#if you actually want to support a musician then buy their merch. go to shows. buy physical music | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

elliot-corfield · 2 years

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UNIT D10 PROMOTIONAL MATERIAL (my own work)

I would like to discuss the visual material I've been working on for this side of the project and what I've learned from it. First off i started with a logo to go with the artist name I picked. Code black, i went for a fairly less is more approach, something that gets the message across but what i have is also very marketable as it can go on clothing or anything you want it to really and that's the key part here, it's not just a logo and a name, it's a brand. Personal branding is key for a band as fans need something to actually get behind and support and that is your branding. You can even get smart with it like my approach and use it for promotion aswell and have a whole theme going throughout your work, this makes some really stand out promotion and will definitely generate a lot of attention for your music. Having a brand allows you to make merch aswell to sell at gigs for extra monetisation through your work, more money per release is more money to spend on the next idea or increase your music video production budget. More production and better quality can only increase the hype and fans gained from a release and there can't be anything bad about that at all. Your band could become heavily famous for your creative and fun marketing and each time people will love getting involved and look forward to your promotional plans. Another thing I've made with this branding and the thing that started my thematic ideas for promotion was a poster that could be posted in the local area or when you're bigger it could go on a billboard for example. Having a poster is a good way to interact with fans and gain new fans, local people love having bands and musicians to support in the local area. Take bring me the horizon for example, when they do a local show in Sheffield, the atmosphere is electric because the local people love them. All of this branding lead to me making an Instagram account for the EP where i have teased an EP release, showed the development of each song and then done a little 30 second teaser for each of the songs. As i mentioned before, using reels and Instagram for teasers is a very powerful form of promotion for your music and I've made my own account to show an example of how it can be done and how i would do it if i were promoting my own music to actually release professionally. I am also going to make a playthrough video of one of the songs and i think this is a powerful form of music video as it gets the players interacting with fans and they can learn from the person who wrote their favourite riffs or you can even sell a tab book with the EP that people can buy to learn your songs and play along with you, this is another way of monetising your work. If you plan to make lots of videos and books you can then even use this to network with writers and editors and video editors too. That's it for the examples I'm making, i think it's a nice selection of things to make and explore personally. A logo and branding, promoting my music and then making educational content about my music for people to enjoy and learn from. There are also the methods I've written up in more detail too so that i can discuss my ideas and opinions on the modern ways that i think are the best for promoting your musical content. I think it stays in line with professional practices and the most modern ways we have and i know from being a metal fan that these methods are definitely relevant to my target audience of metal music listeners.

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kobrakids · 3 years

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people are so weird about pirating music. if you only stream music, you might as well be pirating it anyway

#if you actually want to support a musician then buy their merch. go to shows. buy physical music #but also if they have a massive contract from major label your personal monetary support is pretty insignificant in terms of #material support to the artist #so like. just live your life lol #also for small musicians there are ways to give real support that dont involve money #you can pirate music from an artist and still make a bigger positive impact than people who stream their music (but never do anything else)#offer to help out for them at a show. connect them with local venues they could play. promote them on social media. make art for them #design merch for them to sell. design merch for them and wear it yourself. etc etc etc #personal tag #btw original post said 'stealing' but piracy literally isnt stealing so i changed it lol

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scariusaquarius · 3 years

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just a dare.

George ‘Joji’ Miller x Female! Reader

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Synopsis: He was never one to back down from a dare, but this was a dare that might give George ‘Joji’ Miller more than what he bargained for.

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A/n: So this is probably really different than what you guys are used to, but I wrote this because A: I fucking love Joji and B: i wanted to write this for a friend. The style that I wrote this in is kinda kinda different than what I usually do, but I was freeballing this one ngl so if it sucks: that is 100% why. I don’t know how Joji is as a person, so if this doesn’t seem like something he would do then lol we die like idiots on this tumblr.

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Genre: Romance, Slight Angst Rated: Everyone Warning: None

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Author: ScariusAquarius

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He knew it was wrong to let it go on for this long, but there was a part of him that longed for it to never stop.

George ‘Joji’ Miller was a man of many things. He was a musician, a past Youtuber, a performer of many arts, and a friend. He was a son, a student, and sometimes during typical shenanigans with his friends, a character named Filthy Frank.

However, one thing that Joji didn’t like to consider himself was a liar.

Joji typically didn’t like to lie about things, even if they were small white lies. Sure, he’d lie to get out of petty trouble, but to lie to people he didn’t even know? Joji didn’t consider himself that much of an asshole (even though he did enjoy harassing them at times, especially when he still ran his Filthy Frank channel). However, if there was at least one thing Joji could admit about himself, it was that he never backed out of a dare or challenge, no matter how fucked up it might be (unless it was incredibly illegal, of course.)

Even if it meant fake dating someone and breaking their heart after a certain amount of time.

During a night of drunken shenanigans with his friends Max and Ian, they had engaged in a particular drunk game of Dare or Drink. It was a game of truth or dare, but with a twist, and it was personally a favorite of Joji’s, even if he did end up drunker than a dog before the night was even over. However, during this game, it had given Joji more than what he had bargained for.

“Hey, so you know that one girl that helps with the crew during shows? That (Y/n) (L/n) chick? I dare you to ask her out and date her for a couple months.”

That was how it started. A stupid and meaningless dare that was supposed to have ended months ago had Joji had the balls to break your heart. However, during his time in ‘dating’ you, he had found more out about you that he had never known about you before; more that made Joji rethink his choice of breaking you and up with you.

You were one of the crew members that had been hired to help him during his shows and music career, but you did so much more than just help set up the stage and handle the light sequences. You were almost like an assistant manager for his agent, helping with scheduling and setting up interviews and meets, designing merch and handing off the designs to his agent, and other incredibly important things that Joji hadn’t even thought about before meeting you.

Even though Joji knew you, he hadn’t really bothered to ever actually befriend you and get to know the real you. You were a fleeting image to him; always only glimpses as you hustled about and did your job. It was almost rare that Joji ever actually got to speak one-on-one to you, and that was only ever if his agent was sick and asked you to take over for the day.

From what Joji could see, you were a truly decent person with a unique perspective on things.

So, when Max had dared him to ask you out, Joji had thought it would be pretty fast and easy to do. He didn’t truly know you, so why not? As he watched you stare up at the sky, smiling softly as the snow fell and the Tokyo lights reflected off of your skin, Joji found it hard to look away; to even fathom the thought of breaking your heart.

There was a part of him that felt like an asshole for taking on the dare. Truly, Joji shouldn’t have taken it on…but there was a part of him that was almost glad that he did. To most people, you were probably considered mediocre, maybe even uninteresting…but to Joji, you were all he ever thought about. You invaded his mind at every waking moment; even invading his dreams when he would actually get some good sleep.

All he ever thought about was you and how much he didn’t want to break that soft light that burned within your heart. You were so soft; so…refreshing. Joji was addicted to you and your optimistic, even loving, outlook on life. Joji was sure that he had never met anybody who was so in love with living as you were. Joji could still remember the way you had looked at him when he had asked you out after a show one day when he finally got a real chance to.

He had taken a week to ask you because both you and him were so busy. During that week, Joji had thought about all the ways that the situation could go wrong. You could refuse, and Joji wouldn’t have to do the dare, Perhaps you already had a partner and could let him down…or maybe you just didn’t want to see anybody? If he was honest about it, it was what Joji had hoped for when he had blurted out the question when he stumbled off of stage, looking so sweaty and flushed from his time in the show.

However, instead of refusing him, you had given him a baffled look before you smiled so fondly at him; as if he had just professed his love to you or something…or told you that you looked beautiful, which you definitely had that night.

It was the moment that Joji knew he was fucked. He had taken you out the week after for bubble tea, showing you his favorite flavors while actually getting to know you. After about two months, Joji had figured that it was time to end the relationship.

However, when Joji had prepared himself and walked up to your apartment to break things off, he found his steps growing slower and slower until he was frozen in front of your door. His body wouldn’t move, and Joji cursed himself as he shuffled his feet and stalled. It shouldn’t have been so hard, but Joji never did knock on your door.

Instead, he had listened to you softly sing to one of his songs, sounding so pretty and soft as you sang alongside him. He had listened until the end of the song before turning and walking away from the door, sending you a sweet goodnight text. He almost hated how the heart emojis on your text back made his heart flutter.

After that, Joji began to notice more of the little things that you did for him that no other significant other had ever done for him before. In the morning, you would always have breakfast ready for him, his favorite breakfast foods usually, sometimes something different to spice things up and give variety.

You would pay so much attention to what he would say to you that if he expressed interest in an item or something that he liked, you would buy it for him as soon as you could, smiling so softly as you would shyly explain to him that you remembered he wanted that thing or stared at it a little too long.

You would remember some of the littlest things about him that he would tell you that most others would have forgotten, you would ask him about his day, give him space when he wouldn’t even ask for it, and pay attention to his physical cues, not just the verbal.

It almost baffled Joji how much you enjoyed doing things for him while he didn’t invest much into you. In the beginning, Joji hadn’t even planned to do much for you because in the beginning, you were temporary. You had been just the result of a drunken dare that Joji was too proud to refuse…until it wasn’t; until you became much more than that.

During an innocent night of him sleeping over with you after marathoning Disney movies, your alarm clock had gone off for you to do some late night work for the big boss. Joji, despite having been woken up by the alarm, hadn’t moved nor opened his eyes while you shuffled off the bed quietly to get yourself ready.

And then you had leaned over him, kissing his forehead and whispering how he was going to change the world, and Joji had never felt so conflicted in his life. It had honestly given him nightmares.

It was after the third month, after that one night, that Joji began to make more of an effort. He took you out to places that he remembered you mentioning, bought you small gifts, and made sure to listen more attentively rather than passively when you would speak with him about things that didn’t pertain to work or himself.

Joji took you more seriously, and though Joji still felt like shit about the fact he hadn’t begun to date you because he liked you, there was a part of him that began to feel thankful for such a stupid dare; a part of him that began to grow attached to you.

So, when you smiled over at him, the Tokyo lights lighting up your face in a rainbow of pretty fluorescents and snow falling on your skin, Joji couldn’t stop himself from smiling back at you. His heart swelled, loving just how in love with the world you looked. How could he even break your heart? How could he snuff out such a soft and loving light like yours?

“What’s on your mind, Joj?”

Joji swallowed thickly, suddenly nervous, and he wondered if he should tell you. Should he reveal it? Should he say it? Was it too late to? Was it considered too early?

“I love you.”

Just like when he had jokingly asked you out, your eyes widened in surprise before that beautiful smile graced your lips. Your warm hand came up to his cheek, cupping his flushed and cold skin before you replied back gently.

“I love you too, J.”

And just like that, Joji knew that there was no turning back, and if the man was honest, he was sure that he didn’t want to.

[END]

Taglist: @xshadyladyx

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#George Miller #Joji Miller #Joji #Reader #Joji x Reader #George Miller x Reader #Joji Miller x Reader #Joji Imagine #Joji Miller Imagine #George Miller Imagine

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phanhowell · 3 years

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Small details in the Unsaid Emily flashbacks that I ✨love✨

This is gonna be a long one lads so buckle up. Lets start with my favourite screenshot

- First of all the band posters!!! yes please every wall is covered in them

- I think the most important prop in this scene is the empty noodle (i think) cups. There’s 3 there. We already knew that Luke ran away from home and was gone for 7 months with very little money, but this just proves that he was struggling more than it may have seemed. He’s eating the cheapest food he can possibly find for potentially every single meal, and may have been doing so for MONTHS. There’s no way his health wasn’t declining from malnourishment. This also makes the headcanon that Emily blamed herself for his death more likely to be true, as he actually was surviving on street food and instant noodles instead of his mums home cooking that he would’ve had if she hadn’t pushed him away.

- Secondly the chair. Yes it’s cheap and very uncomfortable looking but why is he sitting on it instead of the couch you ask? Because the couch is his bed!!!! He doesn’t wanna sleep AND work there!!

- Something I just thought about is the fact that he’s clearly working at night judging by literally every light in the studio being on. His boys aren’t there with him. I know we like to think that all of them lived at the studio at least some of the time, but until that’s confirmed we have to assume that Luke was a 17 year old kid completely alone and living in a garage with no money while the other boys were at school or home. Ouch

Moving on we have this picture taken just before Luke runs away. It’s Christmas. What is there in the frame relating to Christmas? Thats right, presents. Do you think Emily and Mitch opened the presents addressed to them that Luke put under the tree? Do you think they kept the presents they got for Luke just hoping he would come home one day and open them? Do you think that still, even 25 years later, the unopened presents sit on Luke’s bed covered in dust? Because I do.

I have less to say about this picture but there’s still a couple things I want to point out.

First, the flowers on the table in the background are exactly the same as in the second image, and also more notably exactly the same as the flowers that are there when present day Luke is watching them eat cake on his birthday. It is entirely possible that the scenes were just filmed close together and the props team thought nobody would notice the flowers, but I like to think it’s done on purpose as most things are in shows.

Second, there are two crosses in this one frame alone and I’m pretty certain at least one bible on the bookshelf. I’m not religious so I’m not going to say anything else as I have no idea what I’m talking about, but everyone at this point has seemed to agree that Alex’s parents were the strict Catholic ones. What if it was Luke’s parents as well?

This is pretty much just the first picture but from a different angle so the only thing i have to say is RAINBOW POSTER IN THE BACK. No idea what musician it’s for, but this was 100% put up to support Alex when he came out. I just know for a fact the other 3 boys (yes including Bobby this is a pro Bobby blog) had an emergency meeting when Alex went home that day about what they could do to show him they love him. Arguments ensued when they couldn’t agree on what to do - Reggie and Bobby wanted to do something bigger and Luke thought Alex wouldn’t want them to make a big deal of it, before they all settled on a poster that was subtle enough that nobody would notice if they weren’t looking. When Alex came to band practice the next day he saw it and cried.

Also bike handles as a decoration?? Sure why not

Lastly we have this. Literally only put this in because the thought of younger Luke going to his first music festival and excitedly buying merch makes me so happy.

That’s all for now folks! toodles

#jatp #julie and the phantoms #should i have made this into multiple posts? yes #but why do that when i can dump all my thoughts onto one post :D #i have a problem :)))))#my post

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stormra · 3 years

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For Osomatsu-san: How would the brothers treat their S/O, who’s a popular musician but has to travel around all the time (tours, concerts, etc)? Would they come with their S/O? Or stay and support them from afar because they don’t want to get in their way?

❝ 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐬𝐮𝐧𝐨 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐩𝐨𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐒/𝐎

— type : headcanons

— characters : the matsuno brothers

𝙊𝙎𝙊𝙈𝘼𝙏𝙎𝙐 :

❧ While he’d support you and love you unconditionally regardless of what you want from him, he’d definitely want to leech off of your successes. You can expect him to instantly say yes upon being asked to travel with you. Staying home wouldn’t even be a consideration for an array of arguably stupid reasons that read as follows:

❧ “It’s no big deal! What’s mine is yours and what’s yours is mine, baby~”

❧ However, if you’re into being a less-official version of a sugar Mommy/Daddy/Parent, you might not care about him tagging along and using you for your money/fame. At least he loves you? Just look at it that way! Osomatsu isn’t all that bad.

❧ Sure, he’s greedy, but he’s not extremely selfish. He’d recognize that you have feelings that deserve to be acknowledged. Besides, we all know he doesn’t think very highly of himself in the first place.

❧ He’d love to listen to you play/sing for him and would often go out of his way to watch you perform. While he might not know much about music, he’d value your dedication, as he has exactly 0 ounces of that mystical concept. Knowing that the people he loves are successful is euphoric.

❧ If you show him off to the public or so much as walk around with him in public, expect him to die. He wouldn’t be focused on suddenly gaining fame and popularity like some others would. Instead, he’d be stuck on the fact that you, a popular musician, chose to show the world that you belong to him and that he belongs to you... just a lowly NEET dating someone exponentially more successful. Something about that would warm his heart and make him feel valued for once.

❧ Did someone say he’d finally accept his identity? He’s constantly having internal crises. Your presence would only solidify his existence.

❧ While he wouldn’t be much of a comforting boyfriend, he’d pose as a great distraction. The celebrity life can get rather tiresome; Osomatsu would recognize this without a problem. Instead of coddling or comforting you, he’d use his childish nature to distract you from the stresses of the music industry, influencing you to take breaks and lazy days with him.

❧ He’d constantly ask to be in any sort of photo shoots you may have. He just wants to pose in funny positions with you!

𝙆𝘼𝙍𝘼𝙈𝘼𝙏𝙎𝙐 :

❧ While Karamatsu wouldn’t exactly want to stay home in order to keep himself from making things harder for you, he’d do so if you asked or made it clear that you’d prefer such an option. If you’d expect him to ask, no. He’s far too polite to do that.

❧ It’s important to note that he considers himself to be a bit of a musician as well. Therefore, he’d be even more compelled to go with you, but, again, he’d never ask. You’d have to ask him and express a trillion times that you actually want him to tag along.

❧ This might sound like a stretch, but that grandiose act he loves so much? It would disappear rapidly with the knowledge that so many people could learn of his existence just by dating you. Without even being the celebrity in the relationship, he’d crack under pressure, reverting back into the timid, people-pleasing man he truly is. Get ready to have some fun teasing him and/or helping him establish true confidence.

❧ Expect a lot of praise to fall from his lips. He would admire your successes without being overbearing. In fact, you’d inspire him. A lot. You can also expect a lot of his own songs to center around your success and beauty.

❧ Honestly? Give him musical advice! He’d accept it wholeheartedly; especially if it comes from someone like you. Your career would influence him to grow and learn from his mistakes in the field. You might have a model singer as a boyfriend before the end of the tour! While giving him critique, be sure to praise him just as much. He loves you endlessly, but lots of critique with little praise will leave him feeling a bit insecure. However, I’m sure you know this, as this aspect of his character is far from unnoticeable. Be gentle with him. He deserves it!

❧ If you imagine playing/singing duets with him, you’re on the right track. He’d love to sing for you and hear you sing with him in return. The same can be said for any instrument you may happen to play. He’d eat it right up! You’re his everything, after all.

❧ Will wear your merch—especially merch with your face on it. Please wear his tank top with his face out of respect.

𝘾𝙃𝙊𝙍𝙈𝘼𝙏𝙎𝙐 :

❧ Although some would assume he’d want to stay home for your sake, as he calls himself the most “responsible” brother, I know it wouldn’t be anything like that. Have you seen the way he acts around Nyaa-chan? This guy would ask you daily, disguising his motives with innocent claims. He’s a tricky bastard who should never be underestimated.

❧ “I only want to make sure everything goes smoothly for you!”

❧ “Don’t you need an assistant? Emotional support?”

❧ “If you don’t want me to come, I understand, but I think this could be a learning experience for the both of us!”

❧ While he would be more than willing to be your crutch and sense of normalcy, for he isn’t heartless, we all know he has a weird thing for idols and that would primarily spawn his desire to travel on tour with you. It doesn’t matter if you’re nothing like the idol he praises. You’re close enough and that’s undeniably attractive to him.

❧ The fact that he’s even dating a musician is enough to scare him. Can you imagine how he’d act traveling with one? Pushy and controlling, you’d hardly catch a break, as he’d be riding your ass to get things done and to take care of yourself. If you like that sort of thing, good for you. If you don’t, then you’d need to talk to him about it. Although executed with good intentions, his overbearingness can be... well, overbearing.

❧ Please keep him humble. As we know his ego is the size of the sun, he’d willingly or unwillingly use your existence as his partner to set himself apart from his brothers. Again, we know he already thinks very highly of himself, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he started using your relationship as a boost to get ahead of his “worthless” siblings.

❧ “I’m dating a musician and you five can’t even get jobs!”

❧ However, he’d never you to show him off to the public.

❧ On a more wholesome note, as I feel bad for giving him mostly negative headcanons, his doting-ness would be welcomed as well as detested. On your bad days, he’d be there to comfort you and offer objective solutions. Albeit uncharismatic, he’s rather skilled at speaking and getting his words across when they need to be conveyed properly.

❧ He buys all of your merch and wears the shirts everywhere. Really.

𝙄𝘾𝙃𝙄𝙈𝘼𝙏𝙎𝙐 :

❧ It would take a lot of convincing on your behalf if you desperately want this man to travel with you.

❧ The threat of exposing himself to the public is a deep-rooted fear that keeps him from doing simple things within his mundane life—so one can only imagine the stress that would sit on his shoulders in an environment such as the celebrity one. He’d constantly find himself within ruts and deep pits, trying to stay out of the spotlight.

❧ In that case, he’d be staying home. Let him stay home. However, the problems wouldn’t end there, so you best be on your toes.

❧ Jealousy can overrun the best of us. Ichimatsu couldn’t stomach the idea of going with you in the first place, but that wouldn’t stop the intrusive thoughts telling him that you’d end up leaving him for another musician who is leagues more talented and better looking. This obviously wouldn’t be your fault; he’s always been disgustingly insecure. A lot of communication would need to be reached: such as phone calls and texts. Although he wouldn’t be clingy, he’d need some frequent reassurance that you, in fact, love him. Praise him for being so sweet for you. Call him handsome as you FaceTime. Hell, write a short song for him.

❧ On another note, you as a musician would literally be his northern star. As a man so shrouded in negativity, seeing you, a person who can communicate feelings through fingers or a voice, shining like the sun whilst on a stage surrounded by thousands, would leave his soul feeling all light and fuzzy. The mere thought that his partner is someone so ethereal would bring him some form of internal peace.

❧ He’d listen to your music every night. It’s how he’d fall asleep.

❧ Surprisingly, he’d be the best at comforting you and helping you stay grounded. He knows what it feels like to feel hopeless.

❧ Sing him to sleep over the phone! If you play an instrument, play for him! Oddly enough, he’d have one of the most prominent adorations for your musical skill out of his brothers. Something about it just warms his heart. You’d impress him to no end and inspire him to try and do something with his life.

❧ He’d name one of his cats after a song of yours!

𝙅𝙔𝙐𝙎𝙃𝙄𝙈𝘼𝙏𝙎𝙐 :

❧ Undoubtedly, he’d be the most eager to travel out of his brothers. He’d ask you daily, jumping up and down like a hyper puppy. He’d hardly have a reason as to why he’d like to go, but something about it would forever and always appeal to him for some unspoken reason. He might just crave adventure and some excitement.

❧ Are we really surprised?

❧ Identical to a dog, he’d beg. He’d ask with various bone-crushing hugs and weird stares that are hard to deny. He’s not exactly the brightest, but he’s cute and knows it. No, he’s not manipulative, but if he wants to go, he’ll sure try his best to convince you to take him with you.

❧ He compares you to Karamatsu a lot. In good ways, of course.

❧ Upon letting him travel with you, he’d be one of the best distractions on a bad day. Of course you can’t silence discomfort by just “being happy”, but Jyushimatsu sure likes to make you laugh even on your darkest days. He’d be a great listener that lets you spill all of your darkest worries as an artist. He wouldn’t give the best advice, but his presence would be an award in it of itself. Like Osomatsu, his childish nature is a breath of fresh air. He’d also be remarkably skilled at reading how you feel.

❧ Undoubtedly the loudest supporter at your performances. Will go out of his way to make sure his voice is the one you hear screaming over a sea of thousands. Also, I can’t promise he won’t tackle-hug you after performances, let that be offstage or onstage. Be ready!

❧ He’d love wearing your merch—specifically oversized t-shirts with your face on them! Much like Karamatsu, he thinks that’s all sorts of romantic and cute. He could care less about being viewed as weird.

❧ There’s no way you can keep Jyushimatsu out of the public eye. He loves you and he loves having fun! The poor guy would probably have a hard time understanding why he shouldn’t tackle you in front of your fans. Your best bet is to establish some boundaries and come to a conclusion that works best. If I’m being honest, he’d be a harmless public partner. He’s just all smiles and laughter... mostly. (:

𝙏𝙊𝘿𝙊𝙈𝘼𝙏𝙎𝙐 :

❧ Ultimately, this little bastard is hard to read. He can either be the sweetest man to ever grace the Earth or the most devilish and selfish.

❧ He’d tell you he doesn’t need to go on tour with you, but the answer he’s looking for is a yes. He enjoys playing “hard to get” and wants to come off as responsible and kind. Much like Choromatsu, he knows how to play his social cards and will do what he can to seem like a perfectly indecisive partner who is “totally okay with whatever you want.” That’s a lie. If you wouldn’t allow him to travel with you, he’d try to give you reasons as to why you should let him go. He’s complicated and I won’t sugarcoat that. You’ll find that I try to be realistic with these heavily romanticized NEETs.

❧ Regardless, if and when he goes on tour with you, except to have yet another mini assistant. He’d always try to offer fashion tips and elements of which you should include in your songs to appeal to the public. Although a NEET, he’d have a strong idea of what the fans are looking for and what you could do to be more appealing. However, he’d understand if you’d like to keep up with your own thing and stray from conforming. He’d be fine with whatever you want, but that wouldn’t stop his opinions and tips. Maybe he should become a musician.

❧ He’d get fussy over not having enough of your attention. His degree of fussiness wouldn’t become overbearing, but it’s always important to acknowledge the feelings of your partners to reach a conclusion. Remind him that you love him and he’ll eventually come around.

❧ Easily the best advice-giver. Can both solve your problems or be the shoulder you cry on. He’d be fantastic at helping you through the trials and tribulations that come from being a musician. While he might seem apathetic, he really isn’t and understands just how pressuring expectations can be. This star of hope has seen some things.

❧ Although it may seem easy to assume he’d only be there for the fame, that wouldn’t be his only motivator. He’d truly want to see his beloved grow beyond others. His confidence will skyrocket whilst on tour with you.

❧ He’d design most of your merch: very minimalist designs that fit in with almost all aesthetics. When all is said and done, he’d wear the clothes with pride. What a dork.

❧ Likes to post pictures of you with him on his social medias.

#headcanons #headcanon #osomatsu san #ososan #osomatsu san headcanons #ososan headcanons #osomatsu #karamatsu #choromatsu #ichimatsu #jyushimatsu #todomatsu #osomatsu san content

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doomedandstoned · 4 years

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Doom in a Time of Corona: Konvent Speaks From The Lockdown

~By Shawn Gibson!~

Hello, Ladies! Nice to catch up with you again. Thank you for your time. How is everyone?

Hi, Shawn! Great to talk to you again. Everyone is absolutely fine, but as you may know this is a pretty weird time with the COVID-19 situation going on. But we’re all safe and happy at the moment and we really feel like that's the most important thing right now.

How are you dealing with novel coronavirus and what are you doing to stay busy in this down time? Any writing or recording?

It's no secret that it's a boring time for everyone. We are so used to meeting a lot in the band and going to concerts, etcetera, but right now we can’t do that. So we actually watch a lot of Netflix, HBO, and get early to bed -- like true rockstars. (laughs)

We have no recording right now. It is also almost only three months since we released our album, so we took the time to breathe out after a stressful period of album release, tour, etcetera, but we are currently focusing on writing new material for our next album. Sara and Heidi have been doing some new riffs and we’re working at our own place with the new material. It feels like the perfect timing to start experimenting with different things musically. It is also important for us that we have time to immerse ourselves and retain the joy of creation.

I hate that this virus has affected everyone from musicians, fans, venue owners, festival promoters, labels, and so on. Tell me about some of these kick ass festivals Konvent was supposed to play? Will they be rescheduled? Who was on the line up?

Yes, we really hate it too. But we were incredibly lucky because the lockdown happened only a week after we finished the last show on our release tour. So when our government announced the lockdown here of all schools, universities and jobs, we’ve just stayed home and worked from our apartments and have not met since, to follow the regulations and stay safe.

It’s no secret that the virus will have some consequences according to cancellations of the summer festivals. Some of them have already been announced and some of them not, so we’ll keep you guys updated about it. We had been looking so much forward to playing at the festivals this summer, but of course we hope to be booked for 2021.

Generally, we feel very lucky with some of the offers we have been given and this really gives us the courage to keep on going and make it even bigger for 2021!

Film by Black Label Pictures

Konvent has been very busy! Your newest album 'Puritan Masochism' (2020) is excellent. I have heard nothing but praise for this album. What has Konvent been up to since we last had a chat?

Thank you so much. It makes us so happy to hear people saying that they like the album. When we signed the deal in 2018, we only had a few finished tracks, so we were far away from going into the studio. Since we had quite many concerts in 2018, we didn’t have a lot of time to work on the album. So half of the record was made in the beginning of 2019 and some tracks were even made one day before going into the studio with Lasse Skov at Ballade Studios in Copenhagen. Napalm knew this and we agreed with them to have the album out either in late 2019 or 2020, so they were very patient and weren't rushing us in any way.

Going on the Puritan Masochism tour has also been amazing! This was our very first headliner tour and we got to go to Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Germany, and the UK. We have met so many cool people and we really love to go to places we’ve never been before. We have really been blown away by how many people who want an interview and how incredible people have been when it comes to buying our merchandise and album. We have gained more confidence as individuals, but also as a band.

We also experienced all the things that could go wrong on a tour. (laughs) The support band cancels, the car broke down, the guitar and drum broke on stage, but we somehow managed to defeat all these challenges and we couldn’t think of a better experience than we had on the tour.

How was the recording process for 'Puritan Masochism'?

We really wanted that raw, gritty sound, as if the music is coming from the abyss! And that’s why we chose to work with Lasse Ballade because he had made a bunch of cool records that we really admired. Lasse Ballade has a studio in the center of Copenhagen and we got together for 14 days and recorded the whole album live. I (Sara) think we have allowed ourselves to be more creative with playing with different riffs and rhythms this time.

When we recorded the demo we weren’t as relaxed with our instruments as we are now. It comes more naturally and we’re only getting better at experimenting with new stuff.

Our producer Lasse Ballade used a lot of time together with Sara and Heidi on finding the right sound for the guitar and bass and it was his idea to record some of the drums in his basement, to give it a more deep and kinda creepy basement sound. So he was definitely the one who really helped us find our sound, and we couldn’t be happier!

How is it being signed to Napalm Records?

We love working together with Napalm Records and they are very professional. We have come a long way since we signed the deal and Napalm plays a big role in order to make most of our dreams possible so far. We couldn’t think of any better label for us right now.

We would really like to go on bigger tours and play more festivals, as long as it can work out financially. And we are steadily getting more offers, so that’s really exciting! Our booker Thorsten from Napalm Events is handling all our offers, but we often get messages directly from bookers who want to put on a show with us and then we just direct it to him.

We are already so happy with what’s happening for us at the moment and we just try to enjoy it as much as we can and not put too much pressure on ourselves.

What are some death/doom bands that have inspired Konvent?

Almost all of our dads raised us on Black Sabbath. When Julie was little, she and her dad also listened to Kiss and led Zeppelin a lot. When Sara first learned the guitar as a teenager, her biggest influence was Nirvana. Heidi was a big fan of The Darkness in her teens. In Rikke’s early high school years she was listening to Red Hot Chili Peppers a lot, but then she discovered Rammstein and became a huge fan.

As we got older, our taste in music developed and we got more and more interested in metal genres like death, black, thrash, tech, hardcore, slam, and also punk. We still listen to a lot of different bands, but we all like bands such as Yob, Mantar, Candlemass, and Paradise Lost.

Konvent is one of the heaviest death/doom bands I know! The vocals still kick my ass, Rikki! Some guys can't sound like that!

That’s a huge compliment. (laughs) Thanks!

I'm very proud to have bought the CD and t-shirt bundle for 'Puritan Masochism.' I hope Konvent has great success with the album and merch sales.

Thank you so much for buying it. We really appreciate people supporting us. We have been really overwhelmed by how many people are supporting us with buying our merchandise.

Tell me about signing with Barsk Management Agency.

Our new manager Esben, who just started Bask Management, is a friend of the band and has earlier been the lead singer of Hatesphere for the past decade, where he's gathered invaluable knowledge about the music business and the metal scene, especially.

We realized a few months ago that we needed someone to help us with the practical stuff and tour management, in general. We are actually not a super structured band and we often forget things when we go on tour. (laughs) Esben contacted us a few months ago and we had a few meetings and agreed that we would like to start a corporation about management. We couldn’t be happier about this decision. It has really removed burdens from us according to the practical stuff so we’re are able to focus on the most important thing: music!

What are your plans for Konvent when this pandemic is over? Live shows and re-scheduled festivals?

We had some festivals and shows which were cancelled, but we have already been rescheduled to 2021 for some of them -- and we are really happy about that. We know that some bands are suffering a lot more than us so we just try to be happy over the fact that we got to release the album and finish the tour before the pandemic. But we have HRH Vikings Chapter III in the UK this Autumn, which will be our first time playing at a viking festival. (laughs) But we have a pretty crazy announcement very soon and we can’t say anymore at the moment, but we are pretty stoked about it. We’ll keep you updated.

What is in the future for Konvent?

We are already so happy with what’s happening for us at the moment and we just try to enjoy it as much as we can and not put too much pressure on ourselves. We have pushed ourselves out of our comfort zones many times now and that in itself is something to be proud of. Looking back, we feel like we have accomplished much more than what we could have hoped for, for example getting a record deal, playing at Copenhell -- Denmark’s biggest metal festival -- in front of 4,000 people, and playing Roskilde Festival, which is the biggest festival in Northern Europe!

At the moment, we are just really blown away by all the positive feedback on our debut album. But, of course, we still dream big! We hope to visit more countries around Europe and we would love to go overseas, as well -- the US, Canada, South America, Australia, you name it! But our biggest dream is to play at 70,000 Tons of Metal. (laughs)

Thank you for your time. I hope you all and your families are well during this tough period.

Thank you so much. Hopefully we’ll see you in the crowd someday!

Puritan Masochism by Konvent

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#D&S Interviews #Konvent #Copenhagen #Denmark #Doom #Death Doom #Doom Metal #Metal #Napalm Records #Shawn Gibson #Doomed & Stoned

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party-slug · 5 years

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the argument that stealing music only harms the creators is such an unimaginable load of shit. the music industry is such a henious place run by the absolute worst kind of talent vampires. when you buy CD’s/digital downloads, or even stream-none of that is going to the artist if they are on a label. in fact, you can have a cd that sells through the roof and you end up owing your label money at the end of it. that is of course, assuming they actually put your album out. pretty common practice for labels to “sign” bands that are competing with ones they want to promote and then shelf their releases so it doesnt take away sales from other artists. the music industry exists soley to squeeze as much money out of artists as possible, full stop. any act that even slightly disables this industry is a nobel one, and as far as im concerned everyone should be their pirating music. if you want to actually support musicians, go to their shows, and buy merch from them directly(even then, some label deals are pretty bad and end up robbing musicians of those profits too).

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lyouna · 5 years

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The story of Josh Dun

Joshua William “Josh” Dun is an American musician. Best known for being the drummer for the band Twenty One Pilots. He was born in Columbus, Ohio, on June 18, 1988. His star sign is Gemini. He has two sisters named Ashley and Abigail and a brother named Jordan.

Since his childhood, he was always terrified by talking in front of people even if it was a small group of it. However, when he is playing drums he does not feel that way, he is not as vulnerable as that when it comes to talking.

He self-taught when he was around 12 how to play drums, and worked at the Guitar Center for 3 years. He also worked with former Twenty One Pilots drummer Chris Salih, through whom he would eventually meet Tyler Joseph.

Dun's first foray into the music industry was with an alternative/Christian rock band House of Heroes. He joined the band through their drummer, Colin Rigsby, who was taking a break to spend time with his family. Dun played alongside the band on tour from March to October 2010 when Rigsby returned to his role.

"I would lay in my bed every night with sticks and hit my knees trying to figure out what they were doing, like, 'Okay, now they're hitting the ride cymbal, and now it's the snare and now the crash.' I would dissect everything that I watched or listened to. Every day I would walk to the local music store and play their electronic drums until one of the workers would be like, 'Hey, we have people in here that actually want to buy stuff so you've gotta go.' I did that for about a year and that's essentially how I learned to play some basic beats."

Throughout both middle school and high school, he didn't have a lot of money and it helps him to be more creative. He even thought about finding pieces of wood and figure it out how to make them in a drum. Figure out how they would sound with different holes in it, with different types of wood... Nevertheless, at this end, he said that the best drum set he had was one of SJC Drums.

He likes nothing more to do than to play drums; in fact, he plays the exact same way when he is in a dark room by himself and when he is in front of thousands of people. He said that he wants to be creative and just to get outside of the box even if that sounds weird.

He said that although his inspiration comes from some drummers, his greatest inspiration is his parents. Indeed, he starts playing drums in a sort of rebellious state again them and that turns into them being more than supportive.

In 2011, upon the invite of co-worker and the band's drummer Chris Salih, Dun attended a Twenty One Pilots show after listening to their original demo CD. Josh first saw Twenty One Pilots at a club on the Ohio State campus. “I loved everything about the show except for one thing: I wasn’t onstage playing also,” he says. After the show, he met lead singer and future bandmate Tyler Joseph, and a couple of days later began to build a friendship with him. It would be another year before Joseph’s original drummer quit and Dun got the job, but they had become best friends in the meantime.

By 2012, Joseph had grown into a ferocious performer, climbing the scaffolding and diving into audiences. The duo became the biggest band in central Ohio, putting every spare penny into the band and focusing intensely on their local fans. They filmed much of the “Stressed Out” video at Dun’s childhood home, so it has become a destination for Twenty One Pilots fans.

The highest point of his sort of musical journey was (according to his words) when he played for a college show at Ohio University. It was full of drunken kids, one of them even tried to pee on his drums and then on their merch. They eventually played one song and after it, the police shut them down. However, he said that it was the first show that he played with Tyler Joseph. He realized during this one song that he was playing with his best friend and he will never forget that.

The duo then released the band’s second studio album, Regional at Best. It was self-released on July 8, 2011. Regional at Best is a discontinued album. It is the last album released by the band prior to signing a record deal with Fueled by Ramen, and it is the first album to feature the talents of Josh Dun.

Josh Dun was raised in conservative, religious households. Video games and most rocks or hip-hop albums were banned. "I’d hide albums like Green Day’s Dookie under my bed," Dun says. "Sometimes they’d find them and get real mad. They’d find a Christian alternative, like Relient K, and make me listen to that."

For a while, the only movies allowed in the house came from CleanFlicks, a Christian company that took Hollywood movies and edited out all the profanity, sexuality and violence. For a young Dun, it made watching movies like The Terminator quite confusing. "Some scenes they’d remove entirely," he says. "Watching those movies was an absolutely awful experience."

By the time he was a teenager, Josh was rebelling hard. "I just had this aggression," he says, noting that his parents nearly kicked him out when he was 14. "They almost sent me to a military school. They did not know what to do with me, and I was always in detention. I never got into drugs or alcohol, but I would yell at my parents and just treat them terribly. Everything was an argument. Looking back, they were trying their best."

When his parents fell asleep, he would break out his punk-pop CDs; eventually, they softened up on rock music, allowing him to assemble a drum kit in his basement piece by piece with his own money. After he said this to some interviewers, he called his parents to explain himself.

"I actually called my parents after some articles came out – I never wanted for them to be painted in a bad light.

‘I’m so thankful for the way that I was raised. Ultimately, the idea of parents being strict or having rules, looking back, I did have a really rebellious phase and did whatever I could to do the opposite of what they wanted.

‘That’s all on me. For them, I think they were trying to do their best to raise me as best they could. They were trying to make the best decisions for me, and looking back, I can see they were the right decisions.

‘As I look at the rules I had, I wasn’t allowed to play video games or watch TV, so I went outside and made up games with my neighbourhood friends or built dirt ramps and rode our bikes over them.

‘I would be out from morning to night. I look at that, and I can’t imagine it if my parents had let me sit in and watch TV all day – I’d be a different person to who I am today, it’s thanks to them saying ‘‘get out and go do something"

He did not go to college, moving in with a bunch of buddies instead and playing in local bands while scraping by working in the drum department of Guitar Center. "I was going nowhere," he says. "One day I said to my dad, ‘Are you disappointed that I’m working a minimum-wage job and I didn’t go to college?’ I’ll never forget his response. He said, ‘It’s not about how much money you make or what your job is, but it’s more about your character. For that, I’m proud of you.’ It gave me motivation."

During an interview, Josh said “We’re always questioning things,” he says, “but I guess it’s safe to say that we’re both Christians.”

Although Columbus is still very much the Pilots’ base, Josh actually moved out to L.A a couple of years ago in pursuit of more sunshine while Tyler remained there. However, he says it has not made them working together any more difficult. “I’m equally in Columbus as much as I am there. We discussed this a lot before I moved out there. I always feared talking about us being in different places because I think that can be confusing to people from an outside standpoint - like are you guys still friends? Are you still in the band? We had so many conversations about logistics, but first of all, we’re together more than we’re not together over the course of a year. We’re on the phone every day and with technology, it’s so easy to get things done.”

On January 8, 2013, Vessel was born, it was their first album after signing with Fueled By Ramen and it received mainstream exposure. On May 17, 2015, Blurryface was released and the band received international success.

In July 2017, Twenty One Pilots went on hiatus for a year whilst they worked on their next album. On October 5, 2018, Trench was released, it was also a commercial success, reaching number one in six countries, including Australia, New Zealand, Spain, and the Netherlands and number two in several countries, notably the United Kingdom and the United States, as well as selling more than a million copies worldwide.

Therefore, he needed to learn how to deals with notoriety, he had the help of Tyler Joseph (of course), his family, and Debby Ryan. Indeed, from May 2013 to September 2014, he had a relationship with her. They got back together a few years later and in December 2018, Josh posted on Instagram his engagement to Debby in New Zealand during the second leg of The Bandito Tour. He wrote, «I found a tree house in the woods in New Zealand and proposed to my girl. She my dude for life. I love you Debby".

She also posts about it «My dude asked me on a date. I said yeah because I always want to go on dates with him. Then he asked me to be his forever dude. He does things well, and right. His timing has pressed us and never failed us. He's sincere and fun and disciplined and strong as heck and a nerd and a rockstar and a good midwestern man and a silly shirtless boy, and his family is endlessly warm and delightful and are such champions. I have two parents and a brother; they're superheroes and they're my home. They've been the only thing that moves my needle with the fierceness of deep empathy. I have never that out in the world. I guess I figured it wasn't a connection you could stumble upon, only something you could only be born into. Falling in love with joshua was discovering it in the wild. Building it with him, building in certainty, infinite in wonder. Our own lil family. Feels like growing up and moving through life is just evolving through different types of complicated. He is where all the voices narrow into one sound. My only simplicity, where the important things are clear and the other things aren't that important. He's my heart outside my body. He's a cold water awakening a warm bed; he's the place I can rest. Dudes for life. It was a really good date."

Josh has many tattoos and every single one have a strong signification. Firstly, John Graefe tattooed his right arm and then tell the story of it. “I was tattooing in Hollywood and he came in with bandmate, Tyler. They weren’t half as big as they are today and I had no idea at first. I just asked him the whole meaning behind his tattoo and he asked me to come up with the vision.”

The tattoo on his right arm had a blue geometric-like image or something that looks like a galaxy. Below is the image of nature. The musician mentioned that he would share this if it’s personally asked, but he did not want it spreading all over the Internet.

Both he and Tyler have an "X" tattoo on their body symbolizing their dedication to their hometown fans in Columbus, Ohio. They received it on stage during their hometown show at the Lifestyle Communities Pavilion on April 26, 2013. Dun's is located on his neck behind his right ear.

In October 2015, Tyler and Josh asked their fans to choose one of them among themselves via a vote on Twitter. The winner should have his name on the loser on stage. For 24 hours, the two boys shot several videos parodying the presidential debates on topics such as Christmas music or their favorite drink, the Red bull. The results of the vote were equal. Therefore, Dun sports the name "Tyler" above his left knee.

Josh has a tattoo on the inside of his left arm dedicated to his mom. A heart with "mom" written inside of it. Which she answers on Instagram by “These past few months have been exciting seeing how far Josh and Tyler have gone. But it’s been a little hard for me as a mother to feel like I have to share my son with the world. Josh, you getting this tattoo means so much to me. I love you and now your stuck with Mom forever! <3”

He has a drum tattoo on his left arm.

Chantelle Thong made his last tattoo during the Bandito Tour, on December 2018. It represents an astronaut/spaceman flipping, while simultaneously being abducted or levitating into a spaceship. It might be a reference to March to the sea. Fans assumed that the spaceman is Josh Dun.

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rivetgoth · 5 years

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.. ;D ..

Time to be Ogre’s unofficial marketing representative.

PLEASE please please go support Nivek Ogre. Follow his Twitter at ohGrOfficial, follow his Instagram at ohgr_official, like his official Facebook page. Go buy his newest album on Bandcamp or buy some of his merch from his online store. Buy his music (ohGr or Skinny Puppy) off Amazon or iTunes or wherever you prefer to go (that will actually give some of the money to the artist!). Or buy stuff from the Skinny Puppy online store which’ll also go to him too.

As most of you should know by now Nivek Ogre is my hero and my favorite person in the whole universe and the best person who has ever existed. Most of you know him as the frontman for Skinny Puppy and ohGr, some of you here might be more familiar with him because he plays Pavi Largo in Repo! The Genetic Opera and other good sexy perfect characters. All of you who follow me have definitely been forced to be aware that he exists (good). What a lot of people don’t know, though, because this has gotten almost no mainstream news coverage, is that he recently had about $100,000 stolen from him :(

Last year Ogre started a PledgeMusic fundraising campaign to help release his newest album, TrickS (which is fucking fantastic, by the way, and can be listened to for free on the official ohGr Youtube page here). PledgeMusic had until last year been a totally trustworthy and successful website for mostly smaller scale music artists to connect with fans directly and crowdfund projects, kind of like a GoFundMe or a Patreon but specifically for musicians. Buuuut the site collapsed; Pledge was caught taking the money that fans were giving to the artists and using it for other things, and they went bankrupt when they were caught unable to give any of the artists their money. The fans had their money taken in secret and the artists never received a dollar of the money they had made. A shitload of bands have been totally fucked over and MILLIONS of dollars are owed that will likely never be given to their rightful owners. You can literally just google the news results for “pledgemusic” and see a ton of sources on this, here’s one for reference.

Yes, this was illegal bullshit, but the artists are trapped, because it takes money to sue, and they have no money because PledgeMusic stole it. Some artists have sounded like they are seeking legal compensation and are planning to try to sue, and I think everyone involved in the theft absolutely deserves to go to prison LOL, I support legal action being taken here 100%. I heavily encourage everyone to look into this and spread more awareness of what’s going on, especially if you’re an artist of any kind yourself and/or you’re someone who’s been vocal about supporting artists financially (all of you who have reblogged posts about stuff like how artists deserve to be commissioned at a fair rate for their art!!), and ESPECIALLY if you’ve ever relied on some form of crowdfunding such as a Patreon yourself. I don’t mean that in a “shame on you for not talking about this ://” way, I know it hasn’t gotten much coverage, but now that you do know I think everyone who cares about artists being paid fairly for their art should be speaking up more about this. It’s a devastating blow to so many people and it deserves way more public outcry... But on topic again, the fact is that Ogre & Mark Walk (the other member of ohGr) have decided not to take legal action - According to Mark this has left them in debt, they produced the entire TrickS album and Ogre toured (WITH A BROKEN JAW) with literally no money and making no profit, and with absolutely no foundation of financial stability at this point they’ve announced that they just want to try to move on and recover from this as they go while creating new music.

So that’s the good news!! They’ve announced that they’re working on new music right now. Apparently they’re about two months into the writing process. They’re posting previews and demos of their WIPs on their social media pages so you can follow them for updates!! ;D Ogre and Mark have both been pretty active and answering questions and they’ve also started posting some unreleased older demos from the 90s and teasing a “vintage ohGr” release sometime soon. They’re being so optimistic through this whole stupid ordeal and seriously deserve so much support. I’m so sad that there’s been so little acknowledgement of this horrible situation and how much it fucked over so many artists but Mark and Ogre have been adamant about the fact that they don’t do what they do for money and the music is born out of passion and wanting to bring their art to life and they deserve the support to be able to do that while also being able to have financial stability and comfort ... Ogre is the best person in the whole world. He’s so sweet and kind and loving and talented. He’s so passionate about what he does and in 30+ years of touring he’s never cancelled a show ever even when he was beaten and robbed and fractured his jaw and taken to the emergency room on the same DAY (AT AGE 55)... He’s devoted his whole life to activism alongside his music and he cares so much about every living thing. He loves to share oatmeal with bees and he gives the biggest nicest warmest hugs ever. Please go support my dad. :( 🖤

#soft hooting

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emilykinneyupdates · 6 years

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Emily Kinney Questionnaire

1. What are your top 5 albums of all time?

Tell Me I’m Pretty, Cage the Elephant

Mariah Carey MTV Unplugged live album

The Midnight Organ Fight, Frightened Rabbit

Blue, Joni Mitchell

Golden Hour Kacey Musgraves

2. Who are your greatest music idols/influencers?

Scott Hutchison of Frightened Rabbit

Joni Mitchell

Jaymay

Mariah Carey

Regina Spektor

My boyfriend and friends influence and inspire me a lot. A lot of my best friends are musicians, or artists of some kind.

3. What was your first “I got this” moment as an artist?

Most of the time I don’t feel like I totally know what I’m doing. I saw my friend Kevin Johnston play at Pete’s Candy Store a long time ago (2007?) at a time when I was singing backup for singer-songwriters and bands, and I knew I had to do that too and start writing songs in a more purposeful way.

4. What are you listening to right now?

Golden Hour by Kacey Musgraves, Long Live the Dead by Jordan Lehning, Cigarettes After Sex, Both Ways by Donovan Woods, Kendrick Lamar, Mental Illness by Aimee Mann

5. How do you feed your imagination?

Music, and going for walks, and reading.

6. Are there any causes/charities/nonprofits that you support?

I love Why Hunger and I Don’t Mind. I would like to to do more with charities that have to do with mental health/suicide prevention and arts programs in schools.

7. What artists shaped you?

Frightened Rabbit, Wakey Wakey, Mariah Carey, Jaymay, Joni Mitchell, Chicago, Fiona Apple, My parents music: Jim Croce, CCR, Jackson Browne, Carpenters etc. classic rock.

8. Who is your dream collaboration?

I don’t know. I used to really want to write a song with Scott Hutchison, but he passed away. I like playing music with my friend Hayley Batt and my boyfriend, Paul McDonald. I think it would be cool to a side project or poetry book with Hayley Batt. Paul and I have a side project called The Sweetheart Deal and will be playing some shows at the end of the month.

9. Can you describe your creative spaces?

I like to have really empty spaces to write in. So my office I keep with as little clutter as possible. At least at first and then if I leave something out or put something on the wall it’s very purposeful. Honestly I find I write the best or get ideas on airplanes and in hotel rooms. I guess having no responsibility to take care of the space frees my mind. But I always like to have guitar in the living room and then sometimes when I’m watching really stupid, boring tv my mind wanders and I write at the same time.

10. What is a typical weekend like?

Every weekend is different cause I end up traveling for acting work or going to comic book conventions.

But, Now that I’m in LA, I like to swim if it’s hot out!!! I like to hike and I like to go see friends play at little places like The Echo or Hotel Cafe. If I’m in Nashville, I like to go to Radnor Lake and hang out in East Nashville. I like trying new coffee shops. I like to watch CBS Sunday morning. It’s news for Grandmas and I love it. I try to watch it every week.

11. Are there any specific magazines/podcasts/websites/brands you like?

App called Mend that does a podcast

Lenny letter

Hello Giggles

Teen Vogue

CBS Sunday morning is my dream some day!!

I loved doing the article with Darling.

Elle women in music issue.

Paper mag

Busy Phillips is going to have a new talk show. I follow her on instagram.

The New Yorker, they always have poetry.

New York mag

LA times

12. What are your favorite brands for equipment/tech/headphones/speakers/etc

Audio Tech.

Sonos

Macintosh

Bose

13. Can you name a few key life experiences that most shaped who you are?

Moving to NYC. The Lion’s Club talent shows when I was little really hooked me into music and making it my thing. The theatre department at Wesleyan in Lincoln, Nebraska instilled a real sense of discipline and work ethic when making art that has really stuck with me my whole career whether music or acting.

I used to run away a lot but it would just be around to the other side of the lake at my grandparents house or to the car. I’d bring coloring books and a caboodles box with stuff. I think I realized early on that I really needed space to hear my own thoughts; that other people around me really affect me and I’m very empathetic. I think writing songs by myself or being on stage is a way to turn down all the noise of the world. I love being with my friends and family but creative time to myself is really soothing to me.

14. Do you collect anything?

I like band merch. I buy a lot of snack food protein bars, and just hoard it in my cupboards. Gummy candy.

15. How would you describe your style? Who are your style icons?

Growing up and still, I’ve always really loved Gwen Stefani, but I wouldn’t say I necessarily dress like her. I also like Lana Del Rey. I feel like my style is in transition right now. But I like my hair super blonde as possible. I like a lot of t-shirts and torn denim and overalls and onsies and cool jackets. White shoes. Delicate jewelry if any. Really into mascara and lashes and eyeliner.

16. How has your acting career influenced your music?

Every time I have to be a new character and go to a set in a new place, I have new stories and a new environment that can spark song ideas.

Some acting roles (like Walking Dead and Spring Awakening have lead people to my music.) And having audience is obviously important for fueling a music career.

17. Are there any artists you look up to whose career you would like to emulate?

I used to think so, but now I sort of feel like I’m doing my own thing that makes me happy. Creative careers are sort of unpredictable no matter how much you try to shape them. I think I’m happy to just keep getting work whether it be in music or televison or theatre. I’m happiest while I’m making stuff and finishing stuff.

18. How is ‘Oh Jonathan’ an evolution from ‘This Is War’?

How have you grown as an artist in the years since? I’ve spent a lot of time experimenting. I was actually working on a completely different album called “Shadows’ or “Shadow in a Room” and I have all those songs so maybe I will eventually finish that record, but ‘Oh Jonathan’ just sort of naturally wrote itself. I think emotionally I had to feel that relationship had to be seen or hold some weight and it never got that in real life, so maybe that’s why I felt a strong desire to write all these songs.

Many of the songs on my last album This is War I had played out with a band before recording. These songs on Oh Jonathan, I created in the studio just me and Ben Greenspan the producer, so that was a big difference.

19. Can you tell us a little bit about inspiration behind the “Boy Band Hero” video?

Well I really wanted to work with Jason who directed it and I really like simple videos so that the images support the song and you listen to the song closer rather than the image overtaking the song and the song becoming soundtrack. We did this in a one shot with a very slow pull back, and mixed in images from when I was growing in Nebraska from various sporting, school events. I found the Kinks shirt on e-bay.

20. Can you describe the album in five words?

Daydream windy whispers lost muse

21. Which song do you find to be the most autobiographical and why?

They are all extremely autobiographical, most of the scenes I describe really happened tho maybe not in exact order or specifics or maybe some I exaggerate.

22. What are the most prevalent ideas/themes/inspiration on your album?

Wanting companionship, isolation, unrequited love, imagination, immaturity, growing up, sobriety

23. Were there any current/world events that influenced you or that you specifically wanted to address on this album? How did they translate into the songs?

I think social media makes it very difficult to move on from a past relationship, past life. I think you can make up a lot of stories in your head and feel isolated but also inspired in certain ways because of social media. I don’t directly address social media in my songs but I think they played into the creation of them.

24. What is the most interesting thing about this album to you?

The trumpet solo in Loser.

25. What did you learn about yourself during the making of this album?

I recognized time passing in a different way and aging, I learned more about gratitude and steadiness and process.

#emily kinney #twd cast #dc cast #interview #shore fire #news

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dippedanddripped · 6 years

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Niche stars and not-quite celebrities are churning out namesake products — T-shirts, coloring books, tissue boxes — made for a dedicated few.

By Jon Caramanica

When he was 13, Leo Mandella began posting photos of his street wear outfits to his Instagram account, @gullyguyleo, and with his sophisticated color sense, confident poses and baby face, he was a quick hit. His hundreds of posts earned him a follower count comfortably in the six figures, but still he craved more.

“I want to show that I’m more than a kid who wears outfits,” Mr. Mandella, now 15, said in a recent interview. “I’ve always known if this blows up, I can create a brand on the back of it.”

Making clothing of his own would be a natural extension of his brand — Mr. Mandella eventually released a few items under the Gully brand name — but he wanted to make a loud, unexpected splash. His idea: a coloring book, with 25 line illustrations of him wearing high-end street wear, accompanied by a pack of Gully crayons. Released late last year, it sold several hundred copies.

“We wanted to make it exclusive, for the people who were actually passionate about buying,” Mr. Mandella said.

Which is to say, for the people who were so passionate about Mr. Mandella — a teenager living in Warwick, England who invented himself online from whole designer cloth — that they craved an even more tactile connection. His coloring book is part of an emergent movement of micromerch: personal merchandise for niche public figures and celebrities (or even not-yet celebrities) made possible by innovations in manufacturing and distribution, and with mechanisms greased by the ease of the internet.

Consider it the modern-day equivalent of the private-press LP or the small-batch zine, amplified for social media and very late capitalism.

Buying merch — T-shirts, key chains, mugs, etc. — to support a band, or a favorite actress, has been a common expression of fandom for decades. And in recent years, merch has begun to infiltrate fashion on two fronts. Companies like Bravado, the merchandising arm of the Universal Music Group, have propelled traditional musician merch into the hypebeast cycle. And brands including Vetements and Balenciaga have absorbed merch aesthetics into meta-referential clothing.

Now, though, small-batch merch — a couple dozen to a couple thousand items — can be made available for almost anyone, from emergent social media or reality TV demicelebrities to casual dadaists who toy with the dissemination of ideas in the modern marketplace. In an era when personal branding is presumed, no following is too small to monetize.

Want to show support for Sean Bryan, a.k.a. the Papal Ninja, an American Ninja Warrior contestant and lay minister? There’s a shirt (and laptop case) for that. Enthralled by the 1980s sunglasses worn by the rubber-legged teen social media star Roy Purdy in his absurdist dance videos? For a while, he sold them, too. Obsessed with Gordie, the French bulldog owned by Alex Tumay, who engineers Young Thug’s records? Buy a shirt.

“I’d never pitched myself as a product to people,” Mr. Tumay said. “It was kind of a sellout angle I was worried about.” But he’s sold around 50, and the money he took in paid for flights for him and his partners to go to the South by Southwest Music Festival in Austin last month.

Peloton, the home indoor cycling business, has a stable of a dozen instructors, and sells merch inspired by each. Jill Foley, Peloton’s director of boutique apparel, said the company has sold hundreds of T-shirts and tank tops with instructor catchphrases like “It’s Not That Deep” (Cody Rigsby) and “Sweat Sing Repeat” (Jenn Sherman).

“We’re getting messages to people in this micro way,” Ms. Foley said, emphasizing the intimacy of the relationship Peloton riders develop with their chosen instructors. “We’re in people’s homes in their daily life.”

At times, the micromerch comes before the notoriety. On the most recent season of “The Bachelorette,” Lucas Yancey spent most of his energy screaming “WHABOOOOOOM,” rather than pursuing Rachel Lindsay. Conveniently, he was already selling shirts with the phrase on his website.

In this, at least, he was ahead of the curve. Most graduates of the Bachelor ecosystem migrate into the murky worlds of paid Instagram posts and event appearances, but Ashley Iaconetti, a contestant known for persistent waterworks and committed virginity, decided to become the brand herself. “I always thought myself being so known for crying,” she said. “Why don’t I have a deal with Kleenex or Puffs?”

Instead, she began selling her own tissue boxes (in truth, a printed sleeve with line drawings of Ms. Iaconetti’s forlorn face sheathing a plain white tissue box) along with other merchandise. “Snooki was Snooki, and now she’s kind of her own brand,” she said. “Also, Kylie lip kits subconsciously encouraged me.” (Indeed, the peak micromerch endgame is something like Kim Kardashian West’s Kimoji, which sells pool floats, mouse pads and Post-it notes shaped like her derrière, among other items.)

These nascent micro-personality businesses may never reach that level of name recognition or profitability, but they’re something more than mere pet projects. “The easiest term is to call it a brand,” Matthew Hwang of Pizzaslime said, but conceded that wasn’t quite sufficient. “We almost need to come up with new words.”

Pizzaslime is a creative agency specializing in creating viral moments, and also a rapid-response merchandise business specializing in capitalizing on them. Early last year, a sharp-tongued teenager, Danielle Bregoli, went viral following a hilarious moment on “Dr. Phil” where she threatened judgmental audience members to “cashmeoussidehowbowdah” (say it slow). Within two weeks, Pizzaslime had made a slew of merch for her featuring the catchphrase, including a $250 blanket featuring her face — all sold out.

“When anyone is smart enough to build a following on social media, strategic in the ways they build their content, they can utilize those same sort of strategies for merchandise,” Mr. Hwang said.

Which raises the question of what the smallest following a person can have while still being able to sell merchandise can be. “I’ve worked with people who have 10 million Instagram followers and they’ve done less than someone with 20,000,” said Chase Ortega, who owns the Hyv (pronounced “hive”), a merchandise company that primarily handles emerging musicians, but which has employed the same infrastructure to service merch for several nontraditional clients, including the feminist artists Grace Miceli and Molly Soda, the social media star Too Poor (an ex-girlfriend of Lil Peep and something of a modern-day Nancy Spungen), and the surrealist comic artist Zack Fox.

“I think of it as a new record label. I’m not trying to be Bravado,” Mr. Ortega said. “I want to be the Matador. I want a cool roster.”

That frees him up him to sell, with Mr. Fox, a couple of hundred water bottles emblazoned with a reclaimed bigoted phrase (that can’t be published here) derived from a Twitter meme.

For Mr. Fox, merch isn’t strictly about celebrity. “I’ve always leaned more into making things artistically valid to me,” he said. In buying the water bottle, he explained, “You’re buying a piece of performance; you’re not really trying to rep Zack Fox.”

That tension between the intentions of the purchaser and creator also intrigues Ayesha Siddiqi, a creative consultant specializing in trend forecasting with a robust Twitter following who, in partnership with the artist and musician Saba Moeel, recently collaborated on the design of a collection of shirts and hoodies. Some are drawn directly from Ms. Siddiqi’s tweets, like the hoodie that reads Spider Labor Solidarity. “It means what it says — that my solidarity is with the workers, especially those who work quietly and alone and for the benefit of all those around them,” Ms. Siddiqi wrote in an email.

But even though they weren’t intended as personal merch, some people have been buying them, she said, “because they were fans of ours to begin with and liked the opportunity to support something we’d made.”

In some cases, micromerch may be the pretense for providing an undersupported creative with some revenue, a cousin of Patreon subscriptions or Twitch micropayments. For Mr. Fox, selling merchandise has provided an alternate revenue stream, and one with ideological punch. “The idea is a seed, and it’s always going to upstream to someone making money off it,” he said. “Me selling this stuff is a way to, in one moment, protect the idea and also give myself what’s due.”

It can also be a way to extend a moment that might otherwise be fleeting, give it physical form so that it might travel far beyond where it began. And it can lead to bigger things. Recently, Mr. Mandella was tapped by a Converse to help relaunch the One Star sneaker. On his Instagram, he posted a photo of himself inside a bus covered in a 15-foot-tall photo of him. Who’s micro now?

#art #gully guy leo #leo mandella #fashion blog #merchandise #micro merch #fashion blogger #streetwear blog #streetwear

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adewild1-blog · 3 years

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Just Another Indy Muso Trying To Break Even (Part 2)

So how to promote the album without the live shows? I turned to the only place I had a little experience of “Social Media”. I advertised on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Facebook was a waste of time, I’m pretty sure they throttled back on my posts, basically because they wanted me to pay for advertising, which I eventually did. I had a voucher worth £15, so added the same amount to it and ran an advert for my album for a fortnight. After which I received a message from Facebook that my advert had been run in “x” amount of Countries and been seen by ”X“00,000′s of people, the net outcome of which was, 2 new likes for my Facebook page! Yay, that’ll put bread on the table! Instagram for me seems to be just about posting nice pics, showing the world what a wonderful person you are and how everyone should be jealous of your perfect life! Twitter has been much kinder, I’ve gone from 10 to 3105 followers since June 2020, and many of the people I’ve connected with have been like minded individuals from around the globe, and on the same path as myself. On the whole Twitter people have been very supportive and helpful, but without being disrespectful, are not what I’d call “Only Fans”, I’d prefer to identify them as contemporaries as well as music fans.

Ergo, how to reach the “Only Fans”? You know, the ones that have to buy new music each week, that will buy your merch (if you can afford to set it up) and pay to go to your gigs wherever and whenever they are?

Back we go to the “Digital Streaming Platforms”! At the moment these seem to be one of the few ways to get your music out to the masses for the Indy Artists. There’s a great deal being said presently with regards to streaming platforms, mainly Spotify, I suppose because they are the largest. Firstly The CEO of Spotify Daniel Ek, who by the way is a Billionaire, says that musicians need to release music more often to be successful, that people who only release an album every 3 or 4 years aren’t going to cut it! Yes I think I would agree in principle to those sentiments. You do need to release music often to stay in the current and in the limelight. But I don’t think people like Mr Ek, and generally anyone who isn’t a struggling Indy musician, fully understand the catch 22 situation we find ourselves in. Not everyone is lucky enough to be able to come up with a concept for a song, then write the lyrics and the music. Be able to play the necessary instrumentation that the song calls for, then put all that down “on tape”, edit it, produce it then get it mixed and mastered. Then there’s the artwork and presentation to think about, and of course it will need to be promoted.

These things cost money, and as with everything else in life you only get what you pay for. On top of that the actual amount of money the artist is likely to earn per stream is unfortunately a great deal less than a pittance. I’d go as far as to say it’s near criminal! There’s currently a debate going on in Parliament with regards to music streaming and the remuneration system that it currently employs . Check out @MrTomGray and @KevinBrennanMP on Twitter for an insight in to this matter.

I’ll also give you an example of where I’m at with regards to outgoings v incomings in my next instalment. Get your violins ready and keep the tissues handy!

Continued in “ Just Another Indy Muso Trying To Break Even (Part 3)”, coming soon!

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maxthommusic · 3 years

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Spotify vs. The World

As Spotify #Wrapped took over the world last week, the over-arching theme that it’s ripping off artists also came with it. While I don’t disagree with this narrative, I think there’s a counterpoint to be made.

Consider this: If you truly believe Spotify is ripping off artists, there are ways to easily circumvent this. Make sure you’re buying merch that actually supports them. Maybe you don’t need a CD or a record, but if you’re loving their newest album a lot, go get a t-shirt. Buy a keychain. Something.

Streaming services are so ridiculously cheap. You can get Spotify Premium for as low as $6 a month if you share a roof with someone (Spotify Duos). How much I used to spend on music was far higher than this. Instead of buying everything I was remotely interested in, I can use Spotify to make sure the jams are truly hot and make an investment later. It’s how I steadily grow my record collection.

While the argument can be made that I’m supporting other artists less (thinking of all the albums I bought and disliked that still supported a musician better than my Spotify listening can), it’s also worth nothing that most people do not and never did pay for music. Think of the millions of people who are too broke, too cheap or too uninformed to support the arts. Yet if they stream some music, while it’s fractions of a penny, those fractions add up and more artists are seeing more revenue. Trust me, it’s a lot nicer having Spotify’s user-friendly platform than having to deal with torrenting, low-quality internet rips and other horrible ways to get “free” music.

Which at the end of the day is the biggest cause for concern: Napster showed the world music can be free and we said, “Hell yes.” We devalued the art form instantly and it is a long crawl back to the top (if we can even reach the apex). Currently, getting artist’s their due rests solely on the fans. Corporations will never have their best interests in mind-- only theirs. You know this already. If we want compensation to be better for our favorite artists, WE control that power.

People used to buy records and go to shows and buy merch and that’s how rock became king. Things are a lot different now-- records are way more expensive... shows are more expensive... gas to get to the shows is more expensive... everything is stacked against the artist AND the consumer. But wagging the finger at streaming companies isn’t going to solve anything.

Instead of complaining, we gotta get on our feet for our favorite artists. The fight for the value of music is 100% on our doorsteps and we’re facing a turning tide. For years the industry has struggled to re-monetize the product-- how does it become cool? Accessible? Desirable? The answer was streaming. The answer IS streaming. I don’t know how it’s NOT streaming. And while I understand people believe big boys and girls “at the top” are taking too much of the profit, when more should be given to the artists-- it’s just business. That’s how business works and every single industry has the EXACT same problem. Being realistic I don’t think we are going to change the “Industry,” with a capital “I.” However, we can support our artists in our own ways.

I say enjoy your Spotify account. It’s a great way to discover new artists and keep artistic conversations alive. Just remember to support your favorite artists with more than repeated playlists. We gotta vote with our wallets here. And keep in mind that while some of us don’t have the ability to do that right now, at least those streams are being monetized a tiny bit. A tiny bit is better no bit. And for nearly a decade during the 2000s... we didn’t wanna pay shit for our music consumption.

#spotify #streaming #music consumption

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doomedandstoned · 4 years

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Konvent Debut Neck-Breaking Death Doom Masterpiece

~By Willem Verhappen~

It's not often that I'm impressed by a demo, but every so often Bandcamp treats me to something special, a diamond in the rough. It was only last year that I came across the 2017 demo of Danish death doomers , but it stuck with me. This demo promised me a good mix of stuff I like, namely nasty death doom with some catchy stoner hooks molded into it. Just listen to "Square" to see what I mean. I'm happy to say that I wasn't the only one impressed by the demo, because Austrian metal merchants Napalm Records once again prove that they have an ear for talent, picking up Konvent and releasing their debut record, 'Puritan Masochism' (2020).

Listening to Puritan Masochism makes it clear that these women have developed their sound quite a bit in the last couple of years. The stoner influences are pushed to the background. What remains is crushing, relentless death doom. Straight forward, no-nonsense, hard hitting metal in its purest form, but with a keen sense of melody.

By the time you've reached the third track, "Trust," anyone who says they're not hooked on the riffs, is lying. If you're more a fan of the really heavy death metal, "World of Gone" will serve you well. Musically, I keep comparing Konvent to the slower Dutch death metal bands like Asphyx and Grand Supreme Blood Court. Heidi Withington Brink (bass) and Julie Simonsen (drums) deliver a pounding, sluggish base, while Sara Helena Nørregaard adds an extra dimension with her thriving, faster guitar work.

Rikke Emilie List's grunts are the (rotten) cherry on top. This woman has a set of pipes that would make many of her colleagues blush. Her vocals alternate between growls similar to those of Nick Holmes and the sub-bass grunts you'd expect on a Demilich record. On the stomping "Waste," List gets some help from Morild's Tue Krebs Roikjer, who throws some black metal screams in the mix.

While I consider this record more of a death metal record with doom influences, this is changes during the two-parter "Ropes." In the first part, the band is leaning more towards black metal, with dissonant melodies and some much needed air to breathe. "Ropes Pt. II" is by far the most dynamic song on Puritan Masochism, mixing death doom with faster parts, sounding almost like post metal, but dirtier. Much dirtier. With this the band proves that there's more to Konvent than just death and doom.

In their promo sheet, Napalm blatantly states that Copenhagen might become the new death doom capital, and while that might be a bit much, I can't deny that Konvent is a force to be reckoned with. It's not often I find a straight forward death doom record that manages to grab me from beginning to end, without being over 20 years old, but this is one of them. Up until now, I associated Denmark mostly with Mercyful Fate and Lego, but you can add Konvent to that list.

An interview with Sara from Konvent

First of all, thank you for this interview. 'Puritan Masochism' (2020) has been out for a couple of weeks now. How are the reactions so far?

Hi! And thank you so much for wanting to talk to us. Yeah, Puritan Masochism has been out since 24th January and we just finished our tour in Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Germany.

We’ve been overwhelmed with the attention our album is getting and it’s really exciting to see how people are reacting to it. The reactions have been really good and we couldn’t think of a better reception of the album. Of course it’s a matter of taste whether you like it or not, and we know that our album isn’t for all. But seeing so many people coming to our shows in cities or countries we have never been before, and people actually buying our vinyls and merchandise just makes us so happy and gives us the desire to keep on going.

Since this is our debut album we already got a lot of new ideas for the second album and we actually see this very much as a learning process where we are able to evolve over time. There has also been a lot of people wanting to talk to us and interview us, and we really haven't seen that coming to such an extent. But people have been really nice and it’s always fun to meet people. So we’re happy!

Puritan Masochism by Konvent

There’s quite a gap between your demo and your debut record and it’s clear you’ve grown as a band. Can you tell us a bit about what has been going on in the past three years?

Thank you so much! The first year we pretty much spent on getting to know our instruments and each other, but we quickly started working on our own material, and the demo that came out in 2017 was a result of that. Then we played a lot of shows around Denmark and that really helped us grow as musicians and as a group. During all these shows we were also working on songs for a debut album, but it was a very slow process. It wasn’t until after we got on Napalm Records, that we really stepped it up and got to finish it.

At the same time, it was also important to do it in our way and not let ourselves be pressured of someone else expectations to us. The demo was a big learning curve for us regarding our sound. It just expanded our minds on how creative we could get with the sound. This really helped us when we went into the studio with Lasse Ballade from Ballade Studios to record our debutalbum, because we spent a long time tweaking the sound of the instruments and putting small things in here and there. And Lasse was imminent in making the sound of the album! He is a beast at what he does and was such a treat to work with. I think this gap between our demo and the album reflects a lot of what many other bands are “struggling” with as well.

On the one hand, you really want to get out and play as many gigs as possible, but on the other hand you also want to prioritize making some great songs - and sometimes it can be difficult to achieve it all. It takes time. We also had many people asking us why we didn’t put some of the demo songs on the album. But we really wanted to make new songs, because some of the demo songs were from 2016 and we felt like we had evolved as musicians. So we knew we could make even better songs if we just pushed ourselves.

Demo by Konvent

What were your inspirations, both musical and lyrical for the record?

Our album isn’t a concept album, but if you were to put a theme on it, or around the lyrics of the songs it would basically be losing control over your life.

The song "Puritan Masochism" -- which is also the title of the album -- is about how everyone has a tendency to do things, or thinking things that actually hurt us, but we keep thinking/doing those things because we feel we have to, in order to fit into something or to live up to some imagined expectations. And sometimes we keep doing these things without even realizing it because you just go on autopilot. It’s sort of our way to say that we don’t have to live like that.

But our inspiration comes from everyday life experiences, both ups and downs, but mostly downs. Musically we all have a lot of different genres that we like. Julie likes hardcore and punk and Rikke likes tech death. So we all drag different genres and styles into the rehearsal place and it just goes on from there.

Your music has quite an old school vibe to it. Was that intentional?

We really wanted that raw, gritty sound, as if the music is coming from the abyss! And that’s why we chose to work with Lasse Ballade, because he had made a bunch of cool records that we really admired. Also, we don’t like too many guitar solos and a lot of effects and that was important to us when we picked our producer.

We never sat down and decided to play death doom. The only thing we talked about from the beginning, was to play heavy music with an evil sound and growling vocals. So after the first rounds of rehearsals where we were playing covers, we quickly felt like just playing something of our own. And we just jumped head first in there and made riffs before we even knew exactly what we were doing. I don’t think we knew in the beginning that the songs we were making sounded doomy and old school like and it wasn’t until other people heard it that the genre doom came up. We remember having to write something about our music before our first show in 2016 and just not knowing what to write. So we had to get people in, to get their opinion on it. We've also been compared to some bands that we didn't even know before -- we just play the music we feel like.

Your agenda appears to be quite empty so far. Can we expect to see you on tour again soon?

We just finished our Puritan Masochism Tour with 10 gigs in Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Germany. And we’re going to London and Oslo this month also. We also have some festival gigs for this summer. It’s a pretty big thing for us, when we’re able to go to new places or countries, we have never been before.

We are still a very young band that not a lot of people know of, so we’re actually really happy about our agenda this far. We’ve played at Roskilde Festival and Copenhell, which is the two biggest festivals in Denmark. And to see our first single “Puritan Masochism” on YouTube get so many views is crazy to us, too. Regarding people showing up to shows and buying merch, we’ve always been pretty lucky. People are really good at coming out early to see us and eager to support us in the merch booth, so that is a huge thing for us.

Of course, we would really like to go on bigger tours and play more festivals, as long as it can work out financially. And we are steadily getting more offers, so that’s really exciting! Our booker Thorsten, from Napalm Events is handling all our offers, but we often get messages directly from bookers who want to put on a show with us and then we just direct it to him. And, yes, we have more plans for 2020, but we can’t tell anymore at this moment, sorry!

Your label states that Copenhagen might become the next death doom capital. Do you agree? Are there any death doom or doom bands from your local scene that we should keep an eye on??

That’s a big statement! But there are so many great bands here in Copenhagen and the rest of Denmark. I don’t think that death/doom is the most popular genre here in Denmark. People tend to like it faster. But worth mentioning is the danish band Katla. We just played two gigs with them and they appear to do it pretty well on the Danish scene with a debut album to come in 2020. Otherwise we have bands like Alkymist, Bethmoora, Drukner, Dirt Forge and, of course, Saturnus.

The title 'Puritan Masochism' has a clear religious context. Is Denmark a religious country?

Not really. "Puritan Masochism" is the title for our first single from the album, as well, and it was the first track that was finished for it several years ago. The song is about how us humans have a tendency to put ourselves in situations where we don’t feel good enough. With this song we’re hoping that people will identify and question their habits of doing that. We felt like this would be a great album title because it was something we really resonated with. We did not think of it in a religious context.

Once again, thank you for your time. Any last words for our readers?

Thank you so much and thank you for wanting to interview us! Hopefully we’ll see you at a show at some point. And thank you to all the people out there listening to our music and buying our stuff. This means the world to us.

Follow The Band

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#D&S Reviews #D&S Interviews #Konvent #Copenhagen #Denmark #Doom #Death Doom #Metal #Napalm Records #Willem Verhappen #Doomed & Stoned

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