You're Great..How Do I Reach You?

Lately, I have been on this project to find local talent that is not affiliated with our Unsigned & Unleashed program. It has opened my eyes as to how different bands approach the process of marketing and promotion of their brand.

THE GOOD: Some acts utilize REVERBNATION and tie that in to their Myspace and Facebook accounts. I feel this is smart. This site allows you post a bio and your music all in one spot. On Facebook, you have to "like" the band in order to hear everything that the band has available on that page.

THE BAD: Some acts have a bio that is longer than it needs to be. I don't need to know that this guy left your band due to personal issues. Nor do I need to know the minutia about forming the band. Keep it simple. Date of inception, influences, key members, comparable bands, shows played.

THE UGLY: Who does not include a contact name or phone number on a page featuring your band? You never know who is looking at your page for a possible booking. If you cannot be contacted (without the aid of Facebook or Myspace contact) you are missing out on opportunities. ALWAYS include a contact email address. Make it generic - yourband@gmail.com, mybandisawesome@yahoo.com, holycrapweareamazinglive@live.com

If opportunity knocks at the door, do you answer? What if opportunity doesn't know where you live?

Tribute Acts as Teachers

Over the Thanksgiving weekend, I travelled to Las Vegas. I happened upon a show that is now in my top 10 favorites. This show happens to be a tribute to Prince.

For those that know me, I've said that I have a hard time accepting Iowa's excessive helpings of touring tribute acts (not to be confused with cover bands.) I feel that it takes away from those original artists who are looking for stage time at venues.

Las Vegas is the Mecca of tribute acts and cover bands. All of the lounge stages and casino areas need to have entertainment on them. Owners will fill them with entertainers that can provide familiarity to keep the money flowing.

In my case, as a Prince fan, I was apprehensive in visiting the Purple Reign show at the Hooter's Casino. At a cost of $25 dollars (when most Vegas shows start at $50) I was concerned about the quality. I mean, sometimes you get what you pay for.

My reservations were unfounded. Jason Tenner (J10) and his crew created the illusion that I was seeing the Purple One himself. The music was on. The mannerisms were captured. The choreography was excellent. If you are going to Las Vegas, I highly recommend this show.

It runs Friday through Sunday nights at 10pm in the Night Owl Lounge. More details at PurpleReign.net

SO HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO UNSIGNED ARTISTS?

If the Purple Reign group can command $25 dollars per person 3 nights a week, they must be doing something right. I think it's the dedication to ensuring that every piece of the puzzle is there.

Make sure the band is tight: Throughout the entire performance, I could only count 2 missteps. That means that you as an unsigned act must do the same. Practice. Know your songs in your sleep, practice, with the lights off, practice, blindfolded, practice.

Connect with your audience: Whether it was "Prince" or "Morris Day" both gave the impression that they were looking you in the eyes. That goes a long way with me. Find a way to give the illusion that you are looking at your audience. I understand you can only see the first few rows of people in front of the stage. If you turn your back or just look at your instrument, then it seems that we as your audience are not important.

Be entertaining in between songs: These guys interacted with the audience by asking questions about the audience. They also continued there mannerisms between songs to continue the illusion. As an unsigned act, your frontman or other member needs to find ways to fill while you are tuning. Connect with your audience.

Obviously this band made an impression on me.
I have seen other acts recently that have facets of this working for them already. Can you tie them all together and really make each of your shows an experience?

Check out UNSIGNED & UNLEASHED on the web at www.rock108.com/unsignedandunleashed

First Impressions

"You never get a second chance to make a first impression" - Oscar Wilde


So why is it that some bands continue to utilize handwritten, burned CDs and handwritten one-sheets? I'm sure some of this has to do with the economics of independent, unsigned artists. I get that.

Would you show up to a job interview with torn jeans and a shirt with grease stains and the sleeves cut off? Probably not.


I ask bands that are wanting to be on UNSIGNED & UNLEASHED, (if they are based in the U.S.)to send a CD and a one-sheet to be considered for the show. It's an investment in the band. It ensures that the UNSIGNED & UNLEASHED audience is hearing the same material that is being sold at shows, on the Internet, in stores, etc. The cost of this (if sent via media mail USPS) can be less than $5 dollars from most points in the United States.


Some items that come across my desk are fantastic. Full color bios with pictures, set lists, press clippings and more. Some are not as elaborate:

*Multiple "kits" that are handwritten. Badly. With misspellings.
*Burned CDs with no track listing included. Sometimes it is completely blank.
*CDs with no accompanying contact information.

This shouldn't fly for any band who is trying to make this their career. A record label would file you in the garbage without even listening to it. Most venues will do the same.


Take pride in what you are sending out to represent your band. The kit or package is the first thing some people will ever know about you. Make it work. Make it count.

July 19th, 2010

I have said it before, I need to keep this blog up. Obviously, things haven't quite worked out that way.

We just got our first official t-shirts back from Animositees. The shirt looks great with the new logo designed by Justin McFarlane(Beneath The Palace.)

We have featured 89 different bands so far. These bands are from all over the world. I hope that we can continue to grow and be a spot for bands to feature their work.

If you know an unsigned rock band that is seeking airplay, check out our UNSIGNED & UNLEASHED page at ROCK108.com

2010...And Beyond

So, who's ready for this next decade?

I know that if you sit down and thought about how many different signed acts came and went in the last 10 years, you'd just scratch the surface of the actual number.

Technology also has been the thorn in the record label's sides.

In 2000, people were still buying CDs. Take for example, N'Sync's "No Strings Attached" sold 2.4 million copies in its debut week alone. That set a U.S. one-week sales record.

According to Nielsen Soundscan for the week ending 12/27/09, the ENTIRE TOP TEN CD sales only equaled 2.24 million copies sold.

With the advent, of iTunes, Napster, LimeWire and a whole host of digital music providers, the whole music landscape has changed. The days of a band hoping to be signed by the major record label for millions of dollars are mostly gone. The level of work that an unsigned act has to do has jumped exponetially. While you can use the social networking sites to get your music out to the world, how does an individual looking for your type of band find you? There are millions of other unsigned acts trying to do the same thing as you are around the world.

My advice for you is this; embrace all technologies current and future. Continue to search out networks of other bands looking to promote themselves. Maybe you can work together.

Find other networks or online entities that can promote you to a larger audience base. Plus, take advantage of college and commercial radio stations (including ROCK 108) that are playing unsigned bands.

Some of this may be elementary to some of you. You may already be on this path. If you are, grab someone else and help them along.

If you have any questions about this or UNSIGNED & UNLEASHED on ROCK 108, email me at unsignedandunleashed@rock108.com

Happy New Year!

UNSIGNED & UNLEASHED Live! #2

Since its inception on August 1st, UNSIGNED & UNLEASHED has featured 54 different unsigned rock bands. These include bands from Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Wisconsin, Indiana, New Jersey, California, Brazil and Austrailia. The goal is to continue this tradition of featuring Iowa first, but also giving bands that are not getting support at home, a chance to be heard.

We also have landed several bands on shows with national acts. A few of those included:

Illegal Smile with Royal Bliss
Hazer with Tantric
Austin Taft with Midnight To Twelve
Marcato with Shaman's Harvest

..and had our own UNSIGNED & UNLEASHED/ONLINE shows:

1/23/09 - Lost Nation / Freaklabel / Neumatic @ 1st Ave. Live
5/17/09 - Agony Of Defeat / Illegal Smile / Lost Nation /NeWickeDream / TenTonHalo @
Tornado's Grub & Pub parking lot for Houby Days
11/18/09 - Fighting Blind / Failure Of Progress @ Tornado's Grub & Pub
12/17/09 - Lost Nation / Agony Of Defeat @ Tornado's Grub & Pub

Alright, enough of what we've done. What are we doing for 2010 and beyond? We will continue to feature everything that we've done listed above, but we plan to expand our reach. I have my targets set on Des Moines, Minneapolis and Chicago to try and establish more contacts. I want to see Iowa bands work together to try and make this thing work. If we do not work together, it fails.

THE DEBUT : 8 / 2 / 09

Okay officially it was 11:59 p.m. on August 1st when we started...

Here is the rundown of what we had:







INTERVIEW WITH ARI FROM DESTROPHY:



I have known Ari the entire time I have been with ROCK 108. I remember of the first events that I attended as a member of the staff was the ROCK 108 Battle Of The Bands at the old Shag's in Cedar Falls. Destrophy won that night and I spoke with Ari about his future. Ari said that he was shooting for the ultimate dream, which was to tour nationally.

Fast forward to the present. Ari, Phil, Bruce and Joe as DESTROPHY have been signed to Victory Records. They have started a schedule of dates as direct support for their label-mates, Otep. The closest shows are all a 4+ hour drive away from the listening area, but I encourage you to go see them.

The interview itself covered where Destrophy had been, what it feels like to be signed and the work that is ahead for the band. We followed the interview up with "Way Of Your World."

"COMMON REGRET" by ILLEGAL SMILE

This band submitted their material just before the deadline of the debut of UNSIGNED & ONLINE. Some of the members were originally from Parkersburg. The opening month of UNSIGNED & ONLINE (July 2008), they played at a benefit for the town at The Hub in Cedar Falls.
Since then, they have shared the stage with Hurt, Caroline's Spine, Royal Bliss and Future Leaders Of The World, to name a few.
Check them out on their Myspace page.

"MILES AWAY" by MARCATO

MARCATO was the winner of the last Battle Of The Bands that ROCK 108 promoted. I hope it will remain the last because I don't like what B.O.T.B. do to the relationships between bands, radio stations, promoters, club owners, fans and the like. (But that is a story for another blog.)
MARCATO has recently moved their home base from Cedar Falls to Des Moines and has seen added success.
They just released "The World Is Drowning." This CD is an evolution of MARCATO's sound. I am impressed with the quality and composition of this album.
Check them on their main webpage or their Myspace page.

"EVERY DAY'S THE SAME" by COLD STEEL

The sheer tenacity of this entire project, from the band itself, to the manager is refreshing from a group that is not signed. Several members of this band are still in high school. Tell me you knew that by listening to them.
The video for their song "Stuck" was featured on Fuse-On-Demand.
They are in the process of recording their new EP with Tom Tatman at Catamount Studios in Cedar Falls. I heard a demo of one of their new songs and it sounded finished to me. It shows the talent of all involved in this project. We should get a preview of some of the new stuff in a week or two.
Check them out on their Myspace page.

"IT HAPPENS AGAIN" by HAZER

This is the first track to their Peach Fuzz EP. I was immediately grabbed by the way this sounded like the stuff I used to listen to in high school. They kind of proved me right when they said in their UNSIGNED & ONLINE interview that they really dug some of the grunge-era acts.
HAZER opened for Local H during Cornstock at Spicolis and has a date on 8/15 with 8Foundead, Illegal Smile, The Goodyear Pimps and more at Spicolis.
Check them out on their Myspace page.