Blog 55: Band Management, Social Media Mismanagement, and Booking Shows…

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So here’s the story, I think. I was filming and traveling all last week – and I got kicked off FB. I made a FB page called PAnon which was a parody of the QAnon movement – please please FB don’t take down this page too – I’m just trying to explain what I think happened here. It was funny for a minute – and then not so funny. All my FB content has been taken down permanently. Oh man, do I have to be a wise-ass all the time?
It’s a pain because Egg Eaters have a show this Saturday night at Seven Sisters Tap Room Black Mountain, NC at 7pm – with the amazing Amber Grace Joyner – and FB really is a good way to post an event and get the word out. Please wear a mask and socially distance – we love music venues and we want them to stay open.
I will now try to fix my karma: people ask me about booking and so this is my guarded insight into booking a show. Be very real. Be very real in creating new and interesting music, that really reflects your inner light or your inner darkness. Take your heart out and show it. Be very real when you play a show – and be grateful to the booker and the sound guy. Be very real with the other bands – scream and shout and dance and really get into their shows. Be more than words. However you spend your time shows exactly what you value. Go out to other shows. Be real. Fall in love with other bands. Adore another band’s music. Tell them. Fall in love with the music venues. Make your favorite experience a night at a small music venue watching loud bands. Bring your friends. The people who run the underground music venues do this because they are real. They really love music. They have dedicated their life to this music. They curate an authentic sound of this underground art. If you are doing the same then you will be in the same revolution. Your relationships with other bands and with music venues will be real – and then it will be easy to book shows.
I want to take a step back for a moment. I work in video/film. I have watched very successful reporters and directors charm an interviewee and then when they get the answer or soundbite – then they are done. I try to love everyone I film. I think every story is the coolest. Every life is an amazing narrative. I try to really connect and raise them up as heroes. We, Holy Crap Records Podcast and our crew and friends, we really try to be authentic with every piece of music we play. We fall in love with your songs every week. It is October and the nights are getting darker. Pandemic levels are rising again. It is hard to be real and vulnerable now. But now is the time to be smart and go out to those live shows and wear masks and socially distance and tip your music venue. Now is the time to be real with your friends. To tell the other bands and musicians in the scene how much you adore them – and not fake but real. Now is the time to be real with the music we create. What we do know will be remembered. Give and give and give until it bleeds.

Blog 54: Band Management: Phoenix or Crows…

I’d been writing a weekly blog about seeing how far I could take the Egg Eaters, make them famous, manipulate the levers of power, all the ways to be charming and pushy and brave and game the system. Radio. Label. Press. It kind of worked. But it didn’t work. On February 28th of this year I wrote a blog post labelled “band mismanagement.” A lesson in being domineering. Then everything closed down. Music venues. Recording studios. Darkness descended. It hasn’t been a pleasant time. I have lost friends and I have witnessed friends fall apart. We lost someone recently. I didn’t sleep. Each night I waited for dawn in a stiff plank of anxiety, searching for something to push against, something to fight. I don’t know – searching for a metaphor – whether music was at the bottom of the well or that music is the rope that leads back up into the light. I do know that I have been making remote music, sneaking into dark basement jams, managing online music shows, making some porch music, listening and listening, talking and talking, texting and texting about music. It has taken on a greater importance. A lot of collaborations. And there is no better feeling than to collaborate with someone, share a song with someone, and have them respond through their art. That is like becoming brothers. I don’t like the weight necessarily. That music can lift me so high, laughing as I play – and then other moments when I feel excluded… I am sure it is not just me. I try to let everyone know, who shares music with me, who collaborates, that everything is gentle and kind and easy. A phoenix is the bird that rises from the ashes. A crow, a raven, is the bird that feeds on carrion, that spiritually can travel between the underworld and our world, that can fly into the darkness and return to the light.
Oh hell – this post went dark – and then stayed dark. I just want to write dance music. Nothing is worth writing unless you can dance to it. So how do you do it? How do you write dance music?

Blog 53: Band Management: When Management Fails

I manage “Band A.” Or maybe they manage me. I had a plan to make them famous – and I was like a dog chasing a car. I couldn’t quit. Until I was run over. Sometimes things are so obvious – and I get run over.
2020 started with grey skies and damp weather and every member of “Band A” is running a side project band. I am affiliated with two of these other bands, so I take a moment to step back from “Band A.”
Witnessing these two other bands is a learning experience. They are both going great. Bad Banker – band – a weird synth, violin, drum machine, anarchist band – where I play rhythm guitar – has a crowd of people singing along to our final song at The Odditorium. And this is the first time we ever played the song! “I don’t care what you do – this punk rock show – is better than – nudes!” (A friendly homage to The Deathbots.) To be clear – this response isn’t actually a surprise. The positive energy of the band is unbelievable. Band members show up and show off – you want sexy disco dance beats? I have sexy dance disco beats for this song.
A second affiliated band – Rosie and The Rats rolls up to the El Rancho Morbido Studios, after being in existence for only three weeks, and records a beautiful five-song EP. I can sense the electricity in the air. The creativity is there, and the heightened listening is there, and the space takes on an ultra high def intensity and everything is saturated with meaning. Everything is new and also like it has been around forever. Ahhhhh…
Oh I loved it and I was jealous. I was run over. I think my management is inhibiting joyful creativity. To be clear, a band member did crack a joke about how “Band A” is over managed. These six individuals of “Band A” are star athletes. I want all that wildness and joyfulness and thoughtfulness. I want them in the studio this spring and I want them for one more season, one more ride. Maybe I’m an idiot – ummm – but I do know when the spirit is in the room…

Blog 52: Band Management: Compilation Album Release

I am managing “Band A” for one year. One of the nicest aspects has been meeting up with Kafadan Kontak Records and Tolga Ozbey. “Band A” is on KK Records, and the label invited us to be part of a compilation album, called “Let’s Commit Suicide” – which they put out on Christmas Day, which is also funny as hell, if you like dark dark humor.
It’s a compilation album of songs by Suicide, the earliest of the punk and electronic bands from the downtown NYC art scene in the early 70s. (Thanks to Edward Madill for producing/engineering/mixing – he’s got that magic.)
It’s been a nice end to 2019. “Band A” also made it onto the Asheville music scene’s “Year In Local Music,” compiled by Loose Fit on Asheville FM and DJ Ernesto Yermoli. As the year comes to a close I want to appreciate these curators – like Ernesto and Tolga. I remember 5 – 6 years ago on the Asheville scene when it seemed like Eron Rex was out every night, taking photos, video, connecting bands, putting out his zine – ThrAsheville zine. Curating is an art. Eron got the whole Asheville scene rolling. He helped to tell the story of the early years. Tolga is connecting these garage rock and punk rock bands across the globe through his label. Loose Fit understands the significance of the local scene happening right now. And Holy Crap Records will be running our end of the year top 10 – next week on the podcast. It has been the best year. DIY underground music is the best art form. So rich in attitude and guts and creativity and beauty. Thank you. Thank you.

Blog 51: Band Management: Band A, Band B, and now Band C, Band D….

For half a year I’ve managed “Band A” as an art project / investigation of the music industry. Band A did pretty good – played on 4 radio stations, reviewed by two music journals, on a minor minor minor label, and had two songs on compilations. Then The Styrofoam Turtles announced that they were releasing their single “Pipe” on our label – Holy Crap Records – and as we love Tristen Colby, Josh Davis and Colm McKeon so much and think so much of their music we released their single and sent it around to radio stations and music magazines. The Styrofoam Turtles became “Band B” in this narrative.
During this time Cinnamon and I started thinking about how much we care about and love all you bands and musicians, that we have seen live, played with, and played on our podcast. And we launched Musicians For Overdose Prevention to get narcan in all bars and music venues.
Now we are collecting songs about use/abuse/recovery. We’re still working this out – but we want to create a space for these songs on our podcast and we want to find a major minor label (Rough Trade, Merge, Third Man…) to partner with us and release an album of the best underground music songs on this theme.
In the meantime, we want to collect all your songs and put them out as a massive compilation on Holy Crap Records, adding to the collection as we get more songs. It would just live on bandcamp and every five songs (or so) we’d do a media blast about this project and these bands and these songs. We’re still working this out, but this is what we’re thinking for 2020??? As usual we’re just fumbling forward in the darkness, making it all up as we go along… If we screw anything it’s due to stupidity not malice… Here we go Band C, Band D….

Band Management: Blog 50: The Scene

Holy Crap Records is based in Asheville, NC – and this is where we see our music, local bands or bands coming through, this is where we hear our music, and this is where we get our recommendations of music to check out.
There’s been a bunch of online discussions about what makes you a professional musician – and I feel like there needs to be some acknowledgement of the absolute greatness of the Asheville scene – and the challenges.
This is a great scene. We play more Asheville bands than any other bands (except maybe the Melbourne scene). This scene is rich and wonderful and full of incredible bands, songwriters, photographers, videographers, artists, designers – this is the BEST art scene since Black Mountain College.
I can tell you two dozen bands you should all see right now. The venues are fun as hell too.
And… yet… this scene is still deep in the underground. No one is paying attention. (Yeah there’s been press about the tourist music scene – but not about the artists who are vomiting up their soul.) What does it mean to be a successful artist? I suppose the answer is to go on tour after tour and push out your next EP on bigger and bigger indie labels. Or the answer is to sit in that woodshed and write 50 songs or 500 songs and emerge as a beautiful transcendent butterfly.
My gut tells me that this scene will be recognized for it’s richness and beauty at some point. It needs a catalogue, a curator. Someone needs to be the collector. The Holy Crap Records Podcast is at number 81. Maybe when we get to 100 I will reconnect with all the local Asheville bands that we have played and create a spotify or bandcamp list. It’s a start. It’s important to document the mad genius of the Asheville underground. On this day – thank you, thank you, thank you for all the badass wild joy.

Song We Like: Will Save by The DiMarcos

The DiMarcos are local legends on the Asheville scene. This is some hard punk with just a pinch of melody. The interesting thing is that these pieces of pop in the punk, the winding upward guitar riff and the barked out the vocals, are so catchy and wonderful. I saw them live recently – and everything was perfect and they were so in their element. Wanna hear us talk about this song? – Featured on our #81 podcast at www.hlycrp.com.

Band Management: Blog 49: Label Mates

This year I am managing “Band A” and the single “Pipe” by The Styrofoam Turtles.
While the mainstream doesn’t even know we exist and the corporate music universe pays us no attention – here in the darkness and cold damp the mold and fungus is growing, the first one-celled organisms are crawling out of the primordial swamp.
Since I started this blog I have discovered so many great underground music labels and underground music publications. So many great underground bands. I love the DIY ethos – no one is stopping me – so why not do it?
We’re helping the revolution in the smallest most innocuous way possible. Holy Crap Records has released one single by The Styrofoam Turtles and one single by “Band A” – you can find them at bandcamp: https://holycraprecords.bandcamp.com/
– or you can find them on the www.hlycrp.com website.
I’ve sent out these bands’ releases to 30 indie/underground/local radio stations and to 11 underground music publications. “Band A” got played on 98.1 The River this week.
And on this Sunday evening these two bands will be playing at Static Age-Records.
The Styrofoam Turtles are the best, kindest, most talented, most passionate rockers around the Asheville scene. At Holy Crap Records we celebrate “song” – the art form of song – and these kids can write songs. They’ve produced two albums that are busting with hits. We’re lucky to be able to share their single. Their live shows are also insane. Tristen Colby has a family background in the semi-professional rural wrestling circuit – and he brings all that drama and madness to the stage. Josh Davis is very well behaved…
And “Band A” is the worst kept secret in the local underground music scene…
See you all on Sunday night…

Band Management: Blog 48: Screwing It Down

I am managing “Band A” for a year. (I’m also managing the release of “Pipe” by The Styrofoam Turtles on Holy Crap Records – hey Josh and Tristen I just sent out the single to a second round of radio stations and I’ll send it it to a first round of media next week – I attached the music file directly to the email and we’ll see if that makes a difference.)
This moment marks the end of the run with “Band A’s” 2019 EPs “You’re A Bad Choice Baby” on Kafadan Kontak Records and the self-released “Gimme Gimme Gimme.” “Band A” got on a label, played on a handful of radio stations, reviewed by a couple of music magazines, they’re on a couple of compilations… and two weeks ago they played 4 shows in a week. I nearly killed certain members. It’s always a balancing act with the band – how much of “Band A’s” story am I the protagonist and how much am I working behind the scenes as an assistant? To hold the group of six people together, who have different interests within the scope of the band… To see how far the more chill members are willing to bend – not very far – and to work to placate the more willful members…
To be honest, with the change in season, with Winter approaching, I feel like crawling onto a couch with an acoustic guitar singing some lonesome cowboy songs.
It’s time to head into the studio. Record some super fast garage rock and some slow moody minimalist heartache. At the start of 100 blog posts I was aiming to get the band on a label, to get them playing at a festival, to have 100 people show up for them… Even as I hibernate, my confidence/arrogance is still rising and I wish to see how far “Band A” can go…