Posted by Brian Fending on August 15th, 2006 — Posted in Music
So I was loading into CBGB’s 313 Gallery as part of the Fending/Matis tour and the band scheduled right before us was handing out free CDs of their material, essentially enough material for an EP (probably eight tracks). Jon and I introduced ourselves as Fending/Matis, which spawned an interesting correlation to Simon & Garfunkel. Nevertheless, I digress. I took the CD - they had a stack of them - and let them get back to promoting their upcoming show. The CD itself had their name, a track listing, and a link to their MySpace page, all scrawled on the back of the paper sleeve in messy but legible print.
It worked, right? I’m writing about this band, their CD, their… uh… What was their name? I have zero chance of remembering in part because the name may have sucked. But it was probably because - you got it - I never removed the CD from its sleeve. I had not one ounce of motivation to do so. Did others? Maybe, but what about *this* type of consumer, the one who takes the painstakingly-labeled product and puts it on the floor of his car until in need of convenient coasters for camping? (Incidentally, I know there is no such need. It’s still my example, though.) It’s still in my car, but only until I get around to cleaning it out next week.
How to you reach the guy who will take the CD but never listen to it? Is that consumer reachable? I would argue that I’m *quite* reachable, but when I think about it, these are my suggestions for increasingly feasible outreach methods:
- Call me and play something live for me over the phone. (I know: silly.)
- Email me a link to an MP3 that I can listen to whenever I want. (Assumes a relationship.)
- Play something for me RIGHT THERE ON THE SIDEWALK and have somebody else handing out the CDs instead of - or alongside - a tip jar. Not outside the club, either - it’s too late at that point. (This isn’t like Elvis Costello going to other bands’ gigs talking up his competing show to the A&R reps that weren’t going to come to hear him.)
Putting any amount of onus upon me assumes my interest. I have none. Not one iota. I need a sample that requires zero effort.
Having thought about this crusty response in relation to my OWN marketing, I have to say: I suck at this, too. I am *worse* at it in that I don’t even try the “Free CD!” idea. So what should I do? I have some thoughts, but am more interested in the ideas of others before I go pontificating.
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Posted by Brian Fending on August 14th, 2006 — Posted in Music
So life has resumed after the whirlwind Fending/Matis tour! A few observations about the areas/venues we visited after the Buffalo date:
NYC
- ABC No Rio was an excellent venue on the Lower East Side. Parking was a bit harrowing, but no worse than negotiating with cabbies for entry into the Holland Tunnel. If you like big crowds and think of yourself as a chamber musician or rockstar, it might not be for you. But if you want people to listen and be genuinely interested, GO THERE. Great place to play, and I hope to return.
- CBGB’s 313 Gallery was cool and I definitely know now why Jon insisted we play both shows that night. The venue is, however, more museum than counterculture these days. There were more tees for sale than room for people in the venue - I think that’s my new gauge for crossing from Iconic to Gift Shop.
DC
- The Red and The Black is definitely a cool bar reminiscent of some of my favorite places to go (and play), and they alledgedly have great New Orleans-style food. The crowd was small due to (a) the obscurity of the music, (b) the location, (c) our lackluster promotion of the engagement and (d) everything else not covered in the first three. Smoking in bars now freaks me out, I’ve found - NY has been smoke-free for years now and it is, I can assuredly say, much better that way.
Philadelphia
- WOW. The Boiler Room went under a short time before we made it out there, but we were added to a stellar bill at the Avant Gentleman’s Lounge downtown. The area is a little sketchy-looking (the glass on the sidewalks and quite available meter parking were the first indicators…), and the building itself has every sign of being abandoned to be reclaimed by nature, but the PEOPLE were AMAZING. We had I would think close to a hundred listeners (and I mean that term) who were taking it all in and appreciating the depths of what the duo does in its very best moments.
That’s all I had to say there. I’ll get more details of the musical and logistical mishaps up shortly. It will suffice to say that our opening improvisation in Philly was entitled, “Malibu Death March,” in honor of my car. It ended abruptly, too.
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Posted by Brian Fending on August 1st, 2006 — Posted in Music
Let tour begin! It’s going to be a short one, as it turns out, but a tour nonetheless! And I didn’t let our logistical difficulties stop us from palying the Buffalo date, either: Tim Mroz will be subbing in for Jon Matis! In particular:
Fri 4 Aug 2006 @ 8:30pm
Squeaky Wheel on Main near Tupper - Buffalo, NY
admission $5.
Tim was over at my place last night and we have some exciting, fresh ideas to play with for you that night. Lots of jazz influences will come to bear amid some South African-style pop and lots and lots of great rock guitar sounds atop of layers and layers of loops and digital effects processing. And that’s just Tim’s half!
Can you tell I’m looking forward to it? See you there!
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Posted by Brian Fending on August 1st, 2006 — Posted in Music, Technology
Many thanks to everybody who came out to the show on Sunday. I’m really looking forward to the closer on Thursday! The particulars:
Thu 3 Aug @ 7:30pm
Squeaky Wheel on Main near Tupper - Buffalo, NY
admission $3.
Now, I have to say: The Sunday performance was hysterical in its outcome. Absolutely wonderful reception from the audients, too! I think I’m going to poll the audience on Thursday to see if they want to hear the Sunday version (I store all of the XML files) or a new, exciting, previously-unheard one. I think I know which way that’s going to go, but I feel a need to ask nonetheless.
Anyway, after the closer, I’m going to - as promised - get the original stories *in order* up on www.subversations.com for recontextualization. And then that’s that, Mattress Man! That’s right, an audience member talked me out of posting the application online, and I agreed with his very compelling points so much that I’ll only do public performances of this and works like it.
So catch subversations 1.0 on Thursday or wait a long time for the sequel!
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