Well hello again ladies and gentleman! I don’t always get a chance to write journal entries into our trusty tumblr. Something about continually posting “Hey, we played a show here, and then we have more shows in a week” just doesn’t seem as exciting. Lately I’ve been saving my creative juices to try and find things of note that will make for good blog reading.
I think I have found my muse.
Lately I have been thinking an immense amount about the very clear direction that the music industry, and DIY bands are headed. We hear it all the time, but I’m seeing more and more, little by little, that the idea of the record label becoming obsolete is very true. And by record label, I mean the facet of labels which funds a band with money to record and tour. There is a stigma when people think of Labels, which instantly conjures up images of sleazy managers, bad business deals, business-shark tactics, and grey money. I can’t necessarily say that those images aren’t true on some scale. With those thoughts, as a music culture we have begun to shift towards donations, kickstarters, and pledges towards the bands we love and support. In essence, we collectively have become the Label for these bands. A Label of millions. As some strange hive-mind, we as the music listeners have banded together to invest money into the bands we want to see kept around. This is an awesome power that I think we still don’t fully comprehend that we have. A band being made still seems, in some eyes, to be the work of higher ups, or some mysterious faceless council of wizard elders living somewhere high on the top of an ancient mountain (yes…that is a Skyrim reference).
The fact though, is that it isn’t anymore. Maybe to people who want to find another Taylor Swift, Sony Music is their savior and can deliver on that, but when we want to find the next The National, Land of Talk, or Doves, then it’s in many ways up to the show goer, the blogger, the freelance livingroom music journalist, and the deeply connected fan.
I’ve talked with people the past couple months who have made note of my guitar, which has emblazoned on the front in trusty sharpy “Invest In Quality Music”. This is by no means something that I thought up. It came from an amazing interview with Questlove, a great producer, and most notably the drummer of The Roots. At the end of his interview, he parted with these words: “If you want to see the bands you love stick around, then please, invest in quality music. It is the only way it is going to happen. It doesn’t matter how you do it, but invest something”.
This little post isn’t in any way meant to be a backhanded attempt at referencing Picture Atlantic as the object of your investment. In fact, the whole reason I felt the need to bring this up, is because of an amazing group of gentleman who are working extremely hard on a brand new album right now. For those of you who have been to any of our bay area shows, or kept up with our zines, we spend a lot of time with some very close band-buddies that are located here in the bay. Specifically, one of those band buddies is Rin Tin Tiger, from San Francisco.
They are hands down, one of the hardest working bands I know, and their artistic hustle is unmatched. These fine gents are putting together a brand new record, which I know will be amazing! I got the chance to hear some of their new stuff at a house show recently and I was genuinely blown away. It will be the stuff of legend. Below is a link to check out their kickstarter. With that link, I would ask you to do this: If you dig what you hear, and you see quality in what they are doing, then jump in and be part of the Label of Millions. You won’t regret it, and I know they won’t either :)
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1029644400/help-rin-tin-tiger-release-their-new-album
And lastly, I’d ask that you all please re-post this, in some semblance of it’s original form, to help spread the good word about these guys. Even if it’s just the kickstarter link, you’ll have done an amazing deed. For those who need some character motivation, just imagine you are the hot shot A&R guy and for every repost you do, you are sealing a great band into the rock and roll hall of fame.
Much love, and as always, invest in quality music,
-Nik