On this episode of INSIDE MUSIC, host James Shotwell calls Bradley Walden of Emarosa to discuss his band’s new album, 131, which arrives in stores on July 8 through Hopeless Records. Bradley tells James about the inspiration behind the album, as well as the story the band is telling with their recent music videos. James also speaks with Annie Schindel, an up and coming singer-songwriter from California, about her budding career in music.
The first song you hear in this episode is “Don’t Really Know What We Want,” which can be streamed on Annie Schindel’s official Soundcloud page. The second song you hear is “Miracle,” which is taken from Emarosa’s upcoming album, 131.
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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.
Anyone reading this who has finished high school presumably knows the phrase, “the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry,” but how many of us actually apply that concept to our daily lives? In my experience, the answer is not nearly enough, and I’m including myself in that summation. I, like many, imagine myself to be a fairly easygoing person, but if something I had my hopes set on falls apart before coming to fruition I can transform into a bit of an emotional mess that is best compared to a child throwing a tantrum. Life should go the way we want it to, right?
Your answer to that question doesn’t really matter, and neither does mine, because life could not care less about your dreams and expectations. Life is a constantly changing thing that gives absolutely no thought or attention to the desires of individuals or groups. Sometimes things work out, but other times they do not, and there is only so much any of us can do to sway the outcome one way or another. What we can do however, is decide how we will respond to things falling apart. Will you let an unexpected turn destroy you or empower you? Will you give up, or will you see things through despite unexpected hurdles that may appear along the way?
Consider for a moment the turbulent existence of Emarosa, an American hard rock band with no place to call home and a list of former members that now more than doubles the amount of people currently in the group. Emarosa formed in 2006, but thanks to a number of vocalist changes over the years the band has more or less had to reboot their sound three times over. The latest incarnation, which features Bradley Walden on vocals, may be the best yet. Walden entered the group as they were preparing to hit the studio for their third studio album (2014’s Versus), and he quickly acclimated to the band’s approach to creativity. Now two years later, the band is about to release what is arguably their best record to date (131 – Out July 8), and Walden is still steering the ship with a knack for brutally honest lyricism that has propelled the band into the hearts of thousands around the globe. This isn’t to say Emarosa were not successful prior to Walden joining the group, as they most certainly were, but when listening through the group’s discography there is a clear change of course that occurs right around Walden’s entrance that undeniably sealed their fate to become what they are today. This band Walden as much as Walden needed the members of the band, and because both sides were willing to persevere through their careers until they encountered one another music fans throughout the world – as well as the band members themselves – are now benefiting from their combined talents.
We could get into the lives Walden and the members of Emarosa lead before they came together, but for the sake of time we’re going to ask those interested in the details to do some Googling on their own time. All you need to know now is littered throughout 131, which tackles the idea of accepting responsibility for one’s own fate as no other alternative rock album has done in years. Every song plays like an excerpt from a story of triumph, failure, and growth that you never want to end. No matter what struggles you face in your own journey, I promise there is an anthem on this record to help keep you motivated when times get tough. Trust me. No, i take that back. Trust music, especially the music of Emarosa.
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 on Twitter. Bonus points if you introduce yourself by sharing your favorite Simpsons character.
We know it would take far too long to highlight every client’s new release each week, so we’re going to choose a few select titles each week that we feel everyone should support. These are albums we will be buying ourselves, and we hope at the very least you give them a proper spin before deciding to purchase something else. James may write the column, but everyone at Haulix will have a say in who gets chosen.
Just under a year since the release of their first album with vocalist Bradley Walden, Emarosa have returned to music headlines with an EP of updated songs that will break your heart in two. Versus Reimagined takes four of the best songs from the band’s previous record and showcases them as never before, with piano and acoustic instrumentation taking the place of the band’s largely alternative rock sound. It’s the kind of record you can get lost in, even if only for twenty minutes, and it proves once and for all that this version of the band is the strongest to date. If anyone claims to make it through the new version of “I’ll Just Wait” without experiencing the kind of relationship flashback most believe only Drake can create I might have to call them a liar. This band is great, and this record is one that everyone should make it a point to own.
Detroit’s Dej Loaf has been one of the most talked about young emcees of the past year. It’s rare that a female rapper rises through the various underground echelons without relying on her sex appeal to move units, but Dej has long proven her beauty is just one of many things that make her great. #AndSeeThatsTheThing offers a five song preview of Loaf’s unique sound, sharing both her soft and more aggressive sides, as well as collaborations with Big Sean and Future. “Back Up” is the one track that will find success online without much trouble at all, but in our opinion the entire EP is worth your time and money. In fact, we recommend picking this up and then downloading Loaf’s 2014 mixtape, Sell Sole. Dej is the future of hip-hop, and for a limited time you can experience the best of her catalog for next to nothing. Don’t wait.
Lisa Lampanelli – Back To The Drawing Board (CD/Digital/Stream)
Haulix works with everyone in entertainment, and that extends to performers who fall outside the world of music. Lisa Lampanelli is a comedy veteran with a unique brand of in-your-face humor that never pulls a single punch. People seek out Lisa’s live shows in an attempt to shake off the worries of the week and celebrate the things that make us different in the funniest way possible. Her sixth special, Back To The Drawing Board, is her most personal release yet. Having lost a lot of weight, as well as a husband, Lampanelli is as alive as ever on stage. She tears into weight loss myths, Bill Cosby, dating, and more, all without making a single person feel alienated. If there is a funnier women working in comedy today, we have yet to hear her perform.
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.
We spend a lot of our time discussing and working to prevent leaks. When I say leaks, I am referring to the sharing of copyrighted materials without the consent of the content creator. Eradicating that threat to artists and labels has been our one of our main goals since the very beginning, and we like to believe we have made major strides towards accomplishing that task. Today however, at least for a few minutes, we want to change our focus to another kind of leak and the response artists have when such problems arise.
Try as many artists or labels might to keep big news items a secret for as long as possible there are often leaks that out of the blue and spoil whatever promotional plan had previously been put into motion. Whether you’re planning to release a surprise album in a manner similar to Beyonce, or if you’re on the verge of revealing your biggest tour to date, there is always a pretty good chance someone outside your inner circle will beat you to the punch when it comes to sharing that information online. There are exceptions, of course, but as more and more artists try to hide big reveals until the very last minute we at Haulix have noticed a rise in the efforts made by the music community as a whole to spoil this news, if only so that someone or some site can claim to have an ‘exclusive’ others do not.
Let me be very clear: Leaking major news is not the same as breaking an ‘exclusive’ story. Every journalist or blogger worth your time knows this, even if they choose to ignore it. By choosing to act without the consent of the artist or the people working with them bloggers are making a decision that goes against the idea of cultivating a better scene for future generations, which has long been a cornerstone of alternative music. One might think understanding the problems that arise in a culture where leaks are accepted as normal would be easy for most, but a decade in the music business has taught me otherwise time and time again. There will always be people who are too selfish to fully realize or appreciate the impact their actions have on the community around them, and the best you can hope to do as an artist is to take the appropriate action when those leaks occur.
For most artists, leaks can be viewed as a double-edged sword. While it stinks that someone would ruin your promotional plan and share something without your permission, there is always a little voice in the back of a creative person’s head that says the only reason that material is being shared is because people want it so badly they’re willing to steal it. That may be a compliment to some, but even if it makes you feel those warm fuzzies we all love to host in our stomachs it also throws a wrench in your marketing efforts and, potentially, your future income.
There is a saying you may know about how once a bell has been rung there is no way to undo that action. The same theory applies to leaks, at least for the most part. Once an album, photo, or news item has found its way on the net it’s essentially impossible to stop the continued proliferation of that content online. We offer tools to our clients to help curve the rate album leaks are shared, but in cases where news items leak early there are literally no measure in place (that we are aware of) to help pull that information off the net. Even if it could be done, there would still be an untold number of people who saw the content before it disappeared, and there would be no way to track all of them down to ask them to please keep your secrets safe. Sorry, but that is just not how life in the digital age works.
When something leaks, the first thing you should do as an artist is to find a way to get that same information or content to your fans through means you control as fast as humanly possible. If a single leaks ahead of its premiere, stream the song yourself through Bandcamp or Soundcloud. You won’t be able to make fans stop seeking out the track, nor would you want to, but you can have a say in where they find the content and what kind of messaging surrounds it. The same goes for news. You can’t ask every blog to not post news item that leaks early, but you can post the same news through your social channels and, to some degree, control the conversation.
Conversation is key to promotion in the digital age. If you can control the conversation then you can have some say in the way the world engaged with your art. The best laid plans of mice and men may go awry, but as long as you’re prepared to respond the negative impact of an unplanned reveal will be minimal. Just keep your fans first, and do whatever you can to ensure they’re going through channels you create to access your content. If you can do that, and I promise that you can if you work hard, then you will forever have one less reason to fear the internet.
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 onTwitter. Bonus points if you introduce yourself by sharing your favorite Simpsons character.
We owe a bit of thanks to our friends at Substream for this piece of content.
YouTube comedian Jarrod Alonge has been at the top of our most requested blog guest list for the better part of the last year. He’s not a writer or a musician, at least not in the classical sense, but his parodies of current alternative music culture are some of the best video material available online today. You may have never seen it before, but chances are someone you know has, especially if they’re between the ages of fifteen and twenty-four.
Recently, Alonge’s announced plans to release an album titled Beating A Dead Horse that will filled with the parody songs he has written under various aliases. Many of the songs have obviously already been shared with the public, but there are a few new tracks as well, which Alonge has slowly been sharing to build excitement for the record’s release. His latest, “Hey Jarrod, What’s That Song Again?” skewers the entire metalcore world in just under five minutes. You can hear the song, which takes aim at similarities in the material by bands like A Day To Remember, Emarosa, Sleeping With Sirens, Underoath, For Today, Blessthefall, and more, above.
