Yearly Archives: 2003

Please be advised that on Tuesday, December 2, 2003 at 12:00 PM PST the MP3.com website will no longer be accessible in its current form. …. Please note, however, that promptly following the removal of the MP3.com website, all content will be deleted from our servers and all previously submitted tapes, CD-ROMs and other media in our possession will be destroyed. We recommend that you make alternative content hosting arrangements as soon as practicable. (continued)

[thanks jim @ Caffeinated records]

Hey rock and roll bands, how is it going? Good I hope. After seeing the outrageous prices the White Stripes were charging for merchandise ($6 for three one inch pins?!!!!), I’ve decided to put together a handy pricing guide for bands. If you want your fans to love you forever and ever, here’s a basic outline of what you should be charging the people who let you make your music.

T-SHIRTS

$10 for all local bands and indie bands keeping it true to their heart.

$15 is acceptable if you’ve hit the Matador Records level and are on tour. Just remember, your labelmates Yo La Tengo are being much cooler than you by selling shirts @ $10 most of the time..

$20 if you’re Wilco, because if you’re Wilco, all is forgiven. Bands touring from overseas (Belle and Sebastian) and with more than 20 members (The Polyphonic Spree) are allowed to charge this, because tours like theirs cost money.

$25 should only be charged by shitty bands you shouldn’t be seeing live anyway.

ALBUMS

$10 for full lengths. If you’re labels are requiring you to sell it for $15, do it, but throw in a free sticker or pin. We already paid for your concert, dude.

$5 for EPs. No brainer.

POSTERS

$5 if they’re the same promotional poster hanging up in record stores. (They should be free, to be honest.)

$15 if they’re limited edition, specially screened. Bonus if they’re numbered and signed by the artist.

STICKERS, PINS

These small things should always be free when possible, but if you must charge they should be $1 each, or two for $1.

Some of the larger, more corporate venues are going to want a piece of the merchandise sale. THIS DOES NOT MEAN YOU HAVE TO RAISE YOUR PRICES. If you’ve agreed to play at some shitty Clear Channel venue, take the hit and let the fans get your stuff cheap. Chances are if you’re in a bigger venue it also means a bigger ticket price.

And remember, when possible, keep it to a multiple of $5. There’s nothing dumber than paying $16 for a t-shirt. Chances are the merch guy will run out of singles halfway through the night.

Amazon.com hits us with their Best of 2003 Store which includes editor’s top 100 list and their custumer list. The editors pick Outkast, the customers pick Norah Jones (which was a 2002 release).

After I posted my review of Tuesday’s Twilight Singers concert (scroll down to see it), a discussion broke out in the message board and it’s getting a lot of activity. Read it all here and relive the past, present and future of Greg Dulli.

It always hurts when an indie label comes crashing down.

Kindercore, erstwhile and present home to bands like Dressy Bessy, Palomar, Maserati, Of Montreal, Masters of the Hemisphere, The Essex Green, Call and Response, I Am The World Trade Center and Japancakes, is calling it a day. Along with its sibling label The Telegraph Company, Kindercore will be closing its New York offices with just about immediate effect. The Telegraph distribution operation will continue “unabated,” as Kindercore representatives tell us, but all Kindercore and Telegraph releases slated for 2004 have been shelved, with both labels on immediate and indefinite hiatus. (full story)

Stephen Mejias, my friend, writer of donewaiting.com’s New York City column checks in with his most emotional post ever. And by saying “most emotional” that means a lot because he is always ready to pour his heart out to you, to share with you, the things that go on his life, his band, his world.

The story begins with someone breaking into his apartment and ends with his band, The Multi-Purpose Solution, breaking up. Here’s a piece:

I don?t want to be responsible for explanations. I?d rather be responsible for writing songs, scheduling practices, booking shows, sending out announcements, putting up flyers, making sacrifices that, to me, were worth it. I don?t want to be alone. I don?t want to not be in a band. I don?t want to be only an Editorial Assistant. Everything was for the band. This column was for the band. The band is the thing that made me feel strong, made me feel special. It was the thing that woke me up in the morning, the thing that kept me up late at night. And I loved it. I loved feeling that I was a part of something special, a part of this thing with Pete, Dave, and Fuzzy. (continued)

I’ve known The Multi-PS since day one. I went to high school with most of them, and have been supporters of them throughout all their versions of the band.

When they played a donewaiting.com show here in Columbus in August it was a great time. The crowd was into them, the band was on fire, and I was so proud of them.

Bands break up all the time, sure, but this one hits me a little close to home. I’m sure all the guys will continue to move on and do great things, whatever that may be. I’ll be watching. I’ll be listening.

Suede is calling it quits.

I am sad.

Boo hoo.

However the Twilight Singer review right below makes me smile so karmic balance is restored.

Ever since hearing about the Twilight Singers show @ Southgate House I was going back and forth as to whether or not I wanted to make the 90 minute drive to see it. With so many other shows going on in town, I thought this one might be the straw that broke the camel’s back.

And then our friend Tankboy reviews the Chicago show and it sounded so good that we decided that we must go. Me and Areila packed up the car with Billy and Keith and headed out into the pouring rain.

We made it to the show around the same time the opening act, The Staggering Statistics (featuring ex-Whig bassist), hit the stage. We casually watched the show from the balcony, and they were good, I guess. Nothing too bad, nothing too good, just a band standing in the way of the Twilight Singers.

After their set we made our way downstairs to get a better view. The crowd was swelling by then, packing up to every wall with little breathing room. Cincinnatti wanted to see their hometown hero. They wouldn’t be let down.

After close to an hour of waiting, the Twilight Singers finally hit the stage. And it’s live that I think I fully appreciated the band. While I enjoy the albums, the live show added another dimension to the music, something more that I didn’t see before. The Twilight Singers aren’t the Afghan Whigs, and that’s okay. They’re more like the downtempo cousin of the band, rocking harder but with beats that are just a little slower, just a little quieter, than the Whigs.

Oh yeah… For me, the keyboards are the star of the live show. It’s rare to hear a band use keys so prominently, and with the Singers it makes perfect sense.

Halfway through the set Dulli was talking about the bar he owns in Los Angeles. He said in the beginning not many people came, but he had one regular who would show up every night around 1AM, sometimes with his girlfriend, sometime without. They wouldn’t talk to each other, but instead would just give each other curious stares. Then one night this guy goes to Greg and says, “Are you Greg Dulli?” and he says, “Yeah, are you Elliott Smith?” And from there the two struck up a friendship. Greg then told the crowd to work out any problems they might have, and people love them… He dedicated “Martin Eden” to him. A really emotional moment.

There was a lot of great Dulli dialogue, but some things are just best experienced on your own. He also mixed a few songs into his own. Highlights were the Beatles and “Hey Ya” by Outkast.

The second encore of the evening was when all hell broke loose. Dulli invited old Afghan Whigs members onstage and played about 3-4 Afghan Whigs songs. The crowd went nuts. The band was visibly happy. It was a perfect moment. Standing there, seeing Dulli in front oh his hometown crowd, I thought to myself, this is why I love music.

On the ride back to Columbus (we got in @ 3AM, ugh), I was thinking about Dulli and how, these days, there’s not many musicians who exude the same amount of confidence and cool like Dulli. Billy Peake said it’s because the confidence goes against a lot of indie rock traditions, and he might be right. Whatever the case, Dulli is certainly one of a kind, and whether he’s working with the Twilight Singers or with the Whigs, it’s music worth paying attention to.

PS: The Afghan Whigs songs played were: Uptown Again, Crazy, 66 and Faded.

Time to invent the perfect GIMMICK tour. The bands you select shouldn’t be put together just because you think they’d be cool. This is all about the GIMMICK.

To begin:

Duos of Destruction
Opener: The Black Keys
Middle Slot: The Kills
Headliner: The White Stripes

Simon and Garfunkel will make a surprise appearance on the NYC show.

Now it’s time to post your perfect gimmick tour in the message board. The more insane the better.