So, anyone in the local music scene probably already knows where I'm going with this based on the title... In our connected, electronic world, most young people these days (including myself) are inseparable from myspace, facebook, and the various wireless devices everyone has. You know, iPhones, Blackberrys, Sidekicks, and of course the ever-so-sexy G1 now. Some would say this is great, others will complain about the brain frying radiation, lack of privacy (Cake's "No Phone" comes to mind), and the gradual draining of checking accounts. That sleek G1 with 3g internet service and unlimited texting ain't cheap!
Anyways, back to the original topic, my myspace page and my band's page are constantly littered with comments that are nothing more than 21st century fliers stapled to the telephone pole in front of my house. Being the good samaritan I am, I promptly grab the trash and throw it away. It's funny that I said telephone pole, cuz now I'm getting text messages with the same content! OK, I already saw your bulletin, comment, event invite, and every other form of electronic promotion you threw at me! I'll come to your show, if I like you, unless I'm broke, like I am now. I'll see you if your show is free...
The parallels between concrete and electronic reality are eerie. Walk into your local independent music store, and what do you see on the windows, doors, and on a shelf by the entrance? You get bombarded by so many fliers, they cease to exist as individuals, and morph into an illusion of one giant image. Kinda like those pictures that are made up of lots of tiny little pictures? Repeat that process at your local indie cafe/acoustic venue. Now this is paralleled in cyberspace with the myspace comment section. Go ahead, navigate to
www.myspace.com/lunascafebooking and see what you find in the comments section. The prosecution rests.
Now college campuses... what can I say about that... You know you're walking through the halls, and someone's standing there handing out fliers of the newest, hippest pimp and ho/black and white/wet and wild/pretty in pink/hot red/foam party at the newest, hippest douchebag nightclub? I'll just leave it at that.
OK, I'm IMing 2 people on facebook, booking shows for my band, writing this, and nominating peeps for the Sammies, so I lost my train of thought...
Now, don't get me wrong. Every band, artist, business, etc has to advertise, promote and get people to give them a try. I'm not against advertising and promotion at all. But when it's everywhere all the time, now we have a problem. Doesn't it bug you when you're watching TV or listening to the radio (if there's anything worth watching/listening to) and there's a commercial break every 5 minutes? Damn!
OK, I got one. Super Bowl Sunday. The most expensive 3 hours in America. How much did those businesses spend on those ads? Is Staples really gonna get that many white-collar customers rushing to buy paper clips monday morning to justify dropping millions of dollars on a 30 second ad? Are you going to get a gang of people rushing to your show because you drove up your phone bill texting everyone and their mom? Hey, at least the Super Bowl ads are creative and interesting... Maybe not so much after the Janet Jackson episode...
One thing I actually learned from corporate America is that word of mouth, and good relations are what will bring people back. That means, your show has to kick ass. Your music and lyrics need to be powerful, intelligent and creative. You need to make bodies move with your infectious rhythms. You need to plant ideas in peoples' minds and make them see life in a different light. And most importantly, you need to stop sending me these impersonal, scripted comments, fliers and text messages! Why don't you say something personal? Call me! Hit me up with a comment that is the equivalent of the cashier that asks "how are you today" sincerely! You're not too good to relate to your fans, and you don't have 8 million fans either, so it's not gonna take forever. And back to the word of mouth thing, if you are a really good artist, you don't need to tell everyone and their mom about your show. You can tell a few peeps, and the word will spread.