Hello, everyone. With the start of summer tour season right around the corner we wanted to bring back this classic piece from our friends in The Venetia Fair. A new year may be upon us, but the advice offered in this column is just as pertinent to artists today as it would be to any talent in the last ten years. The Venetia Fair tour all the time, so if anyone knows how to survive those record-setting heat waves without killing your band mates or losing your van it’s probably them.
Everything below The Beatles quote your about to enjoy was written by Mike Abiuso. We love him, and so should you. Stay tuned for more Summer survival tips in the weeks ahead.
“Here Comes the Sun and I Say It’s Alright” – The Beatles. Errrheard?
Good day everyone, Mike Abiuso of The Venetia Fair, SwitchBitch (Records/Studio/Magazine) and Behind The Curtains Media. I feel like I practically live here at Haulix, which is a good thing, so thanks for having me back team!
I don’t know if you’ve read my last “Winter Tour Survival”, but if you haven’t, let me just reiterate the essentials that go for both seasons: (If you have, you’re going to be very bored, so just follow these ZZZZZZZZZZZZ’s)
Vehicle and Paperwork must be up to date:
-Driver’s licenses are legit
-Vehicle registered
-Vehicle insured
-Vehicle inspected
-Oil change (up to date and kept up to date on the road)
-Someone should have AAA for roadside assistance
If you have a van and trailer:
-Be sure the separate breaking system is functioning
-Under stand the low and high gears for up and downgrades
-Get a ball lock for your hitch incase you need to drop the trailer to park in heavily populated cities
Touring in general:
-Try to keep the tank above ¼ tank or have and to be safe have an extra reserve gas tank
-Get reflective cones and/or flares to put out incase you breakdown
(ZZZZZZZZzzzzzz hey wake up, you still there?)
Ok, moving on to “Part ll – Summer Tour Survival”…Now that we don’t have to worry about actually freezing to death, we mainly need to focus on keeping a good amount of food and water for survival and the rest is mostly comfort or “luxury”. Water is a given…get it in bulk and go, but food is way different this season. Can’t buy frozen food and keep it in the trailer any more unless you like eating a “mushy mold, fly graveyard sandwich” which I’ve heard has recently been labeled “exclusively for vegans” as of today. It’s all about those sealed cracker snacks and canned goods, which unfortunately, the ones that taste decent are awful for you. Click here to take a look at a year round specialty of mine that I like to call “tour-derves” (judge me? – dead to me)
So what we have here is a base coat of seared (aka canned) tuna, topped with peanut butter and/or cheese filled crackers with a light glaze of Sriracha to take away from the food portion of the meal. All served on the finest store brand paper plates. You get the idea, moving on.
When speaking in terms of water, this is where luxury comes in. Now I hate drinking water, but knowing it’s an essential I found a luxurious way to get around slamming that bull-shit of a drink. Umm SodaStream! Wootwoot, sound the alarm and flash the lights cause that jam keeps me alive. We (The Venetia Fair) usually get a case of water for the van, a back up case in the trailer and I also get a gallon jug of water to pour into a sodastream container, pull the sodastream from my drawer and just BLAST it w/ CO2. (Don’t know what a sodastream is? Know what google is?). Yeah, so seltzer for days.
Continuing on the topic of drinks. Alcohol always seems to find it’s way into a musicians life. It might have to do with having 6 hours to kill at a bar after load-in, but what do I know? Well, I do know that in the summer, if you’re 15 drinks in and feel amazing passing out in the van, that in a mere few hours that same van will transform into a human incinerator, so particularly after consuming alcohol, a few things you may want to keep near your van bed (or the place you sleep when touring is: A) water (seltzer) B) a battery operated fan and C) a $.99 spray bottle of water. These things I haven’t had lately on tour, but when The Venetia Fair did Warped Tour, I definitely had that jones going on.
While on the topic of sleeping situations, it’s a great idea to keep the van doors and windows open at night to keep air flowing. While that’s a great idea it also provides a free buffet for bugs and mosquitos, so you’re going to want to grab a few cheap bud nets to throw over all openings.
Being that this is beginning to get quite lengthily and I don’t want to bore the readers that made it thus far, I’m going to close out with showering. Every musician smells like the thickest festering shit syrup all the time. To reduce this in attempts to be a part or real civilization I would suggest three things. 1) pick up a sunshower which is a bag you can fill with a spigot, set on the roof of your trailer to warm up and shower with the power of gravity. 2) pick up a camping shower which is a bit more expensive, but basically it’s a pump version of the sunshower similar to the way your grandmother fertilizes her tomatoes, but with water instead. 3) Get a planet fitness membership and shower there.
Ok folks, as always, don’t do anything anyone in The Venetia Fair would do, and hope to see you this summer!
Hey there! Welcome to our blog. We thank you for finding time in you busy schedule to spend a few minutes on our site. The post you’re about to enjoy is the latest installment in our popular podcast series, Inside Music. If you like what you hear, the entire catalog of episodes can be found and enjoyed through iTunes. Subscriptions and reviews are always appreciated.
This site exists to promote the future of the entertainment industry, and to do that we need input from people like you and your entertainment-loving friends. If you have any questions about the content in this article, or if you have an artist you would like to see featured on this blog, please contact james@haulix.com. We can also be found onTwitter and Facebook.
On this episode of INSIDE MUSIC, host James Shotwell connects with Mike Abiuso to discuss his many music-related projects. Mike is the guitarist for The Venetia Fair, as well as the founder of SwitchBitch Records and Behind The Curtains Media. James and Mike discuss all of this, as well as their thoughts on SXSW, the usefulness of panels, and why the band Flannel Mouth deserve to be on your radar. It’s a fun conversation, but also an informative one, and we think you will love the results.
The music you hear in the intro to ‘Inside Music’ this week is “Girls Kiss Girls” from Victorian Halls. You can learn more about that song, as well as the album it hails from, on Leon’s official website.
You may already know this, but ‘Inside Music’ is now available on iTunes! Click here to subscribe.
Hello and welcome to the final Advice column of the week. The following article is something akin to a sequel, pairing Haulix with a few old friends for a second adventure with a similar theme: Tour problems. I’m not sure this pair of columns will become a trilogy, but I suppose anything is possible in a world where Think Like A Man Too exists. If you have any questions regarding the content of this blog, or if you would like to learn more information about the services offered by Haulix, please email james@haulix.com and share your thoughts. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.
Back in December, we partnered with our dear friends in The Venetia Fair to teach bands and solo artists touring the icy roads a few things that may help them survive their winter tour efforts. The column was a surprising hit, and so it is with great pleasure that we welcome them back to our site a second time to share their summer tour survival tips. Take it away, guys…
“Here Comes the Sun and I Say It’s Alright” – The Beatles. Errrheard?
Good day everyone, Mike Abiuso of The Venetia Fair, SwitchBitch (Records/Studio/Magazine) and Behind The Curtains Media. I feel like I practically live here at Haulix, which is a good thing, so thanks for having me back team!
I don’t know if you’ve read my last “Winter Tour Survival”, but if you haven’t, let me just reiterate the essentials that go for both seasons: (If you have, you’re going to be very bored, so just follow these ZZZZZZZZZZZZ’s)
Vehicle and Paperwork must be up to date:
-Driver’s licenses are legit
-Vehicle registered
-Vehicle insured
-Vehicle inspected
-Oil change (up to date and kept up to date on the road)
-Someone should have AAA for roadside assistance
If you have a van and trailer:
-Be sure the separate breaking system is functioning
-Under stand the low and high gears for up and downgrades
-Get a ball lock for your hitch incase you need to drop the trailer to park in heavily populated cities
Touring in general:
-Try to keep the tank above ¼ tank or have and to be safe have an extra reserve gas tank
-Get reflective cones and/or flares to put out incase you breakdown
(ZZZZZZZZzzzzzz hey wake up, you still there?)
Ok, moving on to “Part ll – Summer Tour Survival”…Now that we don’t have to worry about actually freezing to death, we mainly need to focus on keeping a good amount of food and water for survival and the rest is mostly comfort or “luxury”. Water is a given…get it in bulk and go, but food is way different this season. Can’t buy frozen food and keep it in the trailer any more unless you like eating a “mushy mold, fly graveyard sandwich” which I’ve heard has recently been labeled “exclusively for vegans” as of today. It’s all about those sealed cracker snacks and canned goods, which unfortunately, the ones that taste decent are awful for you. Click here to take a look at a year round specialty of mine that I like to call “tour-derves” (judge me? – dead to me)
So what we have here is a base coat of seared (aka canned) tuna, topped with peanut butter and/or cheese filled crackers with a light glaze of Sriracha to take away from the food portion of the meal. All served on the finest store brand paper plates. You get the idea, moving on.
When speaking in terms of water, this is where luxury comes in. Now I hate drinking water, but knowing it’s an essential I found a luxurious way to get around slamming that bull-shit of a drink. Umm SodaStream! Wootwoot, sound the alarm and flash the lights cause that jam keeps me alive. We (The Venetia Fair) usually get a case of water for the van, a back up case in the trailer and I also get a gallon jug of water to pour into a sodastream container, pull the sodastream from my drawer and just BLAST it w/ CO2. (Don’t know what a sodastream is? Know what google is?). Yeah, so seltzer for days.
Continuing on the topic of drinks. Alcohol always seems to find it’s way into a musicians life. It might have to do with having 6 hours to kill at a bar after load-in, but what do I know? Well, I do know that in the summer, if you’re 15 drinks in and feel amazing passing out in the van, that in a mere few hours that same van will transform into a human incinerator, so particularly after consuming alcohol, a few things you may want to keep near your van bed (or the place you sleep when touring) is A) water (seltzer) B) a battery operated fan and C) a $.99 spray bottle of water. These things I haven’t had lately on tour, but when The Venetia Fair did Warped Tour, I definitely had that jones going on.
While on the topic of sleeping situations, it’s a great idea to keep the van doors and windows open at night to keep air flowing. While that’s a great idea it also provides a free buffet for bugs and mosquitos, so you’re going to want to grab a few cheap bud nets to throw over all openings.
Being that this is beginning to get quite lengthily and I don’t want to bore the readers that made it thus far, I’m going to close out with showering. Every musician smells like the thickest festering shit syrup all the time. To reduce this in attempts to be a part or real civilization I would suggest three things. 1) pick up a sunshower which is a bag you can fill with a spigot, set on the roof of your trailer to warm up and shower with the power of gravity. 2) pick up a camping shower which is a bit more expensive, but basically it’s a pump version of the sunshower similar to the way your grandmother fertilizes her tomatoes, but with water instead. 3) Get a planet fitness membership and shower there.
Ok folks, as always, don’t do anything anyone in The Venetia Fair would do, and hope to see you this summer!
Hello and welcome to another exciting week of music industry insight and advice here on the official blog of Haulix. Christmas is fast-approaching, but here at Haulix we are showing no signs of slowing in our efforts to bring you the best blog content and music distribution services available anywhere online. We have new content planned every week day until the end of the year, and yes that even includes the day when Ol’ Saint Nick will come scurrying down your chimney. If you have any suggestions for future articles on this blog, or if you have a question you would like us to tackle in the weeks ahead, please email james@haulix.com and share your thoughts. We can also be found on Twitter and Facebook, which we update regularly. We can also be found on Twitter and Facebook.
We know there is no way for us to give each and every reader of this blog a gift for the holidays, but we have been working around the clock to compile the best content we possibly could to help keep you both informed and entertained while staying warm indoors. Today’s piece is the second-ever guest advice column written by an artist, and in my opinion it’s one of the best pieces we have ever run.
Whether he’s working with bands through SwitchBitch Records or melting faces in venues around the country with his own musical endeavors, Michael Abiuso lives music 24/7. When winter began to approach I knew we would eventually want to run an advice column geared towards preparations for seasonal touring, and Michael was the first person that came to mind to help create the piece. Fortunately for me, he agreed to help after only a few requests (and friendly nudges over social media). You can read his fantastic insight, below:
Winter Tour Survival
Hey kittens, Mike Abiuso of The Venetia Fair and SwitchBitch Records/Studios here. I was somehow invited back but this time to speak about touring in the winter. Don’t ask me how, either James has a man crush on me, or you guys get a kick out of mocking my poor writing capabilities. Either way I’m happy to be here.
Although I tour and have been touring since 2006, I’m still not quite sure I’m the best candidate to take advice from when it comes to prepping to hit the ol’ open road for the winter. I’m actually in the middle of an east coast tour as we speak with The Venetia Fair and in all honesty I’m sick as a dog and slept in the freezing cold van last night in attempt to enhance my gritty throat so I could continue singing in the vein of Madball. Are they still around?
Without any further adieu, lets freeze our balls off (gals this includes you).
Having your vehicle and paperwork up to date is so important. Be sure the following are all good to go:
Driver’s licenses are not suspended
Vehicles registration
Insurance cards
Inspection stickers
Oil changes
The wipers actually wipe shit off the windows and not just smear it around (This all pretty much goes for every day life and vehicles as well you hoodrats)
Anti-freeze
Learn from mistakes:
For about 5 years I was in a touring band called Kiss Kiss. We had a diesel school bus and although it was cheap and seems really cool, there were a lot of issues we ran into. I’m sure myself and everyone else would think…”$3,000 for a full size school bus and I can take the seats out and put couches and tables and make it cool…blablabla” We’re all stupid, trust me. Why?:
They don’t sell diesel at every gas station.
Do you remember in middle school how bumpy those things are? Good luck reading a book, or doing anything.
There’s a heater in the front and the back AND THAT’S IT. Not to mention it’s one big draft box made of aluminum.
If there are any issues, most places don’t service or have parts for these vehicles and if they do, you get charged a shit ton.
These things don’t like to start in the winter. Be prepared to purchase a block heater and a bunch or different sprays to blast in the engine prior to starting. Cool right?
That all sad, I personally would stick to a van and trailer. There’s a reason why every other touring band has one, it’s because it works, however there are things you need specifically for a van and trailer that you wouldn’t ordinarily need for a standard vehicle:
You’re going to want to make sure you have a separate braking system hooked up to the trailer or you will not be able to make abrupt stops putting yourselves and others in danger.
Be sure you know how your different high and low gears work for heading up and down large up/downgrades.
Snow tires are definitely helpful, but this winter we (The Venetia Fair) brought snow chains for our tires. In the past the band has gotten stuck trying to go uphill (upmountain) through the Rocky Mountains, and had an 18 wheeler push the van and trailer from behind.
Occasionally you’ll run into situations where a) you can’t fit a van and trailer anywhere and need to park them separate or b) you have a day off and don’t want to lug around a trailer and unnecessarily waste gas. For these occasions a ball lock is essential to put in the hitch of the trailer so it doesn’t get jacked when you leave. When you “D the T” more commonly known as dropping the trailer we make sure to have triangular wheel blocks placed under the trailer tires so it doesn’t accidentally roll away.
In cold temperatures the padlocks on our trailer freeze closed, so we keep a blowtorch in the door of the van.
There are always chances you will break down. It’s a good idea for at least one member of the band to have AAA so you can take advantage of roadside assistance without paying an arm and a leg.
People sometimes forget that the internet answers to everything. That said, we have a wireless internet router in the van that we share. If there are any issues with the van or anything, there’s a good chance you can google the issue if not to fix it, then to at least have an understanding of it to avoid being bullshitted by auto repair shop.
Frequently when driving through mountains there will be dead zones with no service. Breaking down in these areas can be a nightmare. It is important (especially in the winter) to try and keep your gas level above ¼ tank so (depending on the type of breakdown) you can at least keep the heat on in the van till someone stops to help.
If the scenario described above occurs but the van can’t idle or the issue is with the engine, we have a generator and a spare gas tank. We mainly use this to power microwaves, coffee makers, tvs etc, but I’m thinking for this upcoming January tour it may be a good idea to bring along a small space heater to use if a) we breakdown in a dead zone or b) we sleep in the van.
Lastly, I’d suggest getting some reflective cones to put outside of your rig when pulled over. This is just an extra precaution on top of hazards to avoid getting sideswiped.
A perk about touring in the winter is that you can buy food in larger quantities so it’s cheaper and will stay longer in the trailer! Maybe I’ll get invited back someday for a lesson on budgeting money on the road! Until next time kids, be safe and don’t do anything The Venetia Fair would do! Much love,
Hello again, everyone. We told you we would be rolling out some new content this week, and it is with great pleasure that we introduce you to our new Label Spotlight series. Following the path made by our efforts in Blogging and Publicity, these features will tell the story behind the world’s fastest-growing indie labels from the people who brought them into existence. If you have a suggestion for a label you would like to see featured in the coming months, please do not hesitate to email james@haulix.com and share your ideas. We can also be found on Twitter and Facebook.
Rising from the shores of New England with a love for rock and an admiration for the work Roald Dahl, Michael Abiuso is the type of person you only meet a few times in life (if that). He’s been on the industry’s hardest working individuals since he started making a name for himself in his early teens, and now that he’s settled into his twenties it seems he’s able to accomplish whatever he puts his mind to. The most fascinating thing about him however, is that whenever you see him it appears as if he doesn’t have a care in the world. It’s almost unsettling at first to see such calm in a person surrounded by some of the craziest bands working today, but as you get to know Michael you realize that sense of inner peace comes from the knowledge he’s hacked the game of life and found a way to make a living doing what he loves with the people he cares about the most. If that’s not the goal of every person reading this today, you should probably reevaluate your life.
I know we sometimes refrain from using the most technical language on the blog, but more often than not our article do carry a sense of professionalism that leaves very little room for humor. That result is never intentional, and in today’s post we hope to share a more lighthearted side of life in the industry. There’s still plenty to learn, but feel free to let yourself laugh every now and then as well. It’s good for you.
If you want to stay up-to-date with everything going on in the world of Michael Abiuso and SwitchBitch Records, click here to follow the label on Twitter. Additional questions and comments can be left at the end of this post.
H: For the record, please tell us your name, job title, and the company you’re discussing with us today:
M: Good day James! Just so you know, I’m going to attempt to make this interview informal, and entertaining yet informative. My name is Michael Abiuso. Some would say I’m the founder of SwitchBitch Records. For those who don’t know what that is, it started out as strictly a boutique record label and once deciding upon not following any rules it quickly kind of morphed itself into this strange melting pot of a label, recording studio, service provider, means of communication and what it all boils down to (see what I did there?) is that if I see talent, hard working bands, good, honest people, and/or something I’d like to be a part of, I now have a vehicle and ability to do that with via SwitchBitch Records.
H: You have a long history in this business. To whom or what do you attribute your interest in music?
M: James are you calling me old? Mostly my parents, they had records laying around the house all the time and at the ripe age of 4 (ugh, thanks to Ian Watkins I have to watch my terminology) they had gotten me this small cassette karaoke recorder. I would put on records, sing along, record it to tape and then listen on car rides. (It was embarrassing and I’m embarrassed now), but it’s funny because my parents definitely influenced me to pick up a guitar and kind of pursue music, but when I decided to make an effort and pursue it as a potential career path, I think they were kind of like “fuck, maybe we shouldn’t have encouraged this route so much”…and then the got divorced. Not related, but if you can’t make a joke then…next question.
H: When you think of your earliest memories with music, what comes to mind?
M: Kinda answered that above, but for you James, I’ll think up another. My first concert was Billy Joel with Elton John at Giants stadium. Those dudes were/are so damn talented and their natural ability to entertain and grasp an audience blew my mind. I was in first grade at that point and remember getting a t-shirt that was way too big for my stupid body. Everyone in my class had a cool remark like “you know Elton John is gay, are you gay too?”. So being easily influenced by peers at that age I’m not sure that I ever wore it again.
Side note/fun fact: In high school Billy Joel came and spoke to my AP Music Theory class about record labels and the industry and to beware of them blowing smoke up your ass.
H: Turning an interest into a hobby is one thing, but taking a hobby and turning it into a career is another feat altogether. What was your first ‘job’ in the music business? (paid or not, doesn’t matter)
M: Yes James, it was another feat. There’s kind of a grey line where hobby turned/turns to a career. In all honesty, paid and unpaid ‘jobs’ in this field still feel like a hobby in that the work is all fun and rewarding although I’m aware that it isn’t. My first ‘job’ would be giving guitar lessons and recording bands throughout high school. I did live sound for a play once which I hated and from there I just played in the pit bands which weren’t paying, but were fun, challenging and looked good on paper for college.
H: Let’s talk about the origin of your label, SwitchBitch Records. When did the idea to launch a label first come to you, and when did you decide to act upon it?
M: James, do we always have to talk about what you want to talk about? It was definitely a combination of things that led to the launch. The three main things were 1) the invested time and effort being heavily involved on the production end of recording other artists influenced me to want to want to push the music further that just the recording 2) Being in different bands and signing w/ different labels ex: Eyeball Records (Kiss Kiss), Triple Crown Records (The Gay Blades), Red Blue Records (The Venetia Fair) taught me a lot and allowed me to see first hand what aspects I felt worked and didn’t work giving me the ability to apply everything accordingly to SwitchBitch Records. 3) I forgot number three, maybe I was high when I said there were three, maybe I’m high now which is why I can’t remember number three, maybe there wasn’t a number three and I’ve been high all along. Regardless I’m convincing myself that number three wasn’t and isn’t important.
I launched the label around 2009 and by launch, I thought of a name, concept and a few ideas with some friends but didn’t begin taking on artists and taking it seriously until 2012.
H: There are many indie labels in existence today. What lead you to step out on your own instead of choosing to join forces with someone already active in the business?
M: Well James, I don’t really like rules that much and I feel like if I were under the gun of some higher power at a label they wouldn’t take kindly to that mentality. In actuality joining forces wouldn’t be so bad, but being that I also record, and tour full time in addition to the label, I need to have the ability to take on artists and/or projects as I have the time and funds to do so.
H: What were your original goals with Switchbitch, and how have they changed as your catalog (and roster) has grown?
M: James, the B is capital. I know that and you know that, but I’ll alter it from here out for you. Brief setup to the answer: Goals have changed a bit as the roster has grown, but more so as I learned the business and different aspects of the label better. When I began taking Switchbitch seriously, I was nervous to take on something that put other people and bands in my hands. It really required the mental preparation of “shut up, don’t over think, just do it and don’t fuck up”. I read some music business books, books on contracts, books on marketing, had meetings with entertainment lawyers and then dove in head first. Answer: goals were to sign, record and release records. Now after going through the motions I’ve learned so much about every aspect of a label from graphic design for album art, merch designs to pressing cds, pressing vinyl to publicity, management…everything. Looking back, it feels like I started off knowing nothing. The overall goals remain the same, but I found myself enjoying some of these individual aspects required of a label that I will occasionally provide them for artists outside the label. Hence the ‘affiliate’ section of the label found on the website.
H: We would be fools if we didn’t ask the obvious question – what is the story behind your label’s name?
M: James, the story is…I try to incorporate experiences, influences and projects of mine into the label. For instance you know how the dude from ‘Under the Gun’ got the name from The Gay Blades lyrics? Yeah, same kinda deal. My first serious band was Kiss Kiss. That name derived from Roald Dahl’s ‘Kiss Kiss’. Roald Dahl put out another book of adult short stories called ‘Switch Bitch’. Need I go further? Although not a traditional name for a label, I figured a) no rules and b) the artists and work we do will give the label and name it’s true identity. If interested, read further for other examples, if not, move on to the next question.
The Gay Blades all called each other “Dad”, so I have all of our artists call me ‘Dad’. It may even be in the contracts as a joke. We like jokes incase you haven’t found out.
We have a lot of quotes here including “born rich, born famous, born dead”. That came from The Venetia Fair always saying “We are very rich and very famous” and our bassist, Mr. Chark’s motorcycle is named ‘The Born Dead’, so that’s kind of a combination of the two.
H: Some band members start labels to release projects from their own groups, but Switchbitch works with a plethora of talent. Who was the first group you signed, and how did you decide they were the perfect band to lead the Switchbitch roster?
M: Oh hey James, you’re still here? I think the first artist was ‘The Mayor’ which was a band of mine back when the label was more of just a name and idea. The band was just a fun project to do on our free time that was far from serious. We didn’t do much other than state that the recording was released via SBR cause it looked better. The first artist SBR signed when we began doing some serious work and taking it serious was Flannel Mouth. We (The Venetia Fair) played with those boys out in Peoria, IL. I knew there were sweet ideas and potential in their tunes that were just slightly buried beneath an over saturation of ideas and lack of direction which I thought we could provide for them. They drove from IL to MA, Joe (TVF pianist) and I produced their E.P. and every day since I feel they’ve been getting better and better and we’ve all been continuously learning and growing together.
H: How big is the Switchbitch Records team? If people wanted to get involved in your efforts, who should they contact?
M: I’d like to think of Switchbitch as a collaborative effort of numerous people. I would even go as far as, take the liberty to, and have the balls to say that you, James are part of the team (I’m trying to state your name in every answer incase you didn’t catch that, kinda my thing). We have a solid foundation team of about 8 people. My main wing woman is a girl that goes by the name of Hanna. I don’t know what I would do without her. She basically manages and assigns tasks to the staff, comes up with a constant stream of ideas, and when I’m on tour (now) and can’t get to urgent things right away I can count on her to be sure it gets done by sending a simple text or email.
As for people wanting to get involved with us, and assuming that means people looking for positions, interns, bands looking to submit to work w/ SBR and artists looking for SBR services, they can all get in touch w/ Hanna at submissions@switchbitchrecords.com
H: When it comes to sharing music for promotional purposes, which services do you prefer and why?
M: I try and utilize different services for different things not only because they offer different options, but also because all people are different. Some may be attracted to videos and visuals, some may be busy and want to click a link and download a song to listen while they work, some may not want to use a ton of data on the go and just stream a few seconds of a clip. Not only do the different services attend to different markets, but they also allow for different exclusive options for press outlets that I’m sure you’re very familiar with, no James?
The most recent route and order of operations I took for sharing a song (which could apply to an E.P. or a full length) was:
(all exclusive) -text announcement -video teaser (youtube) -stream (soundcloud) -free download (soundcloud) -release (bandcamp/itunes/etc) from here one could follow up w/ a lyric video, music video, if it’s an E.P. or full length move on to next single. I always think interactive things such as contests are always sweet. All of the above can be shared via all social media out lets (facebook, twitter, instagram etc).
Remember when a band signed to a label, made a record, made a video, got in Hit Parader mag and MTV and all of a sudden they were 16 years old and called Silverchair? All without having to put a finger on a mouse or any sort of social media, just focus or writing and being awesome! Oh, you don’t? I’m old.
H: What is the biggest misconception people have about life in the music industry today?
M: Coming from an elder, they often have this mentality of “so, when are you going to get a real job?”. Well sir, why don’t you walk in a circle and restart this conversation by spitting in my face because the majority of us in the music industry work so incredibility hard with so much passion and enthusiasm 24/7.
Coming from a younger/middle aged group, they see an artists’ music video premiered on MTV Buzzworthy and think “hey, what’s it like to have made it and be rich and where’s your mansion and can I have one too cause…remember me?”. It is far from that my friends. Soooo far from that. Do you agree James?
H: As someone who not only works in bands, but also performs regularly, what advice would you offer aspiring musicians hoping to make their mark in their current music industry?
M: Well luckily James, there are no rules and let me tell you, my personal biggest mistake was being afraid to make mistakes. If you don’t make mistakes you have no basis and foundation to learn from and you’re often in a stand still position which will get you absolutely no where. I would suggest to do what excites you the musicians! There are infinite creative new ideas just floating around waiting to be captured and put into action. Don’t be lazy and convince yourself that you can’t do something. Throw caution to the wind and make your moves. (These could all be bad ideas, maybe don’t listen to me, I’m no different than all of you)
H: Looking ahead to 2014, what goals do you have for yourself and the label?
M: Just a plethora of things come to mind when reading each question and every question and I think..“James, do you have all day?” and then I think “James, do you think I have all day?” I have different ideas that come and go every hour, so what I am about to tell you may be 100% ass backwards in the next hour. I had the ideas of:
-potentially doing a 2014 SBR sampler as we did in 2013 -recording/producing/releasing a full length for Flannel Mouth -starting a SBR type mag influenced by UTG -I told myself last year on new years that 2013 I’d do a solo record and had no time…that’s an idea for 2014 -mentioned to The Gay Blades writing 3-5 songs, recording at SwitchBitch Studio and releasing a 7" via SBR, again…idea, we’re all so busy -tour tour tour tour -finish moving everything from Boston to NYC -The Wicked got a new lineup of band members together so I really wanna get them up to speed w/ touring and a new record.
H: I think we’ve just about covered everything. Do you have anything else you would like to add before I let you go?
M: Yes, James. I’d like say that you did a great job with these questions however I’d like to add that your timing was piss poor because if we chatted a week ago, you would have gotten some super sweet well thought out answers, but being that you waited until I hit the road…well let me just say I’ve been answering these questions in the van and/or in a venue surrounded by my band The Venetia Fair. Have you met them? Picture being in a van w/ 5 smelly rabid animals that drink, piss, spit, scream, fight and vomit. Now re-read this interview and hopefully you’ll get a better grasp of why I sound like a full lunatic.
Love you James and Haulix. Thanks again for having me, you’re truly inspirational!
