Ashes Forever Interview

Ashes Forever

Ashes Forever is a two piece metal band from New York City. Having played several shows all over the east coast and sharing the stage with names like Rosetta, Another Breath, and Shai Hulud, they are a forced to be reckoned with. The band consisting of Matt Dillon and James Gaskill originally formed under the name “Don’t Give a F***” and released their first EP “A Girl Burning and Dying” last year. They have since changed their name to Ashes Forever and released their second EP entitled “Love, Leave, Forget, Repeat,” which is available to download on Bandcamp. 

Financial Literacy for Musicians

Financial literacy is a topic that has been one of the main focuses on the Entertainment Business Finance course I’m taking this month from Full Sail University. It’s extremely important to understand the basic financial concepts of opportunity cost and breaking even in order to make sound financial decisions.

Since more musicians are opting to remain independent these days, it is incredibly important for them to learn the financial basics as well in order to make their jobs easier. Independent artists do not have record labels and accountants to take care of the numbers so learning a little about finance can go a long way.

Palm Kids' New EP

Palm Kids is a three piece alternative rock band based out of California. Having formed in February of last year, the band already has a following on several social networking sites including Facebook and Twitter. They are known for their upbeat tempos, melodic intricacies, and catchy choruses.

Palm Kids

Their newest EP entitled “Somehow,” really showcases their diverse sound and the talents of each member. The first track, Dance With Me begins with what sounds like angsty vocals but the song really develops to be more uplifting in the chorus, all the while retaining the right amount of edginess throughout the entire piece. Palm Kids seems to have just a little hint of The Matches, another alternative band from California that signed with Epitaph Records in the past.

Differentiating Visually

Jess Wilson

In the past, I did a post about how personal branding and various actions can change the perceptions of consumers. This week’s post will focus on how visuals can also alter the perceptions of your target market. Visuals are an incredibly important way to portray a specific mood or image for your brand. As an artist, your album artwork, logo, and personal image are all ways that consumers can derive ideas about the brand. Ries’ Pieces is a business blog focused on branding. In the post, “Being Different Visually,” the author describes how a number of companies differentiate themselves just by looking different from their competitors. The energy drink Red Bull has a very distinctive small can. Monster on the other hand, differentiated themselves by using a larger can. Consumers don’t have any difficulty in determining which product is which because each has their own way of standing out in the consumer’s mind. If your brand is easily recognized, it’ll stand out more and gain more attention from consumers.

Utilizing TED

TED.com is a great resource that links users with speeches and presentations conducted around the world. The website has videos on several industry related topics including technology, business, science, and entertainment. The speakers are often incredibly resourceful when it comes to passing on ideas, lessons, and knowledge pertaining to a specific topic.

Adam Sadowsky used his speech to tell the story of how his team had to overcome several obstacles in order to design and build the Rube Goldberg machine used in OK Go’s music video. The band had set forth several requests for requirements of the machine. For example, the machine had to start the music, go along with the mood of the song, synch with beats of the song, and be in filmed in one shot. Other requirements were set forth but it was these specific ones that seemed to make Adam Sadowsky’s task impossible to complete.

Knowing Trade Organizations

RIAA

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a well-known organization that works with various artists and recording companies within the music industry. The RIAA has several purposes including certifying sales awards, protecting intellectual property, and conducting market research. It is much different from the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP), which handles various licensing and distribution of royalties.

Developing Stage Presence

In order to get fans excited about music, the artist has to be excited about their music. The perfect way to get others hyped and excited is by developing a stage presence. The way an artist portrays themselves on stage is a direct reflection of who they are and what their music means. An artist that moves around, dances, and is passionate, truly cares about what they are doing and connects with the audience better.

Myspace

Recently, I went to a concert at The Chance Theater to see one of my favorite bands. One of the opening bands couldn’t connect with the audience because they lacked experience performing. It was a little awkward to watch because they didn’t know how to move and bumped into each other. The audience was stiff and unsure of how to react to the music and the overall performance of the band. Even though the band tried to encourage the crowd, it seemed like a forced, unnatural effort. The band needed to calm their nerves, practice, and become comfortable.