Vegas Victory!
Literally minutes after the final deadline of this SellaBand Tribune, Vegas Dragons from Sydney Australia wrote a bit of history for themselves and the great SellaBand community. Exactly 10 months after joining our concept, Brian Taylor has made his dream come true and that is enough reason for us to forget about deadlines, reshuffle the stories on this page and raise a glass on his health.
Boy, has this man left his mark on SellaBand. To be honest, there have been a few people who have been questioning our many favorable Tribune-features on Vegas Dragons in the past 300 or so days. But in our opinion they are missing the point. Vegas Dragons are the living proof that the combination of raw talent, dedication and hard work can and will pay off on SellaBand. And we will continue to write about artists who are determined to make it on SellaBand, no matter what. Brian Taylor has been a true ambassador of our company and we salute him for that. Vegas Dragons are Artist #8 to raise $50,000 on SellaBand. Expect an official reaction (we'll force him to keep it short) from the CEO of Vegas Dragons in the next SellaBand Tribune. Here's to ya, Brian!
On the rise to 50K:
Which lady will be next?
Last week we asked to Believers to predict who would be the first of the two current Top bands to reach 50K. This week we turn to two other ‘big and loyal’ Believers, as we watch T-ka and Julia Marcell move ever closer towards $50,000. So, which SellaBand Lady should be the next to go into the studio?
Noldi, Believer in Julia Marcell:
Why should Julia Marcell be the next SellaBand lady to reach 50k?
“When I was browsing through the artists listed on some other believers profiles, I stumbled over an artist that had raised quite a bit of money after only a few days on SellaBand: Julia Marcell! I was charmed by her songs immediately even though until that day, I did not know that I might like her type of music. Since I have received her EP 'Storm', I have played it more than any other CD I own and it never fails to touch my heart when I hear the songs. With her EP Storm, Julia Marcell has clearly shown that she's up to the task of making a full length CD in top quality and I'm looking forward to the moment her SellaBand CD is released!”
When will she get there?
“My guess: Julia Marcell will be at 40k within 3-4 weeks and will reach the 50k in the 2nd week of October.”
WWAOUHH, Believer in T-ka:
Why should T-Ka be the next SellaBand lady to reach 50k?
“I don't know if T-ka will be the next Sellaband lady. The essence is to reach 50K before the end of the year. T-ka is a great artist and I love her sensual voice. I have the pleasure to see T-ka perform live in concert and it was fantastic.
When will she get there?
“Before the end of the year...”
Our 50K Plan… BPM
A new series, in which an artist gets the opportunity to share his/her/their plans for making a SellaBand album. Having just begun their Final Countdown (i.e. they are over 35K in budget), it is about time Bulletproof Messenger shed some light on their future plans:
“As far as our plans for the 50K, its tough to decide. First and foremost, will be attempting to write another great album. As for the length of it, that is undetermined at this point. There is a lot of debate in the BPM camp around that issue. On one hand we want to write another full album. On the other hand we were thinking of writing an album on the shorter side but using the top producers and engineers money can buy. In a sense, a quality over quantity approach. For arguments sake, 6 songs of the best recording/produced quality money can buy, vs 10 songs but possibly not with the quality of a smaller number.
In addition, we also intend to self produce much of this album as we did with our current album. Furthermore, we were also thinking of making the project a bit multimedia based, perhaps a music video to get onto a major network, or a live DVD, maybe even a few European shows to spread the word. Of course, much of this is speculation at this point since we really need to sit down with the SellaBand staff and bounce ideas off each other about what is possible and reasonable to obtain. And of course we would just like to extend our deepest thanks to everyone who has invested till this point and everyone to come. We couldn't do this without you!”
The Other Side Of…
Benjamin Ring
There’s more to our artists than just the music. Ask Benjamin Ring, front man, lead singer and agent provocateur of Mua’Dib and the Awakening. What makes him tick? His confessions are not for the fainthearted, that’s for sure…
What is your full name?
“Benjamin Edward William Ring III. My nickname thing comes from my 2 lovely nephews who of course stated calling me "Uncle Ben" which I was very proud to be, so the name stuck.”
Date & place of birth?
“Campbell Town, West Highlands, Scotland, Mums was English and Daddykins is Irish, folks moved back to Ireland when I was 3.”
Where do you live?
“In Strasbourg on the French border with Germany, I also have a private island populated by Swedish nymphomaniac oil-covered fitness instructors, however that is in my head. (that also sounded funny.....in my head)”
Do you have a job?
“Due to financial constraints and a sick addiction to McFlurries (you know the one with bits of Dime in it, oh god yes) I am unfortunately obliged to work. I am an in-company language trainer for the pharmaceutical industry, but I prefer the terms ‘silver tongue’ or ‘The professor’, basically a lingo pimp.”
What are your hobbies?
“Jesus Christ it's the fecking Spanish inquisition here isn't it?Spanish inquisition (I adore Monty Python), well, I love walking my dogs in the French countryside, I love snowboarding in the Winter in France and Surfing in Ireland in the Summer, Music of course is my basic reason for living and I hope to be playing till the day I pop my clogs. Getting hammered with friends and ‘cop hugging’ is a favorite sport of mine, asking officers of the law for a hug while drunk can have mixed results, got 6 on Patrick's Day this year (French cops have limited patience and very big guns I might add).”
Favorite food?
“I love Grapes but spelled with an ‘O’ (that also sounded funny in my head), ‘grope’ get it?.....I'm shitting myself with laughter, oh yeah barrel of laughs me, errr... ok, sweet and sour chicken then.”
Holiday destination?
“Malta, loved it and want to go back, absolutely amazing place, heartily recommended. Prickle pear looney juice is a must.”
All time favorite artist?
“Hendrix all the way! Buddies were listening to Doctor Alban and Technotronic I got stuck with my Mum's classic 60's LPs, no regrets now. My Dad's pretty good at guitar and still plays Elvis and classic Irish in his local back home, so you could say he's an influence and a favorite. Got into groove and funk later on and this led to Mua'Dib and the Awakening being formed. Very proud of inventing "lustypopfunk" with Patrick and Greg those French masters of funk are the best thing that ever happened to me (apart from the Dime McFlurries of course).”
All time favorite book?
“Big fan of the Hyperion series by Dan Simmons, also a big fan of the great children's classic ‘Marijuana Botany, The Propagation and Breeding of Distinctive Cannabis’ try not to have it on you while doing the cop hugging business.”
All time favorite movie?
“Dune of course, come on and maybe The Last Starfighter or something classic like Cannonball Run or Smokey and the Bandit? it's all good on a Sunday afternoon chilling with the pets.”
Best friend?
“I am very lucky to have close friends who I love and adore in both France and Ireland, The 'keo' and 'Mackers' you have both saved my life in different countries, cheers lads!”
Love of your life?
“It's complicated, (sound of a door being slammed shut).”
Do you have anything to declare?
“In the customs of life I would be a collection of cheap counterfeit porn DVDs I suppose…. Lets' get Mua'Dib and the Awakening to 50k before X-mas o.k.? Santa Claus is coming to town...tra la la....”
Q + A
Jon Robert
As he mentioned on a Forum Thread: It’s only been 4 weeks since he started to become seriously involved on SellaBand. And look what this sudden activity has gotten him: an increase of more than $6,000 in budget, as well as a spot in the Q+A of this Tribune. Tell us, Jon Robert, what took you so long?
Who is Jon Robert?
“Wow! What a question. I'm a guy with a guitar and a whole bunch of stories to tell. I stay up late every night, drive my car way too fast, I never wear matching socks, my apartment is constantly a disaster because I'm never home. When I'm not traveling, I like to spend time with my family. I'm the oldest of 5 and they're all as crazy as me, so it makes me feel good to be around them. I talk on my cell phone way too much, have spent almost 10 grand in gasoline over the past year and a half, and recently have met some great new friends here on SellaBand. That's me I guess. PM me for any other details :)”
What made you join SellaBand?
“Last year, my best friend and an extremely talented musician Les Francoeur (Delco), told me about the site. I joined up because I believe in the concept of SellaBand and the community. I also know how much it costs to make a great sounding record. A site like SellaBand, and the amazing Believers on the site, can hopefully give me that chance to record all the material I have written that I feel SO strongly about. I know my best music hasn't been recorded yet. SellaBand could help make my lifelong dream of having a full length album, and opening up new doors for my career, come true.”
How are you enjoying the ride so far?
“The Tribune is still only one page right? Well,... let's just say that it's been AMAZING ! I'm totally addicted to SellaBand. I have met some great new worldwide friends/fans I never thought I'd have. It’s been overwhelming to see how fast things have happened for me in the last month. It’s made me so excited to wake up every day and get to work. I have found some seriously devoted Believers of my music that in turn have helped me financially through the site. I love thanking everybody personally for Parts purchased, because to me it's the same as thanking a fan at a live show, and taking the time to autograph the CD they just bought from you. I appreciate everyone who buys a part in me, whether it’s 1 part or 100 parts. The support I get here on SellaBand goes beyond the walls of a website. I take every comment, Part, and Believer with me at all times to give me motivation and remind me how great my fans are. So I’d like to use this as my official ‘Thank You’ to all my Believers, fans, and anyone else out there who will be listening to my music.”
How much time do you spend online to promote yourself/SellaBand?
“Maybe too much! lol. My time on SellaBand has been taking preference over any other site out there, especially MySpace. SellaBand is my home page so it’s the first thing I see every time I’m on the computer. When I'm not touring and trying to pay the bills, you can expect to find me on here. I enjoy every second of it. It has been such an exciting ride so far for me, that If I don't check in with my believers to tell them what I'm doing, I'm not doing my job or holding up my end of the bargain to make sure they know I'm working to make every investment in my career a successful one.”
You've recently 'presented' your own 50k plan. Can you give a short summary, and how realistic is this plan?
“Like every successful business, you need to have a plan. I want to make my CD stand out in the mix. I have a responsibility as the artist to make sure that I use the budget I’m given in the best way possible, to achieve a great recording of great songs, and include appreciation extras’ for the Believers who funded the recording. I know that I can record 12 solid tracks. I'm going to include ‘Live’ video footage of performances, which I am constantly recording. I won't need to spend any of the 50K on that. We are going to create other extras like wallpapers for your desktop, ring-tones, unreleased versions of a few album tracks, live recordings, and other tracks that don't make the record. None of that will cost money out of the 50K budget. This will allow me to use all of that money on making the best CD possible. I have so much material to record and I can't wait for everyone to hear it. My plan is entirely realistic, and I might even make it a double-disc record, which could be done relatively inexpensive when combined with the printing of an audio disc project. The plan is to have 1 full audio disc and 1 full media disc.”
How difficult is it to get noticed as an artist, these days?
“I think it’s one of the hardest things in the world. I'm 26 and I have been working to get noticed for a long time. I have performed on stage with some international stars, multi platinum selling bands, college campuses and TV networks, and it realistically takes an ongoing effort. I went through a rough period in my life a few years back, and found myself really losing the confidence that I needed to be successful. I was working too much on the business of music and not enough on the MUSIC itself. It was a depressing time, and I decided I needed a change. I started performing every waking hour, wrote songs daily, and literally did not stop singing all day long. I wanted to be noticed, come hell or high water, and I'm still doing it every day. Someone once told me "to be in the SCENE, you have to BE SEEN". That changed my life.”
SellaBand is doing fine in Europe. How can we emulate that in the US, do you think?
“I think that SellaBand is on the right track. The United States, as you know, is really different when it comes to original music. The US sets trends, for where the majority of popular listening changes worldwide. It's the toughest market to compete in. I think that SellaBand should continue doing what it's doing and when an artist ‘breaks’ in the US from a SellaBand record, you will see this site become a massive phenomenon in the US. It takes longer in the US to convince the music industry mecca that a new idea is something worth checking out. Let's just keep slapping them with it. (Not literally…)”
Why should people Believe in Jon Robert?
“Well, I think that people should Believe in good music, a drive for success, and the acknowledgment that an artist is capable of going the extra mile, to make sure their investment is a sound one. And if new and current listeners can find that in me, I will guarantee you I will meet the criteria above. I want nothing more in life right now than to make this CD, and I can’t think of anyone in my life that would tell you different. It's my passion, my love, my job, and most of all it's who I am. I thank all of my current Believers from the bottom of my heart for their support. I want to encourage new believers just experiencing the amazing community of SellaBand to listen to my songs, and decide for yourself. I have some fantastic people behind me to make this successful, and I'm looking for more. Thanks SellaBand.”
Adam’s Apples
The fruit, the whole fruit and nothing but the fruit….
Sarah’s Smile
If you’re wondering what Joyce has been doing since Ellenore bit the dust, well, now you know. Not much to show yet – there’s just one track and it’s exceptional. But then so is Joyce. And she’s looking for musicians, so this could be your chance to play with a future $50K artist. And the way she's started it won't be too long to wait.Playlist: Running Away.
vAI
A gorgeous voice, great songs and simple Garageband demos that say it all – here's to a future Sellaband superstar. Not much information to go on except that she's from the US and looks terrific. How about a duet with Jake? I'm can hear it already.Playlist: Joy Ride.
Hazy Jane
Smart quartet with a distinctive and original vocal sound that’s given them early lift off in the Netherlands. The Janes (or even The Hazies) recently cut an album in the US with producer John Morand (Sparklehorse, Cracker). You get the impression that they know where they're going and just how to get there.Playlist: Mental Coach.
The Distance
North London indie pop rockers with plenty of commitment and good honest tunes featuring nice supporting vocals. Demos aren’t the greatest but you can hear why these guys (and girl) could be terrific live. Could go the distance themselves - over to you!Playlist: When The Wheels Came Off.
Get in touch: Adam@sellaband.com
Weekly Update
The Tribune’s Birthday
The SellaBand Tribune is exactly one year old. We started this weekly newsletter because we wanted to be able to highlight some of the musical talent on the site and to inform you about new developments. In the course of the year the Tribune has grown into the official voice of SellaBand HQ and has featured many artists and announcements. As we move into year 2, we intend to put more focus on user generated content. How we want to do this, and who will be the new editor, we hope to be able to announce in the next few weeks. Until then, have fun with Tribune 49, which is once again chock-a block full with all things SellaBand…
Chart Analysis
It had to be Vegas Dragons. After claiming the #1 spot for the first time last week, their current top position is just a very logical part of the final countdown on their way to 50K. So, what’s happening further afield? A very impressive debut at #2 for Sarah’s Smile, the new project led by Joyce Dijkgraaf (see elsewhere in this Tribune). Jonatan Cerrada Moreno is at #3 this week with an increase in budget that would have brough him the top spot in any other week. So good to see many others on a roll too, like Radius maintaining their position (#5), Jon Robert entering the Top 10 as the Biggest Gainer of the week (12 – 7) and Rodino nicely benefiting from his London Rising initiative (#8). BIM are this week’s Highest New Entry (#10) and we welcome fellow Brits Tammi Cartwright (#17) and Jon Curtis (#18) to the Weekly Charts. The Special Mention of the week goes to… So What. These hard working and hard studying Dutch upstarts have had a bit of a rough time lately and may have lost a few Parts on the way, but they are bouncing back in fine style! Have fun with the 'Real Time Chart' by the way. All week long you can follow all the actual, real time developments, leading up to the Weekly Chart every Tuesday at noon CET.
Website features
Anyone who is into new music knows that asking an artist about his genre is very similar to asking Picasso which colors he used to paint “the old guitarist”. You will either be looked at as a music twit or the answer will simply be “it’s mix of many, many genres”. So how are we supposed to categorize the artists on SellaBand? Up until now we had the artist fill in their own genres, but many of them didn’t even bother to do so. SellaBand is about trusting the wisdom of the crowds. It is handing over traditional record label activities to music lovers. So why don’t we do the exact same with this genre issue?
This is why we came up with a new tagging system which will go live today. With this tagging system Believers can add tags to an artist. So if you hear Wetwerks and think “Metal”, you add a Metal tag to our US heroes. If you wanted to you could also add a hip hop tag, but chances are that this tag will be overruled by the rest of the community. That’s the beauty of a tagging system. The more people use it the better it works. Everything you tag is visible on your profile page. When people click on one of your tags they will get a search result of all the artists that have been tagged with the same tag. Feel free to also use words that have nothing to do with a genre. You could go for “The Boss” or “Believe” or whatever comes to mind, just try to be respectful. It takes guts and talent to put your music up on SellaBand.
Forum blues
As of today, the SellaBand Forum has a new landing page. This is your entrance to the Forum, from which you can decide where you want to start a thread, post a comment or just read other people’s thoughts. We are also introducing a number of simple rules (long overdue, we can hear you say) and ask all participants to read them and stick to these rules. Throughout the Summer we have seen some fierce debates, and that is precisely what we were after when we decided to have an ‘official Forum’. The SellaBand Forum will remain a place to speak your mind and we will continue to participate, but our moderators will keep a close eye on any form of abuse, so please behave and show respect to your fellow community members...
The Week That Was
With over 35,000$ brand new dollars invested, this week ranks among the best we’ve had so far. In any previous +30K week, there would be at least one artist speeding to close their budget. Not so this time, although Vegas Dragons were truly challenging the editor of the Tribune. And now that we are speaking of numbers: over $250,000 is invested on Page 1 of the artist search alone. No wonder the suave Jonatan Cerrada Moreno was in a hurry to position himself in the Top 10. Meanwhile, Bulletproof Messenger made it past 35K this week and are readying themselves for poll position. Also this week, a couple of hundred people got together for London Rising, hosted by Francis Rodino and others were socializing, both at ClubSellaBand and on the special chat provided by our Italian friends Black Jack. So much excitement going on that we’d almost forget to mention that the Forum was ‘trolled’ once again by a very persistent ex-Believer. Let’s wait and see if she also took the opportunity to fill in the little ‘inquiry’ that we bothered you with, earlier this week. We were looking for exactly 1,000 contributors for the poll and found them within mere days. Thank you all very much, we will share the results with you as soon as we can.
Spellbox
A lot of things can be said about Spellbox and its individual members Mysti Mayhem and Mandocello. Two things they are certainly not: boring or predictable. In their ever continuing quest for attention they have come up with their own interpretation of Dr. Hook’s Classic “The Cover of the Rolling Stone.” Spellbox want to have their picture on the… Cover of the SellaBand Tribune.” Great lyrics, great execution, all in all a great joke. But then came the video and that piece of home work is downright hilarious. You can watch it here and we salute Spellbox: Mission accomplished.
Office Powerplay
This week we’ve been listening to:
Chris: GD Allan - It's as good as this
Dagmar: 180 VirVar - X^4 (Part II)
Dolly: 180 VirVar - Lys Under Vand
Johan: Slim Void - Sometimes
Pim: vAI - Summer Breeze
Yf: Travellers - Hotel Havana
All hail the return of Joyce!
Joyce Dijkgraaf, former lead singer of now defunct Elleanore and, more importantly, former intern at SellaBand HQ has returned to SellaBand with her latest project, Sarah’s Smile. Over $5,000 in less than two days is mighty impressive, so we asked Joyce to please introduce her new adventure:
By Joyce Dijkgraaf
“First of all I want to thank everyone who kept his/her believe in me, and for all the support everyone has given to me when Elleanore and I parted ways, thank you! The last few weeks I have had some emails from Believers who wanted to know when I would be coming back as an artist, so they could buy the first Part.
Last Sunday was the big day for me. How will everyone react to the new song? Will they like the band name? I know I liked it, but it sure was exciting. Well, it has been one crazy first day. Because of the emails, I knew there were a few people who wanted to re-invest in my new band, but I could never imagine what really happened upon my return.
This really means a lot to me. Because of this great start here on SellaBand, Believers have not only shown their devotion and believe. But they've all shown me they trust me. And that's a thing that is rare these days. People don't trust people easily anymore. I'm serious stunned and speechless! How can I ever thank all you great Believers who share my SellaDream....
The first big step is taken. Sarah's Smile on SellaBand. But that is only the beginning! I'm writing new songs at the moment with help from different people in my environment. Our web developer is working on the new website. And we are still looking for a bass player and a keyboard player. But not to worry, we have already found people who want to help us out.
Sarah's Smile is a new band that is going to represent who Joyce Dijkgraaf is. The lyrics will be small stories about what's on my mind and what I'm worrying about in today’s society. Hopefully people can use my stories in a positive way in their own live. Just thinking about your own life and if you are doing right is a handful sometimes. I know that with returning to SellaBand I have done the right thing…”
Community singing
Phil Tweed
Not really a community effort, but more a solo-achievement that the entire community should be proud of: the multi-talented Phil Tweed has won the prestigious award for Best Instrumental in the Australian Songwriting Awards – the video clip of his performance can be found here. Congrats Phil, on behalf of all of us!
Lorraine Jones
More and more gigs seem to initiated by active members of our community. This time it’s the wonderful Lorraine Jones who has put a show together with Alexia Gardner and Mua’Dib and the Awakening. On October 20, It will be SellaSwiss time at a venue called Ono in Bern. www.onobern.ch for more details. We hope to get a word from Lorraine herself in the next Tribune as to what we can expect at this special event.
Mail your entries for 'Community singing' to: info@sellaband.com