Let's Get Awesome and Live

There are a number of types of buzz that build around bands and how they cross into the mainstream, let's examine this shall we.

1) Initial major label backing stirs up enough buzz for a band's debut to have respectable first-week sales. This is usually done by pushing the first single hard at radio way before the disc is released. The problem with this method is that, in this day in age, radio just doesn't have any pull. People now have the opportunity to get music from so many other places: friends, myspace, free p2p programs. And, with radio sucking an uncircumsized penis, it's not like many people sit around thinking "Wow, I want to hear some new music. Let's turn on the radio so I can hear dipshits talking in between songs, commercials with car salesman yelling at me and the same song played 50 times a week." I was alive in the tail end of this era. A lot of the post-grunge bands were able to have initial success with this method. Puddle Of Mudd, Fuel, The Vines are a few that come to mind. The problem is that when your first exposure to EVERYONE is only on the radio, you have no fans, just people who like your song. Once the hits stop coming, the people dissapear. Puddle Of Mudd went something like 3x platinum with their debut. Do you think they could sell out Irving Plaza (1000-capacity venue in NYC) today? Probably not.

2) The Hype Machine. With radio declining, in the early millenium we saw every magazine from NME and Spin hyping the latest batch of skinny pale white guys, all usually looking like they'd rather be taking a nap than playing music. You remember 2001/2002 right? The Strokes, The White Stripes, The Vines, The Hives, The Huge Vaginas (ok, I made the last one up, but now some dork is probably going to read this and use that as his band name). Anyways, in this era, with nu-metal, pop-punk and radio-friendly post-grunge being at the forefront, it was seen as "cutting edge" to rip off the 60's/70's than the early 90's. While I can admit the sound was refreshing, and The White Stripes are still badass even to this day, it wasn't going to last because they just weren't connecting with their audience. Also, do you really have fans or do you have people who want to feel enlightened and be into the "acclaimed" bands? The Strokes still haven't put out a record that sold as well as Is This It? The Vines, The Hives, The Von Blondies, where are they? The hype machine is much like the radio machine. It will build you a ton of initial buzz but when the fad's over, so is the ride. You think people will still give a shit about The Arcade Fire in 4 years? Not reallly. Sure, they will still have fans since they did have an established fanbase, but they were never meant for the mainstream. They're at their peak now and will only go down from here.

3) Tour in a shitty van for 4-5 years, build yup your fanbase and let the mainstream come to you. Bands like Death Cab For Cutie weren't seeking out rock stardom. No, they just wrote their quirky little pop songs and more and more people bought each disc that came out. Soon enough, TV shows took notice, and major labels were offering to do back flips off skyscrapers to sign them. Yes, their major label debut didn't blow up the world, but they have a fan base and will be able to continue comfortably for as long as they like. Fall Out Boy has a similar story as well. They toured in a shitty van, graduated to a tour bus and kept playing these small clubs, getting more and more kids talking about them on the internet after each show. They also made a point to embrace the new technologies by keeping in touch with their fans through postings on their MySpace, LiveJournal, web site and making the kids feel like they were A PART of something. They weren't the pretentious indie rockers you feel not worthy of talking to because you didn't listen to The Velvet Underground growing up, they were on your side. And people WANT that. Sure, now they play huge arenas and maybe their fanbase has shifted towards more mainstream listeners but that's still ok. People connect with this band and, even if they aren't playing arenas forever, they will always have people coming out to see them.

This brings me to what this post was really about. Motion City Soundtrack. I've had the pleasure of seeing them numerous times and I've watched them continue to grow and grow. A few days ago I saw them at the Grammercy Theatre here in Manhattan (er, that's the Blender @ Grammercy Theatre now I guess). Show sold out in a few days. Wait, no radio single? No problem! Their quirky lyrics, addictive melodies, upbeat moog-inspired sound have kids in love with this band. Their third release, coming out on Epitath records, will be out in September and if I had to bet my life savings on it (not much money mind you), the release after this one will be on a major. They have a fanbase, you ALREADY HAVE A BUILT IN AUDIENCE! There's no need for NME to be sucking them off because people KNOW about them and WANT to know more. Do your self a favor and check them out if you've been living under a rock and don't know them: http://www.myspace.com/motioncitysoundtrack . Something tells me that this past week was the last time I'll be seeing them in a small club for a while...