Song We Like: Mr Girl by Vypers

Some of these blistering bands are a lot more like a strong wind than like blisters. There’s so much movement and so much echo in this genuinely loud song that never hits you hard – the music moves past you almost faster than you can listen.

Song We Like: God Keeps Calling by the Last Origin

Everything here is really rhythmically disciplined, as might be expected from a band that was started by and continues to be dominated by its drummer. The singer has great personality and great screaming and the bassist holds the whole thing. See them live if you can.

Ep 57: The Last Origin, Vypers, The Right Offs, Quinn Powers/The Styrofoam Turtles, The World’s Greatest Detective


This week: Why bother being so smart? And what exactly is dad rock? And Cinnamon discovers BANDLAB!!!! (Follow us on Facebook! Instagram! Twitter! And lots of stuff about these and other bands, including John’s extremely interesting weekly interviews, is at www.hlycrp.com.)

Experiment: Band Management: Blog 17: Album Release Party

“Band A” had their album release party on Thursday night. I inflated 99 helium balloons. I actually inflated about 50 balloons, made the band blow up 25 balloons and toss them around, and that was it. It looked like a demented kids birthday party – especially as the bass player, who resembles a grumpy Bilbo Baggins, wore a floral frock and combat boots. The stage dynamic is based on the bass player trying to steal some attention from the much more glamorous lead singer – and failing. The drummer is a total maniac. And the two guitarists roll their eyes at this foolishness. But it works. 
“Band A” is a pop band. That’s how I describe them now – new wave, garage rock, as catchy and as poppy as anything from the indie 80s scene. An updating of the 80s underground, like The Strokes or Sharon Van Etten’s latest album. I handed out cards with codes to download “Band A’s” first two albums. The singer made buttons to pass out. A few friends jumped up on stage with them. It was the best show in months. 
So what now in terms of band management? Well, sending out their single to college radio stations has worked. I sent out emails to 25 stations and it is on rotation at 2 stations. The music director of the largest indie radio station in NYC has shared the song with her DJs. The first album review will be out at the end of June. And then I take this information to more radio stations, to get more reviews, to get them to play at festivals, onto an indie label, one million dollars… I’m ordering 50 CDs because some radio stations actually ask for CDs.
So what now in terms of this blog? I was talking about this with Cinnamon Kennedy on the way to see Wyla and Fantømex show at the Sly Grog Lounge on Saturday night. Musicians/artists are no good at this. Interacting with radio stations, publications, labels. Management is the opposite of creativity. But I’ve worked with the New York Times, sat at meetings with them. I know how to speak their language, to tell them a story they want to hear. This is what I want for my favorite bands – you know who you are – I want you to just be artists, to just make music, to beat the system and win. I am going to take screen shots of my emails to the radio stations, a list of the stations I approached, their responses, my interactions with publications, put it all up on instagram and the website… Someday Holy Crap Records may be a label – and this year long investigation into management may lead to that – but in the meantime I want to give you everything I have done, if you want to copy it, or not…

Experiment: Band Management: Blog 16: Jessi Frick, Father/Daughter Records

Band Management: Blog 16: Father/Daughter Records So I had the great privilege to interview Jessi Frick of Father/Daughter Records this week. You don’t understand the significance of this label to me. I’ve always been into music, none-mainstream, punk, underground music, Velvet Underground – but about six-or-seven years ago I became obsessed with searching for the underground music scene of right now. I’d check out obscure staff picks in obscure music publications. Check out obscure musical recommendations from friends. These were bands like: The Pack AD, JAPANDROIDS, Sunflower Bean and Diet Cig. Diet Cig sing “fuck your Ivy League sweater” and I’m a faculty brat from Yale – so yeah: fuck your Ivy League sweater! And then I started to dig around to see how Diet Cig was managing to tour and sell their music. They were signed to Father/Daughter Records, which is Jessi Frick and her father! They’ve collected a fantastic group of mainly indie pop punk art punk women voices. I loved that Father/Daughter seemed to appear fully formed, had great traction with the music media, and were so supportive of their bands. So I used this interview series to contact Jessi – just because I have been curious for years about her label.
Back to my management of “Band A” – they are about to be played in another music market. I didn’t know getting on the radio was so easy. This is from XXXX:JP, thanks for contacting us. Enjoying XXX XXXXXX as I type!Would you send us some of your music through our submission process? I am copying XXXXX and XXX, and they would likely enjoy the band too.Yours in music.XXX XXXXXXXX

4 Questions in 5 Minutes: Jessi Frick, Father/Daughter Records

Jessi Frick of Father/Daughter Records talks about the role of the independent label in the music market place.

Song We Like: My Father’s Name was Cat by Brower

A big, interesting, weird, talent from New York City, whose media presence is opaque enough to be an art project in and of itself. We hope to get out to see this guy (guys? People?) at the Lazy Diamond in asheville this weekend

Song We Like: Jesse by Christopher Coleman

Straight from Tasmania, Australia, we are proud to present one of the best songs we’ve ever heard about trauma and modernity.  A song like this is worth chasing to the literal end of the earth. You’re welcome

Song We Like: Don’t u want me back by Indigo de Souza/Ethan Baechtold

Indigo de Souza has one of those transparent kind of voices, which can remain authentic while also embracing a lot of different styles. This neo-funk song goes to a whole bunch of musical places really well. We learned a lot from this song, including the fact that neo-funk is evidently a thing. Bring it!