April 8, 2009
stuck in the middle
Since Shaimus formed as a band, I’ve always found it hard to define or describe to someone what we sound like. There are few comparisons and references to other bands that feel right, making it hard to find the stylistic anchor that defines us. Our songs are not raw or ironic enough to be indie. Song-to-song, we’re too capricious to be a mainstream pop band. We are an independent group without the support of a label or hair stylist, or the force of an “extroverts-for-introverts” street team.
Up until recently I haven’t seen this as a challenge or even remotely as an issue because we’ve been having the time of our lives creating and recording and playing shows… all the stuff that you think a band needs to do. And now, faced with the next step, it feels as if we’ve hit a wall. What do we do? We go on tour and start pwning noobs obviously. But how? Where does the money come from to fund all this? What does a band without a stylistic niche do to market themselves? Who do we hone in on, who do we exclude? What would The Jonas Brothers do?
Well we have a lot of ideas, but it would be awesome to get some real feedback from some real people. Who do YOU think we are? And how can you help us take over the world?
Always love,
-Phil
BasicallyRed said:
In response to your question, I pose another- why do you have to label yourself into a certain style to market the band? I think part of the greatness that is Shaimus is that you guys DON’T have a specific sound, but morph and change so easily between indie and pop and alternative and back again. You have the cheeky yet poignant views of Ben Folds. You have the laid back vibe of Sugar Ray. You even have non-manufactured pop-star potential (meaning, you guys could easily have hits on mainstream radio without being force-fed songs by label execs). Mix it all together and you get an original- something new- instead of the same crap that keeps releasing the same song with a few chords tweaked.
I am a wanna-be rock star with a love for pretty much any type of music. One of the things that really attracted me to your music was the fact that some normal guys got together and created an album of songs where each one sounded different from the next, had thought provoking lyrics, and were clearly influenced by a range of artists whom I love.
I guess my point here is that you shouldn’t have to let others dictate to you what your band should be, because you guys already have a great selling point. Market yourselves as something new- a mixture of genres that many avid music listeners will love. I mean, if all bands with a new sound tried to fit themselves into a mold, how would we ever gain new ideas?
Think of it this way- if you are an alternative, indie-pop band, wouldn’t that give you three times the fans? (Alternative fans, indie fans and pop fans?) Why stop at those genres? Let’s get some emo, heavy metal classical added to your repertoire. What do you think?
Added on April 14, 2009 @ 8:15 am
— — — — — —
Phil said:
Thanks for the response!
The creative process has largely been without any stylistic obligation, which has been incredible. It allows for more freedom to express things the way we really feel them, not the way we think other people want to hear them. That won’t change. Actually the only thing that we want to make sure stays a constant is that we allow ourselves to listen to our musical impulses and follow them.
I’m glad you think we sound new and unique. It means a lot. In the land of marketing, we are a label’s bad dream. Our lack of commitment to any one style makes it hard for the label execs to pinpoint exactly who our audience would be. The people who have seen us live get the idea clearer because of the joy that comes from a live concert relationship. At the concert it is simple… playing, dancing, singing, sweating, communicating with the audience, and listening to the audience. No catch words or image branding is needed to enjoy it.
Marketing nonetheless has been our enemy for a while because of our shifty musical behavior. Though we don’t have any intention of changing who we are, we’re looking for how people see us.
In a personal relationship, it’s pretty easy to see when you’re doing something that the other person interprets as “good” or “bad”… the response is usually immediate. Being in a band, our date is our fan base and listeners. It can be very one way, especially off the stage, so we don’t have a great way to gauge people’s reactions: how they feel about our music, direction, and artistic choices. If we’re going to do our own promotion, we need to know some of this information so we don’t flier a town of people who exclusively like metal and classical music.
There are too many people in the world who would rather listen to something that is in their comfort zone, than something that claims to be a little of everything. Focusing in on what we already are will help us find the people who could like us, and share some music with them.
Three times the fans would be awesome. Now we just need to find them all, meet them, and see what they think.
Thanks again,
-Phil
Added on April 14, 2009 @ 10:36 am
— — — — — —
boo said:
I liked both of your albums immediately after i got them…i don't think actually getting people to like you is a challenge…just spreading the word is the challenge.
Added on June 7, 2009 @ 8:34 pm
— — — — — —