Hey Justin,


I was just curious what you recommend to new bands these days as the industry has changed so much. Im not sure if the whole "make a demo" and promote that to get shows.. to get an audience works anymore. We had a weekly tue night gig at the 400 bar here in town where Mason Jennings got his start. We had no luck getting people to come in for FREE. it was $5 18+ and free if over 21 and we still couldn't draw a crowd. Our music is a little different than most live improv electronica. There are other bands doing this very thing here in the twin cities but the ones who are good at it ie: Dosh, Mystery Palace ... keep gigs and circles of friends to themselves. At this point, I just want to make a good record and worry about shows later but what would you suggest to someone to get the music out there? Distrbution and such is much harder if you don't have a label.

Hey Justin,


I was just curious what you recommend to new bands these days as the industry has changed so much. Im not sure if the whole "make a demo" and promote that to get shows.. to get an audience works anymore. We had a weekly tue night gig at the 400 bar here in town where Mason Jennings got his start. We had no luck getting people to come in for FREE. it was $5 18+ and free if over 21 and we still couldn't draw a crowd. Our music is a little different than most live improv electronica. There are other bands doing this very thing here in the twin cities but the ones who are good at it ie: Dosh, Mystery Palace ... keep gigs and circles of friends to themselves. At this point, I just want to make a good record and worry about shows later but what would you suggest to someone to get the music out there? Distrbution and such is much harder if you don't have a label.

A toughie for sure. My honest opinion based on one man's very brief assessment of your music, I think you need to develop your music more and continue writing, writing, writing. Focus on the best collection of recorded material that you can. Make SURE (and not just from your own viewpoint) that it is innovative, intriguing, original, arresting, and COMPOSITIONALLY great. And forget about the clubs for now. I know this scene subjectively, and I'll say that you need to focus on coming out of the shed with the sickest, most resonant and interesting material ever heard. You can't be even just competitive...you need to stand out HARD, because this area of music is just as over-saturated as new metal was three or four years ago. Suck people in to your music by standing out so far; sometimes it just takes some serious time and work to get there.

As far as getting the music out there, that's a very deep one. Do a lot of research; maybe make your own label? It's almost cart before the horse. If the music takes no prisoners, all else is guaranteed to follow. No question. One man's take.

All the best,
JMJ