Category Archives: general

general

Japandroids, the Casbah (San Diego), 6/16/12

1 Comment

japandroids

After boldly taking on the man known as Dan Bejar a few weeks ago, Eric returns with a new post on Japandroids. Considering he saw them about three weeks ago, I’m a little late in getting this post up, but I think the sentiment remains.

Is it actually possible to have too much Japandroids in a matter of two weeks? At the risk of redundancy (sorry I’m not sorry) between this post and Kevin’s two weeks ago, I’m going to talk about the Vancouver noisemakers once again because I think it bears an echo. I took a trip with my girlfriend to San Diego last week, and now that I’m beginning to feel rested from my trip (“I need a vacaaaation from my vacaaaation, you guys” haha LOLOL), I can finally start appreciating the J-Droids show I saw at The Casbah in San Diego last Saturday night.

The show somehow wasn’t sold out until a few days beforehand, which was surprising, and we weren’t sure we were going to go until right about the sell-out date. It was a good half-hour from the surf shack hotel in Encinitas we were staying at that night, unaware that they’d be in town when we booked it. Once I really thought about it, and especially after I convinced my friend and his girlfriend who live in San Diego to go, I realized I had made the right decision and that it’d be worth a drive twice that amount.

Me, my girlfriend, and our San Diegan music festival soul brother and sister met up right after the opener, with them having no knowledge of the band whatsoever. The couple has a mainly hip-hop and DJ-focused gigantic musical attention span that, although I’m not nearly as well versed in those areas, lends plenty of overlap within the Venn Diagram of musical taste for us to completely trust each other’s judgment when recommending something. Long story short, I randomly met them at a bar in Nashville the day before Bonnaroo, and they asked us if we wanted to camp with them. I was with a work buddy at my first big-boy music festival, and I figured why not. It was a fantastic decision – we hung out with them the entire festival and had a great time throughout, and although we hadn’t kept in touch as well as we would have liked to in the few years since, it’s an easy friendship to pick up where you left off.

I share these details in the context of a friendship (and I’m sure I’ll do it more than a little) because it’s such a core part of how I find out about music that I eventually discover myself and love. I’ve developed an “onward and upward” mentality when it comes to seeking out music over the years, scanning through blogs and listening to online radio, but when I think about it, each new artist I come to know is basically a branch of a tree that a friend pointed out to me. Almost everyone that finds him or herself in this position can think of a friend, a boyfriend or girlfriend, or even a parent to whom a musical palette can be largely attributed.

Japandroids: The House That Heaven Built:

In addition to recorded music, friends also constitute a huge part of how I experience a live show. A douche-cog in the concert-wheel can turn epic might-have-been shows into ones you keep to yourself even when friends are engaging in a bit of concert reminiscin’. A generally like-minded, positive person can take an average one and make it one you’ll remember for the rest of your life and never stop shutting up about to anyone who’ll listen.

That said, I don’t think I’d bring just anyone to a Japandroids show who’d never heard one guitar riff, one “Oh-oh-OH-OH” chorus/sing-along/hook, or one lyric about getting messed up with your bros or french-kissing some French girls. Considering what I’d already seen of them, and the company I found myself in, I was confident we were all in for a treat. This being my third Japandroids show, and the second being clearly more polished and tighter than the first, this was exciting for me. I saw them the first time play as an opener for The Walkmen at the good ol’ Clubhouse a few years back, then again at the Polyvinyl showcase at the 2011 Pygmalion Festival (in Champaign, Ill., where I went to school), I felt I was at least decently qualified to critique.

The opener for the show was Edmonton rapper (and former poet laureate) Cadence Weapon, himself also a Polaris long-list nominee. He’s been covered in this space before, so I won’t say too much other than he seems poised for a larger-scale breakout as well. Full of positive energy, fun, and apparently not phased by a (at least for the first few songs) mostly frozen, mostly quiet, and mostly apparently unaccustomed to hip-hop show crowd full of white people, his stage presence became more infectious throughout the show, especially once Japandroids one-man rhythm section David Prowse joined in. Standing stage right, wearing a Hot Snakes T-shirt, 10 or so feet away from the main stage, right next toooo… this moi, Prowse was shouting out lyrics and getting just generally fired up.

Me being the total awkward dork about these things as I am, when Cadence Weapon threw a shout-out in the way of Mr. Prowse, foreshadowing the general loudness of the headliner we were about to hear, I turned over to him and asked through a cupped hand:
“You guys wouldn’t do that, would you?”
“Huh?”
“Wait, this isn’t going to be LOUUUD is it?” (mocking fake outrage)
“Oh, hehe. You see all those amps? This ain’t gonna be no acoustic show. At least I hope not.”
“Oh, yeah. Hehe – right.”
Guh. As much as I never have the ability to say something cool or funny in those situations, even though I probably shouldn’t be, I’m generally glad I keep making myself anyway. In a place like The Casbah, which is Rhythm Room size or slightly smaller, it’s pretty possible to do that before a show, which I don’t think will be the case with this band for long. A major theme of Celebration Rock is growing up and realizing where you’ve already been, and either life is imitating art or vice-versa, but they’s all growns up now, both in terms of their live show and their status as a band.

It’s evident from watching clips like the insane collaboration with Captain Kirk from the Roots and gauging the heaps of praise that the band has received lately, I gather the ‘Droids are picking up a significant amount of steam right now, and I’m super happy about it.

Yeah, I’ll nerdily and snobbily admit it can be annoying to me when my special little snowflakes become everyone else’s special little snowflakes, but I couldn’t be more proud. For me, this was watching that high draft pick or prospect you’ve followed since early on (maybe not since high school, but let’s say later in college for the sake of comparison) blossom into a first time all-star with a promising career ahead.

Everyone says the same thing the first time they see Japandroids, and I could see it right away on the faces of my two newly and instantly converted friends’ faces almost right away. How can two dudes make ALL THAT SOUND? Once their show opener/album opener “The Nights of Wine And Roses” cranked up, I could feel a collective of “awww yeah” hit them and the rest of the crowd. And they didn’t let up the entire show. Sweaty, bleeding-heart jams cranked out, with only breaks for swiggin’ a couple shots and some witty banter in between.

Confident, talented, and intense on the one hand, yet funny, friendly, and approachable on the other, Japandroids are easy for me to like – a band I’d certainly want to hang out with in real life. There’s always going to be a certain rough-around-the-edges quality of Japandroids’ vocals that people may or may not like (I’ve met a few who are in the “not” category), but it’s hard to dispute how tight and in-sync they are live now. Again, this has been a progression. The first time I saw them, they were much more raw. The second time, less so. Now, it clicks. They have made, as Bill Simmons would say, “The Leap.”

So many cheesy, cliched statement come to mind in summing that show up, so I’ll just go ahead and mention them. They ROCKED that tiny place, like AC/DC rocked it, you guys. Faces. Melted. Crowds were surfed. People were bowled over, literally and figuratively. They played dang near every song in their catalog. They had people clapping, cheering and shouting from beginning to end. They survived a complete technical difficulty after getting through a third of it without missing a beat.

From reading my last two posts about Destroyer and Japandroids shows, I’d be perfectly understanding if you think I only like bands on independent labels and who are from Vancouver, and that I think every show is the cat’s PJs. Neither is true, I assure you, but daaaaang, these were a couple fun, energizing shows… from two Vancouverian indie-rock bands.

I’m so glad I got to experience this show with three great music partners who could appreciate it. We and everyone else in the room felt it. This was special. This was epic. This was a right-place-right-time moment to watch a band grow up, and I’m probably not going to shut up about it anytime soon.

general, video

Quicksand reunion at the Glass House in Pomona (video)

Leave a comment

If the original members of Quicksand can perform together for the first time in 13 years, then I figure it’s not too much to ask to publish my first blog post in nearly a week.

I’m not that into the recent surge of reunions – I hate the idea of selling out my cherished memories for one last go-round that likely will leave me disappointed anyway – but this re-emergence of Quicksand, well, I’ll make an exception for that. The band’s 1993 full-length debut, Slip, is an airtight classic that is just begging for some sort of deluxe reissue treatment – and what better time than its 20th anniversary (!) next year? (The band’s second, and last, album, Manic Compression is also not to be overlooked.)

Any thought of a full-blown reunion appears to be just speculation at this point, but Walter Schreifels and Co. were the surprise guests at the Revelation Records 25th anniversary show on June 10 at the Glass House in Pomona, Calif. They played five songs – four from Slip and a Smiths cover of “How Soon Is Now?” that they released as a B-side in ’93. Someone recorded the set from what appears to be the side of the stage, a great angle that really lets you see people freaking out over this (and protecting themselves from stage divers).

Quicksand is scheduled to perform at the FYF Fest in Los Angeles in September – reason enough to start planning a road trip. Before the final song at the Glass House, Schreifels seems to leave open the possibility that these aren’t just one-off shows: “I don’t know where this is all gonna lead … ”

Here’s hoping for more dates. In the meantime, I’ll have to see if I still have my ticket stub from that Quicksand/Rage Against the Machine show from back in the day.

Setlist from the Pomona reunion show:

1. Omission
2. Unfulfilled
3. Fazer
4. Dine Alone
5. How Soon Is Now? (Smiths cover)

general

Destroyer, Crescent Ballroom, 6/7/12

2 Comments

destroyer

In my never-ending attempts at trying to recruit blog help with the promise of unsolicited promo emails and zero pay – hasn’t worked for almost seven years – the newest contributor boldly offered to tackle one of the more seemingly complex characters in indie rock for his first post. It can only get easier from here.

Hi, I’m Eric. Frequent Phoenix concert-goer, beard-haver, depressing sports team attention-payer. For some reason, Kevin has graciously allowed me to occasionally pollute his musical blog space, perhaps out of empathy for a fellow suffering Cubs fan or just because he’s an extremely busy man. In any case, I’m not about to say no.

For my first try at this, I figured I’d start off with something I know – a show in Phoenix. I’ve been through the lean years of Modified, Trunk Space, the now-closed Clubhouse (ewww, full-body shiver), as well as our current prosperity with the fantastic and game-changing Crescent Ballroom. Thursday night, chameleonic Vancouver indie band Destroyer came to town.

Destroyer, it seems, is a hard band to put one’s genre-finger on. Right off the bat, their name is Destroyer. For me, at least, this conjures up images of, well … not these guys. I think there’s a little wink at the fact that you’re probably expecting a Slayer sound-alike.This is not out of the question for a band with esoteric lyrics like “I wrote a song for America … Who knew” and “I sent a message in a bottle to the press … It said ‘don’t be ashamed or disgusted with yourself”” and song titles like “Suicide Demo For Kara Walker.” Keeping everyone guessing seems to be pretty much their thang.

Kaputt is Destroyer’s ninth full-length album. Having been around in one form or another for 15 years, with lead singer Dan Bejar serving as the brains of the operation and the band’s only constant member, it’s taken a lot of twists and turns style – and lineup-wise before settling down in their current residence of Mellowtown, USA. I think every time I’ve talked with someone about the band, I’ve heard a different comparison, from Bowie to Chuck Mangione to Joy Division. The thing is, I’m almost sure they’re all correct in some way. I’ll be perfectly honest and admit that I’m nowhere near the Bob Slydell zone in celebrating Destroyer’s entire catalog, but with 2011’s brilliant Kaputt, they’ve solidified themselves among the upper tier of bands on the current indie circuit.

I’ve loved the album ever since a friend played it for me last September with a simple introduction: “Have you heard of Destroyer?” This was probably the smartest way to go about it, I think – no band comparisons, no hyping – just pressing play and letting me draw my own conclusions. It would have been pretty pointless and fleeting to try otherwise. My initial thoughts were “When is this from?” “Is this a soundtrack to something?” “Is this guy serious?” “That is a LOT of horns.” Almost a year later of listening to the album, I’m probably not a whole lot closer to understanding what Destroyer is “going for” than back then, except for the fact that they’re trying to be, well, Destroyer.

It’s true enough that the album’s sound easily draws comparisons of the 70s or the 80s. Trumpets and saxophones provide the backbone of many a track. An easy, smooth, groovy “Yacht Rock”-type vibe is present in a large percentage of songs as well. Post-punk and new-wave stop in from time to time. In the “I don’t see why not” category, my friend at the show imagined some could be the closing credits to an old Guiding Light episode.

I don’t get the sense that these choices are to garner kitsch/retro value or to pay tribute to or mimic this artist or that one; it just made kind of “works” for them, and I don’t even question it anymore. This is a band that’s going to do it their way (whatever way that may be), no matter what. This all made a bit more sense when you put the band’s sound in the context of their lead singer, who maybe sums it up best on “Blue Eyes,” when he proclaims “I make poetry for myself.”

Take the voice of Al Stewart, the face/hair/beard combo of Rafi from The League and the wardrobe choices of Sting on vacation, and you’ve got a rough start of the interesting collage of a man that is Dan Bejar. One thing that struck me about his stage presence right away is that although he stands somewhat awkwardly hunched over the microphone, he seems totally relaxed and nonchalant at the same time. A good catch-all term might be “disheveled,” but he definitely wears it well.

In “A Savage Night at the Opera,” Bejar sings, “You’ll never guess where I’ve been … A life abandoned midstream…” This been-there-done-that vibe was fun to watch, as if I was watching the Most Interesting Man in The World’s scruffy nephew tell me about his travels through life, one Destroyer tune at a time. No matter the subject matter of his lyrics, dark or upbeat, he plays the whole thing very straight – deadpan and with the cadence of an aloof beat poet. He comes off as cool, in a very uniquely Dan Bejar kind of way. I can’t tell if he’s actually too nervous to show his emotions onstage or too cool to care, but I tend to think the latter. As he sang, casually unfazed, on “Bay of Pigs:, “I’ve seen it all…”

The band mixed it up thoroughly enough between the recent territory of Kaputt and the breadth of their other eight albums to please both the undoubted majority of relative newbies like m’self and hardcore veteran Destroyettes alike. They’ve had something of a cult following for more than a decade, but due to the band’s positive spin by outlets like Pitchfork, a Polaris Music Prize nomination in 2011 for Kaputt, and crossover attention for Bejar’s intermittent involvement with fellow Great White Northers the New Pornographers, a good many at the Crescent seemed to know “Chinatown,” “Blue Eyes” and the title track by heart, and almost no one except the (verrrrry drunk) superfan dudes next to me, and a few scattered others, seemed to know much else. Still, there was nary an un-bobbed head or un-tapped toe to be seen across the landscape.

Despite Bejar being unquestionably the band’s face and mascot, I’m sure I’m not going to be able to give the rest of the band adequate attention or praise for their outstanding work that night. Despite all of Bejar’s eccentricities and playfulness, it bears mentioning that Destroyer is full of pretty serious musicians (including New Porns bassist John Collins), with all of the chops you could ask for. This is an extremely tight and professional band that plays beautifully together, with each piece complementing the other. Someone may correct me on this, but I counted seven members playing at least nine instruments (if you count a trumpet filtered through knobs and doohickies that transformed into some sort of combo drum machine/synthesizer/didgeridoo as one instrument).

Despite the fact that Crescent Ballroom has one of the best sound systems of any venue, big or small, that I’ve ever heard, I’m not sure I’ve heard a band before Destroyer hit that difficult sweet spot of “That sounded just like the album, except they added a little something extra.” There were solos to end songs, sure, but not in a showy, ego-trip type of way. Rather, this seemed like an extension of the song itself, like an unfortunately deleted scene that you really wish had been part of the original film.

This was one of the better shows of the dozens I’ve seen in Crescent’s brief history. Destroyer solidified their spot in my personal book as one of the better live acts around right now. They did their name proud.

general, video

Japandroids on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon

2 Comments

Sometimes, I really want Japandroids to play live with a bassist. Or another guitarist. Or another two guitarists. Or a bassist and another two guitarists.

And then sometimes I realize it doesn’t matter all that much. The punk aesthetic of the two-man band is alive, and all that matters is how they’ve tapped into my utter weakness of nostalgia and passing youth. Friends are moving on, moving up. Memories endure, but despite our best efforts, we grow old and we grow apart. Technology makes it impossible to lose touch (right?), but no text message could possibly replace this: “Remember saying things like ‘we’ll sleep when we’re dead’ / And thinking this feeling was never going to end.”

Hopefully you’ve already heard the band’s 2009 album Post-Nothing. Last week they released Celebration Rock, a 35-minute collection of songs that make me want to air drum and hug all my friends at the same time.

The band “Fire’s Highway” on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon last week:

On a web exclusive, they played “The House That Heaven Built,” with Roots guitarist “Captain” Kirk Douglas:

110 percent, general

110 percent: Daniel Presant (PAPA) talks Lakers, Magic and more Lakers

1 Comment

papa

The fifth installment of 110 percent, a series in which I talk to musicians about sports, features Daniel Presant, bassist for PAPA, one of my favorite recent discoveries who put out a fantastic EP, A Good Woman is Hard to Find, in October. Presant is a co-founding member, along with Darren Weiss (Girls), of the Los Angeles-based group, which is scheduled to record new material in June.

Presant replied to an email request for an interview, eager to share his love of the Lakers.

So where did the Lakers fandom come from? Were you born in L.A.?
I was born in New York, lived in New Jersey for two years and moved to L.A. when I was four. Darren was born and raised in L.A. and we’re both both die-hard Lakers fans.

What’s your earliest memory of the Lakers?
Probably when I went to the Forum as kid with my pops. I remember the vibe. I don’t remember the game, though I’m sure I was in awe. It was when they had A.C. Green. That’s my dream — to play at the Forum.

Your dream is to play music or basketball at the Forum?
Music. Considering I’m only 5-9, I don’t think basketball is gonna happen.

Do you play basketball though?
Oh yeah. I’m in L.A. and when friends come out from New York, we get some good pickup games going.

So the Lakers’ season ended in the second round against the Thunder. What’s your takeaway from this season? Do they need to blow this team up?
Yes. Blow it up. They need change. They need to get rid of (coach) Mike Brown. Maybe they didn’t give him enough time to implement his style, but I don’t like him as a coach. I think he’s too positive. I don’t think that’s what the Lakers need. We need a Gregg Popovich type.

Andrew Bynum is getting a lot of criticism? Should they get rid of him?
If we can get, like, Dwight Howard, then we should get rid of Bynum. But I don’t see it happening. I say keep him, but I would keep (Pau) Gasol over Bynum.

What were your expectations of the season? Did they get as far as you thought they would?
I’m a romantic. I’m always gonna look and hope for the best. But with that, I also understand that that sometimes the best isn’t necessarily a championship or anything like that. Going into the playoffs I had really high hopes. But after first round (seven-game series vs. the Nuggets), it was done.

Who’s your favorite Laker, past or present?
magicMagic Johnson because of his versatility and flash. I will say that Kobe’s work ethic is the thing I look up to most of any player.

Do you follow the Dodgers?
I’m not much of a baseball guy. I used to love the Dodgers when I was a little kid – Eric Karros and Brett Butler and all of them. I’m actually looking at this autograph I have from Mike Piazza now.

Even if you’re not a huge baseball guy, it’s great that Magic is part of the new Dodgers’ ownership group. He’s such a big figure in L.A.
He brings a winning, carefree vibe. Now look at them — they’re killing it. Obviously it’s not Magic who’s doing that. But it feels like a different aura right now.

And let me just say: Go Kings.

L.A. seems like the center of the sports universe recently.
Yeah, sorry about that (ahem, cheap shot at Phoenix).

You told me at your recent show in Phoenix that you were a Buffalo Bills fan.
Yeah, when (quarterback) Doug Flutie was on the team. I’ve always loved the bills — I never felt anything for the Giants or Jets.

There’s usually talk about L.A. getting a football team again. Would that interest you?
I went to my first football game a few months ago — Chargers-Ravens. I drove to San Diego. In terms of general vibe, nothing beats a Lakers game, but a football game is so much more epic.

One last thing, going back to the Lakers. Are the Clippers a threat to the Lakers’ recent run of success and popularity in Los Angeles?
I don’t know what’s going to happen this summer, but the Clippers have them for next season in terms of youth and talent. We don’t have a shooter on our team. That’s the big issue.

Stream PAPA’s EP A Good Woman is Hard to Find below (I’m especially fond of “Collector”):

arizona, general, hip-hop

Mega Ran’s guide on How to Win at Kickstarter

4 Comments

As someone who recently raised a staggering sum of more than $15,000 for his most recent project through Kickstarter, Phoenix rapper Mega Ran is certainly qualified to offer his tips and tricks for success with the crowd-funding site, which has become an increasingly popular way for musicians to raise capital to record.

True to his roots as a former teacher, Mega Ran has written up a lesson plan to educate the masses on How to Win at Kickstarter, and he’s kindly allowed me to share it here to help spread the word. Enjoy and absorb the insight from a musician who seemingly never slows down.

Mega Ran

At 11:24 AM on May 4, 2012, while preparing for a show in Wisconsin, I got a text message.

“WOW!! WAY TO GO!! YOU DID IT!!”

As of Saturday, May 4, I had just finished up my third Kickstarter campaign, and the third time was truly the charm for me, after raising $5,300 out of $2,500 the first time, and then $5,400 out of $2,500 the second time. This time I was asking for $3,000 to create a 3-part album, a comic and video game. I thought it could work out, but never imagined what would happen. So how did it go?

$15,480?

When the smoke cleared, the final total was at a whopping 516% of the desired goal. I beat my last two Kickstarters by an average of $10,000. It’s the third biggest comic book total raised on Kickstarter. I get at least three emails a day asking this question, so I figured I’d help you out by answering it publicly:

How did you raise all that money??

I’m going to tell you something. Although I think I’m a good rapper, OK producer and pretty cool performer, I’m not the best at any of these things. There’s a lot I can do better. Heck, I even hate my voice. But I’ll tell you something else. NO ONE will outwork me, at any level. A year ago this week (May 2012), I stepped away from my teaching job, not knowing if I’d ever have to come back or not. I was determined to make the most of my God-given talents, the biggest of which might be my heart. It was the scariest thing I’d ever done … and I think it was the fear that makes me work harder than ever, because I know that if I don’t hustle, I’ll starve, or have to return to a 9-to-5 job.

If there’s one thing I learned from all my years of teaching, it’s something that my first mentor teacher told me. The best teachers are the best thieves. That didn’t mean to steal pencils and paper from my fellow cohorts, but she meant that in order to stay on top in the classroom, you have to know what works and what doesn’t, and adjust quickly sometimes.

If another teacher does something that works, by all means, use it in your classroom … but do it your way, of course. I’ve watched a lot of teachers in my day, whether in the classroom or on stage, so I definitely picked up plenty of cool ideas to share.

So without further ado, here is Mega Ran’s version of How to Win at Kickstarter.

1. Be Realistic.

Let’s be honest – it doesn’t take $5000 to make an album these days. I have made countless albums for FAR less than that. Anyone asking for that much for a single album is being a little greedy. On the other hand, a Kickstarter project for a high-quality music video for less than that is selling itself (and its backers) short. Be honest and up front with people in the description. Be realistic about promises of delivery dates. Take shipping into account … remember that while it’s tempting to offer them the world for their help, you’ll have to pay for that stuff later.

Being realistic means asking yourself some hard questions.

a) Would I donate to this?: Time to step outside of yourself … is it interesting enough that if you weren’t involved, you would want to be?

b) Is my goal too much? Too little?: ALWAYS consider the fees and the fact that even IF you hit your goal, you don’t get the amount you see on screen.

c) Do I have supporters who would spend money on my vision?

d) The only way to know if people will spend money on you is past success. Musicians: do you travel? Is your music shared socially? Photogs/artists/game developers – what have you done that people know about?

e) Ask yourself, is 30 days going to be enough to get the project funded? It should be. Skip the 60-day option. That brings me to #2…

2. Timing is Everything

As with anything on the Internet, timing is super important. If I hadn’t made a song about Jeremy Lin right after Lin’s second great game and put it online, I would’ve never made an impact. By his fourth good game, there were at least 20 different Lin raps on the Internet. But since I was first, many press outlets, including ESPN, showed love to mine and refused to even acknowledge those.

Think about when your project will start and when it’ll end … is there a big holiday in there? Forget it. Go for the end of tax season if possible, haha.

When do you want to release your project? Consider that it takes two weeks after the campaign ends to receive funding. Give yourself time to fund the project and then to make the project even better.

If you have a friend who’s also an artist doing a Kickstarter at the same time, try to WAIT. Show a little common courtesy … Plus no need to spread your resources thin. You should even use your resources to promote his or her project for some karma points.

3. Seek help…The Right Way!

This past spring on The VS Tour with Willie Evans Jr, RoQy TyRaiD and DJ DN3, we ran into one of my favorite emcees, MURS, in a most unlikely location, Tucson, Ariz. – and at our show. When I asked what he was up to, he handed me a flyer. The flyer was for his Kickstarter campaign. In all the Kickstarter campaigns I had been a part of, we never utilized print media … I don’t know why, just never did. Learned something.

a) Social media promo is best, but also can be the worst – don’t overdo it. One plug a day was my max. Also remember to utilize all social sites – your Facebook friends don’t necessarily use Twitter, or vice versa. Don’t forget about YouTube! Post your Kickstarter video on YouTube as well.

b) NEVER post it on friends’ walls or @ message people direct asking for support. You’ll isolate people you like and eventually turn them against you.

c) Email blasts to your list are golden (if you don’t have a strong list, ABORT MISSION).

d) If you know others who can assist on your project, and are talented, get them involved. More heads working means more people promoting … hopefully.

e) Print flyers and circulate during performances or exposure opportunities (Thanks MURS!): This one helped me big time because I happened to launch the campaign shortly before a big performance and panel at PAX East in Boston. I had 1000 flyers ready to go, and littered the BCEC with them before the weekend was over. HUGE help.

4. Call Up The Homies

I’ll be honest – family and close friends will probably NOT support financially. If you do hit up close friends and fam, just ask them to post/blog it, or like it on Facebook … then be happy if they do put some change down.

Email or CALL people who have supported in the past (no text or Twitter/FB) – but make sure these people like you – or even better, have something to do with your project! See #3.

I hate to use the term “fans,” but if you have people that are very supportive of your art, then they’ll keep supporting if the project is authentic and can benefit them.

My second campaign was one that I somewhat regret – it was to get a ticket to play a show in the UK. I had a blast going, but that was a reward that would not benefit all of my supporters, only the ones there. I should have worked something in that would benefit everyone involved.

Any journalists, semi-famous artists or bloggers that you know should be notified of the campaign immediately … don’t ask them to post it, but if they’re down, they will.

5. Rewards and Research

When I started this campaign, I didn’t think about how far it would go, or how anyone would categorize it. I’d like to consider myself a pretty hard-to-categorize dude, considering that I make two very different styles of Hip-Hop at different times. While creating your campaign on the Kickstarter website, they ask you for your project’s category.

Considering that my “Language Arts” album idea was a music album, a comic book and a video game, I would have to choose one area and stick with it. I went with video games, because that was the aspect that hadn’t been started yet, and that I thought would be the part that would take the most effort to complete. I lucked out, because it turns out that Video Game projects earn the highest dollar amount on average on Kickstarter.

Talk to people who have been successful in each category. Ask them what worked and what didn’t. Look at the top funded projects in your category; today and of all time.

Give great rewards! Personalized stuff works. My best-selling reward in any category in the past two campaigns has been giving the backer a chance to choose the source material or video game we sample, and me writing an original song, about whatever I like, and then mentioning their name in there somewhere.

My friend MC Lars offers the opportunity for him to come to your home to hang out … and he’s a super nice guy, so that’s probably a blast. Offer things that don’t cost much but mean a lot to people. Sign your rhyme book and give it away. It’s no hassle to give someone a Twitter shoutout but it can make someone’s day!

Borrow reward ideas from as many sources as possible (again with the stealing). But you gotta remember to personalize it! People give shoutouts, I go to the next level and do a freestyle rap shoutout.

Research! Be a good student and browse the KS site for cool projects, either like yours or just very interesting. If there are projects like yours that haven’t worked, it might be time to rethink your strategy.

And there you have it. Not gonna promise that this will get you $15,000 or more in a month, but I can say that if you follow these, and have a great strategy, fanbase and campaign, you’ll do great. See you on the interwebs. Peace!

Raheem “Random” Jarbo

Megaran.com

general, hip-hop

RIP Adam Yauch, aka MCA (1964-2012)

7 Comments

beasties
After news broke of Adam Yauch’s death on Friday, I spent a good portion of my weekend doing what just about everyone else whoever loved the Beastie Boys did: I listened to Check Your Head. I listened to Licensed to Ill. I listened to Ill Communication. I listened to Paul’s Boutique. You get the idea. In the context of my life as a music fan – but, more important, as an adult just 13 years younger than Yauch was when he died – the passing of MCA is difficult to grasp.

Honestly, I hadn’t dusted off those albums in awhile, and I was surprised at how easily I remembered all the lyrics – my mental muscle memory proving just what is important in life. I couldn’t tell you what I ate for dinner last night, but I can recite “Pass the Mic” in a pinch if you need (not likely a skill that will save me in the event of, say, a bear attack).

My memories of the Beastie Boys reach back to my first days of actually owning music. I remember Run-DMC’s Tougher Than Leather and LL Cool J’s Bigger and Deffer as my first cassettes. But Licensed to Ill started an obsession. I wanted to learn every word. Do you know how cool it felt to rap along to “Paul Revere” as a 12-year-old? I’ll tell you: Pretty fucking cool. (Turns out I can still do it at 34.)

Though I know Paul’s Boutique is hailed as the Beasties’ artistic masterpiece – and it is incredible, as is the 33 1/3 book on it by Dan LeRoy – it was Check Your Head that really crystallized my fandom. The first thing I could think of after learning of MCA’s death were the countless high school days my best friend and I spent listening to that album (in between games of Tecmo Super Bowl). Where Licensed to Ill tends to sound cartoonish and dated in spots (“Girls,” especially), Check Your Head still feels funky and fresh.

And that’s just the thing: The Beastie Boys were still viable into the 2000s, up to last year’s release of Hot Sauce Committee Part Two. They looked older, yeah, but they never came across as a group surviving on nostalgia. My friends and I have often argued about who the top three American bands are. If you’re talking artistic integrity, talent, mass appeal and influence, you’d be a fool to exclude the Beastie Boys. Looking back on my high school days, it’s hard to think of a group that was loved more by so many disparate cliques. Stoners and jocks could at least agree that the Beastie Boys were the shit. (Beavis and Butt-head second that emotion.)

I’m rarely moved or shaken by celebrity death. It’s too distant to really comprehend. How do you grieve for someone you don’t know? But this one somehow feels different. I was a junior in high school when Kurt Cobain killed himself. I’d like to think I understood the impact of that, but in reality I was still too young, and the concept of his death was too foreign; as a 16-year-old, I couldn’t have possibly grasped why someone would shoot himself. But now I’m 34 – paranoid about every little ache and pain, of which there seem to be more each day – and Adam Yauch died of cancer at 47 years old. Forty-seven fucking years old. My family and friends have been affected by cancer, in all its hideous forms. This feels real. When someone in a band that you followed from your pre-teen years well into adulthood dies, it says something about where you are in life, too. Jason Woodbury said it perfectly at the Phoenix New Times: “Beastie Boys aren’t supposed to die.” A group that embodied and soundtracked the recklessness of youth – of my youth – has been quieted. I feel sad for MCA and the family and friends he left behind and I feel sad about the music we’ll never hear, but mostly I suddenly feel vulnerable.

RIP MCA.

general

Bass Drum of Death: I Wanna Be Forgotten

Leave a comment

bassdrumofdeath
Bass Drum of Death, who didn’t seem to have nearly the number of technical issues as Japandroids at Phoenix show in September, are coming back to town to play Rhythm Room on July 8.

It’s part of a tour with Brisbane, Australia’s DZ Deathrays – the “Bass Drum of Deathrays” tour – and to mark the occasion the bands will sell a split 7-inch on the road.

Bass Drum’s 2011 debut, GB City (Fat Possum), is a tightly wound and highly enjoyable 30-minute assault. “I Wanna Be Forgotten” is another terse, fuzzed-out jam that appeals to my need for a 2 1/2-minute spin – nothing more, nothing less.

Tickets ($8-$10) for the all-ages show on July 8 are available here.

The flipside to the 7-inch is DZ Deathrays’ “No Sleep”:

general

Richard Buckner to release Willow 7-inch on Record Store Day

Leave a comment

buckner
My first must-have release for Record Store Day is here: Richard Buckner, whose husky baritone has shaken me since I saw him for the first time in Tempe in 1995, is releasing a 7-inch for the song “Willow,” which, from what I can understand, was a pre-order bonus track from his 2011 album Our Blood.

The 7-inch (via Merge Records), the first-ever in Buckner’s rich catalog, features a B-side for “Lost” and will include a digital-only cover of The Cars’ “Candy-O.”

I’ll be at Stinkweeds tracking that one down (among others), but in the meantime, Merge has made a stream of “Willow” available via Soundcloud. And in even better news – I never thought this day would come – Buckner is tweeting. Seriously.

general, video

Retribution Gospel Choir: The Revolution EP

Leave a comment

retribution
I somehow totally missed this: Retribution Gospel Choir, the rockier side project of Low’s Alan Sparhawk, released a new EP as a free download last month. On Tuesday, Sub Pop birthed a physical release of The Revoltuion EP in 7-inch format – the first new music from the band since the 2010 album 2.

Cough up your email address below to get the four-song, 10-minute EP for free.

 

 

The band also released a video for “The Stone (Revolution!),” all full of hand claps and marching-band bass drums.

RELATED:
Retribution Gospel Choir: Workin’ Hard (video)
Retribution Gospel Choir: Hide It Away