2cents For My Bands Web Site

[Big Benner]

Hey all,

Just looking for some constructive critisism on web sites.

My band www.shortwavetheband.com

and

Mine www.benlegge.biz

[fenderjazz68]

Takes a bit of time to download.

[xush]

I think the site looks great. One of the nicest ones I've seen lately.
Well put together; seems like it adheres to a theme or motif, everything meshes well.
Very stylish.

It does take a long time for certain elements to load though.

[goran]

Great site, very pleasant to eyes!

[cowsgomoo]

the problem we all have with making band sites is trying to balance content between the basic stuff a casual 1st-time observer might want to see, and the more in-depth stuff that a hardcore fan would want to explore...

and I think the shortwave site is stylish, and obviously put together by someone with a sound aesthetic sense (I love the lamps, and the gig posters are very nice), but more casual observers might look at the bio page and go "gaaah, i'm not reading all that!" .. so maybe a 2 step approach to the bio.. one where you introduce the band and then link to the full detailed story

practical things like erm.. in your downloads page, give people info on how big the files are and what people need to do to save them to their computer to listen to... I know it's all easy to a lot of us computer users, but i'm always amazed by the number of people who visit OUR site, then we meet afterwards and they say they didn't know how to download the songs!

[xush]

True, I noticed some of the same things. Skipped the bio.
I expected the lamps to turn on or off as you hovered over them...anybody else?

Also, though there's a lot of text on the site, I couldn't find anywhere that gave any hint as to what kind of music you played. No clue at all. I know a lot of people don't like to 'label' their own music, but you might want to at least mention what basic genre it belongs to. I surfed late at night and didn't want to wake anyone up playing the audio, so I'm left with no idea of what kind of band you guys are.

[Joe Nerve]

I liked the opening page a lot. I like all the graphic work. I especially like the posters on the gig page (I'm assuming that's what they were) and think I may steal the idea.

The Bio - (my$.02)

I recently had to take care of the horrifying task of re-doing our bio. NOBODY LIKES WRITING THEM and I believe NOBODY LIKES READING THEM, yet they seem to be none the less necessary. the present bio page on the nerve website attempts to get around all this like yours, but since we've been signed to a label, we've been asked to change it and go the more traditional way. i spoke to a lot of people about this, gotten a lot of feedback, and basically heard a lot of stuff that i'm simply going to pass along to you.

• Nobody wants to hear you complain about writing it, it's become cliche at this point.
• Suck it up and try to write it in a way that isn't nauseating.
• Think of people who might be writing the band up. What could they get out of the bio that would save them work.
• What makes your band different, what makes your band stand out. Why should I listen to or go see your band instead of the 100,000 other bands in your city.
• What do you sound like. Everyone is unique - and very few bands are groundbreaking in any way. Will I like you if I like music like the Chili Peppers? John Denver? Bad Religion?
• Like mr. cow said, the layer approach may i think serve a band best. people flipping through can get a quick idea, and they can go deeper if they're fans, want to do a write up, or if you've managed to catch their interest.

I'd get rid of all the disclaimers and re-work it till you come up with something that everyone in the band can stomach. I still haven't updated the nerve's bio page cuz I can't yet entirely stomach the stuff myself - but I do think it's more professional, and will be more useful in the long run.

[xush]

Yeah, I tried writing a comedic Bio too, and it got nixed real fast.
I like just the basics now; where are you, who are you, what do you play, what are you doing now? I don't think anybody much reads all the historical evolution anymore.

I've seen it several times myself- it is definitely true that newspapers/magazines/web-reviewers WILL COPY from your bio VERBATIM! So, whatever you put in there, don't be surprised if it ends up in press releases. Make the interviewer/reviewer's job easier, and make sure you get described in a way you'd approve of by assuming that your Bio will be used word-for-word in the public media. Write what you would want someone else to write about you. I guarantee they will use it. This especially applies to describing YOUR SOUND. Don't let a newspaper reporter do it themself! Put it in writing for them.

[yoshi]

The main page: I get teh impression that it's some sort of boy band to be honest.. is it? Call me bias because I'm in a metal band if you wis.

I aggree about the band bio - it's too long and comes accross in a manner of being too cocky to give a damn about it.. and then once you pass that view, it becomes like a Q&A section in a teenage girl magasine.

Make your bio sound like an adventure. Check out this taken form my bands bio, i think it's a half decent attempt!:

"From the winter months of late 2004 emergses Deifiler: a British four piece death metal band.

However, long before this, Deifiler existed not as a band but as a mind-set, embedded within the thoughts and creativity of all those involved.."

Click here to read the rest: http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/...music/Main.htm (see bio page)

[The Golden Boy]

The overall look of the site is cool. It did take a while to load, even on the superfast thing here. I didn't like the constantly switching pictures thing. Seriously consider doing the bio over again, even the kitschy

"ass-kickin' rock-n-roll band that rocks like Molly Hatchet crossed with Terry Jacks and makes the ladies swoon like Corky from 'Life Goes On'"

is better than whining for the first 13 lines that the author doesn't like writing bios. The bio is nearly useless, besides telling the member names. WHO are you, what do you like, what do you want to sound like? Also, where are you guys from- I'm guessing Canada, but you might want to narrow it down a bit.

I really like the overall look, and I really like the way the photography works.

FWIW.

[Munjibunga]

Cool.