How to make sure you won't get booked again

  So here we go, I'll get the rant out of the way first. In the past seven months we have done 15 concerts. In these 15 concerts we have done anything from battle of the bands to show case nights to organizing our own concerts. And as lot of you know through my experience with Sliotar and other bands I have played in over the years, I have done well over thousand concerts. So I have seen a lot and I know how hard it is to get band of the ground. Here is one thing that has been bugging me lately: when a band takes a part in any kind of show case/band night, I would expect them to stick around and listen to the other bands. And believe you me I know some of the music would not be up to every ones taste, I don't have much tolerance for out of tune guitars (get a tuner and get your guitar intonated!) and bad timing (Practice with a click), but suck it up, they are in same situation you are or were. Ok, you might have to get up the next morning early to work, but first of all you can talk with your band mates and some of you could stay, if some of you must go. Second, and do I have news here for you, if you seriously want to make it some day, I mean make your living out of music, you will need to learn to get by with very little sleep. Let's repeat that one just to make sure you got it: Being a full time musician, you need to learn to get by with very little sleep! Six hours is a good night sleep for me. Now in all fairness, about once a week I do pass out for nearly twelve hours... But You get my point. There is always some excuses and sometimes they are more valid than others. So just stop and think about it the other way around. Think what you would want the other bands to do while you play? Musician’s talk that's how the word goes around and to be honest with you, what I've seen in the past year, this is what separates the frustrated amateurs from the pros.

  Let's look at this from a different perspective. As I mentioned there above, we have organized some of our own gig nights, and helped other organizers to book bands as well. This is something I have big plans for, and will be doing more and more. From a gig organizers perspective, unless the band has a genuine reason, I mean if you have a important festival gig the next day and a long drive, that's fair enough. But if I just see the band come in, play their set and run off, because it's well past their bed time, you can be sure I won't be booking them any time soon. And if you think I am the only one who thinks this way, I've talked to few organizers and it is one of those things that register at the back of their mind. They will remember the band that stayed till the end and checked out every act. You might think here, what does that have to do with music? Everything! You expect other people to support your band if you don't support others? Anyway, enough of that ;-)

                                         Thanks to Will Bury for the photo.

  So we had a busy week :-) JPKALLIO.COM played twice in Sweeney's. Wednesday was the Music Medium Live night in the basement. As the regular readers of this blog know we've been there few times before. They are a small group of people working hard trying to do something for the music scene in Dublin and slowly but surely they are building momentum, once again proving that hard work and persistence does pay off in music business. They run a Singer songwriter night in the Sweeney's on Tuesday nights, Juke box slot showcase on Wednesday nights, FissionFriday once a month upstairs in Sweeney's and they are just starting another night in the Mezz on Sundays. So if you are looking for a gig for your band or solo act, get in touch with them, they are really nice people as well :-)

  On Saturday night we were back in the Sweeney's, upstairs this time. Weekend nights in Sweeney's are busy, so we had a hopping gig. This was number 15 in our 100 concert challenge, slowly but surely getting there ;-) Also on both gigs it was great to see so many familiar faces, we are making friends on the way.
The next concert at the moment is the Rocktober semi-final in the Fibbers on Saturday the 19th of November. The standard of this competition has been very high, so it will be a great night of music. I think we need to pull out few extra stops for this one ;-)

  In the mean time, we have decided to go and record few tracks in the Trackmix studios, so in few weeks time we'll lock our selves in there for few days and we'll see what comes out of it. We will be bringing camera with us and try to document some of the stuff while we're there. So before that we'll be rehearsing our backsides off. Oh yeah, and we need to agree on the songs we want to record...
So that's enough for this week. Hope you managed to get through the autumn with out a cold; I'm trying to shake mine. Have a good week and I'll be back for more next week.

  Oh nearly forgot to mention:-) The Halloween is on its way. I am taking few days off and going to Warsaw for the long weekend, but there are some great concerts around during the Halloween weekend that deserves a mention. Our friends the Pimps and Gimps are playing in the Harbour bar in Bray on Sunday the 30th of October, so head over there for some quality punk rock. Also the EHT promotions are running a fancy dress metal night in the Pint and our friends 9thlife will be on the bill along with loads of other great bands. Hmm... how do I get a feeling you might find Qra at the Harbour bar and Sebastian at the Pint;-)

J.P.

On a shoestring project part 45

  After what I would call a miserable (weather wise) May and June, we finally got bit of a sun in Dublin last weekend. Even the pale Finn got a bit of a tan ;-)

  We've spent the week getting ready for the Sweeney's gig on the 6th of July. It’s going to be a rocker! Also we are really looking forward to the 14th of July in the Pint, it will be the number 10 on our 100 concert challenge ;-). Those of you, who are coming in, don't forget to mention that you came to see JPKALLIO.COM. We need to bring in minimum 10 people to be in the competition :-) The night kicks off at 8pm. After this we will take a small break from the live shows. But we'll be back with full force in September.

  We got a really nice review of our E.P. “Play it loud!” on the July issue of MRU magazine and on the Music Review Unsigned website. I'll include it here, but do check other reviews on their site at http://musicreviewunsigned.com

Play it Loud

Three piece alternative punk band JPKALLIO.COM debut EP Play it Loud does what it says on the tin, it will have you playing it load, four tracks of pure dirty melodies and underrated guitar hooks, this is a band that just loves playing music, after listening to the EP you will hear the experimental sound that JPKALLIO.COM creates on the Play it Loud EP.


Track one is called "Everybody Dies", well that's true when their time is up, but not like the title the song is far from being morbid, full of melodic guitar sounds with an uplifting sound coming from the vocals, Green Day meets JPKALLIO.COM on a warm day for some tea? Maybe, but I like it.


Let Me Tell You Tonight is track two and it's got that deep moody gothic rock sound, dirty guitar licks and grunge sounding bass groove, chorus is a bit disappointing needs a bit more umph! And I feel it weakens the song even though it has got the potential of being a great tune.


The third song on the EP is called Right Out Of Here, rockabilly beats with blues rock guitar hooks drives this song, it has a real good catchy chorus and the song has just the right dynamics throughout it, sounds like Rory Gallagher got a sterile punk injection.


Final track is called Alive, the intro has a nice slow build up in this song, great lyrics and very raw in parts, Alive has got that anthem rock feel you know the ones that you have to wave you lighters or candles to, I have to say for a debut EP Play it Loud isn't half bad, it has a real nice mix of music and definitely a band worth checking out.


Review by T.Halpin


We'll have some free copies of the E.P. with us in Sweeney's on the 6th and in the Pint on 14th of July:-)

  Also our radio play list just keeps growing :-) the Live365.com has put on few of their shows and UK based Noize Level Critical has given us a blast as well. I also did few interviews for a podcast and a blogs and as soon as they are up, I'll post the links here and on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Punkrockers.com...

  The regular readers of this blog know I occasionally include stuff here about Dublin music scene. Friend of ours is going to organize a really cool thing called Music Market Ireland. Check them out on Facebook. Basically it will be a market in Dublin where you can get a table and bring in your music related stuff, instruments, amps, records and DJ gear. And there will also be some live music. It should be a great event. Do join their Facebook page to get updates on the event.

  We have started planning our bands one year birthday concert. It will take place at the end of September. We are still bit undecided on the venue, so any ideas would be welcomed. We had a good night in Whelan's, but we would like to do this one on Friday night. Also we’d like a venue that would allow us to go bit later than the 11 o’clock curfew, as we are hoping go get few more bands to play with us :-) So we would like to hear your suggestions.

  That’s all for this week. Talk to you more next week.

  J.P.

On a shoestring project part 44

  The rain is beating its subtle drum beat on my window while I write this. It's always a bit of a dull after show like the Whelan's. But this time I hardly had time to sit down. But that's the way I like it anyway:-) Here is a video from the Whelan's concert.


  Now we got an extra gig next week in Sweeney's. It is the Juke box slot night and it is the basement venue. Also our good friends who we used to share rehearsal room with, the Casement ghosts are playing with us:-) We are really exited about this one. For those who don't know them, Casement Ghosts are a Punk rock band . I have been helping them out recording a demo in the past few months and I must say, they have some kicking songs, be sure not to miss them. Also on the night there will be Ivan St.Leger, Tom White and WillBury, who we are looking forward to hear on the night. Come along, the show starts around 8pm and it is free in:-)

  And the week after that on the 14th we are back in the Pint, but we'll talk more about that next week:-)

  So let me talk a little bit about attitude towards modern technology in music. What I mean here is particularly in the punk rock, metal and all us distorted guitar and pounding drum loving rockers. We embraced the Myspace when it first came along, then it was a must to be there! Now it is gone... waste of time, one of the worst sounding music players out there and why did they change it in to a pop up? Anyway at the time it was powerful tool, and helped loads of bands to get around. Then came the facebook and twitter... Yeah they might not be the coolest things in the world and we love to give out about them, but for a musician they are tools. Use them! We got our first bit of negative feedback few weeks ago when I was emailing radio stations, but to be honest with you this was more entertaining to me than anything else. In the email I send to the stations I tell them bit about us, send them a link to our music and in one part I explain how we embrace the DIY ethos. I have set up automated signature in my Email (You should do this as well! Check out WiseStamp), there is links to our website, facebook, twitter, youtube and myspace. The reply I got went in the lines of this: “DIY Punk on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube! When are you gonna sell out at Wal-Mart?” Well... you can't please everyone can you? So, lets go back to the world of making cassettes with our boom box, sharing them with our friends, few posters around the town before our gigs. Rocking it out and being so anti-establishment on Friday night, but back to nine to five on Monday morning. Now don't get me wrong, nothing wrong with nine to five, or having bit of fun on Friday, but criticizing bands for trying to get the word out there? Oh yeah, and the radio station in question has facebook, twitter and youtube pages;-). For musician social media is a tool, a means to connect with your audience and build a following.

  But in general, as you might know the response from radio stations around the world has been unreal! As I said so many times before, most of these people are music fans and like to help out new bands, so one negative mail against over 30 positive? I can live with that:-)

  Here's something light from the imagination of our drummer Sebastian:-)

  Now, the rain has changed to sunny blue sky:-) Better go out and enjoy it, we don't get much of it here in Ireland:-) Back for more next week.

J.P.

On a shoestring project part 39

  Sweeney's basement on Dame street tonight every one! We're pulling out all the stops for this one, it's going to be a rocker.

  The King Kong Club was great fun as always, the Village is such a great venue to play in! The sound is just to die for, and the lighting system is top notch. It makes you as a musician think, this is what you want it to be like! As to the competition, it all comes down to how big (and loud) crowd you can bring in. On the night there were bands with much bigger following and they deservedly wont the night. But we made new friends, built up our mailing list nicely and we are dying to see the video.

  It would have been nice to get to record our album in a top notch studio with a top notch producer, but it was not meant to be. The day after a competition like this can be bit of a downer, and I could see this in the faces of my band mates. I have been around the block long enough to learn not to get your hopes up until some thing really is happening. We did pull out all the stops to bring in our supporters, but it just wasn't meant to be. And this is such a good point, there are ups and downs in music business, and very often lot more downs. You need to build up a tough skin, get used to rejection and most of all, never to give up! But I have been planning things bit further a head anyway. It is good to have always something in the future to look forward to. So usually day or two after a concert we take a break, but then it's back to rehearsals and start preparing for the next show. We had the Sweeney's to look forward to. We could get focused on something new, not dwell on the past. I came across on the net this concept that what you are going through in music business is actually past, or more so, its the fruits of your work from weeks, months or even years a go. True, but bit deep...

  Anyway, we all know and/ or use Facebook. It is a great tool to promote bands, events, companies etc. But also great way to keep in contact with old and new friends. I have talked about Facebook promotion in the past, but let me go back to it for a minute. I am pretty patient man, but came across something I personally think you should never do to promote your band. There is certain event organizer, not very active and this is why I have been patient with them, here in Dublin. If they have an event coming up, what they are promoting, they post an poster image on Facebook and tag all the people on their Facebook friends on it. As a result this poster turns up on everyones wall... I would highly recommend against this. If you do so you will only annoy all your friends, for example this organizer is the only person who I have canceled as my friend on Facebook. You can Email the link to them and ask them to post it, but it should be everyones own choice, what do you think?

  Next week Sebastian is going for a short trip back to Poland to charge his batteries:-) And of course we will stuff his pockets with E.P.s for some serious networking. It would be great some day in the future to go and play some concerts in the guys home country. Speaking of which, for our Polish friends, check this out: http://www.terazrock.pl/user.php?UserId=10141 And for those of you (me included) who don't understand Polish, it is a profile of our band in Poland's main rock music magazines website. Europe is full of music magazines, so Google for them and send emails asking if they review independent artists. Its never too early to start spreading your bands name. And very often the readers of these magazines are targeted audience, priceless!

  Our new video “Everybody dies”is doing well, 600 views in youtube. Its also getting some views in other sites as well, for example Metalireland.com. I also submitted it to BlankTV, if you like your punk rock, you need to check this out:-)

  So thats our updates and tips for this week, we'll be back for more next week:-)

  J.P.

On a shoestring project part 38

  I am really exited about the King Kong Club semi-final :-) For those of you who don't know what I am talking about check out last weeks blog. Tomorrow night, the 19th of May, upstairs in the Village on Wexford Street. Come along!
  We go some nice news this week as well. During the week I bought the Hot Press (An Irish music magazine), there was an article that I wanted to read, but never got around to it due to a busy week. On Saturday morning I had a chance to chill out and as usual, started my morning with Coffee and Emails. In my mail box I had an Email from Jackie Hayden, a journalist who writes for the Hot Press, among other publications. He informed me that our E.P. “Play it loud!” was reviewed at his column “The First cuts”. Well I was up like a flash looking for the magazine, and after about fifteen minutes I found it between my lyric sheets and other papers :-) And there it was, the first acknowledgment of jpkallio.com on a printed press. The review was very nice and as our first one I am chuffed.

"Lumps of punk and punchy hard rock" "Some impressive guitar work from super Kallio himself. One suspects they are possibly best in a live setting"
Jackie Hayden - Hot Press

  Now once again I find my self telling you, this is something you can do as well if you are in a band. Once you have a recording, there are music magazines around that will review it. But start small, don't just expect your first recording to appear at the top of new releases. Hot press has the First cuts column that does review new bands, and You can find more magazines with similar columns. Just do your research, all music magazines have websites and most of them have review submission information on their website and if not, the information should be only Email away. Here again I believe very much in a personal contact. So if the magazine does not have specific submission information, I usually email them with a link to our music or video. I ask if our music would be some thing they could include in their publication, and if so I ask for mailing address. Also check what they want, some just want MP3s hosted on your website, and some magazines need two copies of the CD, one they send to a reviewer and one they keep for the design team in the office. Also include a A4 bio, and sometimes a letter to go with it. Unless they specifically ask for it, I would not send press clippings from other reviews, reviewers like to make their own mind about your music and no amount of fancy reviews by other reviewers is going to change this. Going after some publicity works just like everything else in the music business, small steps at a time. And when you do get a review, it is only good manners to thanks the reviewer and let them know you appreciate the work they do. If the review is not so good, do the same thing. No one wants to read just sugar coated reviews. Besides, it is still just review by one person. For example, Foo Fighters new album got really bad review in Irish times, but Metal Hammer magazine called it their best album yet. You win some and loose some.
  So the past week we have been busy rehearsing for the King Kong Club. The set is going to be rocking! Next Wednesday the 25th of May we are playing a concert in the Juke box slot, in the Basement of Sweeney’s on Dame Street. The night is organised but the Music Medium Live, and should be a good night. This looks like it is going to be our last gig in Dublin for the next few weeks, but we'll be back for more in mid June :-) We have hand full of new songs on the way again, and just wan to work on them for a few weeks.
  Big thank you to all of you who checked out our new video last week :-) It is getting some nice views. We still would like to hear what you think of it, so keep those comments coming. Also if you have any ideas for future videos, we'd love to hear them as well.
  So that’s all for now, I'll talk to you more next week.
  J.P.