Tag Archive for: Godless America Records

Experiment: Band Management: Blog 8: Jordan Duttinger, Godless America Records

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I’m in the business of band management. I have one-year to move “Band A” onto a label, get them on the festival circuit, invited by KEXP to play live at their studio… Hey I’m not the smartest, but I pay attention and follow trends through Holy Crap Records and the The Asheville Rock Collective. What are the best local bands doing to take those first steps to recognition and infamy? Godless America Records puts out an annual mix-tape of the best songs/bands submitted to them during the year. Tongues of Fire is on their mix-tape. Bubble Boys are on their mix-tape. It’s how we find a bunch of bands for the Holy Crap Records Podcast – by listening to this excellent curated mix-tape. So I have to get “Band A” onto one of those mix-tapes. And I totally had to interview Jordan Duttinger for the “4 Questions in 5 Minutes” section. I fucking love hanging out with someone smarter than me. Like Sean from BURGER RECORDS, Jordan started Godless America Records because no one was representing and promoting underground music. Godless America Records is basically Jordan – and finding the sustainable model of putting out great mix-tapes and releasing bands on cassette is what works for him. Yeah, I will be submitting “Band A” to Godless America Records, but I’ll use my second email and see actually what Jordan thinks of the band. Thank you Jordan.

In other management news. F*ck. I busted my ass. I sent of “Band A’s” latest release to 20 college radio stations. I figured out the emails and the DJs most likely to play this type of music. I did it right. F*ck. Let’s see what happens.

This is the email I sent:

Thank you for being a champion of indie and underground music. I am the manager for “Band A,” an Asheville-based new wave / garage rock band. I am sharing their lead single from their latest release for your consideration.

“Band A” have been around for 6 years in the Asheville indie/underground scene. They were voted the number 1 punk band by Mountain X-Press in 2015. (And then Mountain Xpress stopped that category – who knows why? ) Their sound has evolved from raw garage punk to that indie new wave sound of bands like Blondie, Talking Heads, and B-52s. These songs are a catchy ear worm in your brain. “Band A” are recreating and updating the 80s sound like The Strokes with “You Only Live Once” and Sharon Van Etten with “Comeback Kid.”

Please enjoy “Band A” – “Song A”: ***********************

JP Kennedy
Band Management

Experiment: Band Management: Blog 5: Social Media Fail

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I do love one of those shows when you have to shove the pool table to one side, bring all your own equipment, have no monitors, and all the people at the bar stare at the band like they’re aliens. Of course I didn’t shove the pool table – I’m management. Here’s a plus about “Band A” – they don’t have a hard time getting shows. So generally they’re well behaved, they have songs, and they’re bring a handful of friends along. Lowell Hobbs of Tongues of Fire says that you shouldn’t book too much, that each show should be an event. I’ve heard this from @Derek Allen too. I’d subscribe to that theory if “Band A” was destroying each show. They’ll have a great loose show – and then only four of them will show up and it will be entertaining but not a religious experience. I want to book them shows until they get sulky and arrogant and obnoxious. 
That was the good part of band managing this week. I also failed on social media. How do you reach a larger audience? On Wednesday I paid social media for likes – because I believe 5,000 likes will make it easier to get them on a label, play at festivals, and get 100 people to shows. I paid $5 to social media. “Band A” has +11 likes this week. About 50 cents a like. So that didn’t work. Or maybe the ads need to be smarter?
So how do you get people to listen to this music? Bumperstickers? Music videos? People do like music videos. So a music video, of the band sitting around, or looking artsy and angsty is fine – but “Band A” is having a local show soon and I want all their friends to show up. Because if all their friends show up, they’ll act wild, and then they’ll tell all their friends they’re in a music video. Organic marketing!!! (Please someone get in a fight, or make-out on the dance floor, or at least I hope the smoke machine will be working again…) We’ll see…
Also, looking forward to this week – we will be interviewing Sean from BURGER RECORDS and Jordan from Godless America Records (and hopefully Tristen Colby) for our 4 questions in 5 minutes section.