Some introspection on shows

This past week has really got me thinking a lot about the band, music, and really just playing shows in general. Being a local band with a small indie label, management and booking are not things that come easily; every contact you make, thought it may be a step in the right direction, seems sometimes to only be one tiny step. Kaleena and I (as well as our label) do a lot of legwork and networking at showcases like SXSW, and I sent out emails like a madman to people of interest. We have been fortunate enough to have just about everyone in the industry who has heard us tell us that they like it, would want a demo, etc, and when we tell them all the accomplishments we've made they seem impressed. But then, usually always comes the "Keep on doing what you're doing, because seems to be working." Now, that's all fine and dandy, and it's a nice little pat on the back to let us know that we're doing something right, but at some point and time that next step is what we'd like to attain, not just keep on doing what we're doing.

The only thing that I've learned so far from the music industry is this: it's all about being in the right place at the right time. If you are, it will only take 30 seconds, if that. That's how we got our overseas tour and our mtv licensing deal. They heard 30 seconds of our demo. Even I thought it was crazy, but it's how it is. And ever since something started happening for us, we view every person, every submission, every business card we hand out as a lottery. It's tough to win the lottery, but the more tickets you have (or in this case given out), the more likely you are to win. I also asked Matt Caws of Nada Surf what his best advice would be to an aspiring band with a small label would be, and his response was simply "Write a great fucking album." So I guess I've learned two things, the lottery thing and the album thing.

The Mother Mother show was a really great one for us not only because it was with one of our favorite bands, but because we actually succeeded in a sense to make it happen for ourselves. Kaleena and I met them all at SXSW (thanks to the wonderful Jason Sanders who we also met at the festival), and had the opportunity to interview them for his documentary on Canadian music. From then I kept in touch with Mother Mother's drummer, Ali, and every once and again would hear from him or send a message.

A couple of weeks ago, my sister noticed that they were playing Cortland, NY, and that by some stroke of fate their opener had dropped out. Immediately I sent an email to the venue, and shot Ali a message as well. The venue didn't respond to me before Ali, and he then gave me their manager's info and he and I sent her an email to make it happen. Sure enough, I heard back from their manager saying the venue would contact us, and bam- we're on the show.

I cannot even express how happy we were to be on the bill, not only because it was them but because we made it happen. The show was absolutely amazing, and all the guys in the band not only greeted us when we walked in but remembered our names (!!) and everything. Being such a small band without much 'manpower' behind it, it is so touching and means so so much to be remembered by musicians a little higher up on the ladder of success. They stayed for our whole set (and by the way, the crowd at this show was amazing for us... thank you so much!), and even mentioned during their set that they met us at sxsw and contacted us about being on the show, and that they were glad we got on. It was seriously a dream come true and a breath of fresh air to be treated that way by other musicians; it seems that even local bands don't give off that much respect to their peers.

On a slightly different note, a few friends of mine called me last minute to let me know of two extra tickets to see The Fray at the New York State Fair. I was at the studio at the time, so I had to run home pretty quick to get out there on time. On the way home, I was talking to my dad about them. We opened for The Fray a few years at the Balloonfest, and they were such amazing and sweet people. Isaac stayed for our whole set (even missing a radio interview to see us), and I broke a string during my set, and David (who was the guitar tech at the time) came to the front of the stage and offered me one of their guitars to use for the rest of it. We were absolutely starstruck; not only because it was a top 40 band that we liked and were sharing a bill with, but because of their kindness and humility... we were freshman in college at the time, we never once expected anything like that.

So anyways, my dad and I were chatting, because Our Lady Peace had to drop off due to a family emergency (hope everything is okay). He said, "It's too bad that you guys couldn't keep in touch with those guys. Maybe something could have worked out with them not having an opener." Which sparked a conversation where first off, I stated "They've played so many shows with so many bands since then, I highly doubt they even remember it," and then stemmed to a band of that level's ability to really keep in touch with smaller acts. At first, perhaps it's possible- we sent a few myspace messages back and forth with David for a short while afterwards, but then major labels kick in, managers kick in, booking agents kick in. Is a wall up from then? And then once you reach a level of success that they are at now, does the wall come back down? You'd think they'd be able to get whatever and whoever they'd like at shows. But if that's the case, is the waiting period before and after the wall is up or down short enough to keep up communication?

Oh, so many questions. And just as many nonanswers. So we went to the show (and had great seats, 25th row-- 3 rows into the incline of the grandstand so we were just above floor level), and sure enough a Syracuse band was the opener. I didn't catch their name and I'm not familiar with them, but it was a pretty awesome opportunity for them. I'm not jealous or envious, because either way it's a great thing for them, and whatever or whoever it is that got them that slot-- well they were in the right place at the right time.

So anyways, The Fray went on and were really quite good. They were about halfway through their set when Isaac stopped and said, "You know, one of the first shows we played out of our homestate was in Upstate New York. I think that was the last time we were here, it was at the Balloonfest 5 years ago. We sucked back then." My jaw just dropped. They remembered the show. My dad had 1 point, I had 0. I don't know why I thought for some reason once you get 'famous' your memory is depleted and shows just become a thing you do every day in a different city every day, but I still must think that the people that are a part of them must just all blur together. Isn't that just how we all are anyway? If you're a cashier at a store, or a movie ticket-taker, or a waitress, will you really truly remember anyone 5 years from now?

So, here I sit. On my couch, fresh from the second day of the fair. I'm full, feel like shit from all those sweet potato fries, and could really use and extra 8 hours of sleep considering I haven't slept all that much from the Mother Mother show Friday night since we got home around 4am. We have an album that we're working on, and it's our prime focus for the next couple of weeks. We all are so confident and passionate about it, that I think once it's out we'll get even more lottery tickets. And that's when we can really start pushing for management and booking, because up until this point we've gotten the interest, but don't have the physical goods to back it up. Soon we will though, and hopefully we can continue to make things change for us. Booking and management is really something that we need to help us get to that 'next level.' As much as I believe bigger labels can do things like that for you, it's teams like that that I really believe make the difference.

I truly believe that if we are ever lucky or blessed enough to attain a level of success that would cause us to be 'that' band for anyone else, we will make sure that they are given the respect and help that bands can give when they are in a position to do so. Similarly, I hope those bands know what it is that they did for us, and how much it really meant to us. It is experiences like the ones we had with Mother Mother, or like we did with The Fray 5 years ago that give bands like us hope, and make us feel like all isn't lost, because at one point and time they were there. The only difference is that at some point in time, they were in that right place.