Tag Archive for: punk

Podcast 141: John’s Birthday – with excellent music from The Avengers, Aligns, Blackouts, World War IX, The New Brutarians, Quinn Powers, Fauvely

Best of the underground, week of Jan 18, 2021: Lots of reminiscing about John’s dumber moments. Self-sabotage. The new economy. Also great, excellent music. (All podcasts and reviews are on www.hlycrp.com, and you can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, and Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.)

This week we played:

  • Working Stiffs by Quinn Powers
  • Trump by the Blackouts
  • I’m Your Man by the New BrutariansRockscene by AlignsWe Are The One by The Avengers
  • May3e by FauvelyFired For Partying by World War IX

Experiment: Band Management: Blog 9: The Happening

John Cage staged the first happening – an immersive art experience at Black Mountain College in 1952. This happening led to Andy Warhol and Lou Reed’s “Exploding Plastic Inevitable,” Ken Kesey’s “Acid Tests,” and the world of performance art. 
“Band A” – the band that I am managing – will be playing at one of the major breweries in the Asheville area on June 6th. The idea is to make this a large splashy event, an album release party, a happening on stage, performance art!!!
“Band A” has been playing in the scene for 5-6 years, and most times they do dress up, have streamers, a smoke machines, and maybe a giant tarantula hovering in the air. So they could pull it off. They also have – Andy. Andy lives on a street in Black Mountain where all the kids go to trick-and-treat. And for years Andy has decorated his house as a haunted pirate ship, or a haunted circus, or a haunted rocket ship. The current plan for “Band A” is for Andy to bring all the halloween decorations he has created over the years and fill the brewery and the stage with them. You gotta love the enthusiasm of “Band A.” 
In the meantime my idea for a music video – sticking each of the band members’ heads in a box – is not working out. Two of the band members are out of town for two weeks. Two band members have exactly zero interest in this plan. One band member loves to stick his head in the box – but he’s got a few screws loose. So I’m on my back up plan. I have collected photos of every show, of every costume, of everyone they’ve invited up on stage with them – and I put all those image together and made a music video. Hopefully it will go viral – and if not, maybe, it will remind all their friends and fans how much fun a live show is and they will all make it to the brewery on the sixth and jump on stage with “Band A.” It’s happening!!!

Experiment: Band Management: Blog 6: BURGER RECORDS and Sean Bohrman.

This is what I need to do for “Band A” – the band that I am currently “Murraying” – just sell their art. It’s that simple. There’s this guy “Andy” in the band – there’s always an “Andy” in the band – whose been asking what am I actually doing? This year I will sell their music, maybe merch, maybe concert sales too. There are 5 members, so at a minimum I need to sell $250,000. Fawwwwwk. Well, their bandcamp site has sold 2 copies of their latest album.
So, taking a step back, I believe if people listen to this music they will buy it. How do I get this music out to enough ears? Traditionally, a label helps to get the music on radio, written about in media, distributed, places the band on tours, different ways to reach an audience. 
But what do labels even do these days? – “Andy” asked. 
So I had to reach out to a friend. Sean Bohrman of BURGER RECORDShas always been kind to the Holy Crap Records podcast. We interviewed him for an early show and he’s introduced us to some of the bands we’ve played. Burger Records is one of the most creative ventures I’ve ever met. As well as being a somewhat traditional label (mainly focusing on distribution of tapes and underground bands like The Black Lips and The Brian Jonestown Massacre), they also host an annual around-the-world mass music promotion called the Burger Revolution. You know. We know. It’s an underground music festival that happens in Asheville (at Fleetwood’s) and in cities around the world. These guys just invented that in their minds and then made it a reality. 
Anyway, I’m a cynic. I entered into this conversation with Sean with the attitude that labels, bookers, and radio only care about the numbers – and my goal has been to buy social media likes for “Band A” and hire a publicity agent to get them some favorable media. I asked Sean how he finds new bands? “Word-of-mouth.” Simply, bands he likes tells him about other bands. So you can just be playing in a local scene making the best music you can – and that may be enough to get on that first label. And he listens to demos – if people send him a polite, personalized email about why Burger Records is a good fit for a band. Then we laughed and laughed about the “rock stars” – oh good times. Listen to the rest of the interview here: 
https://youtu.be/FhRBqURkXOE

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.

Experiment: Band Management: Blog 4: Easter Sunday

I am a band manager this year. It was a slightly “Murray” experience this weekend. Murray is the band manager for “Flight of the Conchords.” Someone who believes in the band – and then sets them up with shows in aquariums and elevators. I believe in “Band A” – and I stood with maybe a dozen people at the brewery, watching the band, which dwindled to a single family by the end of the second set. But it was great. Two sets of great garage rock. The bass player split his pants. Highlights include addition of synth sounds. Good lead singer and good drummer. The rest of the band could work on their stage presence, but they were loose and having fun. And they have songs. So, the point of this year-long blog is to take this band, “Band A,” and take this music, and propel it toward a much larger audience. After the show “Band A” sat down with the management (me) and wanted to know exactly what I was up to….So first I’m going to buy some “social media” likes. There – I said it. I know a bunch of bands frown on this gauche and obvious behavior. But I’m the manager – and I don’t care. Social media has changed. It used to be that you had a chance at building an organic following. Or something like that – but now social media curates your feed. (That’s why liberals only get liberal news and conservatives get garbage.) Nowadays you basically have to pay to share content, to get those likes. I asked all my friends to like “Band A” – and “Band A” has 242 likes. I am going to buy 5,000 likes. Because I believe that 5,000 likes will make it easier to reach my three goals: get on a label, play at a festival, and draw an audience of 100 people. Let’s see how much it costs and how this goes… Also I need to get their latest album on iTunes and SKYPE…. In other blog news – as you know this blog series is matched with the Holy Crap Records video series “4 Questions in 5 minutes” – when I talk to people in the industry about how to make a band more successful. So I’ve reached out to: Jessica at Co-Sign (Artistic Development Agency), Sean Bohrman at BURGER RECORDS, Godless America Records, Father and Daughter Records, and John Richards at KEXP… (I will also be interviewing Tristen Colby about the scene and touring.)

Experiment: Band Management: Blog 3: The start!

I am managing a band this year. As experiment and story for the Holy Crap Records podcast/magazine, and because this intersects with two of my favorite subjects: 1) underground music and 2) the economics of being an artist. Cinnamon Kennedy pointed out that my blog is actually about “how to be famous” and none of my stated aims are about making money. So we’re gonna run dueling blogs – I’m figuring out fame and she’s figuring out money.

So how do you start? You hear about these starts, right? The Rolling Stones had three shows booked at the same London venue. First night they played. Second night they sold out. Third night there was a line down the block. The B52s played a show in NYC, and then came back a month later to play the same venue and there was a line down the block. That’s how you start!

I am doing an interview each week with bands, radio stations, publicists, booking agents, labels – this week I talked to Lowell Hobbs of Tongues of Fire. TOF are on Godless America Records, have played at SXSW twice, and tour across the south. How did TOF start?

“Our first show was at Tiger Mountain, when they didn’t have DJ nights,” Lowell Hobbs of Tongues of Fire shares. “There were probably 30 people there. It was a nice first show.” How did they get the crowd? “We actually walked the streets of Asheville and just talked to people and brought them in.”

The local music venue, that first venue who gives you your first show, not the The Orange Peel or Thomas Wolfe Auditorium, but the local dive bar – they are the heroes of the entire underground scene. In our area thanks to: The Odditorium, The Mothlight, Fleetwood’s, The Burger Bar, Sly Grog Lounge, The Town Pump Tavern… (For bands looking to book their first show – The Odditorium will sometimes book new bands on Wednesday night and The Mothlight will sometimes book new bands on a Monday night.) Venues like these are the heroes to all local scenes, but they care about two things: 1) the quality of the music and 2) the bottom-line, the size of the crowd.

Also, be nice. To the venue and to your crowd. Tongues of Fire show up to any venue – and the venue knows that a crowd of 20-30 kids will show up too. The kids will push up to the stage, the band will interact with the crowd, and Lowell will dive on top of them. The venues in town want to book TOF again and again.

Having that first packed performance and continuing to bring people to venues has great benefits – for touring and for getting on a label. Venues will book your band when traveling bands come through, and…

How did Lowell put together TOF’s first tour?

“I think we got somebody from Gainesville a show,” Lowell explains, “and since you gave us a show we’ll give you a show in Gainsville. It’s kind of how all our tours work for the most part. Almost all of the bands we’ve played with in different towns is someone we’ve helped out in Asheville.”

Tongues of Fire has that sense of danger, that anything can happen when they have a show. They play local basement and house parties – even getting two house parties shut down on the same night.

So I’m managing another band in the local scene – “Band A” – how do I create that buzz? That sense of danger? That consistent crowd? Band A is playing this weekend. They are playing at a brewery, mid afternoon, outside, and the weather is 58 degrees and blustery. Four of the five members can make the show. What am I doing? I put up one poster. I shared on social media. There was a change in event times – and now I’m literally texting friends to show up…. Also I bought some streamers to hang at the event…. Streamers!!!!