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Monday Motivation: Tiny Moving Parts

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If you’re anything like me, you probably started the day by recognizing that the start of a new work week had indeed arrived and then immediately began shaking your fists at the sky in anger. Monday is rarely anyone’s favorite day, and from what I have seen firsthand it feels safe to say it’s the one day of the week some people outright hate. I guess to them the arrival of the work week symbolizes the end of their quote/unquote freedom, and as a result they head into the office/factory/restaurant/store with a negative outlook already on their mind. This leads to bad attitudes, which only makes the experience of being at work worse, and for some reason it also seems to make time slow to a crawl. We’re not about that life, and we hope this post can do the same you that the song contained within it did for us.

Bands comes in all shapes and sizes, cropping up wherever there happens to be a group of like-minded people with a passion for creativity, but I have always felt a sense of kindred spirits with people from places no one knows. Well, not actually no one, as almost anyone from anywhere knows someone who knows they exist, but people from tiny towns and villages that only register as legitimate places to people who grew up in the same geographic region. That was always the case with my hometown, a tiny village in the Southwest corner of Michigan known as Constantine, and as I’ve grown older I’ve unfortunately witnessed the town sinking further and further into obscurity as state plans to change the paths of major roads have made the once thriving community a place where many residents are fighting to maintain their way of life. It’s heartbreaking, but not all that unusual in the so-called rust belt of the midwest, and whenever I meet another young adult from a similar town we seem to share a mutual understanding that the place we could quite possibly outlive the place we call home. We hate that fact. Every single one of us hates this fact. That doesn’t change anything though, so instead we push forward, striving to create something that speaks to the inspiration and experience we gained from our lives in our hometowns, and in doing so at least a part of us feels like we may keep our community alive — at least in spirit.

Tiny Moving Parts hail from a place in rural Minnesota they themselves will tell you no one knows. It’s a tiny community lacking any tangible music scene, yet it gave the members of Tiny Moving Parts everything they needed to find a unique take on the crossroads between punk and indie-rock that has now become the group’s trademark sound. Listening to their latest release, Celebrate, brings to mind a lifetime of memories spent contemplating the unpredictability of the human experience from the security of your childhood home. It tells of growing up and finding one’s true identity, as well as all the hardships and unforeseen consequences that you must face in the search of truth about practically anything. In roughly thirty minutes, Tiny Moving Parts encapsulate a moment in life when you finally realize just how unique and inexplicably beautiful your own existence is, and through doing so they challenge you, the listener, to ask what you’re doing to make the most of your time.

What is it about Tiny Moving Parts’ hometown that made it possible for the young men in this group to be who they are? I could not tell you. Even if you could tell me, I am not sure I care to know the answer. When Tiny Moving Parts share their art with the world they are consciously sharing every pivotal moment and emotional exchange they have experienced through a riveting and lively take on rock that is unlike anything their industry peers are even attempting to produce. It’s a style of music that the group has more or less been sharing since day one, but in the roughly five years since they became the talk of the alternative underground no true competitors or knock-offs have made themselves known. The reasons for this are probably as varied as the reasons why certain people prefer sneakers to sandals, but I like to believe it’s because we as an alternative community recognize they are something special unto themselves. Tiny Moving Parts are part of this world, but they exist on an island unto themselves, and each new release shares a little more insight into how they see the world around them. Celebrate is the best example of this yet, and I cannot wait to see what they do next.

James Shotwell is the Digital Marketing Manager for Haulix and host of the Inside Music Podcast. He is also the Film Editor for Substream Magazine. When not working, James can be found in Minneapolis with his two fat cats, Paws Von Trier and Chub E. Chubs, watching old police procedurals and eating copious amounts of popcorn. You should follow him on Twitter.

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What Happened To The Music?

The following post was contributed to us by L..E. Kalikow, author of Sex , No Drugs and Rock “N’ Roll: Memoirs of a Music Junkie.

To cope with internet overload, we allow algorithms to sift through and feed us bits and pieces to match our tastes or cosmetically enhanced anchormen (and anchorwomen) to spoon up headlines to the tune of tone-deaf sponsors. All this through a multi-tasking world, where a generation pays half attention to work while constantly checking their Facebook pages and tweeting when they go to the bathroom. How does this affect the arts… and more specifically music?

Let’s go back a bit…

As a struggling recording artist in the 60’s and 70’s, my ultimate goal was to release an album. Not just a collection of songs, but a unified creation with a theme and purpose. In those years I’d turn out the lights, turn up the amplifier, and sit in the dark for hours, listening to full albums by The Beatles, The Stones, Billy Joel, Elton John, Led Zeppelin, and Jethro Tull (to name only a few). Each with a distinctive voice and sound, cuts carefully sequenced to take me on a journey, from beginning to end.

We needed radio to sell albums, so often edited down to 3 minutes, the ‘lead single’ had to have a ‘hook;’ a repeated melodic line or lyric to entice the teenage album buyer.

As technology moved vinyl to tape to CD, the ‘album’ remained, but underwent significant changes. The Disco explosion of the 70’s replaced lyrics and melodies with beats and production, as artists became interchangeable tools of celebrity producers and DJs. To capitalize on this trend, major record companies began to hire multiple ‘name’ producers to work on a single album, and the ‘concept album’ gave way to a collection of often disjointed productions, lacking continuity or artistic integrity.

Analog vs Digital

There was also a subliminal change taking place. When listening to a vinyl album or taped music, you’re actually listening to ‘analog’ sound waves being produced. With a CD, the sound waves are ‘digitized’ or broken up into pieces that your brain then puts together, much like looking at a bunch of colored dots up close, then standing back until you discover they make a picture. Friends like producer/engineer Rob Fraboni (Dylan, The Band, The Stones, Clapton, etc.) also contend that digital music has an adverse effect on the human body as opposed to analog. Like the difference you feel under the warmth of an incandescent light bulb, as opposed to a flickering fluorescent. Perhaps this explains why I can’t sit and listen to a CD like I once did a vinyl album.

Napster, the beginning of the end…

When record companies began suing their own customers for peer-to-peer downloading, the graffiti was on the wall. Like the industrial revolution before, the digital age wiped out the multi-billion dollar record business we once thought recession proof and timeless. But the music didn’t die, it simply morphed into another dimension as the infrastructure built to filter, foster, package, market and sell it disappeared. Now music exists in an unfiltered internet ocean requiring navigational tools like Spotify and Pandora. And the vestiges of past record companies, co-opted into entertainment conglomerates, now create brands instead of artists, with commercials, soundtracks, and albums produced, not for the music, but to sell the brand.

Reaction vs emotion

And ‘lead singles’ are also still being created. However, no longer 3 minute radio songs , but often just a string of repeating ‘hooks’ designed to catch the attention of the multi-tasking millennial, epitomized by Pharrell’s “Happy.” As the art of songwriting becomes less important, so do the songs. This is not to say that some ‘brand artists’ like Adelle, Ed Sheeran or Taylor Swift, aren’t fine songwriters. It’s just that, based on the current system, the odds are probably against developing such equally talented songwriter/artists in the future.

So, what’s next?

In the ‘80s, with the bestseller “Megatrends,” later reprieved in the 90’s with “High Tech/High Touch,” author John Naisbitt theorized that in a world of high tech, people would begin to long for personal, human contact. And at a recent music business convention, I couldn’t help but notice everyone so intent on their mobile phones, no one made eye contact. (No wonder “The Walking Dead” is so popular on TV). Could there be a reaction to this high tech alienation? A few trends indicate maybe so.

First, the amazing increase in vinyl record sales. And it’s not just to Baby Boomers… Last year Millennials pushed vinyl sales to a 26 year high.1 Perhaps, along with the novelty factor, some of these kids might actually start to hear (and feel) the difference.

And secondly, sales figures for acoustic guitars last year increased for the 5th consecutive year, topping 1.2 million units sold.2

This is not to suggest mobile devices will be discarded by new generation of hippies. But we may well see a push-back against corporate branding to more organically grown artists, perhaps even producing analog music in favor of digital downloads. And don’t be surprised at a proliferation of small local venues where musicians gather to perform and where the audience actually turns off their phones…  And if one pops up in my neighborhood, you can bet I’ll be sitting in the front row… or maybe up there playing my Martin D28.

For over 35 years, L.E. Kalikow served as President of Music Business Reference, Inc., as well ` as a singer/songwriter under production agreements with Chess Records in Chicago and both Capitol and Columbia Records in New York, and as a staff writer for Beechwood Music at 1650 Broadway. He performed as the opening act for artists such as Richie Havens, Eric Anderson, Van Morrison and Jefferson Airplane, among others.

Sex, No Drugs & Rock ’N’ Roll (Memoirs of a Music Junkie) is available for purchase on Amazon and other online retailers on February 10, 2016. The companion Soundtrack Album is also available on iTunes.

1  NME.com -11/10/15 –  Millennials push 2015 vinyl sales to 26-year high in US – by Luke Morgan Britton
2 BRANDON[GAILLE] – 3/27/15 – 17 Fascinating Guitar Sales Statistics – by Brandon Gaille

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Dear Record Labels: Please upload and maintain your music video archives

Not long ago a friend of mine wrote an article on the legacy of a now defunct rock band called Scary Kids Scaring Kids. Reading their post brought to mind some of the amazing videos the band created, which lead to me wanting to see those clips again. After multiple searches, some including the term ‘HD,’ the best version of their videos I could find was this:

A little rough, right? And this is a music video that received a lot of recognition when it was released. Can you imagine how rough non-signature videos are being treated in the digital age? I continued searching the internet for a higher quality version of the video, but eventually realized my only option was to skip the clip altogether or settle for the video above. I settled, and I’ve been kicking myself a little bit ever since.

Call me crazy, but in an age where essentially every song ever recorded can be downloaded in less than fifty key strokes I can think of no reason for the history of music videos to be so poorly preserved online. YouTube is now the number one method of music discovery, and more importantly there is money to be generated from viewers having access to your entire video catalog. Streaming is a growing part of every label’s revenue stream, and to not take full advantage of that feels like a missed opportunity. Labels lose out on potential income, artists miss an opportunity to have their music introduced to potential new followers in the best quality possible, and fans miss out on the ability to experience these clips the way they were meant to be enjoyed.

Ever since the age of social media every company seems to have found a new level of respect for how people view their image, so why do so many artists and labels allow themselves to be so poorly represented in the video marketplace? Whether the videos are never uploaded in the first place, or if they were uploaded years ago and never updated as the capabilities of YouTube evolved, there are countless examples of poor respect for video content in music industry. One excuse may be that studies today show the lifespan of new videos decreasing rapidly, but I do not believe that rule should be applied to clips involving music. People connect with music in a way that is completely different from every other form of art, and even though the way you’re receiving the audio may originate from a video the connection being made is still just as strong as if the song were coming from your stereo. People use music to set the mood, keep them company, motivate them, lift their spirits, and a million other reasons in between that keeps them coming back to the same artists and tracks over and over again for years.

Music videos do not have the same characteristics as most viral videos, but many do possess the potential for high virility if marketed correctly. Music videos, like great songs, are something people will share with friends and family for years to come. When future generations study the music of the past, videos will play a large role in understanding not only the song, but the culture that inspired it. That is, after all, what music videos represent. Whether or not you want to admit there is no denying the influence Miley Cyrus has had on pop culture in 2013, and a large reason for that impact is owed to her music videos. “We Can’t Stop” presented the reinvented Miley to the world, and within days the clip racked up tens of millions of plays. “Wrecking Ball,” which followed a few short months later, did even more impressive numbers while featuring a far more naked Cyrus. Some of us laughed at the clip, others found their new pop idol, but regardless of where you stand the song changed how you viewed the world. For days, if not weeks after you and friends joked about Miley, her twerking, and all the teens online trying to copy their newfound heroine. Her album, Bangerz, did none of that, and almost soon as it hit shelves it was no longer part of the conversation. That’s not a slight against Miley, but simply listening to her ‘wild new style’ is not enough to generate the type of headlines made from singing the same material whilestraddling construction equipment in the nude. The album may (probably) be forgotten, but the videos live on for as long as sites like YouTube exists, and they will continue to be a topic of conversation every time someone talks about culture in 2013 until the end of time.

In an effort to be completely honest I feel I must admit to be a child of a generation who grew up with shows like MTV’s Total Request Live dominating their after school activities. As someone growing up in a small Midwest town, videos were my window to the world, and I believe they can still serve that purpose for millions of people today. Yes this includes videos currently being released, but without preserving and taking the time to appreciate the visual content of the past we’re missing out on a big part of our shared cultural history that deserves far more respect than it has ever been given. Remember when fans of rap started wearing their pants backwards in the early 90s? Music videos taught them that. The “Thriller” dance you see people perform at weddings? Music videos taught them that as well. Twerking? Well, you get the point.

We live in an age where the history of almost everything is available within a few clicks, and as we continue to move forward technology will only grow more advanced, with video content leading the way we engage with the world around us. Labels and artists taking the responsibility into their own hands to upload and maintain older video content is going to be key to preserving the history of music, and it would be a shame to see the countless music videos that once entertained millions lost in the digital shuffle.

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The rise of Cousin Stizz and what it means to be the ‘complete package’ in 2016

There is a lot of confusion among young artists today over what exactly it is that labels, managers, and everyone else in a position to help their career are looking for when seeking new talent. Most rock and pop bands believe they need to have strong social media skills, decent sales, and as many tour dates under their belt as possible. This is true, but those three elements are not the only things considered when someone is deciding who to work with next. Rappers, for example, rarely tour before being signed, and most give the bulk of their music away for free through mixtape releases or one-off singles. The return on their investment in creativity may not be recuperated as fast as those who sell their every creation, but it does allow for rappers to share part of themselves with a digital audience that many bands and performers from other genres never manage. Still, what is the value of a following if those who believe in you most are not willing to financially back your art?

In 2016, the best way to establish yourself in a way that attracts people who have the power to take your career to the next level is to offer what is often referred to as ‘the complete package.’ The definition for this ‘package’ can vary greatly from genre to genre, but the core elements remain the same. You need a strong online presence, of course, as well as a sizable following from people who are promoting your work without you having to ask them to do so every other day. You need people to hunger for your next move, and when you take that step you should be controlling the development of whatever comes next from the ground up. If you’re making a video, you should develop the idea and find a team to make it a reality. If you’re going on tour, you should design promotional materials to help spread the word. You also need to know how and where your music fits into the greater entertainment industry. Do you know what your audience looks like? Where do they live? Do they buy albums, or just singles? Do they prefer streaming music over purchasing physical products?  Knowing this will not only make you more likely to succeed, but it will also enable you to better connect with those who support you most.

To further illustrate this point, let’s take a quick look at one up and coming independent artist who is poised for international stardom solely because of his relentless work ethic. Cousin Stizz is a twenty-four year old rapper from Boston with one mixtape to his name and a recent digital single (“Super Bowl”) that has received coverage all over the hip-hop blogosphere. Though his presence in the rap world has only been known outside his hometown for under two years Stizz has already attracted a large online following thanks to a combination of quality material, free downloads, constant interaction with listeners on social media, live performances, and, perhaps most notably, incredibly high quality music videos that showcase both his talent and his personality in ways simply hearing his art can never achieve. Take a look at his recent video for “No Bells,” which finds Stizz exploring his hometown with his crew while rapping along to the popular Suffolk County mixtape cut:

This is a video created by an artist who has surrounded himself with similarly driven people who understand the value of quality content. For the sake of comparison, here is a video from Future, one of the biggest rappers in music today, which was released around the same time as the clip for “No Bells”:

If I hadn’t already told you Cousin Stizz was an independent artist and that Future was a Billboard hitmaker, could you tell the difference when watching these clips? Probably not.

The same comparison could be made between any track Cousin Stizz has released and any hit from today’s rap heavyweights. Quality control is key to Stizz, and he does everything in his power to ensure he only delivers the best music he is able to create. From there, Stizz promotes his art with high quality visuals, as well as cover art, and a steady, but not overwhelming flow of promotional messaging through social networks. More often than not, fans that hear or see his art tweet about it themselves, and Stizz makes it a point to retweet those promoting his work so that he doesn’t need to sell his art himself. Why should he? Stizz may know his music better than anyone else, but he also understands that word of mouth is perhaps the most powerful tool in new music discovery. It’s far easier for your friend to get you to check out something new than it is for the unknown creator of that thing to get your attention. Stizz puts in his work up front, and the reaction from his audiences dictates how his creations are promoted moving forward.

Any industry pro looking for new artists to work with would be a fool to not consider Cousin Stizz because he, somewhat ironically, doesn’t appear to need help at this point in his career. From an outsider’s point of view, Stizz is able to create quality music and videos, receive coverage from essentially all major music outlets covering his genre, book shows across the US, and have his every move promoted, celebrated, or otherwise discussed by a wide array of rap fans on the internet. Cousin Stizz has found a way to establish himself as a reliable brand in a world of artists who often struggle with consistency, and that speaks volumes to anyone in a position of power. With the industry being as cutthroat as it is, most of the so-called ‘gatekeepers’ of the industry are looking for talent that, if anything, merely need more money to better do what they are already doing on their own. It’s not about changing or improving who an artist is, but rather empowering them to be a better version of who they already are. Cousin Stizz is ready for the big leagues, and his body of work, as well as his promotional strategy, tell us that without him having to open his mouth.

You might be not be a rapper, but there are lessons you can learn from the hustle of Cousin Stizz. First and foremost, quality is everything. You can release singles, an album, or even five albums over the course of a year, but if your quality is not consistent you will quickly see a diminishing return on time spent. The digital age has lead us to believe everyone needs to be making something new all the time, but that isn’t necessarily true in music. The artists who succeed most often are those who put as much time, focus, and effort possible into each new step they take. Be it a tour, recording new material, shooting videos, designing promotional materials, or even writing tweets, quality and honesty are everything. Be real about who you are and what you want, share those ideas with the world in the most creative way you can imagine, and then engage with those who connect with what you’ve released. Leverage their belief in what you’re doing to convert more to your art, and in time you will have an army behind you that every label, manager, publicists, and booking agent cannot deny. You don’t have to accept their offers for help, but at least you’ll know they are available and that you’re on the right path with your career.

James Shotwell is the Digital Marketing Manager for Haulix. He is also a professional entertainment critic, covering both film and music, as well as the co-founder of Antique Records. Feel free to tell him you love or hate the article above by connecting with him onTwitter. Bonus points if you introduce yourself by sharing your favorite Simpsons character.

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Monday Motivation: Hands Like Houses

If you’re anything like me, you probably started the day by recognizing that the start of a new work week had indeed arrived and then immediately began shaking your fists at the sky in anger. Monday is rarely anyone’s favorite day, and from what I have seen firsthand it feels safe to say it’s the one day of the week some people outright hate. I guess to them the arrival of the work week symbolizes the end of their quote/unquote freedom, and as a result they head into the office/factory/restaurant/store with a negative outlook already on their mind. This leads to bad attitudes, which only makes the experience of being at work worse, and for some reason it also seems to make time slow to a crawl. We’re not about that life, and we hope this post can do the same you that the song contained within it did for us.

I couldn’t tell you when I first felt like I was punk, or that I belonged to the quote/unquote “punk community,” but it was probably sometime in my early teen years. Blink-182 had converted me from a person who simply enjoyed music to someone who believed they needed music like they needed their next breath with the release of Enema Of The State, and from there my love for the alternative world grew like vines on the side of an old brick house. If there was a show nearby, I was there. If there was a new album on display at the record store that claimed to be pop punk, hard rock, or edgy in some way, I wanted to hear it. More often than not I probably bought that record as well. For me, it was impossible to have too much of a good thing, and in many ways that belief still stands true today.

It wasn’t until I reached college and the age of discovering music online arrived that I really began to consider the numerous styles of music that existed outside my audio comfort zone. Even though I was quick to find artists outside the world of rock I enjoyed, my admiration for their art was something I largely kept to myself. After all, every moment of my life in music before that time had been defined by my love for all thing alternative, and it was in that genre that I found a sense of community that I had not known in my hometown or through school. While other kids had friends in the so-called “real world,” my closest companions often lived on a CD, mp3, or (for a few years) audio cassette. Bands were my friends, and their songs were the stories we shared when no one else wanted anything to do with us. Punk, and I am admittedly using that term in the loosest sense of the word, had kept me company through thick and thin. I didn’t know if I could ever feel as close to anything as I felt to the alternative community, and as a result I feared venturing away from it for fear it may turn its back on me.

That may sound silly to you, but the above is entirely true, and I think it may be true for many others as well. When you find yourself associating who you are as a person with the thing, scene, or group that first made you feel free to express yourself it can be incredibly hard to consider even the smallest change because you worry that thing, whatever or whomever it may be, won’t love you anymore. What’s even worse is that you also begin to fear that no one or no thing will want you either, which is preposterous, but as a young person still finding confidence in yourself it seems as likely as anything. So you stay stagnant, preventing yourself from having a chance at being or trying something new, and in my experience that complacency will eventually lead you to feel less and less interested about the world of music, as well as art in general.

Hands Like Houses are an Australian rock band that formed in 2008 and quickly found international acclaim thanks to alternative sound that played well with what was popular in the genre at the moment. The group found a home in Rise Records, a label known for setting trends in the alternative world, and in 2012 the group released their debut LP, Ground Dweller, to critical and fan acclaim. The band then toured extensively, touching down on several continents, and then in 2013 another record (Unimagine) hit shelves. More positive reviews were received, more tours were planned, and the group once again found themselves in a global whirlwind of press and publicity that would find them being face-to-face with throngs of followers from every corner of the planet.

By the time Hands Like Houses found themselves celebrating the dawn 2014 they had already accomplished more than most bands ever hope to achieve. They had risen through the Australian music underground, caught the attention of one of the biggest alternative labels in the globe, and managed to build a dedicated international following that continuously showered the group with praise. No one could have blamed the group if they chose to write and release another album that sounded similar to the two they had already released. Heck, the band probably could have toured with the same group of bands they had always toured with as well. Hands Like Houses had enough going for them at that point that such decisions would have felt obvious, albeit safe, but as you can probably guess based on the rest of this post that is not what happened.

Starting with 2014’s Reimagine EP, Hands Like Houses began a sonic pivot that found their sound trending more towards mainstream rock than ever before while still retaining the alternative edge that had always been a cornerstone of the group’s music. Reimagine was little more than reinterpretations of material from the group’s previous LP, but it offered the group a chance to showcase a side of themselves audiences hadn’t really heard before, and fans of the bands were quick to express their pleasure in the change. Some were admittedly turned away as well, but that was bound to happen regardless of what the band chose to release. Some people simply hate change, and there is no way you can, well, change them.

Fast-forward another two years and Hands Like Houses are preparing to release their third full-length album, Dissonants, on February 26. The arrival of the record marks an end to the longest period that Hands Like Houses have gone without releasing new music, and it’s clear from the opening track “I Am” that the time away was very much needed. This album, more than any other release in the Hands Like Houses catalog, feels like the most authentic representation of who the band is and what they hope to convey through their music. That is not to say the group was ever dishonest in either respect, but listening to Dissonants makes it clear that some of the group’s earlier material had far more influence from the genre and culture it was produced in than what the band may have intended. This record, front to back and back to front, feels like a wholly authentic release created without any desire to cater to a specific scene, sound, or genre. Whether it’s the bouncy riff of “Perspectives” or the radio ready sounds of “Stillwater,” this album is a pitch perfect representation of what the men of Hands Like Houses have become over the better part of the last decade. It’s diverse collection of ideas and emotions presented without restraint, and it’s without a doubt the best material the group has ever released.

When I hear Dissonants I am reminded of that period in my life when I feared what might happen if I admitted to myself and everyone else that I had interests outside of punk. Like so many artists and music professionals, I thought my value to the world was equal to my standing amongst my alt/punk peers, and it wasn’t until I shook this thought from my head that I found true happiness and purpose in my life. I am punk, just like Hand Like Houses, but neither me or the men of that band are punk and nothing more. We are all humans, and as such we are influenced and inspired by a wide array of art, experiences, and conversations that all mesh together to make us the people we have become. My hope, like the hope of Hands Like Houses, is that I can show my true self to the world and be accepted just as I was when I thought being punk was all I would ever be. Life has taught me that such acceptance is possible, and Hands Like Houses new album has reminded me of that fact once again. The hardest part is taking it upon yourself to make a change. Once you do that, everything else will being to fall into place. Life might not be what you thought it would, but it won’t be as bad as you feared either. Just be you. No matter what, just be you.

James Shotwell is the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. He is also a professional entertainment critic, covering both film and music, as well as the co-founder of Antique Records. Feel free to tell him you love or hate the article above by connecting with him on Twitter. Bonus points if you introduce yourself by sharing your favorite Simpsons character.

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How Traveling Can Boost Your Career (Why I Spent 4 Months Alone On The Road)

If you’d have told me a year ago that I would spend nearly half of 2015 traveling the US, I would have said you were delusional and then curled back up into my ball of comfort. I am not by any means a wandering spirit. I like the stability and comfort of a stable home and the security of knowing that my family is nearby. But after a particularly tumultuous 2014, I found myself questioning the legitimacy of my comfort strategy. Could I really grow to the level I wanted if I stayed in one spot? Could my current city offer me everything I wanted and needed? What about all the people out there that I hadn’t met who had the power to change my life and grow my career? In an uncharacteristically rash decision, I decided to spend the summer and fall of 2015 driving across the US. And you know what? It taught me more about myself and what I want out of my career than I could have ever imagined.

Opportunity to network

The biggest and most obvious benefit to traveling for your career is that it allows you a host of opportunities to network. The more cities and communities you can plant yourself in, the better. For me, this meant launching and helping organize Balanced Breakfast meetups, (a music community filled with musicians and industry pros) in Nashville, Austin, and Portland, Oregon. Through those meet ups I met amazing people that I still keep in touch with, work with, and get referrals from today. For you, it might mean discovering new bands and making connections that can help you out when you decide to tour. It could mean meeting a manager that really believes in you, or someone involved in sync licensing who can answer all your questions about getting your song on TV.

Be open to the possibilities and the quirky way in which the universe brings people together, and I promise you’ll meet some career changing people on the road—and probably start more than a few lasting friendships.

Creative revitalization

We all know the importance of rest and relaxation for cultivating a creative spark. We’re simply not at our creative best when we’re bogged down in our day to day responsibilities. Forcing yourself out of your comfort zone and into new environments can be just the creative boost you need. By traveling to new cities and embedding yourself in unfamiliar communities, you’re opening your eyes to a new way of life. You’ll learn what’s most important to you and what you value above all. Each new experience will test your limits and challenge your beliefs, and that kind of mindset is key for creativity. When you allow for creativity to re-enter your life you open yourself up to a world of new possibilities.

Appreciation for your hometown

One of the most powerful and unexpected things this trip taught me was that the grass isn’t always greener. A lot of people in this industry have a vision that New York, Nashville, or Los Angeles will change their lives. That if only they can get to those creative hubs everything is going to work out for them. The truth is that even though those places are abundant in musicians and industry professionals, they’re also oversaturated, and they attract (and require) a very specific type of person. So if your dream city doesn’t live up to your expectations, that doesn’t mean your hometown can’t be exactly what you need.

When I returned from my trip, I viewed Boston in a whole new light. I had a renewed sense of appreciation for so many things I had taken for granted (public transportation! Dunkin Donuts!) and I realized that more than anything, being away from home taught me to appreciate what I had—however flawed it may have seemed before. Understanding what I did and didn’t like from the cities I visited helped me to better understand exactly what it was I was looking for, and how I could use my experiences to further my career right where I was.

In the end, traveling made me a better person, and a better business owner—and I know it can do the same for you. It doesn’t have to be a major trip either—traveling once or twice a year to an industry conference, a road trip a state or two over, or a weekend tour with your band are all things that can inspire the same kind of growth. The most important thing to remember is to make the most of your travel. Whether it’s to the next town or clear across the country, every trip is an opportunity to meet with the person who could change your life or become your best friend—so have fun with it!

Angela Mastrogiacomo is the founder and CEO of Muddy Paw PR, a Boston based public relations firm specializing in personalized campaign initiatives for independent artists. Muddy Paw artists have seen placements in Noisey, AbsolutePunk, PureVolume, Substream, and many other leading publications. Angela also owns music blog Infectious Magazine, and is the curator of several chapters of the music community Balanced Breakfast. She loves hanging out with her dog, eating ice cream, and a good book. Read more at https://angelamastrogiacomo.wordpress.com/

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Job Board News

Monday Motivation: Hoodie Allen

If you’re anything like me, you probably started the day by recognizing that the start of a new work week had indeed arrived and then immediately began shaking your fists at the sky in anger. Monday is rarely anyone’s favorite day, and from what I have seen firsthand it feels safe to say it’s the one day of the week some people outright hate. I guess to them the arrival of the work week symbolizes the end of their quote/unquote freedom, and as a result they head into the office/factory/restaurant/store with a negative outlook already on their mind. This leads to bad attitudes, which only makes the experience of being at work worse, and for some reason it also seems to make time slow to a crawl. We’re not about that life, and we hope this post can do the same you that the song contained within it did for us.

A few weeks ago something happened that has only happened once or twice, if ever, before in the history of music. While everyone in the industry was busy debating whether or not Kanye’s new album would arrive on time, New York rapper Hoodie Allen released a new LP entitled Happy Camper that would go on to chart in the top 10 on the Billboard 200 despite being made available for free download through the emcee’s official website. Yes, you read that right. Even though Hoodie Allen made his latest album available for free through his website there were literally thousands of fans across the country willing to shell out $10 to support Hoodie’s efforts. In fact, demand was so high that at certain points during release week Happy Camper was outselling recent albums from pop contemporaries Justin Bieber, G-Eazy, and Adele, all without the aide of a label.

This is all impressive and absolutely worthy of praise, but it’s not exactly the kind of thing that happened out of the blue. Anyone familiar with Hoodie Allen’s work ethic would expect nothing less than success from the twenty-something charmer. Since graduating from the University Of Pennsylvania there has rarely been a day where Hoodie wasn’t working towards developing his own brand in the world of music. His approach to creativity has always strayed from whatever was trending at radio or on your favorite rap blog, focusing instead on finding a sound entirely his own that was just as fun and engaging as anything found in the top 40. Hoodie realized early on in his career that people want to have a good time when they listen to music, and he set his sights on offering just that with every release he shared. Now two albums in to a career that also includes three EPs, Hoodie has perfected his recipe for hits, and Happy Camper offers the best material the still young artist has created to date.

My first encounter with Hoodie Allen came as a result of his personalized marketing efforts. Unlike many emcees on the rise who have their friends, managers, or publicists handle their press outreach, Hoodie has always taken a vested interest in every bit of messaging shared on his behalf. The same email he used to contact me half a decade ago is the same account he uses today, and if you email him out of the blue he will more than likely respond in 24-72 hours. For a man currently topping the Billboard charts while also headlining a sold out nationwide tour, that kind of turnaround is downright astounding. Such constant engagement not only speaks to Hoodie’s drive to succeed, but also his desire to stay connected with those who help establish and further his brand. Hoodie wants to be everyone’s friend, and he matches that wish with actual effort that speaks volumes about the type of person he is away from music. That kind of sincerity cannot be bought (though there are services that will try and tell you otherwise).

I cannot recall whether or not I fell for Hoodie’s unique brand of music when it first hit my inbox, but by the time he released his now famous clip for “Cake Boy” in early 2013 I had purchased a lifetime pass for the Hoodie Allen bandwagon. Something about that track and the vision of carefree good times it promoted clicked with my post-grad brain and lifted me from the slums of unemployment I had found myself in up to that point. I still didn’t have a job, but that was okay because I knew who I was and what I wanted out of life. Hoodie’s success showed me that knowing where it is you want to go is half the battle, and that knowing what you will and will not do to get there is equally important. I then understood that while my struggle for work was hard it was also something that could lead me to the place I wanted to be in life, and that made everything sacrifice just a bit easier. I knew, in time, every effort made would not have been executed in vein.

Nearly three years to the day “Cake Boy” hit the net and I am still turning to Hoodie Allen for inspiration. I like to think I have reached the place I wanted to be when I first felt inspired by Hoodie’s rap, so now I am setting my sights a little bit higher. Like Hoodie, I want to see just how far I can take this wild road that I am on, and I am willing to do whatever it takes to maintain my quality of life as long as it does not require me to sacrifice who I am. That is a line I dare not cross because I know it will only lead to regret down the road. Staying true to yourself is never easy, but if Hoodie’s continued success is proof of anything it’s that people support original thinkers. Remember that fact and use that knowledge to pursue whatever it is you desire to the best of your abilities. Success probably won’t come overnight, but if you stick with it others will take notice of your hustle in time and they will begin to show support. Just be patient and believe in yourself. If you need additional help, put on Happy Camper and let your worries melt away.

James Shotwell is the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. He is also a professional entertainment critic, covering both film and music, as well as the co-founder ofAntique Records. Feel free to tell him you love or hate the article above by connecting with him on Twitter. Bonus points if you introduce yourself by sharing your favorite Simpsons character.

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News

Monday Motivation: Aiden (2003-2016)

If you’re anything like me, you probably started the day by recognizing that the start of a new work week had indeed arrived and then immediately began shaking your fists at the sky in anger. Monday is rarely anyone’s favorite day, and from what I have seen firsthand it feels safe to say it’s the one day of the week some people outright hate. I guess to them the arrival of the work week symbolizes the end of their quote/unquote freedom, and as a result they head into the office/factory/restaurant/store with a negative outlook already on their mind. This leads to bad attitudes, which only makes the experience of being at work worse, and for some reason it also seems to make time slow to a crawl. We’re not about that life, and we hope this post can do the same you that the song contained within it did for us.

For more than a decade the members of Aiden have been empowering outcast youth around the globe with anthems of life, death, love, every emotion in between. Their music, forever rooted in the more aggressive side of punk, has brought many back from the ledge and given a voice to thousands, if not millions who live each and every day feeling as if no one cares they exist. In a time when it seems every band is forcing silver linings into their music the men of Aiden have chosen to embrace the fact our planet is often a cold place. That honesty, coupled with the raw emotion bursting from every note of the art they create, has provided strength to the weak in ways no other form of nutrition could hope to offer.

Last night, 4785 miles from the city they call home, the members of Aiden took their final bow on stage in front of a packed venue somewhere in London, England. It was a moment captured immediately across various social media platforms and later further celebrated through numerous additional posts made by band members and fans alike, but still it feels under-appreciated. In fact, everything the band has accomplished up to this point feels surprisingly overlooked by the music industry at large. The reasons for this are likely far too numerous to name, I’m sure, but the band’s horror-tinged imagery and hard punk sound certainly haven’t helped to make them a household name. Then again, I don’t think they care about things like that, and that is precisely why I love everything they represent.

I first discovered Aiden when their debut album, Nightmare Anatomy, was being promoted through listening stations at Hot Topic stores across the country. A sticker on the packaging for the record claimed the band was for fans of AFI and My Chemical Romance, which was everything I needed to know to give the record a chance. While I still believe that comparison was legitimate, at least for that particular record, what I discovered when I first spun the actual recording was something far more special than just another so-called ‘dark’ alternative act. The immediacy in vocalist Will Francis’ voice pulled me in from the opening notes of “Knife Blood Nightmare” and did not let go until the closer, “See You In Hell,” was over. While that first play moved from track to track I found myself becoming immersed in a world of thoughts and ideas that mirrored my own vision of the world. For the first time in my life a band was saying what I thought and felt without sugar-coating harsh realities for those unwilling to accept the truth. It was everything I didn’t know I wanted, and by the time I was three songs deep I was begging my mother to buy the CD.

As time progressed so did Aiden, and by the time their Sophomore record was ready for release the band had moved away from the in your face sound of their debut. Some were turned off by the results, but I was not among them. That record, entitled Conviction, remains my favorite in the band’s catalog. I remember reading an interview ahead of the album’s release where Francis claimed writing the record had helped him to understand the true meaning of punk. He explained that the idea of being punk and making punk music was not limited to a single sound or style. Being punk, in his opinion, was a state of mind that could be applied to anything one chooses to spend their life doing. You could be a punk pianist playing for thousands at Carnegie Hall or the guy screaming until his throat bleeds in a dingy rock club five nights a week. Neither one is better than the other, so why should Aiden or anyone else limit themselves to being just one thing? Francis understood that he and his bandmate could do anything they wanted as long as they remained true to themselves, and that same idea has been the guiding force for my own journey in life ever since.

More albums came as the years carried on, and each offered listeners a different side of Aiden without ever sacrificing the punk ethos that lie at the heart of the group’s best material. Listeners came and went depending on how each evolution took form, but the members of the band never seemed to let the size of a crowd or the number of records sold impact what came next. After all, why should they? Aiden didn’t form to please the world at large. If anything, the entire reason the band exists would appear to be to serve as opposition to the norm. Be it rock, punk, alternative, pop, country, or even EDM, Aiden refused to fall in line with whatever was popular in the moment to further focus on better expressing themselves and their beliefs. Through doing so the band taught their fans to do the same, to shake off any pre-conceived notions of what life is supposed to look like or be like and to fully embrace the person they believe themselves to be. Without Aiden I would not have grown to be the man I am today, and with their time as a band now passed I don’t know if I will ever have a proper opportunity to thank them for that. What I can do, however, is tell others how much they did for me in hopes they too might find strength in the music the band made.

This week, whether you’re a longtime fan or first-time listener, put on the music of Aiden and allow yourself to break free of whatever it is in life that is holding you back from being the person you want to become. Embracing your true self is rarely an easy task, but it is an accomplishment that is entirely worth the effort required. 

James Shotwell is the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. He is also a professional entertainment critic, covering both film and music, as well as the co-founder of Antique Records. Feel free to tell him you love or hate the article above by connecting with him on Twitter. Bonus points if you introduce yourself by sharing your favorite Simpsons character.

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News

…On Being Socially Conscious With Your Music

The following guest blog was written by up and coming rapper Marco Pavé.

What does music mean to you? According to Huffington Post writer Selena May Santos and participants of her 2013 survey music is far more important than meets the eye, or better yet, the ear. One anonymous participant responded with, “Music is a world within itself, with a language we all understand.“ For me, music is a means to discuss issues that you have experienced or have heard others experience. There’s always a lesson in every song, even if the writer wasn’t explicitly trying to teach that lesson. For example, the singer/songwriter, rapper, modern-day blues man—Future. Who recently was quoted saying,  “Yeah because I feel like that’s the number one thing everybody likes to talk about. It’s a catch,” after an interviewer asked him, why he portrays himself as a drug addict. For me as person who knows numerous people who have some form of drug addiction, this is jarring for me. Not because I think that he is making people want to do drugs (even though there are kids that are going to experiment with drugs because, future), but because drug addiction, or any addiction for that matter is a serious issue in communities around the country.

Artists need to be a bit more socially conscious, and no I am not saying that everyone needs to make a heal the world song, I’m just saying think about the message that you are sending and have a better fucking answer to why you’re sending said message than, “it’s a catch.” It’s not a catch when teens are being admitted into rehab for prescription pain medication overdoses. It’s not a catch when father pawns his kid’s bikes to get money for his next fix. It’s not a catch, period. Some may disagree, and say that it’s fine for it to be a catch, but the fact that we do have so many artists who have overdosed on drugs and who are currently addicted he walks a fine line between being a straight up sell out and a liar (maybe he is actually addicted and is trying to backtrack now that we are catching on).

To me being a socially conscious artist doesn’t take much, I believe 100 percent that Future’s music is already socially conscious. Okay, before you call me a hypocrite, let me finish. He is using his music and his brand as an artist to talk about all the problems of being a drug addict. He is also walking the line of having a shit load of survivor’s guilt– he made it from a crazy place and now he’s a multi-millionaire, it takes tremendous strength to handle all that emotionally. His music is very socially conscious it features everything from, drugs addiction, to hyper-sexuality, to misogyny, and the occasional person (groupie) with ulterior motives, these are all social issues. But what makes him not a socially conscious artists, is future outside the studio, in an interview where he can say, speaking someone’s truth is “a catch.” Even if he is playing a character, as any novice acting coach can tell you, “NEVER, break character.” When he stated that it was a catch, he stopped being a social conscious artist that is aware of people pains and is going through, or at least pretending to be going through similar pains, and became a sellout, because this means that he is only making music about drugs because it sells and not because he is thinking about the social effects of drugs and addiction.

In 2016, artists don’t have to make the next “We are the world,” they don’t have to enlist the help of all the neighborhood kids like Nas in, “I Know I Can,” they don’t even have to donate to charities and start foundations, they just need to be more aware of their messages and how they are socially affecting people. Jay-Z, one of the notorious know drug dealing rappers in hip-hop history once said “As a youngin, dumb and, gun in the waist / Sold crack to those who couldn’t take the pain and had to numb it with base.” But when asked about the repeated mention of drugs and crack in his music in 2013 by a reporter with Vanity Fair Jay-Z said, "There wasn’t any place you could go for isolation or a break. You go in the hallway; [there are] crackheads in the hallway. You look out in the puddles on the curbs—crack vials are littered in the side of the curbs. You could smell it in the hallways, that putrid smell; I can’t explain it, but it’s still in my mind when I think about it.” That’s socially conscious, we can tell that even through all the fucked up things that Jay-Z had to do he still has a heart and he fells pain just like any of us. Being a socially conscious artist doesn’t mean that you play holier than thou, it just means that you don’t make a mockery of people who are dealing with issues that you are rapping or singing about, even if it is just a catch.

Categories
News

Monday Motivation: Simmer

If you’re anything like me, you probably started the day by recognizing that the start of a new work week had indeed arrived and then immediately began shaking your fists at the sky in anger. Monday is rarely anyone’s favorite day, and from what I have seen firsthand it feels safe to say it’s the one day of the week some people outright hate. I guess to them the arrival of the work week symbolizes the end of their quote/unquote freedom, and as a result they head into the office/factory/restaurant/store with a negative outlook already on their mind. This leads to bad attitudes, which only makes the experience of being at work worse, and for some reason it also seems to make time slow to a crawl. We’re not about that life, and we hope this post can do the same you that the song contained within it did for us.

This morning I woke to the sight of my cat, Paws Von Trier, staring out the window with a look that was slightly different than the one I’ve grown customer to greeting with each new day. He glanced at me after I rustled the sheets, then looked back out the window again. I asked if he was looking at birds, but his head did not swivel as it usually would, nor did his voice crack with the half-squeak half-meow sound that he typically omits whenever attempting to make conversation. That momentary silence told me everything I needed to know about what was happening outside. Paws wasn’t quiet and still because he was worried the birds might catch on to his voyeuristic intention, but rather because he was witnessing the first real snow to hit Boston since Winter began. I don’t know much about the longterm memory of cats, but having survived New England’s worst winter in over a decade with Paws by my side just a year ago, during what would have been his first winter ever on this planet, I’ve grown to believe that he associates any snow falling from the sky as a sign of an impending blizzard.

Of all the ways one could choose to wake up, I’d wager that opening your eyes to almost immediately recognize the fact snow has fallen since you fell asleep is rarely, if ever, someone’s first choice. Knowing the world outside is not only cold, but likely filled with small tasks requiring varying amount of physical labor (snow shoveling, scraping ice off cars, etc), makes an already stressful work day infinitely worse. It also starts your day with a negative outlook, which never bodes well for your personal goals or your interactions with the outside world. You may try to wash off the bad vibes in the shower, or perhaps attempt to drown them in two or four cups of coffee, but more often than not these efforts are futile at best. Nature’s decision to surprise you with snow has cursed your entire Monday, and as a result everyone you meet must feel your wrath.

This is where music comes in. For whatever reason, and scientists will agree, music has the ability to ease the worried mind and relax a tired heart. When all hope seems lost and you feel as if you will soon come apart at the same there is always a better than decent chance a well timed song with just the right sound or feel will save the day. Hell, it may even save your life. Music, and by that I mean the kind of song crafted by one or more people working together in a small space out of a desire to do nothing more than express themselves, is the best medicine outside of actual medicine, and it can work wonders that words fail to properly describe. I cannot tell you exactly why a song or album saved my day, but I can tell you how it made me feel when it hit my body via my ear canal. I can describe to you the way the colors of the world around me grew brighter with each note plucked from a guitar played by Koji, or how the chaos of traffic in a city setting felt somehow complimented by the crashing drums of an overlooked song from Have Heart, but my ability to convey my experience immediately falls apart when asked to explain the mechanism behind it.

I really did begin the day as described above, and I did attempt to shake the negativity from my bones with a hot shower and a gluttonous amount of coffee, but truth be told neither effort made much of a difference as far as my mood was concerned. The snow had chilled my heart, and it had lead me to believe the day would be as dull as the world now appeared to be from my office window. It wasn’t until I had sat down at my desk and began pouring through emails overlooked during the weekend that I stumbled upon a cure for my Monday morning blues. As with all the best surprises, the music that saved my day came from a group I had never known on a label I did not know existed prior to today. My guard was down and my mind was open, allowing me to be blown away by anything truly deserving of my attention, and just as I thought the day was doomed I came across a record that I now believe will soon be changing lives around the globe.

Simmer is a three-piece rock band that brings to mind the glory days of early punk and channels its ethos through a slow and expressive indie-tinged sound that is both ambient and experimental in ways that are endlessly enthralling. Their upcoming debut release for Dog Knights Productions, Paper Prisms, boasts the instrumentation of an angsty Explosions In The Sky combined with lyrical themes of growth, loss, love, and evolving world perspective. As the album plays you get the sense that the members of Simmer are soaking in life and the way it has changed with the passing of time, but they have yet to fully accept that we can never go back. This is a sentiment I am sure most you reading this now can relate to, though you might hate to admit it. There are people, places, and times in our life we spend weeks, months, and even years hoping to return to, even though we know such feats are never possible. Those memories, frozen in time forever, exist to remind us not of what we have lost, but of all the magic that can be found in our everyday lives. We as humans tend to forget that fact, choosing instead to believe those moments point to a time better than the one we have now, but as time carries on we grow to see things for what they really are in our own ways.

Take for instance, “Charles,” the first song from Paper Prisms to be made available to the public. The song sounds like a mix of shoegaze and punk influenced emo conveyed through a wall of sound approach that engulfs the listening from the opening moments and never lets up. You’re carried away in the band’s overall sonic expression before the vocal hit, and when they do their presence only adds to an already rushing wave of sound that you have no hope of escaping unhooked. Like all the best songs, “Charles” sucks you in and refuses to let you go. If you’re willing, “Charles” will allow you to get lost in a world of music far, far away from the inconveniences of daily life. You see, there is no pain in the world of “Charles,” just a journey through Simmer’s art that is both endless interesting and repeatedly jaw-dropping, just like Paper Prisms as a whole.

Whether you’re a post-rock kingpin in need of something new or an aging emo kid turned progressive punk loving adult hoping to find the next band that will change you life I assure you Simmer is a band you need to know. Paper Prisms is the first great indie rock album of 2016 that defies simple classification, and with the right marketing the record could very easily establish Simmer as one of the bands to beat in this still very new year. Even if that doesn’t happen, the record will still be great, and you would be a fool to not make room for it in your personal music library. This is the kind of album that can save you even on the worst days, and really, what more could you hope to find in any work of art?

Paper Prisms will be released on March 6, 2016 by Dog Knights Productions. Click here for pre-order information.

James Shotwell is the Marketing Coordinator for Haulix. He is also a professional entertainment critic, covering both film and music, as well as the co-founder of Antique Records. Feel free to tell him you love or hate the article above by connecting with him on Twitter. Bonus points if you introduce yourself by sharing your favorite Simpsons character.

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