Ok so its been awhile since I last posted. I took some time off to play in a few golf tournaments over the last couple of weeks.
For any of the visitors to this blog who are golfers you know that the Masters Tournament is the first call to arms for a new season of golf. No real golfer would miss it. Not one real golfer does not fantasize about playing great shots under pressure like they do at the Masters. Not one real golfer has not thought about how good he’d look in that green jacket. After a winter of honing your game and practicing religiously its time to see what you’ve got. For those of you who don’t know I love the game of golf! It’s been a passion/obsession of mine since I was 14 years old. And there’s nothing more satisfying or frustrating than testing your game in competition. So that’s what I did. So what did I get for all my trouble? One crystal vase (that’s good), and 84/86 (that’s really bad), and a 74/86/75 (who fucking knows). I’ve got golfing schizophrenia. The more you care the worse you get which leads me to today’s message.
People often ask me why I love golf so much. Only half kiddingly, I tell them its because it makes the music business look easy. The truth of the matter is that golf has been my sanctuary away from the craziness of the music business for years. When the music business got shitty I’d go play golf to clear my head. Now when my golf goes shitty I find myself ready to jump into the music biz again.
Now this morning while I was trying to figure out what to talk about I went thru my emails on my facebook page. I got a note from a young musician named Nick Haberer. He is in a band called the Broken Lyre from Canada. Nick has been corresponding with me for awhile now, sending me songs, and looking for advice from time to time. Today he sent me a link to a video on Youtube of a recent performance at a Catholic High School. I was actually very impressed on a number of levels. Over the time that I’ve been corresponding with Nick I’ve actually had a chance to watch his band develop from the comfort of my desk chair. Every new song they write seems to be better than the one before it. The video performance at this high school looked great. It was every bit as good as anything a major label would turn out on a new band. The guys in the band, who seem to be very young, definitely had a little ‘look’ going on. I was impressed at how well the band played and particularly impressed with the singer who really can sing. And, the old promoter and manager in me could not help but notice a loud chorus of screams at the end of the song. That’s never a bad sign.
Now, I don’t know what will happen with this band in the long term. But, I think they are a perfect example of how a young band can use the tools of the internet to reach and build an audience. In the office we often talk about what it would take to break a new band and get attention in this new world. Check out these guys who are actually doing it while I come up with something juicy to talk about this week.
Hey Steve
The first thing that comes to mind is the unavoidable response of “They’re okay but there are much better bands out there.” It seems that whenever I find a new band to listen to and share with friends that’s the kind of response I get. Since the amount of music we have access to is so vast and the amount of talent so extensive it seems like the real challenge to break a new band isn’t whether or not they’re good but to separate them from the rest. Which I know isn’t a new concept but definitely a greater challenge these days.
That is the challenge. How to stand above the crowd. Tell me about some of those better bands out there. I’d like to know about them.
Ren, we really appreciate everything you have to say about us. This has totally gotten us pumped to keep doing what we’re doing and I PROMISE we won’t disappoint.
These guys sound pretty put together, a pretty basic band. I could compare them to multiple other bands… but I’m gonna take a look around and listen to some of their other stuff to get a better idea of their sound.
I love finding new music, so thanks for sharing Ren!
hey ren, I know a band from CT that is very good… The Smyrk. You might have heard them before, ben produced their last EP and have a great sound. Also if you guys know any let me know. I’m starting a Internet radio station for unsigned bands/artists. Should be interesting.
-kevin
Ren, can you connect this to my last comment? Thanks
So I just went to Brilliant Red Light’s site, to find that they have just put their entire catalogue online for free. They also released the individual tracks from their new EP for free for fans to remix (a-la NIN). They also announced that they will be releasing a new EP on their website for free every month.
According the the band: “The greatest feeling I have known is feeling listened to. I mostly mean this non-musically. I relish those moments friends and strangers just pay attention. It goes both ways, I enjoy listening to my friends, sort of fascinating over their ideas and words.
The process of working backwards is understated in music history. My band is called Brilliant Red Lights—you can find an MP3 of our newest material at the bottom of this post. We just reinvigorated our personal web domain, http://www.brilliantredlights.com. On that domain are more than 70 downloadable links. These links download most of the songs, sounds, interviews, and demos we’ve created in over seven years together. In two clicks you could be downloading all sixty recordings in one file, or just and album, or just a song.
For my band, this is a grand example of working backwards. In 2002, we self-packaged our self-recorded music and handed out copies at shows. The idea was that people were busy and over stimulated, therefore we should offer something excellent sounding that could be easily obtained. To accommodate the maximum possible number of situations, we gave our music to anyone that asked and many that didn’t. We had nothing to worry about, we just wanted to be listened to.
Having circled around many of the narcissisms and optimisms and breakthroughs and letdowns that writing songs has to offer, I can reassert my initial thought: the greatest feeling I have known is feeling listened to.
So, we posted all our music for free online. It felt liberating to set our webpage live last Tuesday, April 1. We let a few people know, and put up new music so our old fans and friends had a reason to check in. The response has been moving: in under five days we’ve serviced 500 individual downloads, all in all over 11 gigabytes of our band’s music. These numbers include 150 copies of our new EP, and 75 copies of our last album. Even approximating conservatively, that’s over 2,000 Brilliant Red Lights songs (at least 400 a day).
I can’t mention these numbers with hurling a huge “thank you” out to anyone that’s listened in. I also mean to encourage other musicians to remember what really feels good about making and distributing music. This experiment in sharing is so exciting and inspiring. To quote myself: it’s undeniable.”
I just thought this was worth sharing, and I’m curious to see if other bands start doing similar things after what Radiohead and NIN have done.
What do you guys think? Is this an awesome idea to get them heard and build their fanbase, or is it going to be a career ending mistake?
I enjoyed that tune very much. A lot of new bands that you see that are just starting out don’t really have “it” and I kinda see it in this band. Got a good sound goin on and a good stage presence.
Hey Ren, one of my favorite current bands from Atlanta, Ga., The Paper Champions. http://www.myspace.com/thepaperchampions, please check them out and let me know what you think.