London is calling loud & clear!
Hundreds of new Believers join in first week…
One week after the launch of the ‘London Calling’ competition it is safe to say that this new initiative is off to a great start. Over 500 new, paying Believers have signed up since 6 PM on April 3, making this our best ‘New Believers Week’ ever. Yes, even better than the first full week after the launch of SellaBand, back in August 2006.
It is good to see that a healthy number of artists are rising to the occasion and are recruiting as many new Believers as they can. And, in spite of some controversy earlier this week and a hefty debate on the ‘unofficial’ forum, so far all participating artists are showing good sportsmanship. A cool side effect of this competition (well, at least we think it’s cool) is that apart from the large number of new Believers, there are also new artists shining through. Some of them weren’t even around when the previous competition (‘SellaBand Presents… Part 2’) finished, and are now competing for one of the three vacant spots on our London gig. All five have brought in at least a dozen new Believers since the start of this competition and are ready to give our more ‘established’ acts a run for their money. Having said that, it’s also good to see that a number of Believer initiatives have been launched to help their favorite artist get to London (see elsewhere on this page). There are three more weeks to go on this competition and other new initiatives can be reported at info@sellaband.com. We will not hesitate to write about them, so please drop us a line!
Tickets
Next to a couple of bands, we also need an audience on June 5. The Gibson Guitar Studio is an exclusive, but also very small venue. The number of tickets will be very limited, but the good news is, they will be reserved for ‘True Believers’. In next week you can read all about how to get your hands on a pair of tickets and whether you qualify as a ‘Believer’. And don’t worry, it will not be your money (once again), we are after, but rather your knowledge of SellaBand and the intricacies of our platform. And that’s as far as we’ll go now, more on this next week. For those of you who can’t be there in person, we will do everything we can to make a live broadcast available, details about this in an upcoming edition of the Tribune.
Believers bringing Believers
Examples of cool competition initiatives
Good to see that not only a lot of bands are very actively participating in this new competition, but there are some fanatical Believers too. Below are two shining examples of Believer initiatives. Mandy Kongaika and Shane Seymour have a clear vision of how to get their favorite artist to play live in London!
Shane Seymour (Australia)
Rooting for: Vegas Dragons
Please describe your initiative
“My initiative is for lazy believers (me being the lazy person not the new Believers), there are 4 gift Parts available to new believers. All you need to do is post on my Believer page that you want a gift Part in the Vegas Dragons. The conditions are that you can't currently believe in them, you shouldn't ever withdraw the gift part (can you do that anyway?), and after believing you need to post a message on the Vegas Dragons page that you received a gift part to elieve in them from me.I may end up doing the same offer for Nearfield late in April (because they're going to do a remix of a song with some changes that I've requested).”
Why Vegas Dragons?
“Primarily because Brian is so active in the community side of things. I also believe in their music and throw in a bit on Nationalism with wanting an Aussie Artist to appear on stage in London. From the selfish side of things I also wanted a Cubworld CD and a copy of the Sellaband 2 CD;-)”
logo Vegas Dragons
Any plans to make it to London yourself?
“I don't plan to make it to London for the showcase (although that may change if the Dragons win and I get invited). I've got a business trip planned for around that time to the US (mostly Colorado in case anyone is performing near Fort Collins) and the dates aren't fixed yet so it might overlap with London Call! (meaning I couldn't come even if invited). I may make it to England later this year on another business trip (Bracknell).”
Mandy Kongaika (USA)
Rooting for: Maitreya
Please describe your initiative?
“Well, for starters, I have been offering foot rubs and neck rubs to my family members for believing in Maitreya , Vegas Dragons, or Mysti Mayhem. My mom is already a Believer but with my magic hands she is going to be passing along the word at work. I am way excited for Maitreya and I make sure and share that with lots of people…anyone actually who will listen really. Like bank tellers, gas attendants, other mothers at the park...lol. I have already posted bulletins on myspace and sent out emails and even mentioned it in Jakes news letter and now here I am mentioning it in the Tribune The boys and I have been brain storming for ideas on how to get our boy to London. With the help of a great friend we came up with a great idea. The first 50 believers who believe in Maitreya for the first time (or for believers who have already believed who convince someone new to believe in Maitreya) after the tribune is released today will get , in the words of Maitreya, a "Limited Edition, Never To Be Repeated, One Off, Collectors Item, Get Em While They're Hot, London Calling, SIN CITY, MY WORLD Short Player (a cd with Maitreya's remix of My World and the Cubworld/Maitreya colaboration "Sin City")!!!" So, I believe we will get Maitreya to London and get an awesome CD as well . To get the CD pm me with your address after you have believed. If you got someone else to believe I need address and for the new believer to claim you with a comment or pm.”
Why Maitreya?
“I love so many artists here on SellaBand. Maitreya stands out for three reasons. First, I love his music, his vibe and what he has done with his remixes here on SellaBand. He makes great songs super cool with his rad voice and awesome beats. He isn't scared to go really deep to get the lyrics and emotions out. In short the man is a super hero. We like comic book heroes in our house and Jaime would be the Mixinator. Second, Maitreya and Jake (both island boys) connected and believed in each other from day one. Musically they are an awesome team. Maitreya has really been there for Jake in New York (where Jake for sure feels like a fish out of water). Maitreya has done a lot to attract new Believers to Jake as well as himself with their collaboration of Sin City and his My World remix. He even chose Sin City to go on the new SellaBand Part 2 CD. I love what he has done for us and I want to help him any way I can. He is just part of the Cubworld Family now. Third, Maitreya represents the spirit of SellaBand. He records out of his NY studio apartment and he works hard at his passion which happens to astound people. Maitreya works hard with other artists to make fun songs that believers love. His rhymes and words make camp all over SellaBand profiles making sure everyone feels the love and sees the light;). He has everything it takes to make it minus the $$ and once people hear his music they are hooked and need to believe. To hear his music one would never know he made that awesome beat with a laptop and a microphone. Imagine how well he will do in a studio with all the fixings. He was made for SellaBand and SellaBand was made for him. To wrap it up: first the Mixinator heats the place up with his crazy lyrical skills . Second he is just part of the Cubworld Family. And Finally He is exactly what SellaBand is all about.
Any plans to make it to London yourself?
“Dude! I am doing everything I can think of to get to London. Jake is really wanting to go too. We are saving our pennies, pawning our wedding rings and begging on the street corners….lol….No in all seriousness we would really love to be there. The SellaBand crowd is so fun and last time was such a blast it would be a shame to miss it so yes we are trying to hitch a ride over there J . I think its something worth going all out for. I just wouldn't want to miss it. This time if I do make it I will be sure to get the bands to autograph my shirt and the SellaBand CD’s. I just can’t believe I didn't do that last time. I was just so excited to shake hands and hug everyone my brain wasn't thinking about how crazy it would be to get that opportunity again. So Every one BELIEVE in MAITREYA !!!”
Chart analysis
Dear Bulletproof Messenger,
This isn’t funny anymore. Will you please consider to offer other artists the opportunity to rise to the pole position of our weekly chart? Or do you intend to stick out at #1 right until you have finished your full budget? You see, our cool friend Maitreya is anxious to get to 50k too, and while he still leads the overall rankin,g he can’t get beyond number 2 of the Weekly Chart. Same goes for Lovely Lily, who is at number 3 this week and doing very well, thank you. The only thing missing on her resume is a pole position on the Weekly Chart, and there isn’t much time left for her, because she is soaring toward 25k in budget. And what about Lucia Iman? Not even one full week active on SellaBand, and storming in at #4. Had it not been for you guys, she would have made a spectacular Top 3 entry. We hear you are friends with Wetwerks. So are we. Great to see them back and number 6, but somehow their great traction seems less impressive now that you are around. We are thrilled to see three truly established and hard working acts on this week’s Top 10: Vegas Dragons (#7), Francis Rodino (#8) and Daniel Ward-Murphy (#9, and welcome back on Page 1, by the way, Dan!), but somehow things don’t feel the same. We can hear how good you are, we can tell that you work very hard and are thrilled that you have embraced our concept to the fullest. Bringing in close to 200 Believers (old friends an new!) in less than three weeks time is great, and rising to Page 2 in such short time is quite unheard of, but aren’t you oversoing is a bit? You are not going to make it four straight weeks at number 1, are you? Not after we have so sympathetically pointed out the disappointment of some of our other artists to you? Anyway, see you in London on June 5, drinks are on us.
The SellaBand Team
Q + A
Radio Orange
Radio Orange signed up only one month ago, but are already on Page 2 of our Artist Search section. And Page 1 may very well be around the corner for this group of very experienced Dutch musicians.
Tell us a bit about Radio Orange, please.
“Radio Orange is a merger between the two “legendary” bands from the 80-90-ties, ‘Weekend at Waikiki’ and I SPY. The two bands frequently met during gigs and festivals, secretly admiring each other’s musical skills and creative drive. At the end of the nineties both bands felt it was time for a totally new approach and stopped touring. Tom Holkenborg, guitarist of WAW, aka Junkie XL, continued his musical career and the Waikiki’s invested all their tour savings and started Studio Spitsbergen. It’s here where WAW and I SPY were assimilated in the collective now known as Radio Orange. The studio proved to be an ideal musical environment, located in the seclusion of the Dutch countryside. Here we worked very hard to develop a new style, but we also spend a lot of time on multimedia projects, music productions for children and film scores. At the moment we are working on the score for the new film of multi-prizewinning Dutch puppeteer and filmmaker Eric Steegstra. (Check out our newest video on SellaBand/radioorange). Yes, we are a busy lot. We love what we do and we can hardly get enough. We really see it as a privilege that we were able to keep the creative motor running like it is.”
Why did you join SellaBand?
“We see SellaBand as a new kind of record company with a lot of benefits for both Believers and musicians. There are no real creative limitations, there’s no one saying, listen up “I’m the boss, so change your music, put on different clothes and get rid of the ugly lead singer”. From the very start bands and artists have a kind of worldwide distribution deal, direct contact with their audience and absolute control over their own marketing and PR. Those advantages made us decide to join the club, but most of all we liked the idea that people all over the world have direct access to our music and that we have direct contact with real music lovers.”
There was some controversy over your grand entrance on our website. How do you look back on this, one month after?
“In all our innocence we thought that if you really want other people to believe in your music, the first requisite should be to show that you believe in yourself. Why should a complete stranger be so nice to invest in your music if you don’t want to put any efforts in it yourselves, that much we know. So we followed Shane Seymour’s example and put in some substantial Parts. Friends followed, friends of friends followed and then suddenly people we never even met bought parts! The 'Sellaband Miracle' happened. Who in Bog's name are Claus and Ed the Cheesehead, we asked ourselves. We never intended to push any hard working band from the Promo CD. That's why we withdrew from the competition after complaints about our hostile takeover. We didn’t join Sellaband for this CD and we didn’t want to be the ‘Orange Bastards from Holland (OBH)’. By the way; this 'decision of retreat' brought us a lot of approval and attention. After all it was really exciting getting through all of this and we learned quickly, with lots of help from Believers (thank you Shane, Klaus, MissY, Lucretia and all the others!).”
What are the band's ambitions?
“Making good music and making ourselves heard. Pretty ambitious huh? We are genuinely curious of what people from Australia, Argentina, Colombia, Greenland or Panama feel when they hear our music. SellaBand and the Internet in general give us the opportunity to have contact with people all over the world. We’re working hard on a few spectacular Internet-concepts and interweave Radio Orange in it. At this moment we’re mainly busy to prepare ourselves for bringing the Radio Orange music live on stage. It’s a very intensive process because we’re not satisfied that easily. It has to sound really good! In fact our ambitions are the same as in the eighties and nineties. Do the things you want to do in the best possible way, with humor, passion and dedication.”
Do you have any special tactics to get to the 50k?
“Yes, the ‘How to reach 50k for Dummies’ book is on the table. We want to reach the 50k. of course, but not the sooner the better. We like our stay in the competition at this moment. It’s good sharpening up, making video's and communicating with (new) Believers and other bands and also to see the ticker showing growing numbers of people actually playing our music.”
Fragment Artwork "Oneday"
Are there other SellaBands you particularly like?
“We were surprised by the very good quality of the music on SellaBand. It’s so hard to say which bands we particularly like. We are with nine people and we don’t have one taste of music. We like the music from Trail and GD Allan, we do admire the young angry men of So what, we do understand why Bulletproof Messenger is so popular, we all say WOW to the music of Radius, we all have a lot of respect for the music and philosophy of Light and we do like the humor, marketing and musical skills of bands like Vegas Dragons and Nearfield. On the other hand, we were also surprised by the rather big amount of bands just putting their music on SellaBand and doing nothing. That’s a strange way to say to people that you want them to listen and invest in your music.”
If you would qualify for our London Showcase, would you be ready for it?
“You bet. We are now hiding a little bit in this competition, but other bands…. beware of the invasion of new “first time Radio Orange believers” on SAB. London calling this is Radio Orange. The secret code for all the new Dutch believers is “De rijst hoort in het mandje” ”
Why should people Believe in Radio Orange?
“They should believe in Radio Orange because we won’t let them down. We will be worth every penny of their investment. We worked for years on our music. We do whatever we can to bring information about our band and philosophy to SAB, We try to make clear to every possible believer that we like to play music, that we have the musical skills, that we want to make them laugh and that live is sometimes difficult but always worthwhile. So please keep sending us comments about our music, the lyrics or about the way we should behave. But above all…stay tuned to Radio Orange.”
Have guitar, will travel
So, who are these new contenders, currently competing for a spot on our London stage? Let us give you a short overview of five artists new faces who would love to bring their live sound to a London stage.
Bulletproof Messenger – USA.
Sign up date: March 21, 2007
Number of new Believers at time of going to press: 73
Distance to London: 3460 miles (5568 kilometers)
Odd one out: Number one with the bullet for three weeks. The only question that comes to mind is: when will the well dry out? And if it doesn’t, there seems to be nothing that can stop these six hard rocking dudes to get on a plane to London in early June.
Lucia Iman – USA
Sign up date: April 5, 2007
Number of new Believers at time of going to press: 32
Distance to London: 5456 miles (8781 kilometers)
Odd one out: Lucia seemed a bit surprised herself to be in the spotlights so soon, and to be so successful on our platform. But, after her initial hesitation, she is now totally going for it, blogging on other platforms too and drawing the attention of ‘old time Believers’ as well. So, Lucia, how about a duet with Daniel Ward-Murphy on June 5…?
CAYA – NL
Sign up date: March 12, 2007
Number of new Believers at time of going to press: 18
Distance to London: 368 miles (592 kilometers)
Odd one out: SellaBand is a fertile ground for the singer/songwriter genre. The big question is if the minstrel like approach of Casper and Maayke will travel in the long run. But, the good news is that they are Dutch and Maayke could sit on Pim’s lap on the plane to London…
AliouneK – Portugal
Sign up date: February 4, 2007.
Number of new Believers at time of going to press: 14
Distance to London: 1337 miles (2152 kilometers)
Odd one out: So far Reggae music hasn’t done very well on SellaBand, but perhaps AliouneK is about to change that. In good Portugese SellaBand fashion, AliouneK is also dropping messages everywhere at a frightening speed. Perhaps he and Nearfield will sit on a plane together…
Private Nation – USA
Sign up date: March 31, 2007
Number of new Believers at time of going to press: 11
Distance to London: 3635 miles (5850 kilometers)
Odd one out: There is no doubt that Private Nation are a good band. However, this three piece also seem to be a bit, eh… private. There are no signs on their profile page that they are already thinking about packing their bags and coming to London. Wow, who knows what might happen if they decide to really go for it…Partnership Extended:
New Free Mastering offer from Sony Music Studios!
Back in December we announced the opportunity for SellaBand artists to have one of their songs digitally mastered for free at world renowned studio Sony Music Studios in New York. Any artist with a $1,000 on their budget before December 31, 2006 would be able to give their music such a treatment, free of charge. Well, the great partnership with our friends at Sony Music Studios has now been extended…
From now on, any artist that has signed up in 2007, or ‘older’ acts that hadn’t reached $1,000 on December 31, can qualify for a free demo mastering by the brand new web based mastering system that Sony Music Studios launched late last year. SIM (Sony Music Studios Mastering Online) will be available for any SellaBand artists that pass the $2,500 mark on their way to 50K. So, we ‘upped’ the threshold, but the good news is that this time there is no time limitation.
For SellaBand, the partnership with Sony Music Studios is part of the program we call ‘The Road to 50k’. We’ve said it before and will repeat it again: joining SellaBand should not be all about the money. It is about building a community, gaining experience and having a lot of fun. And it should be useful too. So, we now have two official ‘landmarks’ on your way to 50k:
1: $2,500. Free of charge digital mastering of one of your songs by SIM (Sony Music Studios Mastering Online).
2: $5,000. The right to submit t-shirt designs and open up an account in our merchandise shop, powered by Spreadshirt. Again, free of charge and no obligations.
More tools and steps, part of ‘The Road to 50k’, will be announced shortly.
The other side of… Mandyleigh
A new series in which we give our Artists the opportunity to tell you there is more to them than just their music. This week it is Mandyleigh who officially declares herself ‘insanely insane’!
What is your full name?
“Mandyleigh Storm (yes, the surname is real.... my husband's fault ).”
Date & place of birth?
“27th May 1972, Southampton, England.”
Where do you live?
“Perth, Australia. We came back here in 2005 when my 2nd baby (Zyah) was soon to be born, so that our two babies and my parents could get to know each other. If Zyah hadn't been on the way, we'd still be living in Maidstone, Kent, England.”
Do you have a job?
“Mummy and musician. Apart from writing original material and gigging that, I also sing in a duo which performs at a lot of the top classy venues in Perth (like Burswood). We cover songs from all era's and genres.”
What are your hobbies?
“My family, spending as much quality time as possible. Giving them a good life and a happy one.
- Music and writing keeps me balanced, free and therapied. (I love Nick Drake, Nina Simone, Coldplay, Jackie Wilson, George Michael, Freakpower etc). Been getting into a lot of Janis Joplin recently.”
Photography (in the UK I did courses and also worked in a major photographic store. I have a Canon EOS 300D and a Canon EOS).
- Travel. I love experiencing new cultures, and love history. I`ve been lucky enough to see places like Carcassonne, Rome (even though I was really sick for 4 of the 5 days and saw more of the toilet :) ), Amsterdam, Venice, Langkawi, Singapore etc. I have some photos of my travels on my website
www.mandyleigh.com.”
- I also love movies (who doesn't).
- I'm a cafe' addict! If there's a cafe', I`m there for a coffee :)”
Favorite food?
“OOOOwwww, well I`d have to say I always loved a great `roast` dinner, but Japanese is wonderful! So at the moment I`d say Japanese. :) I love pasta too! So can I have many choices here? ;) btw the best Pizza I ever had was in Treviso, Italy.”
Holiday destination?
“That's really really hard to decide. It would have to be between The Netherlands (Amsterdam... we stayed in a lovely houseboat for a few days), Languedoc (France... love the Cathar history), and Langkawi (Malaysia) I think. Belgium (Ghent) was fantastic too. Oh boy, so was Anglesey (Wales). There have been many places and wonderful people in them, but ok, my all time favorite would be:
Langkawi. I loved it there and I loved to be with the `real` people. Before I die, I have to visit New Orleans (the birthplace of Jazz), and the Congo (because my favorite animals are Gorilla's, and I want to see them in their home, and be able to support them in any way I can).”
All time favourite artist?
“Oh, only one? ;) Sugar, now that’s hard. At a push it must be SEAL. He is a wonderful guy, he touched my very pregnant tummy when I was carrying Damaris and he is a writer I fully admire. There isn`t anything I don`t like from him. His voice makes me melt :) I think if I have never met Gary, I would definitely have looked up Seal…He`s a dreamboat ;)”
All time favorite book?
“Oh this section doesn`t apply to me as I don`t read. I love pictures! :) Terrible though I could never really get into reading. :) I don`t seem to have the patience for it. So, this is where I can say which other artists I like right? ;) Hehehe. Jackie Wilson!”
All time favorite movie?
“Probably my favorite movie is still 'The Breakfast Club'. I annoy my husband by saying all the lines at the same time as the characters:) . The humour, the romance, the sarcasm, everything is perfect!”
Best friend?
“Oh well I can`t just say one. But I have my best friend and soul mate Gary. But my parents are my best friends too. I love them all. Oooowww, I hate questions that I can only give one answer. ;) Life isn`t like that for me. :)”
Love of your life?
“My Gary as he is my friend, soul mate, and believes in me with anything 100% of the time. We've been together since I was 18. He's co-written a few of my songs with me, and actually wrote "Grey" about me when I had depression.”
Do you have anything to declare?
“Well, pretty much my life and me are an open book. When I think of declaring I think of the airport and when I think of there I think of going to many wonderful places :)
Ok, seriously though:
- When I REALLY laugh, I start snorting like a pig.
- I give away alot of things to a Lithuanian charity here. My husband says he has to keep moving so I don't donate him :)
- I had suicidal depression when I was younger (triggered by my Uncles death. "It's Not You" is about him and my reaction). Music (listening and writing) was my saviour.
- I`m a Reiki Master, and also a qualified Swedish Masseur and Reflexologist. I'm also a qualified Nail Technician, but the chemicals and dust aren't too good for my throat.
- I want to soon do a Make-Up course.
- Oh, I`m mad! It keeps me insanely, insane!)”
Adam’s Apples
With a nod to today’s snack culture here’s all you need to know about this week’s new arrivals, specially packaged for bite-size high-speed munching. Hint: try using the valuable time you’ve saved to introduce new Believers to Sellaband!
Name: Lucia Iman.
Artistry: Singer/songwriter.
Where: Originally Spain, now USA.
She sounds like: Totally fresh with hints of everyone from Laura Nyro and Eva Cassidy to Cat Power and Blossom Dearie.
The songs: Spectacular - “Mr Green” in particular is gorgeous.
What she’s doing: Taking Sellaband by storm and quite rightly so.
Adam says: “Stunning – listen to her now!”
Rating: 4.5 apples.
Name: Q.
Artistry: Rock band with wonderful vocalist.
Where: London, England.
They sound like: They say: “Bowie to Radiohead – U2 to Jeff Buckley.”
The songs: “Angel” is close to perfection.
What they’re doing: Nothing too original but with that singer anything would sounds good.
Adam says: “Drop the U2 influence – they’re so 20th Century.”
Rating: 3.5 apples.
Name: John Radosta Jr.
Artistry: Alto saxophonist.
Where: Boston, US.
He sounds like: Contemporary Jazz – clean and sharp.
The songs: Good but really launch pads for inspired performances.
What he’s doing: Swings like hell and solos with passion, grace and fire.
Adam says: “If you want to get into quality jazz, start here.”
Rating: 4 apples.
Applets and applesauce to:
Mark Blomsteel for the cute pop charm of ‘Leaving It All Behind.”
Shoe for showing their Detroit cool on “So Long.”
Andrew Gowman for the electronic jazz smarts of “Blessed Relief.”
Fallen View for the acoustically fascinating “Shapes.”
Ape Ship for just being completely f*** ridiculous.
Ape Ship
A&R HQ: adam@sellaband.com