front of like 25 people. It was awesome to see what they were doing for the scene not just on a local level but also a national level. They were doing a lot of cool stuff with bands like Pig Destroyer and Cephalic Carnage and all of those early 2000’s Relapse bands. To intern there was a dream opportunity. Like I said I was definitely in the right place at the right time. I obviously worked hard, and I got hired right after I graduated. Now I run the entire promotions department there.

 

Can you tell us about Brutal Panda?

Brutal Panda I started when I was an intern at Relapse in 2008 I believe. That’s when I got even more involved and I wanted to do something on my own.. There was a band, Fight Amp, from Philadelphia that one of our co-workers, our production manager, was putting out on CD. Vinyl wasn’t really taking off yet, it was only slowly starting to rebuild some interest. We hadn’t gone through the vinyl boom that we saw in 2010-2011. My business partner and I asked if we could license the record to put it out on vinyl and our co-worker said “Of course” and we did it and had a lot of fun with it.

It was a lot of work though. We had to put all the records together ourselves. The jackets were messed up and we had to iron them so the glue would stick.. It was a labor of love and it sold out. So we decided to keep doing it. Through our connections at Relapse we were able to get contacts with a lot of other bands that we wanted to work with. We put out a split with Fight Amp and Black Tusk before Black Tusk was on Relapse and it’s actually how they got in touch with Relapse and John Baizley from Baroness did the artwork for it. That was a cool experience for us.

It’s always been more of a hobby than a full time job and we only put out two or three records a year, I obviously have a lot going on with Relapse. We’ve expanded to do digital as well, not just vinyl and stuff. It’s something I have complete control over. At Relapse it’s a team, there’s like five people who have to approve things, whereas Brutal Panda is just me and my partner so it’s cool. It’s a different setting too. We do noise rock and stuff. We’ve expanded though, we’ve put out stuff like the new Mantar record. It’s fun to have stuff that is pretty much entirely my own.

What I wanted to ask, came from watching Metal Injections, On The Record series. You said you think record labels are important right? But why?

That’s a multipart question and that really depends on the genre and the scope of what your band is trying to do. If you’re looking at a massive band like Metallica or even Faith No More or whoever, any large artist, they don’t need a label per say because they have buying power and have been established for years. Radiohead can self release a record on their own and hire a publicist and work with a small team. That’s not really the reality with smaller bands or bands that are just starting off.

With metal, punk and hardcore there is a really loyal and dedicated fanbase. With the labels that have been putting out records for 20-25 years, labels like Relapse, Nuclear Blast and Century Media they have become curators. It’s like a seal of approval. It raises them above one of the 5,000 other metal bands out there these days. There’s so many bands out there it’s overwhelming, even as a fan. You can’t possibly listen to everything that comes out in a year, so how else do you rise above the noise that’s out there?

How does Relapse choose?

It really depends, I don’t think there’s one specific formula we’re going after. We like to be a forward thinking label. That’s been very important since it started. We’ll not just sign grindcore and death metal bands. There were Relapse sublabels for noise and stuff for a while. We’ve obviously signed rock bands like Red Fang and Baroness and we’ve signed indie bands recently like Nothing who are considered a heavy shoegaze band. We’ve had electronic music like Zombi and we put out a Karl Sanders solo record that was in the world music category. For us we like things that are dark and heavy but that doesn’t mean that it has to fit in the exact definition of metal.

We also like leaders of the genre too. We like to find bands that are not just clones of whoever the bigger bands in the genre are. We’ve got the whole postmetal thing now and that started with Neurosis whereas modern progressive metal bands kind of descends from Mastodon. Necrophagist, Dillinger Escape Plan and Pig Destroyer are all great examples of this. Those bands are literally some of the best in their genre and there’s a million clones of those out there now.

We definitely scrutinize every artist. I can tell you we don’t just say “Oh this band will sell a lot of records let’s put it out” Everyone is super passionate about their jobs and the artists we put out. We make sure that we love them first and foremost.

One thing I wanted to ask is – do you think that we’re witnessing a mainstreaming of metal with Red Fang being on the Letterman show and stuff? If so, why do you think that is?

It’s happening to some extent but it also really isn’t. There’s more mainstream metal bands playing Mayhem Festival or the Warped Tour type bands who get the younger crowd. Those guys are selling way more records than our artists. I do think that people like aggressive music more than they have in recent years. You’re seeing a lot of young kids getting into it because screams, tattoos and alternative looks are getting more popular. I think that’s just because the older generation was into that stuff and people were into them. Now younger people are coming up with their own version of it. When I was a kid we thought that dudes with long hair and tattoos were awesome and now you have even more kids who think that. It compounded on itself.

It is awesome that bands like Red Fang have been on Letterman and VH1 but I think that the mainstream press is more interested now too. I think that things like Spotify have made peoples tastes more eclectic since now you can listen to whatever you want at the click of a button. It’s much easier to discover music online these days. You can kind of go down a rabbit hole of suggested artists and playlists. I think it was Last FM who really pioneered that. The ability to discover music now is unprecedented. The fact that you see publications like Rolling Stone and Vice, publications from outside the metal world, paying close attention to it has definitely had an impact on peoples perception and their willingness to listen to heavier and more extreme music. For example black metal has been pretty popular in the last few years, who would have thought that would happen.

That still bothers me!

(Laughter) I don’t think it should. At the end of the day I don’t think art is limited to certain people. It should be available for everyone. You’ve got people who may be into it for the wrong reasons but I don’t think you can prevent people from listening to music.

So in the past 5-10 years do you feel that the situation for metal in the music industry has improved?

That’s a hard question answer because obviously record sales are still down however we’ve also had a lot of bands put out their best selling records to date, bands like Dying Fetus and Pig Destroyer. Bands that have been around for longer tend to get higher guarantees and can become legacy bands as well. I think the fact that we’ve been around for so long is a testament that it’s doing well, but no one is getting major label rich off of this. There is kind of a ceiling to what extreme music can sell.

At the same time we’ve seen some watershed moments with bands like Pallbearer and Baroness, or even Deafheaven who have started to breach the mainstream. That’s exciting and I think that people are more open minded to more genres of music.

Last question – do you think that this open mindedness is going to make being a niche artist more sustainable?

I think it depends on a lot of factors really. It depends on how a band and their manager handles their own career. You can get really popular super fast but if you’re not managing your money or strategically touring and signing deals you can crash and burn. You also see so many bands in our scene who are absolute staples like Neurosis and Mastodon who are able to just have their career doing music. Dying Fetus is a good example too. They tour all over the world and crush it on merch sales. You can be a band who sell 10,000 records and make a career out of it. If you want to be super rich though you should still be like… an engineer or something…

Go grow up you mean?

Yeah! (Laughter) Bands can definitely sustain themselves. That’s a pretty awesome thing for a band to be underground but still be able to tour the world and have die hard fans all over the world and be an institution for 20-25 years. I look forward to the days when we’re in old folks homes and listening to Decapitated and Morbid Angel. People aren’t going to stop listening to this music as they get older. You see things like a reinvigorated interest in bands like Death. We’re reaching out to a whole new generation of people who didn’t know about the band, one of the greatest metal bands of all time, and we’re able to push that on a new audience. We do a lot of reissue campaigns, like when we re-issued those Razor records. It gives people who weren’t there the first time around the chance to check it out. I think you’ll see a lot of bands who are still current re-issuing their older catalogues. You’ll see more bands touring on just one classic album. That’s a new opportunity playing on the nostalgia market.

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 Independent Industry Figures: Bob Lugowe of Relapse Records appeared first on Independent Music Promotions - Guaranteed PR for Music With Depth Worldwide.

Journeys In Hellfest Day 3: Controlling The Flames

Hellfest, that legendary European festival that has taken the world by storm and won the hearts of countless musicians and fans across the globe. For the 150 bands playing and hundreds of thousands of fans at the festival journeying to the small French village of Clisson and uncovering the strangely sublime hellscape that the festival represents is always a pleasure. With these articles I seek to document nothing less than my journeys in hell. Read our introduction HERE, coverage of day 1 HERE and coverage of day 2 HERE.

By this point in the festival all of my patterns had been worked out, the best way to get to stages, the optimal spots for interviews and the fastest path to the wine were all plotted out and I felt like I had some measure of control over my place in this beast of a festival. For the record – a measure of control is vital if you seek to party with any measure of calm in your heart at these types of things. Otherwise you find yourself being buffeted about by the whims of a hundred thousand drunk people and I don’t need to tell you that that will almost never end well.

I woke up early because I knew I wanted to see Iron Reagan from the side of the second main stage. See – ever since I was in high school and The Art Of Partying was my drinking anthem I’ve had something of an obsession with Tony Foresta and his antics – so I seek his bands out at every opportunity. That being said, I had never had the chance to get drunk with the man. Suffice to say – Iron Reagan played a wonderful set – unleashing their unique brand of crossover thrash at a million miles an hour. The last two songs the band played were special highlights for me. First – the cover of Cannibal Corpse’s classic Skull Full Of Maggots in a crossover thrash style made me smile, but then, the final song, the SOD-esque triumph found in what is in my opinion Iron Reagans greatest song, Four More Years, saw the pit raging harder than ever. As Tony stumbled off stage and gave me a hug I felt overwhelmed to be in the presence of a man I had admired for his alcoholism for so long.

At this point I walked over to the Temple stage in order to see Nidingr. I had not realized how much I had missed seeing true Norwegian black metal live, something we just don’t have in my native Pennsylvania. The way they blazed forth with forceful and truly vile tracks left me with my fist in the air and a smile on my face. Nidingr understand the primal spirit of the genre and invoke old gods with what they do. There is something overwhelmingly beautiful to be had in the Nidingr sound and in the way they hearken back to their almighty roots. Focused on music alone they have been able to incorporate touches of death metal into their sound, which is especially fascinating when you find out that one their guitarists is also in Mayhem (In fact seemingly everyone in Nidingr is in a handful of other groups, their other guitarist is in God Seed) The thing is – Nidingr have been able to fly under the radar for years, truly a band meant to stay underground, but I get the impression they like it that way.

It once again was time for interviews – and perhaps equally importantly – wine. Another part of the Hellfest magic is that as long as the festival lasts hangovers don’t seem to be a thing. Sure some people drink too much and have to get taken to the hospital (I actually saw some poor guy being put in an ambulance before the festival had even started!) but for the vast majority of festival goers it seems like they can drink as much as they want and somehow survive more or less intact. That’s why when I came side stage for Red Fang and started going for it with Tony Foresta and another dude from Iron Reagan everything felt as if it it had come to a glorious head. When I momentarily left Tony with the bottle in order to go grab a bag I had left behind I was not at all surprised to come back to him chugging from it, a sort of fitting tribute to all he stood for and an image that will last with me far beyond the weekend.

At the behest of Michael Berberian of Season Of Mist I made my way over to the Altar to see Ne Obliviscaris, a band who I’d reviewed but honestly didn’t remember much about I was blown away though by their folk-tinged prog orchestrations that proved the eternal power that violins can have in a metal band. The way these guys drove themselves forward, pushing it all to the limit with their crushing sense of purpose was stunning. With two frontmen (One of whom also plays the violin) it rapidly became clear that Ne Obliviscaris are a band with a sense of purpose – a group who push themselves forward at the behest of some sort of strange musical god – one who crafts brave sonic highways and leaves you in a trance. Ne Obliviscaris are bringing forth new waves of metal madness and it is rapidly becoming impossible to deny their dominance.

After another couple of interviews, now with Alestorm and Max Cavalera (Both of whom recognized me! Whee!) It was time for me to kneel at the altar of the almighty Exodus attack. Here is another one of those bands who have been grinding it out for thirty years and whose dedication to volume can not be ignored. The raw energy they bring to the stage is admirable and the fact that Zetro is such a strong frontman, even after years away from the fore makes him all the more impressive to me. Sure – there was no Gary Holt which is weird because y’know – he’s the only founding member left. But there is something strangely charming about watching any lineup of a band like Exodus bang out classics like Toxic Waltz and Bonded By Blood in 2015. It reminds us that thrash metal will never die and gives us the strength to carry on – even in those dark times that may hold us back and make us despair.

It was at this time that I stumbled into one my journalistic highlight of the festival. After Exodus’s set, Zetro (Who also knew who I was! Yay!) said he would be back in the artist bar to do an interview in half an hour. So I went back to the bar to see who I could find. And as is often the case with Hellfest – who did I bump into other than my old friend Steve Taylor, a dude who has been jamming with Phil Anselmo in a variety of projects for years. I helped him load in, not expecting to suddenly bump into an extremely grateful Phil Anselmo who immediately gave me a hug and agreed to an interview. Talking to a legend like that, who is everything you want him to be, deep voiced, friendly, and profoundly intelligent is an enlightening experience. The fact that afterward he gave me a huge and said “You did a good job, especially for a young buck” left me trying not to pee my pants.

Suddenly the guitarist from St Vitus appeared and kissed Phil smack on the lips after a declaration of love – an image that left me smiling and charmed at Phil’s strange humanity. Zetro arrived shortly after and immediately said to Phil “Oh I see you’ve met Matt, he’s a really smart young journalist” too which Phil replied “I know, he helped us load in and he gave me a hell of an interview” I know I may be gushing here, but let’s be real, if this had happened to you you’d be shitting your pants too. Suffice to say the interview with Zetro went very well and he ended up giving me life advice. Seemingly convinced that one day I too would play the main stage of Hellfest I couldn’t help but shake my head in awe. Here I was on the tour bus of one of the most legendary thrash metal bands of all time being told I was a rising star. What had I done to deserve to be surrounded by such legendary talent and treated with such incredible kindness?

I ran over to see Eyehategod at this point – a band who have always provoked an extremely visceral response in me. Jamming along to their classics is an out of body experience. You feel yourself thrash about and there is nothing you can do to control it. Eyehategod are gloriously vicious and it is impossible to deny that herein lies a band of skull rending talent. Their sonic abuse leaves you feeling stronger and braver, in a world of suffering Eyehategod truly get it – they speak to mans most profound pain and want to help carry you forward in this strange fucked up world. Their lyrics are brutally honest, grabbing you by the throat and shaking you about. They speak to a darker world than that which many of us are used too, and yet they understand it because they have been there. I’m not condoning addiction, but the fact that Mike IX has had to claw his way back from the throes of heroin makes his music all the more engaging. Despite the temptation to sell out and become plastified idols Eyehategod remain one of those bands who are honest about who they are – fuck ups to the bitter end.

As soon as Eyehategod wrapped up I picked up some more wine for Alestorm, one of my favorite bands playing the festival. I felt the hours counting down, but every moment seemed grander than the last. The fact that now I was standing side stage with Christopher Bowes reassuringly normal girlfriend and running out periodically during the bands set to give them wine seemed like it would be my greatest achievement of the weekend (And possibly my life). Alestorm blasted through a triumphant set, the kind that had everyone cheering along and screaming the piratey anthems of yore. Although they were only (And I use the word extremely liberally) playing in front of six or seven thousand people any sense of diminution was counteracted by the number of crowd surfers. At any given moment it seemed like there were at least a dozen people surfing using rafts and novelty flotation devices to make their experience even zanier. At times though I estimated there might have been up to a hundred people flying over the crowd, shouting along to music about being on a boat in the Caribbean whilst in a field in the west of France.

Unfortunately I missed Cannibal Corpse because I was busy getting drunk with Alestorm, but let’s be real. Partying with Alestorm was a goal I’ve had since I was about fourteen years old, I’ve already seen Cannibal Corpse. I couldn’t find my other friends so after doing a quick run about the bar I decided to head over for a once in a lifetime experience back at the Valley stage, the kind of thing that Hellfest does so well. It’s a part of what makes the experience so memorable and essential for any metalhead. What I’m trying to say is that, while sure, Wino is stuck in America, I got to see Saint Vitus perform music from their first few records with their original singer, and it was glorious,.

I sat down side stage with my friend Lucy for the Saint Vitus set and was shocked at how triumphantly heavy the band was able to get. Saint Vitus deliver everything at a thousand decibels and are unafraid to tell it like it is Not heavy for the sake of being heavy but merely as a natural extension of the self, here is a band who truly define what the word means. You feel every power chord in your bones and your body is forced into a sort of unholy motion as you jam out to some of the heaviest and darkest tunes of the twentieth century. There is a sense of primal legitimacy too to what Saint Vitus do, they’ve seen the deepest roots and had the darkest blues, and they know just how fucked up middle class America can be. The way they share it – with gut crushing power and a sense of demented pride seems just… right. That’s what I think makes a heavy rock band important – a sense of legitimacy that transcends how good the songwriting is and instead focuses on the personal torment of the musicians, what I’m trying to say is that though it may not be as technical, doom metal, and heavy music in general may very well be the new romantic movement.

The weird thing is, even as Hellfest was in its closing hours I still hadn’t gotten to the best part of the weekend.

I took some time to go back to the VIP area and watched In Flames play Cloud Connected with my friend Gunnar. I was more than a little disappointed by their deliver and so headed over to the artist bar to see what my Nympherno friends would be doing. We realized we’d have to separate because I wanted to see Superjoint Ritual and they wanted to see Korn… turns out they’re not girlfriend material fellows.

Anyway… Now we’re getting to the good part.

I stood backstage as Superjoint were loaded in and even helped out where I could. I exchanged a few words with Steve Taylor about the breakup of our friends in MOD and the enduring power of heavy music. You see- Steve is one of those guys who gets metal on a very fundamental level, probably just because he’s been doing it every day of his life for thirty odd years now. It makes him singularly interesting to talk to and is also strangely encouraging. The fact that a dude like him has been doing it for so long, and now gets to jam with one of the biggest names in the scene… It shows hard work pays off, y’know?

Around this time Phil Anselmo roared up to the backstage and shoved me “Get this fucking journalist out of here!” he cried. I was initially scared, had I offended this bear of a man? When I turned around to him laughing he pulled me into a massive bear hug. “You’re a good kid brother”. I noticed Kim Dylla had wandered up to the backstage and she gave me a smile and a thumbs up… perhaps I really was starting to crack my way into this elite club after all…

Things quieted down once again, Kevin, one of the guitarists of Superjoint Ritual came around and said “Seven minutes till go time” to which Phil responded “Alright let’s get everyone in here” I backed off as I though he was gesturing at the members of his own band as well as those of Eyehategod and Weedeater who were congregated around. But he then pointed at me and shouted “Oh you’re not getting out of this The Enemy!” (Referencing of course Cameron Crowe’s semi autobiographical film Almost Famous) “Everybody put your hands in” He then led us in a sort of prayer with every line empathetically met with cries of “Amen” and “Hallelujah” from the rest of us. “Alright” Phil yelled with a smile on his face and a beer in his spare hand “On three we break, one, two, three, SUPERJOINT!”

As the band took the stage I walked over to Kim Dylla and said “That was the coolest thing that ever happened to me” to which she replied “You’re basically a part of the band now!” When I later told this to Lucy she kissed me on the forehead and said “Cherish these memories forever and write them down” which is what I’m doing now for you my dearest readers. This isn’t a matter of auto-fellatio but rather sharing a magical story that for some reason the gods of steel have seen fit to bestow upon me.

Superjoint Ritual blared through one classic after another as I stood content with a fist raised to the sky. Phil talks a lot between songs and that’s part of what makes it so charming. The fact of the matter is Phil Anselmo has become a sort of figurehead for all that extreme metal represents. His vocal lines are all powerful – crushing the listener, each unholy grunt a fatal blow. The mans understanding of what extreme metal can and should be is incredible and he manages to communicate it wonderfully eloquently in his music. He provided the perfect climax to my Hellfest experience, a sort of saturnalia where every element of what extreme metal can be has been distilled down to just a few tracks. He brings forth an incredibly and glorious and aggressive manner, a true death growl virtuoso, handling Superjoint like a raging bull and brings it home to crush the listener.

As the night came to an end and it came time to say goodbye to everybody I couldn’t help but smile at all that I had witnessed. I walked around the artist bar, with Igor Cavalera referring to me as “The tea drinking bastard himself” I had to grimace – it’s funny how events that took place in a Denny’s thousands of miles away are still haunting me, even if it is in a good way. After all – this is what Hellfest is about – a massive fuckin’ family reunion for all of us who are too screwed up to make it in day to day life. We have this sacred time to come together to meet up and realize that this is what feeds us.

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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Journeys In Hellfest 2015 – Day 2: The Inferno Blazes

Hellfest, that legendary European festival that has taken the world by storm and won the hearts of countless musicians and fans across the globe. For the 150 bands playing and hundreds of thousands of fans at the festival journeying to the small French village of Clisson and uncovering the strangely sublime hellscape that the festival represents is always a pleasure. With these articles I seek to document nothing less than my journeys in hell. Read our introduction HERE and coverage of day 1 HERE.

My Hellfest experience seemed to only be getting more profoundly beautiful with each passing hour, and Saturday seemed to show a depth to the triumph that transcended almost all that had come before it. There was a sense within my journeys that I was delving towards something greater and the evolution on this started to become truly clear on this particular Saturday before solstice – where before my very eyes I felt as if I had stumbled into some sort of waking dream, a strange alternate reality that only started to come apart in the morning after the festival.

The first band I saw on Saturday was the seemingly immortal Elder whose innovative take on hard rock was refreshing and in many ways cleansing for the soul. Here’s a band who know exactly what makes them great and know exactly how to capitalize on it. As the audience found themselves falling deeper and deeper into the ministrations of skinny Jesus and his followers I couldn’t help but smile at the strange truths that were unveiled through the music. As DiSalvo blasts out another chant of “I’m coming home” you find yourself charmed by a band who have the kind of sound that keeps the audience on their toes. By the end, the gathered masses were chanting the bands name – seemingly endlessly – as they loaded out.

As this was happening I ran over to the Temple stage to catch Di­r Weig Einer Freiheit. America obviously doesn’t have a lot of stuff like these guys – so getting to prostrate my soul before the blazing might of a band who are loud, fierce and proud was refreshing. As Gunnar of Season of Mist eloquently put it “Some say they are hipster black metal, but I don’t give a fuck, they’re good!” The fact of the matter is Dir Weig Einer Freiheit are putting out some of the most exciting extreme music to come out at the moment and their live sets have an overwhelming transcendent power. The knowledge that they’ll be coming to America in the fall only serves to make the entire experience that much better.

After a short pause between bands, in which I squeezed in a few more interviews, (Don’t ask me to tell you which ones – I did fucking 19 last weekend, I can’t keep track of this shit!) I made my way over to the second main stage to watch Ghost Brigade. I was pleasantly surprised to find myself standing next to Michael Berberian the head of Season of Mist. After all – these are the types of things that allow you to really get your name out there. Ghost Brigade never cease to impress me on the record with how goddamn talented they are and this was my first chance to see them as it seems that (unfortunately) the group will never come to America. They play their songs perfectly, occasionally adding exciting moments of seemingly improvised beauty to top off some truly fascinating music. Dynamic and genre bending Ghost Brigade manage to put traditional prog elements alongside death metal (Among things) to get one of the most exciting and iconoclastic sounds found in the scene today.

Out of sheer curiosity I decided to go and catch a few moments of Ace Frehley, after all – seeing washed up stars is half the fun of Hellfest! Jamming his way through a handful of Kiss songs but largely playing off his solo material Frehley is the kind of guy who has the aura of a rock god about him. Sure his stage presence is lacking in his old age, and sure he doesn’t really address the crowd that much – but when you watch him play it is impossible to deny that herein is a man who lives and breathes rock and roll in a way that overcomes words. He is the music incarnate, found within itself and clearly here to save us all from damnation that might otherwise haunt our darkest dreams.

At this point in the day I thought that all the interviews I needed to get done where cleared away and I had decided to get mind meltingly drunk. Of course – this was rapidly interrupted by me being asked to do more interviews. After completing a pair, one with Sherwood from Skinless and one with Orange Goblin I thought I was truly done for the day. But then – just as I was fading into the wine haze I had to start chugging water to come back down. In the midst of my Orange Goblin interview my boss walked up to me and informed I would be interviewing Ace Frehley in five minutes, a unique possibility that we had never discussed prior.

The interview went well and Ace was kind enough to take a picture with me, and once again I was left pondering that good old Hellfest Magic. Where else in the world, and on what other weekend could a kid like me have to pay constant attention to his phone for fear of finding out spontaneously that he was meant to interview a rock god? The fact of the matter is – and shall remain – Hellfest is a land out of time. You find yourself seeing the same people there year after year and constantly being reminded of your own fragile mortality. This is where the cream of the crop convene, and you need to be ready to hold your own, even amongst the legends.

Now I could get drunk – more or less – So I grabbed Dave from Ancient Ascendant and a bottle of wine and we decided to go see Slash from the photo pit. We stood there alongside Diego of Haken fame as well as the usual plethora of beautiful women and musicians and watched the master unleash stunning solos and chunky, spiraling riffs. Despite looking like an old lesbian Slash has an impressive stage presence, and much like Ace Frehley, has a sense of rock god-dom that makes him a pleasure to watch. Beyond that though, I have to give a special tip of the hat to the bands bassist who not only has incredible stage presence but also an incredible voice. Sure he only did backup vocals to an extremely capable Miles Kennedy, but the few moments he had to shine left me scraping my jaw off the floor. That’s the kind of thing that makes rock and roll so enjoyable for me though – the fact that sometimes it’s the little guy, in this case the fucking bass player, a traditionally forgotten member of any band, who has managed to go above and beyond and prove his own worth alongside perhaps the most famous guitarist of the last quarter century.

As soon as Slash wrapped up I darted over to the Temple in order to see another one of my all time favorite bands – the almighty Ensiferum who delivered overwhelming anthems and powerful guitar solos to ten thousand raging fans. It was very encouraging to see that this band that I have been so deeply passionate about for so long had managed to pull so many like minded people to one place. Sure – they didn’t play all my favorite songs, but guess what? It doesn’t matter – Ensiferum are one of those bands who have never written a bad song and whose most recent record is among their best. Raging fans screamed along to an hour of the bands music – and believe me, watching thousands of people scream something in a language that maybe one in twenty five of them understand is truly a sight to be reckoned with.

This was the part of the weekend where it seemed like everybody was a pleasant level of drunk. Dave started explaining to how he actually existed in multiple forms but all of them convene whilst he is listening to Slash play a live guitar solo – speaking of which Faith No More actually arrive mid guitar solo which seemed incredibly appropriate to my frazzled mind – what better time for rock gods to pour out of a limo then whilst Slash bore his heart before thousands of fans? Meanwhile, Diego had a look of utter contentment. I turned over to him and grabbed his shoulder in that slightly-too-friendly way that drunk people are wont and asked “Are you pleased with yourself?” to which he replied with an empathetic “Very!” At this point I thought the festival had reached its zenith – how wrong I was!

I wandered back to the artist lounge then and was pleasantly surprised to find myself being dragged out to see ZZ Top by my Nympherno friends. ZZ Top put together a colossal set, their beards fluttering in the evening wind as they unleashed dad rock in it s purest and most original form. A band who were meant for old men even in the 70s these guys came forth with a set that felt a little fabricated. Yet – when you consider the bands history, and realize that they really are just corporate rock whores it suddenly feels a lot more acceptable. With fluffy guitars in hand, I don’t think ZZ Top were really doing anything new even when they started, and they full realize that. All they really do is allow you a chance to get down and dance which some days is all that you really need.

We made our way over to the second stage then in preparation for the life changing experience that Faith No More promised to be. Having adorned their stage with flowers and covered their amps in white sheets, Faith No More have a unique set up if nothing else. The fact that they all walk out wearing matching white suits reeks of class, and shows the bands ability to craft their own distinct yet simplistic look. They played a stellar set with a healthy mix of old and new, blaring out Epic early on but saving up my personal favorite, “We Care A Lot” for the jarring climax of the show that left over a hundred thousand people screaming with joy at what they had just been honored with witnessing.

The thing is – Faith No More are far more exciting live than even their records could suggest. I love the music as much as the next guy, but when Mike Patton jumps off the stage to take a security guys shirt, which he then wears for the rest of the night? That’s just the kind of Hellfest magic that makes ever element of the festival so worth it to me. Despite the overwhelming pain your body might be under – the fact that a band like Faith No More can still get tens of thousands of people booming out epic choruses (Badum Tss!) and roaring along to oftentimes absurd lyrics from one of rocks most eclectic groups is very encouraging. It functions as living proof, to me at least, that people are still hungry for rock and roll to evolve and to take things to a whole new (Often bizarre) level.

We wanted to go back to the bar for a bit before seeing Marilyn Manson at this point but we had somehow managed to forget one of the most notable parts of this years tenth anniversary edition of Hellfest – the fireworks. Lasting some fifteen minutes I have to say that without exaggeration this fireworks display was the most impressive I had ever seen. Seemingly never ending, the unwashed masses found themselves in awe of this gift that the organizers had chosen to bestow upon their beloved fans. An endcap on an already fabulous evening we were left smiling in childlike bliss. I remember whispering to one of my friends “Can you believe we’re getting paid to be here right now?” It’s moments like that that makes this whole thing worthwhile – standing arm in arm with old friends as you witness a once in a lifetime spectacle.

After getting quite a bit drunker – and refilling our flasks at the bar – we wandered back out to see the 90’s rock and roll bad boy do his thing. Now – Manson has never been my cup of tea, but I had just spent a weekend with a friend who got me looking deeper into his iconography so I was curious to delve into what he had to present to his fans. Though he came off as a bit douchey here and there (Hey, Marilyn, buddy, yelling out “I won’t play until all the women throw their brassieres on stage” is kind of annoying and not to mention sexist) he definitely had a cool live show going on with all sorts of explosions and costume and set changes keeping things interesting. I mean… yeah, I’m more convinced than ever that he’s derivative of Alice Cooper, but he seems somewhat self aware and the way he delivers his stuff seems strangely open, especially given the weirdness of what he has to present to his audiences.

And so my second day of Hellfest 2015 came to an end. Between dudes looking at me in the presence of models and giving me a round of thumbs up and the immense quantities of wine that I seemed able to imbibe with apparent impunity it really felt like Hellfest was opening my eyes up to a brave new world, one that rarely shows itself on this plane of existence and that instead likes to keep a degree of separation. Or maybe some people do this all the time, and I’m just a loser. But after all – If I lived every weekend like I lived Hellfest who knows how long I’d last? It may seem overtly poetic and intellectual to think of Hellfest in these terms but I challenge you dear reader – haven’t you wondered about your life in this way in its greatest moments? In the secular haze of drunkenness we all find time to contemplate our very reality and these are the things that we need to open ourselves up too if we seek to move beyond another day of Dionysian revelry.

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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Journeys In Hellfest 2015 – Day 1: The Nightmare Begins

Hellfest, that legendary European festival that has taken the world by storm and won the hearts of countless musicians and fans across the globe. For the 150 bands playing and hundreds of thousands of fans at the festival journeying to the small French village of Clisson and uncovering the strangely sublime hellscape that the festival represents is always a pleasure. With these articles I seek to document nothing less than my journeys in hell. Check out our introduction to this series HERE.

I woke up feeling every drop of alcohol from the night before. I had hoped to catch Glowsun – one of the first bands playing Hellfest on Friday morning, but hangovers and jetlag managed to conspire against me. Though I did indeed manage to interview them later I still found myself frustrated – wishing I had been able to find a better alarm (In the last week none of my watch alarms have been able to wake me up – such is the foundation of my burden) This meant that my first band of Hellfest 2015 was to be Midnight Ghost Train, an act I had no real previous affiliation with except for perhaps the odd review or two.

Suffice to say these rowdy (And yet surprisingly sober) Americans left me scraping my jaw off the floor. Their unique brand of loud and proud blues rock shows a band who seek to craft an iconoclastic sound simply by taking what guys like Muddy Waters and Robert Johnson did to the logical extreme. What you end up with is impressively brutal and unendingly punishing rock and fuckin’ roll These guys clearly have a good time when they play live and you can feel the sublime dedication to what they do. This is the kind of music that shakes you to your core – leaving you smiling and in awe of the immortal power that the blues can have on the listener.

When I sat down the bands vocalist and guitarist Steve to talk about the band he was refreshingly joyful, constantly willing to share details about the band and even discuss Derek Jeter’s ass. When you find out that a dude like that has been able to make his living playing this kind of heavy music you can’t help but feel encouraged for the future. After all – if they can do it why can’t you? Glowsun also gave an extremely strong interview, doing their best to express themselves in broken English and share the eternal power that their unique brand of mostly instrumental stoner rock can have on overwhelmed listeners.

Now, I had seen a few minutes of Samsara Blues Experiment last month at Psycho California (Hard to believe that was only 5 weeks ago!) but I hadn’t really had a chance to really lose myself in the music. Here though I couldn’t help but fall in love. Samsara Blues Experiment are truly that, a blues experiment – and one that is both strangely spiritual and oftentimes refreshing. The thing is – these guys are turned on to a much bleaker reality, they understand the primal power of what they’re doing and they channel it to put out some of the most thought provoking heavy music I’ve heard all year. They push boundaries and they shape unique soundworlds, it’s the kind of thing that hints at a bright future for rock and roll.

I had another short pause before Truckfighters came on (I promise, I didn’t spend the entire day at The Valley stage) but the air was clearly pregnant with anticipation. While I still have yet to get really into their music I’ve always found their live shows to be some of the most exciting out there. Now that I’ve seen them three times you’d think I’d start to be able to quantify what they do – but in all honesty it’s impossible. The fact of the matter is that Truckfighters are immortal – they shake rattle and roll far beyond any of their peers. The way the simply go for it – stage diving and leading the crowd on in powerful chants… it’s strangely refreshing and proves that this music will always reign supreme. I’ve discussed in interviews with the band how they tend to be more of a performance art group when they are on stage and that was abundantly clear with this particular set. Truckfighters bring the music to life and are ridiculously fun to watch bring the rage.

At this point I had a fairly lengthy pause and all the free wine I had been imbibing courtesy of the volunteer catering was starting to get to me. I took a moment to sober up before going to interview Mark Morton from Lamb of God – always an honor. It’s surreal wandering around the VIP and Artist Areas at Hellfest though. You bump into old friends whom you haven’t seen in months or even years. Every once in a while you hear someone cry out your name and you find yourself lost in a hug. At the same time, every time you turn around you bump into another musician you grew up loving, or an industry figure you deeply respect. As Phil Anselmo put it “Every year it’s like a family reunion – you see all your brothers and sisters” It was around this point that I bumped into my beloved Nympherno girls, who were just about to do a show before getting absolutely plastered. Suffice to say – things seemed to be coming together nicely.

Now, rather than take even more time off I thought to myself: “Fuck it, I’m going to go watch Billy Idol from the side of the stage” And so I did. The bleached blonde Englishman blazed through an hour of classics in front of tens of thousands of people. His voice is still with him and his stage presence remains dynamic. Beyond that though there was a simply insane amount of stellar musicians running around the side of the stage. Rob Halford was there for a minute and Richie Faulkner stayed for most of the set. Later on both Mikkey Dee and Phil Campbell of Motorhead made an appearance and decided to watch the band for a bit. Suffice to say – Billy Idol clearly has friends in high places and his performance certainly merits it, my inner fourteen year old was shrieking with joy. Idol remains one of the most exciting frontmen in rock and roll, he understands his place as a Rock God and plays it up with pleasure – This is the kind of act you want to see live, even if you’re like me and only know a handful of Idol’s classics.

As Idol wrapped up I had to rush back to the press area to interview Satyr. Before the interview I decided to have a drink for good luck and at the bar bumped into my friend Kim Dylla, a Charlottesville native who used to be Vulvatron in GWAR. This is the kind of surreal experience Hellfest provides, that which I have previously called the “Hellfest Magic”I had no clue Kim would be coming and I did not expect to see her here, four thousand miles from home, and I’m sure she didn’t expect me. Yet here we were, brought together by a love of drinking and metal. The bizarre ties the genre provides are not to be underestimated and often bring people together in strange ways. After all – if I can interview Satyr about wine for fifteen minutes (Which I did) what’s to say that a random fashion designer who I know from Virginia can’t show up at the same exclusive bar as me in some tiny French village?

And so the time came for one of my highlights of the festival, a band I have long worshiped but never seen live – the legendary Motorhead. As soon as Mikkey and Phil took the stage alongside God (That is to say Lemmy) everyone knew they were in for a good time. As with Billy Idol I found myself surrounded by members of Judas Priest (Rob Halford sat three feet in front of me) and other classic acts (Multiple members of Alice Coopers band showed up as well as a contingent from Lamb Of God) That was truly a moment to be reckoned with. After all, here I was, watching one of my favorite bands in the world absolutely fucking slay it, whilst surrounded by members of the greatest bands in the world.

Five Finger Death Punch were also there… so let’s be real… it wasn’t THAT great.

The point being – Motorhead left me with my heart palpitating and I was forced to wonder what kind of weird reality I had stumble into. Hell – I even got a guitar pick from Phil Campbell! The band played mostly classics, and despite rumors Lemmy appeared to be fine. Sure he was a bit tuckered out here and there, but there was never a moment where the crowd was really in doubt as to his supremacy. Motorhead play rock and roll and they will never let you forget it. They represent a sonic force of unmatched proportions and I will truly be surprised if they end up stopping any time in the next decade.

Suddenly it was time for more interviews – but at this point I was on a roll – just finding artists, sitting them down and chatting them up. One of the things that really struck me throughout the weekend was how many musicians said that Hellfest was without a doubt “The best festival” Given my fairly limited experience of European outdoor festivals I wasn’t sure what to make of this – but when aged veterans seem to adore something as much they adore Hellfest that suggests that something is being done right. Right when things were going right I found out mid interview that Lamb Of God had changed slots with Five Finger Death Punch apparently unannounced. I ran over to watch the band in the middle of their second or third tracks and couldn’t help but sing along.

It was only my second time seeing Lamb of God so I didn’t know what to expect from them on a festival stage. Randy Blythe confidently delivered with some of the most triumphantly vile vocals he has ever unleashed. Meanwhile the bands instrumentalists rocked it harder than ever. The one thing that really did surprise me though was the fact that Willie Adler cut his hair… somehow it made the band less intimidating. That being said it (obviously) took little away from the live performance. There was a simply insane amount of crowd surfers – sometimes seemingly dozens at once. It speaks to the power of metal that a band so distinctly American could reach out and touch a French fanbase so profoundly. Heavy metal will never die, and Lamb of God, with their insanely fierce new tracks being put on display at Hellfest, are the ever evolving proof.

Around this time I bumped into the Midnight Ghost Train guys, who, at this point in the day felt like old friends. After all – We’d known each other since that morning, which, considering how fast things can move at Hellfest, is practically a lifetime. We shot the shit for a moment before going off to see Alice Cooper at Mike’s (Midnight Ghost Train’s bassist) encouragement.

Watching Alice Cooper from the photo pit is not an experience that one easily forgets. The fact of the matter is Alice Cooper remains perhaps the greatest live performer of the last 50 years. Though the ideals of French Guignol theater still shone through Vincent Fournier has clearly refined it into something truly great. There is a sense of bacchanalian chaos and grim beauty in what Alice Cooper does. Beyond that – his band is truly great. A particular highlight was his beautiful lead guitarist who has insane stage presence and thrashes her way through flashy solos that got the crowd whooping every time. When the time came for Alice’s decapitation I couldn’t help but smile. Throughout the set he hit every landmark of what it means to be Alice, from the straitjacket to the monstrous zombie version of the famed singer that came out during “Feed My Frankenstein” Sure production values may have fallen since the 70s but Cooper remains one of the most exciting and enjoyable performers to watch in this crazy old rock and roll world of ours.

The hour was rapidly approaching for another one of my favorite bands to take the stage (And the fifth best band of all time by my reckoning) but somewhere in the interim I managed to bump into the Elder guys. This shouldn’t have been surprising but considering the fact that in the last two months I’ve seen them in Philadelphia, Santa Ana and now here, but it definitely seemed like a rather special occasion. After dousing their lips with some more of the wine I had been able to procure we went off in search of a good spot for Judas Priest.

We chose to go to the photo pit to watch Judas Priest take the crowd by storm. A band I’ve loved since I was about twelve years old, seeing them live is always a sort of dream come true. After all – In 9th grade I wanted nothing more than to literally be Ritchie Faulkner, an idea that became increasingly strange over the weekend as I found out we had a mutual friend who proceeded to tell me all manner of bizarre stories about the man. Despite this I was still over the moon at seeing one of my favorite bands twice in three days. Especially one like Priest – whose future remains ever uncertain.

I was delighted to see that Faulkner’s stage presence was crushing as usual, and I felt that Judas Priest did a much better job at this particular show than they had a mere 48 hours prior back at the Zenith in Paris. Halford seemed to have more energy and Tipton absolutely reveled in the attention the horde lavished upon him. In a way it was sort of endearing, their simple bliss showed a certain gentle humanity to Judas Priest, a band who are quite literally metal gods. Proud of their heritage and influence Halford does not shy away from using death growls in a live context now, which is one of the most surreal and yet also strangely satisfying parts of the bands latest tour. The fact of the matter is that at this point, no matter what happens, Judas Priest will kill it. Thy have a truly exciting sound and even their new material fits in fine, it has a much needed energy boost live, proving Priest’s unique brand of soul illuminating heavy metal can remain the basis of the genre for generations to come.

At this point my friends in Nympherno dragged me along to see Slipknot. Before Friday night I don’t think I’d ever heard a full Slipknot song live and my friends could not help but be astounded that a lot of these songs came out when I was just a toddler. The energy was impressive though. The fact that the additional drummers were placed on rising and falling platforms is especially fascinating and adds to chaotic and industrial atmosphere of the whole thing. While I’m still not into the music I have to say, there live show was incredibly well done and speaks to the enduring power these guys have. You won’t catch me listening to them any time soon, but my eyes have been opened and I feel it added to my knowledge of metal. As we danced and drank and then danced some more I had to ask myself “What have I done to be so lucky as to find myself getting drunk with some of the most beautiful women I know in front of a legendary band?” The world is strange at times – and I wonder when it will come back to bite me in the ass. The perfect end cap was the legendary Kelly Sabrina hugging me and saying “And tomorrow night we shall do it all again!” After all, for some the festival never ends.

As I sit here riding this train and trying to understand all that has happened to me in the past few weeks I can’t help but smile at the sort of beautiful might that even this first day of the festival had. Sure I saw a handful of my favorite bands, discovered a few cool new ones and saw old friends, but this was only the first day. There was much more to come and as I lay trying to find a moment of peace in the loud hard partying night I knew that I had at last come home.

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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Journeys in Hellfest 2015 – The Descent

Hellfest, that legendary European festival that has taken the world by storm and won the hearts of countless musicians and fans across the globe. For the 150 bands playing and hundreds of thousands of fans at the festival journeying to the small French village of Clisson and uncovering the strangely sublime hellscape that the festival represents is always a pleasure. With these articles I seek to document nothing less than my journeys in hell.

Isn’t it strange how every train station that claims to have wi-fi actually doesn’t? What I mean to say is there is a profound level of shittiness to wifi in these types of places – you find yourself stuck trying to write up yet another fucking article while you wait four hours because your train was delayed. Am I grumpy? Yes. Did I only get four hours of sleep? Yes. But guess what – now I’m trying to tell you about one of the hottest and most life changing rigamaroles around. European festivals are quite a bit different than their American kin and picking apart what they can do to you is always a challenge. Sitting here with my by now partially dreadlocked hair I have my jaw agape and I think back to how the hell I even got here in the first place…

On my flight over I was initially very stressed. Because I do interviews for Hellfest it was essential that I get a European phone number as soon as possible – the issue being I was supposed to interview Judas Priest the night before I left for the festival and the handler needed to be able to call me. On the plane I got sat next to a former Deadhead who I spoke with for hours about spirituality and explorations of the mind and body. Suddenly things didn’t seem so shitty. She spoke of the power of tapping into the flow of the universe and finding where you fit in with everything else. Given the adventures I was about to endure these were words that I desperately needed to hear.

My short time in Gods beloved city of Paris though felt far too limited. While in three days I did indeed manage to see dozens of old friends, it still felt as if I had barely left at all. The old rules of the metro still stuck with me – where you could sneak on, what shortcuts to take, and what etiquette to follow, all that good shit. I had also forgotten how among the French I’m a veritable giant. A people who Christopher Bowes of Alestorm described to me as “Pointy” I felt much more at ease amongst them than in the barren somber world that America represents beneath its glistening veneer.

I rode down to the festival with a few friends from the French metal scene and ended up walking the last few kilometers because man… fuck traffic. The point being – after 5 hours of travel (an hour and a half of which where we covered only five kilometers due to traffic) I had found myself in front of Hellfests legendary guitar sculpture. Of course – that was when I found out I’d have to walk another four kilometers to pick up my volunteer credentials… Things were off to a bleak start and I knew that at this point they could only get better.

And so the day wore on. Beers were chugged, old friends were hugged and new friends were made. That evening I went to the annual Season Of Mist garden party and met some of the most important people in the industry. It was surreal to realize that so much of the power behind metal music could be concentrated in one place – and yet here they were. Suffice to say – the fact that I was such a Hawkwind dork in high school paid off in a big way, so much so that when I started walking back to my tent I felt more confident about my career than ever before.

This first soiree of Hellfest proved to be a success and the endurance that is required to survive this kind of event had yet to be tapped in too. When I snuggled up in my sleeping bag I though to myself that I had everything planned out and that this year would run far more smoothly than the previous one. I felt certain that more connections would be made and I would finagle more interviews than at any previous festival I had covered. While I was right to some degree I don’t think I could have imagined the chaos to come even in my wildest dreams.

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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Surviving in The Music Industry – What It Takes and How Not To Screw Up

This article functions as the culmination of a couple of other pieces I’ve written on how to make it in the music industry and get some degree of success (And maybe even money) It also stems from a recent conversation I had with my old friend Scooby, who, I will admit is partially my friend just because his name is Scooby. There’s a couple of key points I’ve wanted to boil this whole thing down too, and it goes beyond just the fact that you’re not entitled to anything when you work in this fucked up world of ours. There may be some clichés here but bear with me, I have a feeling that by the end we might be able to help each other obtain a deeper level of understanding of the music industry.

In the past half decade or so of being extremely active in the music industry I feel like I’ve noticed a few key factors when it comes to what defines a scene. One thing that particularly struck me was how with every local music scene (And as I later found out, also on more international levels) there are ‘scene bosses’. These are the people who hold the keys to the kingdom as it were, who book the hip bands coming to town and who know everyone whose anyone. This article isn’t about how to become one of these people, but there are definitely lessons to be learned from them. A lot of what I’m writing about here was more or less directly gleaned from these ‘scene bosses’. If you want to know more I highly recommend you talk to some of them, odds are they’ll be pretty cool!

The fact of the matter is that hard work is the key here, and far beyond anything that you might acknowledge as hard work. What people don’t get about people who make their living in the music industry is the borderline insanity that it takes to effectively make it. For example, I wrote upwards of eight hundred articles before I even made a cent. Meanwhile I know people who have booked dozens, if not hundreds of shows without making any real money, and yet they do it anyway in the hope that there will be a light at the end of the tunnel. It’s hard to hack it, and you definitely will see yourself pulling long nights and having to be an extremely regular force in your scene before any of this starts to pay off.

Here’s the good part though – it usually does pay off. As hard as you might work, in the end if you can prove yourself to be in the top 0.5% of people in your scene then you just might be able to make it. I’m serious about that number too. Incredibly few people you see at shows manage to make their living off music, regardless of what they might tell you. To clarify: by “Making a living off music” I mean being able to pay the bills with exclusively music oriented work, be that playing music, writing about it, promoting it, or whatever else you might be able to do within the industry. Musicians are a flakey lot and I’ve heard a lot of other weird definitions, listen, just because you’re unemployed and have a band doesn’t mean you’re a full time musician, suck it up.

I’ll admit it, right about now I’m desperately grasping at straws and not trying to come off as an asshole. I mean, obviously very few people make a living off the industry and a lot of people are trying, but what I’m trying to emphasize here is how hard you need to try. This is one of the most work intensive industries in the world because if you’re trying to make it on any sort of independent level you’re probably going to have to wear a lot of hats, because of that this definitely isn’t for everybody and you have to be aware of that. When I explain all that I do to people they look at me like I’m a crazy person, but guess what, for it’s worth it and it’s better than growing up and getting a real job. I personally know a lot of people who made it or got close to making it and then turned back because they realized that this life wasn’t for them. If that ends up being you – don’t worry – it’ll work out eventually, even if you do have a bunch of gnarly tattoos on your hands and face.

I’m realizing that perhaps what I was trying to elucidate previously, is that beyond hard work you need to have dedication, consistency and longevity. The thing is, most flames burn out so fast in the industry that oftentimes even if you can say you’ve maintained a blog regularly for a few years you have a solid leg up on many of your peers. It gives you at least some background and helps you to further articulate your understanding of music. The other example that comes to mind (And another example that I used previously) is booking shows. If you book enough shows sooner or later you’re going to book someone who does national tours and they’ll start referencing their friends over to you. That can lead to you starting to bring in money. By proving yourself to be reliable people start to trust you, after all: he who can be trusted with little can be trusted with much!

There’s one of the thing that I truly do love about the music industry though. It’s a world of self made men and women who desperately want to be there, often because they’re like me – they can’t do anything else. You may be passionate, but to truly have what it takes you need to have the kind of entrepreneurial spirit that made people like Rockefeller rise up. The dude quit school at 16 just so he could start making money. That’s the kind of can do and fuck it all attitude you need to have to grow. Nobody really cares if you have a degree – especially not in independent music. What they care about is what you’ve done, what kind of success you’ve had, and what you’ve been able to do with that.

This brings me to another key point that I wanted to make with this article and another thing I’ve had long frustrated debates on. If you don’t do anything and aren’t a self starter – no one is going to give you a fucking job. For example I have friends who have degrees in English or Communications who I regularly send albums to review for my blog and who list on their resumes that they are contributors to my site, and yet they rarely ever post. Of the dozens of people who have asked to write for me only one has made any sort of real, consistent set of contributions to the site, and now he is fulfilling many of his wildest dreams.

Beyond that I know other people whose only claim to fame or hope of success is that they have a lot of high profile friends. Well, if you’re not doing anything with that why should you expect them to give you a job? Sure, you may know the head of Season Of Mist, but that guy knows a million people and you probably have nothing to offer him. What makes you think that when you open a venue he is going to route his bands tours to play in your venue? You can take nothing for granted in this industry other than the SOLID work you’ve done and have documented.

I think that’s ultimately what this piece is meant to drive towards – the sheer significance of how your own personal accomplishments can enhance and grow your place in the music industry. This applies to any industry too from what I understand. The thing is – A lot of people just kind of expect things to be handed to them. If you take away that paradigm and instead decide to have discipline and work as hard as you can for your success then you know that will automatically have a leg up. Self-discipline is one of the most important things you can have when trying to make it in a world where even tiny mistakes can set back your career months or even years.

And I know, I know, you got into rock and roll so that you could escape responsibility and this sounds pretty fucking lame to you and punk rock and all that. But guess what – by having self discipline I’ve been able to become a full time punk. You can do it too, hell, thousands of people across the world do it, you just need to be unafraid to prove your dedication time and time again by performing often thankless tasks that will very often cost you a lot of money. The fact of the matter is you can do a lot more damage to the system and spread a lot more good music around if you’re willing to take care of yourself and use your own determination to guide your career rather than being a self centered ass who only cares about ‘true rock and roll’ (Whatever that means) and wants to drink himself into a stupor every night. What I’m saying is – my way involves less partying – but it can definitely be more rewarding, musically, financially and spiritually.

And I get it – it is a rather hippy-dippy hullaballoo I’ve got going on here. “Hard work and honor pay off blah blah blah” And I get it – it isn’t going to be easy, but no one in true power ever said that it would be. It’s only really the people who never understood the industry in the first place who thought that people were just making millions left and right. Instead there is a whole cottage industry of individuals who are just figuring shit you and finding their way through various niches nooks and crannies, allowing themselves to uncover moments of cosmic joy and sublime terror. You find yourself wandering the cosmic path and trying to figure out what it’s all about but what you have to realize that in a market as specific as independent music (Not even going down to subgenres) everyone has found a unique path to take.

That’s perhaps the final piece of the puzzle, or at least the final one that I’m going to talk about in this particular rambling and off kilter article. Part of making a living in the music industry comes from figuring out what particular balance you are going to have for your career. Are you going to be more of a musician and a booker or are you going to go a straight promotion route? Are you going to run a label and a venue on the side or are you going to work for a major whilst putting out punk rock seven inches with your crusty friends? The possibilities are endless, and they often require you to do far more than the ideas I just listed. Instead you’re going to find yourself looking at what your particular strengths are and trying to decide where you’ve gone right and where you’ve fucked up. As you start to get to know yourself better then you’ll better be able to shape your career and figure out what exactly it is that you want to do.

That’s part of the beauty of the music industry too. It allows for endless opportunities for self discovery and finding where you specifically fit in in this fucked up world. You need to have compassion for everyone and maintain integrity as well as respect. You need to be aware of your own limitations but also your strengths, and you need to be able to have concrete evidence for your dedication to the music. This sound is brave and this is the only way to go forward for kids like us. Some were born to run, others were born to rock, and when you’re a legitimate fuck up like I am, there is no other choice and you gotta push for it.

Everyone will be against you, everyone will tell you it’s not possible and your parents will be disappointed for sure, but you can do it, I know you can. Every minute of it is hard, but if you do it right every minute is also bliss. The music industry is an unforgiving milieu and having the will to carry on even as all other lights seem to go out… well… it takes guts kid. Anyone who can instill within themselves a work ethic has the capacity to do it, you just have to work hard and, dare I say… lay off the pot? How about we start with not cutting corners… we can talk about pot later. The point is – work as hard as you can – give your soul to it and try to stay sane. It’s a journey where you learn a lot, and regardless of anything it will probably end up being worth 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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Elder – The future of heavy rock?

I remember the first time I saw Elder, I was a drunk teenager who just wanted to party with his doom metal friends. I listened to Dead Roots Stirring and their eponymous debut, Elder before the show and I remember being surprised that a band who were at times borderline instrumental and so ‘out there’ could have reached as much success as they had at the time, especially being the fiercely independent artists that they are. They were breaking boundaries and still crushingly heavy, where the hell did this even come from? What had I found in this band? There was a clear sense of aesthetic here but it was the kind of thing that only became apparent when I saw them live at 2014’s Doomed Gatherings Festival, a quasi legendary French get together that’s the closest the country gets to their own Roadburn.

Of course that night, by the time I figured out who Elder were I was drunk and I tried to convince their guitarist, the self deprecating and down to earth frontman Nick DiSalvo to sign to my label. Meanwhile, I was charmed by Jack Donovan, who was doing shots and playing foosball. Always at the heart of the party he remains, in my eyes, the friendly exterior of Elder. One quote of his that stuck out to me on that evening was “We’re just Americans who are here to fucking party!” That particular night I didn’t get as much of a chance to talk to Matt Couto, but he seemed like good people, and fit in nicely to the bands chemistry which is such a huge part of why the group works.

When they got up to play I was stunned with their ability to harness incredible soundscapes. One of my main memories from that first set at Paris’s beloved Glazart venue was Jack crying out “Oui! Oui!” over top of a legion of headbanging fans. People freaked out over the bands organic might and the way that they simply captured the imagination of the crowd. These guys understand what it means to be truly heavy, something we’ve talked about in depth in interviews. Beyond that, they’ve figured out how to bring the jam oriented vibe to the stage and keep things organic and exciting despite the hyper-orchestrated madness of touring.

What even is heaviness though? DaSilvo once told me “ It’s almost a quality that sucks you in and you feel the weight of it because it’s emotionally powerful. There could be like a caveman like power to the riff. Conan are an example who are so incredibly heavy you can’t deny how heavy it is. Other things though can be heavy, like psychedelia for example” You get a sense that Elder value heaviness on their own terms. Sure their older material has crushing riffs, like in songs like Hexe off of Elder but the debut track from 2014’s spectacular Lore, the now classic Compendium starts off with a riff that carries a deep emotional weight without being heavy in the traditional sense, at least until Jack comes in with his blaring bass lines to bring us all back to a triumphant square one.

I think what always got me about Elder though was the aesthetic. That is to say, yes there is a marked progression in the nine years they’ve been making music together, but there are certain fundamental threads that keep the whole thing together and keep it endlessly interesting to a music nerd like me. The fact of the matter is – and remains – Elder, as much as they might say otherwise, have an almost entirely unique sound in a world where far too many of their peers end up sounding exactly the same. In other words – Elder might have found the key to moving forward in rock and roll.

Here’s the thing – the dirty little secret if you will, the thing that the band admits, but that internet metal nerds fear. Elder are no longer really a metal band, in fact they never really were, instead they’re starting to embrace hard rock more and more. Sure, the industry can’t handle a band as crushing as Elder under the ‘hard rock’ tag, but when you pick apart their songs you realize that these guys are turned on to something much deeper. There is a rather clear connection all the way back to 70s hard rock with what these guys do. It’s flowing and natural, you feel yourself falling into the rhythms and letting DiSalvo’s guitar heroics dazzle you. It’s the sort of music anyone can get in to, not just doom freaks. There is a sense of sonic destiny in Elders unique structures and it rapidly turns into music that you find yourself lost in.

That being said – Elder are by no means atavistic, even though they may have no problem hailing their musical ancestors (I once talked to Nick and a fan for half an hour about the glory of Thin Lizzy) the stuff they’re doing is… fairly unprecedented. Even if the specific elements can all be clearly traced back to somewhere or another this particular combination blows me away every time, but beyond that, it actually makes sense. You don’t get the impression that Elder are simply trying to be unique, instead they are creating music that is a reflection of the soul, and that is one of the things that really gets me about this band

Yet, we’ve still only barely touched on one of the most important elements of Elder, and that’s their fierce independence. Free of any sort of real label and really only relying on exterior companies for distribution Elder had a lot to say on this topic when I interviewed them back in February. They seemed to want their artistic license above all else, and, from what I understand, they feel that most people could get along following their model. After all, as DiSalvo said “the internet is the only distribution tool you really need nowadays in my opinion”

In a world full of labels acting as curators of taste Elder were so God damned dedicated to their craft that they managed to rise up and become internationally renown anyway. Sure it’s a lot of extra work but they say “ It’s extra work that we take on our shoulders readily. It’s what I would want if I were to talk to someone. Being personal is very important.” In other words the band is highly aware of their integrity, as well as how unique they are on the scene, and despite that they manage to maintain a humble and easygoing outlook on what they do

At the end of the day Elder is a bunch of dudes who started a band when they were teenagers and who are now just happy that they can tour profitably and have albums pay for themselves. In a tumultuous industry it seems kind of shocking that a band could do this sort of thing on their own. Yet when you dig into their music and start to grasp how earth shatteringly unique Elder are and how endlessly engaging their music is, it’s actually pretty hard to deny that these guys don’t deserve it. They play heavy music of the most vibrant sort and as I fall deeper in love, I can only reach out and try to drag you guys down with me.

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 Death sounds like the old Death on new album, N.E.W.

“The rock and roll is playing where the rock and roll will be,” Bobby Hackney sings declaratively on the song “Relief.” On Death’s new album of original material, released in April on TryAngle Records, the rock and roll is there, clear as day, ready to shake the sleep from your bones.

After being pulled from the depths of obscurity seemingly out of nowhere Death have tried to close the forty-year gap since the recording of their debut. …For the Whole World to See was recorded in 1974, essentially as a group of demos, but it didn’t find a release date until 2009. Drag City saw the potential of this haphazard proto-punk gem and allowed the world to hear it.

Spiritual – Mental – Physical and III followed on the heels of the debut’s success. They were both filled with discarded tracks recorded in the two decades after their formation. This newest offering from the Detroit rock band is titled N.E.W. as if to scream out at listeners, We just recorded these songs! This year! In 2015!

But, time is only a veil. Death’s punk integrity is still glued together and N.E.W. brings the listener right back to a raging house party in a decrepit Seventies two-story. The songs are brash, snarling and created in a fit of musty energy.

The album opens with a few heavy stabs right into your gut with “Relief.” The song is an absolute representation of what Death sound like: tight, angular riffs with dried, burnt out guitar solos and a caffeinated tempo. Complete with shouts of Detroit Rock! Detroit Rock! the mood is instantly set for a raucous stale beer good time.

“Look At Your Life” instills the start and stop punk blasts that poked holes so cunningly on their debut. The rhythm goes slack, then comes harrumphing right back into your face.

“Story Of The World” swivels on the strength of the catchy lacerating guitar work from Bobbie Duncan, who took over for late, founding member David Hackney. It shifts all over the room like they recorded it on the Costa Concordia as it grounded into the sea. Bobby Hackney pauses the rhythm to give this: “Our world is in the hands of fools / So many others besides you / They seldom give but always take / There’s only so much you can do.” Then the song disburses again.

“The Times” grinds forward with a chugging slurry of muted metal guitar. Hackney sounds like Kerry King’s looser, pot-smoking half-brother. His wide-eyed charisma keeps the album moving. He asks the big questions over a jilted, depleting riff on “Who Am I?” On “You Are What You Think” the lyrics are barked against a chortling guitar. Hackney sings with clenched jaws, saliva dripping from each tooth.

“At The Station” and “Playtime” are pumped up with positive energy, but get tiresome as they become trapped in their own format. At times during these songs, it seems, the energy is taking great effort to summon. You can hear the sweat percolate on their temples and the veins in their necks pumping blood.

God bless Death for not phoning it in and sticking with their punk rock hearts. They’re trying to cram the last few decades into this set of songs and when it’s over, they’re panting, gasping for breath on the cutting room floor.

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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Lyrics and You

Lyrics are a crucial part of any traditional song – or so it would seem. While the case has been made that at this point in musical history we don’t need lyrics to have a meaningful piece of music, I think that the opposite is more often true, and in fact now more than ever we need lyrics to help communicate a message. Beyond that – from the perspective of your own band you need to have interesting lyrics in order to help differentiate yourself from the pack. If you can develop a few tasteful turns of phrase it may very well be your ticket to making music your full time job and perhaps even getting massive cultural recognition.

Now initially one might argue “Why do I care what my lyrics are look at guys like Justin Bieber, or hell even Billy Joel, their lyrics barely ever make sense and they’re massive stars!” Which is true. A lot of very successful musicians and composers have been able to make a living just through being able to use powerful hooks and solid songwriting to create catchy tunes. Lyrics definitely are not the be all and end all of any given musicians career. Why even the Beatles barely make sense half the time, and only then when you understand their wealth of inside jokes and the sheer amount of LSD that Paul McCartney took in the 60’s. It would seem that my point is moot… right?

Here’s where I beg to differ – as an independent artist you need to do whatever it takes to set yourself apart if you want to make it. What does it cost you, other than time and energy to write good lyrics? That time and energy will be more than bought back in the long run because with a little luck the depth of your lyrics and the inspiration you are able to conjure up will be able to create superfans, people who religiously spread the word of your work. If you want to organically grow your fanbase being able to reach out and have a clear message people will be much more likely to connect with your music.

A great example of this from recent musical history can be found in the band Death. While they are indeed an enduring musical force, part of why they continue to have so much success, 18 years after their last record and 14 years after the band mastermind, Chuck Schuldiner, died, is because of the strength of the lyrics. I know a lot of people who just connect to Death on a musical level, this seems especially prevalent for folks who are into the bands first two records, the seminal Scream Bloody Gore and Leprosy, and don’t get me wrong, it’s a totally valid way to appreciate the music. However it seems to me that those who are truly passionate about the band have fallen deeply in love with them because of the lyrics. It has led to a rabid following for the band which has since evolved into a highly successful tribute tour that’s been going around the world for nearly half a decade now and shows no signs of letting up.

I’m not saying you need to be totally revolutionary in your lyrics, or even that creative and over the top, but here’s the thing: People like feeling intelligent. If they can find in your words something to connect too, something that lifts them up and makes them feel greater then they will be more likely to fall in love with what you do. You don’t need to blatantly say “You’re smart and beautiful” but instead think about how entire genres do it and do it subtly. Once you start to pick apart how genres sell themselves then you can realize better how to market your own work.

You might argue “Well I’m punk rock, I don’t deal with any of that bullshit” but see, you just bought into how a genre sells itself. Look, I identify as a punk, I’m friends with dudes named Scabies and Pretty Boy, I’ve had knives pulled on me in punk houses, I’ve run from the cops a bunch of times. I get it, punk is awesome. Yet the entire point of the genre is “We don’t think like other people, we’re smarter, and we see the way things are and aren’t afraid to call people out” Now this is totally valid, but it’s also saying that you’re intelligent, or at least not as indoctrinated as others. It gives you something to connect to and allows you to wade through many of the lies that dominate corporate America. This is the very thing that draws people to punk – it’s not just the simplicity of the music but also the message conveyed in the lyrics. If punk rock didn’t have this visceral ideology I can guarantee you it would be nowhere near as popular today.

This is a trend that can be found even in genres that I wouldn’t necessarily bill as “ideological”. For example, radio pop is based around selling the idea of being young and beautiful. There is a sense that as long as you listen to radio pop you are a member of a privileged community who are still young enough to party and relax without having to worry too much about the world. Which again, is a totally valid selling point. Sure, there is a higher likelihood of having nonsense lyrics in this genre, but the songs that do have somewhat coherent lyrics seem to be more or less focused around these ideas.

The fact of the matter is, as a musician you are selling some sort of message or lifestyle with your work. It’s pretty much impossible to escape that as long as your music has lyrics (Although arguably music without lyrics can also have a message, just look at John Cage’s 4:33 or anything Schostakovich did.) The point being – this means that your lyrics matter because it shows the kind of message you want to portray to your audience. If you can find something unique and powerful to show them then you will be able to inspire devotion unlike any of your peers. This devotion is then fairly easy to turn into progressively larger successes.

There is a reason that most of the music we have from history tends to be religious. It was music with a message and music that gave people a reason to live. I mean, yes, the church funded a lot of music, but at the same time folks like the Medicis were sponsoring artists too. You see this even in the context of 20th century music. Most ‘classic rock’ acts who remain vibrant and respected today largely see their success because they were releasing music that was deep and needed to be picked apart. Why else do you think Roger Waters would be able to go around the world a score of times playing the same record that every fan of classic rock has heard a half dozen times by the time they’re a teenager? Another great example of this is Bob Dylan, his songs have become classics, not really because of their musical qualities but because of how, even in their simplicity they have been able to channel meaningful lyrics that have catapulted Dylan into being essentially the William Blake of our time.

What I’m trying to say is that if you want to get your music heard as a independent artist you’re going to need to exploit every possible angle to show your dedication and arouse the interest of your potential fanbase. By having a message you are opening yourself up to a variety of new publications too, just look at how Miley Cyrus has been able to exploit #Freethenipple to grow her own fame. I’m not trying to say that you need to become an utter corporate rock whore (To borrow Kurt Cobain’s phraseology) I’m just saying that you need to consider how your lyrics can positively affect your image and decide if you want that to be a significant part of your art. Or don’t and just rely on the strength of your music to get people buying your merch and spinning your tunes, after all, what the hell do I know?

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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