Indie Band Guru

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These Magnificent Miles: On the Long Road with Red Wanting Blue is a new documentary about Red Wanting Blue, a rock band from Ohio that is known as one of the top independent, yet unknown, bands in the country. The film follows the band as they record and release their eighth album in the hopes of finally getting a record deal — more than a decade after forming.  I always love watching war stories from the road of indie bands trying to make it.  They give everyone motivation and show what true dedication looks like.

  
Directed and produced by internationally known theater producer Ken Davenport, These Magnificent Miles is a powerful and gritty rock documentary about the big dreams of an underdog band. Critics have called Red Wanting Blue “the best underground independent rock band in the United States of America,” “one of the top unsigned bands in the country,” and a band that embodies “a commitment to career that many bands only hallucinate about.” But no matter how many records they sell, how much their fans love them, how many accolades from critics they receive, or how much they accomplish; it never seems to be enough. The film is an honest portrayal of the struggles that musicians go through to compete as the music industry changes, and it sheds a whole new light on Red Wanting Blue’s own metamorphosis from a group of small-town musicians to a well-known band with thousands of fans.
 
These Magnificent Miles: On the Long Road with Red Wanting Blue is available on DVD at www.redwantingbluemovie.com. The film features never-before-seen concert footage, as well as interviews with the band members who have put their heart and soul into making music. This DVD is a must-have for music lovers, documentary enthusiasts, Red Wanting Blue fans, and anyone who has ever rooted for the underdog. It is also a great watch for other indie bands to gain inspiration and see the perils of life on the road. 

In Indie Band Guru’s exhaustive search to find great new music as well as bands that ‘get it’ on how to expose their music to the masses we came across Waking Lions, a metal core band from the Huntington, West Virginia area.  Well in reality, they found us which says a lot more for their hard work in getting themselves known.  They developed a good mutual relationship with Indie Band Guru that led to vocalist/frontman Daniel writing an article for us on his band’s use of social networking, especially Twitter.  Read and learn:

As an upcoming band, it’s so difficult to gain any attention or exposure. Yeah, you have your local shows, your local zines, and your local support, but where do you go to broaden your fan base beyond the local scene? Where do you go to gain more national exposure?  MySpace had it’s day in the sun, and even Facebook has brought more exposure to the table for artists within the last year or so. One social networking site we believe that has reigned supreme in reaching out to the fans, other bands, and even record labels is Twitter.

Waking Lions

This is such an important question? Can you answer it in 30 seconds or less? Unfortunately, most artists can’t do this. Here is a great video with Derek Sivers, founder of CD Baby and all around music marketing genius, describing exactly what I am talking about. Learn from it:

Now take some time and write up your own description of your music.  Memorize this and be able to recite it word for word whenever someone asks about your music.  Use a similar description on your website as well.  Make people want to take the time out of their day to listen to your music and come see a live show.

Let me here some of your descriptions. Why would I listen to your music?

Indie Band Guru wanted to introduce you to another hard-working band that has their shit together and seems just about ready to take off.  We recently had the chance to speak with NY/NJ alternative rock band The Nico Blues about promoting themselves, gaining a fanbase, and their take on the independent music scene today.

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Here are their words that they wanted to share with the Indie band Guru readers:

-Basically, The Nico Blues strategy right now is to play as many shows as we can and sell our CD’s for $5 each at shows to get it in the hands of as many people as we can.  However, unlike most bands we have our music up on our website for free download.  As a relatively unknown indie band, this is the best way to gain fans.  Get your music on their IPods and computers.  The music can also be streamed so the only people downloading it are people that geniunely dig the music.  Sometimes we’ll play two shows in a day.  One time this summer the band played in Philly on Friday night, Queens Saturday afternoon, and Baltimore Saturday night.  The reasoning for this is that for the most part we’re not playing any amazing places.  Aside from shows in NYC and North Jersey, we’re usually playing dive bars or relatively dilapidated places.  However, the more shows a band plays, the greater the chance of some of those shows being good.  The truth is that we’ve played some amazing shows for crazy kids in dive bars, while in other dive bars we’ve played for practically no one besides the sound guy.  Actually, the first song on our album “Three’s A Crowd” is about playing your heart out no matter how few people are there to see you.  Any band that wasn’t born in to having some sort of connection in the music industry can certainly relate.

Bands also need to utilize social networks like Facebook and Twitter.  We’ve actually gained a lot of fans from both and its a perfect way to stay in touch and relate to your fanbase.  Showing that you care about them as much as they care about you will only benefit the band.  Also, emailing music blogs and hoping that the people behind the blog like the music is a great way to get exposure.  A lot won’t answer, some will say it’s not their thing, but, if you’re good, there will be some blogs that will promote the band.  Music blogs have a HUGE impact on up-and-coming artists and 9 out of 10 times, they’re the ones who know about a great band first.

Finally and perhaps most important, up-and-coming bands need to be nice to everyone they meet, for the most part.  You can’t be a primadonna jerkoff and expect people to like you.  If you’re nice to people and other bands, then they’ll ask you to be a part of their shows.  It really goes a long way in booking yourself.  Punk rock is freedom and you don’t have to play “punk rock” to share in its ideals.  However, all DIY indie bands need to share in its idealism.  In my humble opinion, anyone looking to start a band should read the book “Our Band Could Be Your Life” by Michael Azerrad.  He’s a great writer and it is one of the most inspiring books I’ve ever read.  Not to mention, every band mentioned in that book is amazing.

-The Nico Blues are an alternative rock band from New York/New Jersey. The band has just released their debut album on their own Tiny Giant Records imprint titled “Blame the Boredom, Blame the Basements”. This album was recorded, produced, and mixed by the band in their home studio. The Nico Blues are influenced by rock, folk, and punk bands from the 1950’s to 2010. All of their music can be downloaded free at their website TheNicoBlues.com

We all know that building a fanbase is one of the hardest things for a new indie band to do.  In today’s world it is no longer just make great music and the fans will come.  There is too much competition.  Not only in other bands, but in other entertainment opportunities.  Let’s face facts, people do not just go to the clubs anymore without knowing which bands are even playing, hoping to find a gem.  Many music fans will just sit on their computer, home alone, scour the internet, and listen to music in the comfort of thier own computer chair.  This is the curse (of the otherwise great for indie bands) internet!

The main purpose of this article is to identify potential new fans.  Take a listen to your music and try to identify the perfect fan.  Why do they want to be a fan of your music?  This is where you will find your target audience.

Take a good look at the current fans that you do have.  What similarities do they have?  Are they tattooed or muscular or shy?  Where do they hang out when not at one of your shows?  What other bands do they listen to?  What do they do with their free time?  These are the questions to ask yourself, and if possible, ask the current fans that you can speak with.  They will be more than happy to answer your questions and in fact will feel special that you considered them important enough to value their answers.  This is where you build a strong artist-fan relationship.  Put them to work for you.

Using these answers determine ways to find people similar to your current fans that have not had a chance to hear your music yet.  Find the niches where you will find these new fans.  Define your buying audience as narrowly as possible.  If many of your fans have tattoos, go to some local tattoo shops and speak with people there, especially the people that work there.  Maybe the shop would play your CD in the store.  Maybe you can play a show right in the shop to benefit both the tattoo parlor and your band.  Find opportunities where everybody wins.

Now find media outlets that cater to your target fan.  Which magazines or websites do your potential fans read?  It does not have to be a music related media outlet, in fact it is better if it is not.  This will make for less musical competition in getting your band featured in that magazine or website.  Find the editors of these media outlets and pitch them your music.  Have a story and explain how your band could be a benefit to them.  Tell them many of your fans speak very highly of their articles and suggested you approach the magazine/website for a feature article.  It is much easier than you think.

The bottom line is that there are opportunities to find many new fans in places besides the venue you play your Saturday night gig at.  Use these sources and alternative venues to reach these fans and turn them on to your music.  Then they will be at your next Saturday night gig and you will build the buzz you have been trying to.

Yes it is that time of year again.  A great time to be a resident of the greatest city in the world, New York, NY.  I recently told you about the Royal Flush Festival, which looks great, but then comes the behemoth that is The 30th annual CMJ Music Marathon and Film Festival.  In a span of only 5 days (Oct. 19th – Oct 23rd) there will be over 1200 live performances in more than 75 of New York City’s greatest venues and theaters.

Here is a small sampling of the bands playing:

Phoenix, GZA, UNKLE, Black Sheep, John Vanderslice, Cute Is What We Aim For, Justin Townes Earle, Black Label Society, Corin Tucker Band, Dan Black, Eli “Paperboy” Reed, Freddie Gibbs, Frankie and the Heartstrings, Adam Haworth Stephens, Cults, Oberhofer, Baths, Blood Red Shoes, Extra Lens, The Bogmen, Clutch, Francis and the Lights, Screaming Females, Franz Nicolay, Children of Bodom, Wild Nothing, Dom, Marit Larsen, Good Old War, Reggie Watts and BRAHMS.

as well as:

DeVotchKa, Surfer Blood, Two Door Cinema Club, School of Seven Bells, Bad Books (feat. Kevin Devine and Manchester Orchestra), Four Tet, The Drums, Ghostface Killah, Greg Dulli, Helmet, Lissie, Foreign Exchange, Kristen Schaal & Friends, Dean & Britta, Bayside, Senses Fail, Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit, Salem, The Blow, Small Black, Big Freedia, Dominique Young Unique, Angus & Julia Stone, Frankie and the Heartstrings, Dale Earnhardt Jr Jr, and Langhorne Slim.

(I highlighted a few shows that I will not be missing)

Another awesome feature that I love about CMJ is the panels.  It is great to sit in a classroom setting with ‘teachers’ that are some of my idols in the music business teaching lessons that I am excited to learn.  (If only school had been that way).

Some of the Panels at CMJ 2010 are:

A Camera And Some Balls; How To Shoot Rockstars
American Hardcore and the Rise of Modern Rock
Combating Audience A.D.D.
Controlling the Pipeline; Net Neutrality and the Level of Access
Creative and Engaging Campaigns Around Your Live Show
Curmudgeons of Rock
Follow The Spot; The Music Industry’s Madmen
Get It Together: Real Life Strategies for Artists and Songwriters

How to Start a MovementHow To Sell 500 Tickets In 5 Markets
International Rational
Kickstart Your Email Marketing
L.E.S. Music Means More Indie Rock
Location Is Everything
Love What You Do; Never Work A Day In Your Live
Managing Without Borders
No Conflict No Interest
Reality Killed The Video Star

So You Want To Be A Music Blogger; Who Cares?

Start Me Up
Take a Left at the Label: D.T.F.
The Future of the Music Business? Really?
The Lean and Mean Label Machine
The Mindset of the Venue Booker
The Modern Day R.O.I. Rogers
The Power and Possibilities of Interactive Audio
The Zeros and Ones of Music Creation
Who Brought The P.A.?

In addition to all that there will be over 120,000 music fans crowding the city as well.  This is a great chance to get out there and meet the people that will come to your shows and an even greater chance to promote to them all in one place.  You should be there if you are reading this blog and have a chance to get to NYC.

Get in touch and let us know what shows you will be attending.  Maybe we can get a drink together.

For more info on the CMJ Music Marathon and updated lines and schedules go to www.cmj2010.com

Do you want people to remember your band’s name after they leave your show? Make your band stand out!

Impress them with an awesome banner on the stage, merch booth, or even outside the venue. Get known!

We now offer High Quality – Full Color – Digitally Printed – Heavy 13 oz. Vinyl Nylon banners for a ridiculously low price. We can make any size banner that you want. From a 1′ x 6′ banner with just your bands name to a 6′ x 10′ banner to cover the whole stage.

The banners are printed with a solvent ink, hemmed with 1″ banner tape and grommet-ed with #2 grommets, making them strong and easy to hang. The same standard that you see behind the biggest bands in the world.

You can either provide the artwork for us to print, or we can have one of our graphic artists design a logo that makes your band stand out from the crowd. We have the highest quality printer on the market so your color choices are pretty much endless.

The files that will work for printing are:
Illustrator .ai
Photoshop .psd
Corel .cdr
Encapsulated Post Script .eps
and even a high resolution JPG (300 dpi or greater)

** Graphics that are cut and pasted from the internet can not be used due to the low resolution.

Get in touch now for a price quote.
-Go to our stage banner or contact page now!

Your music doesn’t suck…so why do your press materials?

Simply put, the right press, marketing and promotional materials will help get your music heard.  We are now proud to offer the following writing & marketing services:

• Bios
• Press kits
• Press releases
• Website content
• Content for banner ads, email blasts, and more
• Brochures
• Articles & profile pieces
• One-sheets
• Blog posts, social media bios/profiles (for LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, etc.)

Paul is our in-house writer. Based in NYC, he’s written bios, profiles, articles, website content, winning grant proposals—and much more—for bands, musicians, and artists of all genres nationwide.  He has ghostwritten 5 published books and 3 successful e-books, and also earned a BA in Professional Writing from Carnegie Mellon.  Perhaps most importantly, he worked for 10+ years as a full-time musician, so he’ll “get” precisely what you’re doing.

Get in touch today and lets get started.  Our prices are more than reasonable and the work will be worth its weight in gold records.