Synaesthesia

Long has there been a symbiotic relationship between the visual arts and music.  From hundreds of years old paintings depicting musicians, and orchestras, to the more modern art of photography and the music video, they are two art forms that go hand in hand, especially in todays digital world.

The visual image has become ever more pervasive since the advent of photography, making the creation of images more accessible to a wider and more diverse group of people.  The easier it became to craft, the cheaper it got.  It was a weapon that changed the face of war, a voice that changed societal beliefs, and it was a tool that fueled business.  Advertising campaigns of the 20th century took on new meaning.  People could see the objects that they were supposed to buy.  It was all part of a changing time. Music too was caught up in this change.  Music began to be broadcast, recorded and distributed.  People were beginning to take music home with them, they didn’t need to attend a live performance to listen to music, though people did because it was still fun to do.  Music and visual art began to become even closer than they once were.  In 1981 the deal was officially sealed.  MTV came on the air and from that point  Sound and Vision were inseparable, in order for an artist to have any real success in the decades that followed the music video wasn’t an option it was a necessity.  Now in the new digital age everything again has become closer, and closer, not only sound and vision, but it’s medium, and distribution as well.  Art and music are now stored on all the same storage mediums, magnetic tape, compact disc, dvd, and hard discs.  They are all played back on the same devices, computer, ipods, and mobile phones.  The devices are smaller and hold more, and people don’t just want the music of their favorite bands, they want the videos and photos too.  The internet makes the distribution simple and easy.

Going to a show  these days the blend of sound and vision is obvious as well, the t-shirt usually adorned with some art that represents the band, along with stickers and buttons,  and lets not forget being in a crowded place when the slow song comes on, the lighters go up and the flames come out, except there are now as many lights from the screens of electronic devices as well, and when they are done filling in for a lighter they go back to doing their previous job, photographing and recording the show.  These cameras are now overlooked at shows.  Security ignores them, the bands don’t care, though to be honest I don’t understand why any band would care in the first place.  People want to remember the show, and with the price of going to the shows these days, and the amount people make, can you really blame them for wanting a free souvenier.

So why is it that when at a show like the Pack A.D. at the Commodore Ballroom during Vancouver Jazz Fest this year, there were 30 people in attendance, 10 of them taking photos, flash bulbs blasting the band and security doesn’t say a thing, but when I pull out my Canon, working as a representative of a media outlet I’m asked to put it away?  Of course I listened when some big burly bouncer came up to me and says you can’t do that and if you continue we’re going to stamp on your toys, all because I didn’t have the little plastic badge that says I could, even though the badge apparently doesn’t matter to the fine folks of the commodore ballroom, another contributer who did have the proper credentials was also denied, more than likely by the same tight shirted gorilla.  The truth is I try not to step on toes, I shoot only without a flash, and I try my best not to disturb the bands on stage.  In fact I’m seeing more and more of my photos popping up around the web, the bands posting them on their sites, so I don’t think they do mind, but someone does, and I want to know why.

This whole policy of no cameras at gigs is done. Obviously many places state no professional cameras, or no cameras with interchangeable lenses, but what does that even matter any more.  With Canon, Panasonic, and Nikon all selling products that you can slip in your pocket capable of shooting photos that one could make billboard ads with being allowed into the shows, often by people not knowing what they are really doing, so where does that really leave this policy?  I could understand if they didn’t want people to make money off the photos, okay, but how can you stop the people with the pocket cams from making money, where is the difference.  Chances are those people are going to take the photos and post them in a public forum, say facebook or myspace, and often without context.  If the photos are bad that will reflect poorly on the band.  However flip the coin to the media, such as myself.  I shoot the show.  The photos are posted, but they are posted with context in the form of a review of the show, yes the show may have sucked, for whatever reason, the venue could have failed to deliver, the lights may have been bad, the drinks watered down.  The band may have been bad.  Someone will probably not like to see a bad review be it the venue, the band, or their management, perhaps they may take offense to the review, how does taking photos in the capacity of a professional differ from the capacity of taking photos as an amateur?  I challenge someone to respond to this, to provide even a little insight as to this stupid policy.  After all if I was a band, or a venue owner I would relish the chance to have a little free press, we’re not talking piracy, we are talking promotion, and not being allowed to take photos doesn’t stop my fingers from dancing over the keys.  It won’t stop a bad review, but maybe having some decent photos to go along with it might dull the pain.

I guess in the future I’ll just take my trusty point and shoot, and post the photos anyway, because you can’t stop the signal.

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Jonathan Ostrow (@miccontrol) is the co-founder of MicControl, a music blogging network based on a social networking platform.

As album sales are becoming a less meaningful component in the overall success of an artist or band, the live performance sector, including ticket sales and merchandise sales, is becoming increasingly important. While the live show itself must be unique in order to encourage repeat customers and ultimately drive ticket sales, the merchandise table has the opportunity to drive significant revenue and first hand, artist-fan engagement. But just having a merch table is not enough, as there are essential elements that must be accounted for in order to make the effort worth while.

Assuming that you have accounted for the typical ‘guts’, such as T-Shirts, CDs, Hats, Stickers, etc. there are essentials to any effective merch table that will do three very important thing:

- Increase your sales

- Increase your long-term engagement with new and existing fans

- Decrease wasteful overhead when investing in the merch for your next tour

Use these following merch table essentials to make sure that you are making the most of every opportunity at every show to make as much money and as many new fans as possible:

1) Mailing List: Far too often overlooked, yet one of the most crucial aspects of retaining fans, the mailing list is an absolute must on any and ever merch table. If someone is willing to invest the time and money to come over to your merch table and purchase your music, your t-shirts or even just a little sticker or button, it means they felt strongly enough about the performance to further their interest. Every merch table customer is a valuable potential fan. Do not let them get away from you.

2) Accept Credit Cards: To be frank, if you do not accept credit cards, you are not maximizing your potential to make money, and are letting potentially valuable fans walk away without your music or merch in hand. There are a few different apps out for the iPhone/ iPod Touch, iPad and Android platforms that allow you to turn your device into a credit card terminal, including the Square, ProcessAway, Merchant Swipe and iSwipe.

3) High Traffic Area: As the saying goes, birds of a feather flock together. Putting your merch table in a high-traffic area is crucial to sales. The increase in passersby will make your table seem more desirable. As more people check out your merch and start to make purchases, the more likely it will be that others will want to check out the scene as well.

4) Lockbox for Money: Professionalism is crucial when dealing with a merch table. No matter how the musicians represent themselves on stage, online or in public, merchandising is purely the business side of the operation. Not only does a lockbox hold one person accountable for any lost cash and discourages outside theft, but It also makes it less apparent how little or how much cash you actually have from the event.

5) The Plug from the band: Make sure the people who are actually listening to the music and who are enjoying it, have the opportunity to at least join the mailing list if nothing else. Announce the table, its location, and that YOU, the artist, will be there and are looking forward to speaking with everyone.

6) The Main Attraction: It is understandable that artists are either exhausted or are ready for more after the show, but nothing helps merch sell faster than putting the artists behind the table. Especially after the band has plugged the merch table and its specific location, it will be a delight for fans to have the opportunity to speak with the artists, get engaged and walk away with a new album and/ or a t-shirt because of the pleasant experience.

7) A Clean Table: Just like any store (think grocery store, toy store, convenience store, clothing store), potential customers connect the appearance of unorganization and sloppiness with that of a weak business. By splitting the table into well organized sections dedicated to each type of merch or even price point, it makes it much easier on the eyes, makes sales much more likely. Also continue to think of a clothing store, make sure you have clean, well folded t-shirts that range in color, size and gender specificity.

Bright Colors: Not only should your merch table be located in a high-traffic area, but it should pop out as the sour thumb in the room. Venues are typically dark, so keep in mind that darker colors will be lost into the clutter of the room. Set up a back-drop, use a table cloth and create a banner, all of which should use bright, vibrant colors to catch people’s attention.

9) Prices: Setting the right prices for the available merch is crucial to successful sales. Not only should everything be fairly prices based on the industry standard (which means you MUST do your research when planning the pricing strategy), but there absolutely needs to be merch available at every price point, from $1 dollar up to $100 dollars (or more depending on what you are offering).

10) Inventory Sheet: Organization is key to a healthy business. Using an inventory sheet will help you keep track of sales and will decrease the chances of wasteful overhead for your next tour. You can start to use the historical sales to forecast growth. This is especially important if you do decide to create unique merchandise for each stop on the tour, as it allows you to see where your merch sold better or worse, so you don’t waste money creating unique merch for the wrong places.

11) Unique Collectables: Though this is a much more expensive option to consider, creating unique collectables for each show creates an incentive for repeat purchases from repeat customers. Some fans will be so into your music that they decide to hit every show within a 100 mile radius of their hometown, so why not create incentive for them to hit the merch table at EVERY show they attend?

Ideas for some unique collectables are merit badges with a unique design reflecting each venue, laminated tour passes with specific dates printed on them, high-quality original prints of the show poster (signed by the band AND artist of the poster) and even shirts that specifically reflect the venue, date and city.

12) Bundles: Just like the unique collectables, you want to make sure that you offer unique bundles that can only be purchased from the merch table. The more creative you can get with these bundles, the more likely you will be to encourage a higher volume of sales, as well as repeat attendance to future dates of the tour.

An idea for unique bundles include a unique USB thumb-drive with hand-painted artwork that offers the entire back catalog of studio albums, plus free admission to all shows for the next year. The more unique, limited edition and exclusive you can make these bundles, the more people will be willing to seek them out, not to mention pay a premium for them.

13) Contest/ Drawing: This is a great way to ensure longer-term engagement with fans. The drawing could be for free tickets, a free limited edition bundle of music or even something above and beyond like an opportunity to go out to dinner and hang out with the band.

14) Picture Board: Remember the idea of the main attraction? (see above).  Using a picture board is an opportunity for the artist(s) to establish a stronger connection with fans, meanwhile advertising the merch in order to increase sales. Start taking pictures of the artists with fans who are either wearing or holding up newly purchased merch. Then compile a huge collection of the pictures taken and display the picture board either behind the table or to the side of the table. Make sure it is visible and most importantly, make sure to include a band member in the pictures!

15) Branch Out Beyond The Table: Though the purpose of this list is to make the merch table itself more effective, the ultimate goal is to increase revenue and fan engagement. Grab a few friends and have them walk around the venue in a crisp new band shirt with their own mailing list sign-up sheet, some albums for sale, a few t-shirts for sale (especially the one they are wearing) and some FREE stickers or buttons. The idea here is to engage as many attendees as possible and to direct them back to the actual merch table where they can interact with the band members, buy an increased level of merch because of this new connection to the band and will walk away with a great, personal experience from the show rather than just a ‘fun time’.

Using a merch table to increase sales is always good, but if used properly it can be so much more than that. If you are going to take the time, effort and money to plan out and finance the merchandise for your tour, make sure you have taken all of these things into consideration to ensure that you maximize revenue and fan engagement at every show.

What other ideas have you used to make your merch table more effective?

Vancouver progressive folk metal band Scythia have announced their “Exiled Across Canada” tour dates set to kick off in Victoria, BC on Sept 24th. The six man & woman contingent will be echoing their thundering tunes over the following six weeks across Canada.

Blending epic storytelling with modern progressive metal to create an interesting dynamic that includes an oboe of death and classical violin. Scythia’s ancient and medieval influenced melodies will bring the past back to the present as they ready to brandish their swords and prepare for tour in support of their upcoming release “…Of War” produced by Shaun Thingvold who has engineered on projects with SYL, Fear Factory, Darkest Hour and many more.

“Folk music is definitely more ambient, pure, and beautiful. Metal is intense, raunchy, and driving. The use of both in songs, combined with dynamic contouring, has the ability to take the listener on the kind of journey that rises to mountain peaks and descends into valleys, in a sonic sort of way,” comments vocalist / guitarist Dave Khan.

Formed in late 2008, Scythia is not your older brother’s metal band. Taking its name from vocalist/guitarist Dave Khan’s infatuation with a painting of Nordic/Russian warriors riding bears while brandishing swords, Scythia not only “gives the painting musical significance,” but it is also “the name of an ancient empire spanning from the Caucasus through Russia, and even into eastern Scandinavia.

Free download of Fierce Riders of Scythia is now available at the following link – http://scythia.bandcamp.com/

“Exiled Across Canada” Tour Dates

September 24, 2010 – Isabella Reader Theater, Victoria, BC
September 25, 2010 – The Cambie, Nanaimo, BC
October 9, 2010 – Pogue Mahones, Kamloops, BC
October 14, 2010 – Century House, Vancouver, BC
October 15, 2010 – Brooklyn Lounge, Kelowna, BC
October 16, 2010 – Voodoo’s, Penticton, BC
October 17, 2010 – Vern’s, Calgary, AB
October 18, 2010 – TBA, Regina, SK
October 19, 2010 – The Zoo, Winnipeg, MB
October 20, 2010 – Kilroy’s, Thunder Bay, ON
October 22, 2010 – Smiling Buddha, Toronto, ON
October 23, 2010 – TBA, Hamilton, ON
October 24, 2010 – TBA, Waterloo, ON
October 25, 2010 – Hard Luck Bar, Toronto, ON
October 26, 2010 – Top Shelf, Ajax, ON
October 27, 2010 – Bar Octobre, Quebec City, QC
October 28, 2010 – Bar Le Magog, Sherbrooke, QC
October 29, 2010 – Le Stage Rock Cafe, Trois Rivieres, QC
October 31, 2010 – Katakombes, Montreal, QC
November 1, 2010 – TBA, Sudbury, ON
November 3, 2010 – Parthenon Pizza, Brandon, MB
November 4, 2010 – TBA, Saskatoon, SK
November 5, 2010 – DV8, Edmonton, AB
November 6, 2010 – The Dirty Jersey, Kamloops, BC
November 7, 2010 – Funky Winkerbeans, Vancouver, BC

This upcoming Saturday September 4th will be a night of film, rock n’ roll & mayhem to kick off and raise funds for the upcoming screening tour for the No Fun City documentary. This event is being held at the Rickshaw Theatre, screening at 7:00pm, bands at 9:00pm.

The night will include performances by VAPID, TWIN CRYSTALS, DEFEKTORS AND THE FURIES + SPECIAL GUESTS! DJ J-Hag from 3 Inches of Blood will be DJing throughout the night. As well as raising funds for the film’s upcoming tour, this event will be an opportunity to celebrate a thriving indie music community and a chance to raise awareness of local organizations such as the Safe Amplification Site Society.

Since its sold out premiere at the DOXA film festival in May, the demand for screenings has been astounding. With proceeds raised from this event, the film will be able to screen at a variety of festivals in Canada and overseas. It has already featured at the Frozen Film Festival in San Francisco and the Sled Island music and film festival in Calgary, next up is the OLIO Festival in Vancouver on Sept 25^th at the Rio Theatre. Then as it makes its way across the country the film will also play at a well known montreal music festival.

The UK premiere of No Fun City will be on October 8^th, 2010 at the Prince Charles Theatre, in London’s West End as part of Oxjam, a music festival in the UK that raises money for the Oxfam charity, whose mission is to fight poverty worldwide.

For more information and updates please visit: www.nofuncity.org

Featuring the return of OBSESIÓN – pioneers of Cuban Hip Hop direct from Cuba

From the 5 Burroughs of New York in the mid-seventies to across the entire planet today, Hip Hop continues to be a culture immersed in the struggle for a better world. If Peace is the message, then Hip Hop is the voice…

On September 24th to 26th the Greater Vancouver area will host for the 6th consecutive year the Annual Vancouver International Hip Hop Festival – HIP HOP FOR PEACE! The Festival will be three days of performances by local and international talent including MC’s, Breakdancers, DJ’s and Graffiti artists.

There will be workshops and tutorials teaching participants how to rap, breakdance and give insight into the history of Graffiti culture and it’s significance today. It will be a base camp for community forums discussing youth activism, women’s rights, Indigenous struggle, Hip Hop’s rise to an international stage and it’s growth alongside the movement for peace, equality and social justice. It will be showcase of some of the freshest artists in Hip Hop culture today, and most importantly it will once again be free and all ages!

Over the last 6 years the Festival has grown into one of the most significant events of it’s kind. What makes this even more amazing is that it is completely built, organized, sponsored, and supported by communities of youth, families and regular working people from Downtown Vancouver, Canada to Havana, Cuba! This festival has been committed from it’s very onset to being as accessible, diverse, creative and idealistic as the human imagination and will
can envision.

Hip Hop for Peace is the culmination of the skills of hundreds of artists from across the world, the generous support and endorsement of hundreds of sponsors from retail stores to municipalities, broad media coverage from local to global carriers and the dedication to reaching out with art dedicated to bringing about peace!

This festival aims to promote peace through the global phenomenon of Hip Hop. Over the last 6 years the festival has brought together an impressive roster of over a hundred talented artists from the Middle East to Latin America to Indigenous communities across North America. The festival includes workshops and tutorials teaching participants how to rap, breakdance and spin records like a DJ.

Obsesión rocked audiences in their debut performance in Western Canada at last years festival and their return will be the highlight of this years festival. Obsesión has garnered the attention and admiration of fans, international media and superstar artists like Afrika Bambaata, Mos Def, and Philadelphia’s – The Roots. The group is comprised of MC’s, Magia (Magia Lopez) and El Tipo Este (Alexey Rodriguez, also a producer) as well as their DJ and gifted beat-smith, Isnay Rodriguez. Aside from being internationally renowned artists, Obsesión are also dedicated organizers with the Agencia Cubana de Rap.

Check out more on Facebook here.

Friday, September 10th @ The Forum on Granville Street!

Free City Collective, one of BC’s most Musical and Energetic acts, are releasing their long anticipated EP ‘Western Volture’ to the Masses at this, their EP RELEASE PARTY!

This will be a HUGE kickoff to the Brand New Bi-Monthly LIVE MUSIC Series, happening every 2nd FRIDAY @ The Forum on Granville Strip. This night will feature the dopest, most original Live Music in Van-City…!
Free City Collective: http://www.freecitycollective.com/

‘The Forum’ is getting a complete Live Music Performance Makeover!!!
That means a New Stage, New Sound System, New Dance Floor, the works! Come for the high quality music and mingle, then get rowdy to the head bangin’ DJ’s.

This is a Friday, with a 3am license, so we’ll be getting REAL DRUNK, and going REAL LATE!

Opening up the night will be Gavin Mullen, cerebral Post Rock Band ‘Right’, and Feel good Acoustic Rock group ‘Vespertine’!

Right > http://www.myspace.com/righttheband
Vespertine > http://www.myspace.com/vespertinevancouver

We are linking this evening in with a BEER SPONSOR Y’all … so some beer variety or other will be pretty good value … cover is gonna be $10 so we can pay for our beautiful and talented musicians … come and have a good time … we’re gonna be showcasing the best of British Columbia’s up-and-coming Indie Rock scene … on this evening there will be a special birthday DJ Set from Mr Dan Tanner himself … a selection of classic… music … ranging from American Jazzy Rock to The Awesomeness that is BRITPOP … Come watch some music … and be cool …

…we taking the pretentious feet outta Granville Street …

Formed Originally in Calgary’s Parks and Fields Late Summer ‘09 with Mattaeus, Rak, Snard, and Simon Aloysius playing Beatles covers. Eventually, Tree developed into the four piece it is today through the natural and organic growth it endured through the fall and winter of 2009. Inspried by nature and the mystery of life it’s self and the pursuit of freedom tree plays music with a variety of flavors. Tree is currently writing and experimenting with their own collective creativity. Just as all plant life, Tree is developing its roots and enjoying the sunshine taking in all it needs to grow and thrive in the coming years. Love and Light, Tree

Mattaeus – Vocals/ Rhythm Guitar

Rak Stan – Bass/ Backing Vocals

Ty Preer – Lead Guitar

Adam Snardin – Percussion/ Backing Vocals

The convergence of media art, electronic music and digital culture

September 10 – 18, 2010

New Venue for the New Forms Festival which celebrates its 10 year anniversary. A milestone for this electronic, preformance, artistis, digital and avant gard festival. All events at W2/Storyeum – 151 West Cordova Street, Vancouver, BC. The Festival and Exhibition Opens on Sept 10th, featuring over 15 art installations and performances by a number of Vancouver’s emerging electronic artists. Sept 11th focuses on the next level of dub infused music with SLUGABED, BLUE DAISY, ILLUM SPHERE, and NASTY NASTY. Sept 12th showcases BEAT NATION, a collective of Indigenous artists working in traditional and new media environments. Sept 17th, New Forms serves up a new experience on the dance floor with SCOTT W, JASON LEV and OMAR-S, one of the most influential dj/producers in House and Techno today.

New Forms #10 presents four eclectic and innovative nights of electronic music featuring both Vancouver-based artists and others from around the world. Based at W2/Storyeum, the festival celebrates electronic music ranging from bands, hip hop, dubstep, techno and house to disco. The focus of New Forms has always been exposing a wide range of musical genres while showing new innovations in their musical exploration.

Friday, September 10^th: Opening Gala (& SWARM AfterParty)

The festival opens with a gala evening featuring Basketball, Love & Electrik, No Gold, Love Dancing, Babe Rainbow and Resorts in free performances starting at 10pm. From laptops to bands and everything in between; this lineup showcases the diversity of Vancouver’s electronic music scene today. This event is an open invitation for the community and newcomers alike to check out and enjoy the exhibition and music. Light projections by Peter Hagge. Curated by Chris Wang.

W2/Storyeum, 151 West Cordova Street, 10pm, Free

Saturday, September 11: The Opposite of Fear
A night of music that builds sonic bridges between dubstep, funk, hip hop, static, bass, experimentalism and visual sound. Featuring “the new guard” in electronic music, Blue Daisy (UK), Slugabed (UK), Illum Sphere (UK), NastyNasty (US) , Michael Red and Lomax, the night reclaims an enlightened and joyful mindset through truly next-level genre-defying live electronic music.

Curator: Michael Red.

W2/Storyeum, 151 West Cordova Street, 10pm, $20 advance / $25 at the door.

Sunday, September 12^th: Beat Nation

Beat Nation is a ground-breaking collective of indigenous hip hop artists working in traditional and new media. Beat Nation is about music, it’s about art and it’s about the spirit of Indigenous peoples and cultures. Beat Nation will present a fresh line up of performers, from Cree to Inuit to Haida to Mohawk and more; the roots of hip hop are there but they have been ghost-danced by young Native artists who use hip hop culture’s artistic forms and combine them with Aboriginal story, experience and aesthetics. The evening features Sista Hailstorm, Urban Buffalos, Ostwelve, Skeena Reece, Peter Morin and Christie Charles. Co-curators: Tania Willard & Skeena Reece. Produced by Glenn Alteen, grunt Gallery and Paul Armstrong, International Arts Initiatives.

W2/Storyeum, 151 West Cordova Street, 8pm, $5 at the door or by donation.

And on Friday, September 17^th the festival presents Body, a celebration of dance music through collaboration between local and international artists. The evening features Omar-S The Best (US), Scott W (Canada) and Jason Lev (Canada) with video projections by Shawna McLellan and Nicolas Sassoon. The night will deliver a new experience on the dance floor through installation and sound.

Curators: Cedric Meister and Josh Bartholemew.

W2/Storyeum, 151 West Cordova Street, 10pm, $20 advance / $25 at the door.

Tickets for the September 11^th and September 17^th performances at: Zulu, Highlife, Scratch and Beatstreet and online at www.clubzone.com

NEW FORMS #10 – EXHIBITION: TRAVERSING ELECTRONIC NARRATIVES

This year’s New Forms presents the largest media arts exhibition of its kind in the history of Vancouver.

At W2/Storyeum from September 10 through the 18^th, TRAVERSING ELECTRONIC NARRATIVES focuses on the diversity and ingenuity of the media arts scene in Vancouver, and how it speaks to the greater world of art today. Presenting Vancouver-based artists, the exhibition is a narrative involving video, sound, sensors, mobility, location, interactivity, participation, diversity and history. Featuring work developed in Vancouver over the past 10 years, the exhibition speaks to both the development of the local media arts scene as well as how it relates to the larger history of the city over the last decade.

Themes of change, location, surveillance, exploration, myth, travel and meditation take us from direct documentation and stories about this land to journeys of physics far beyond the confines of the exhibition. Curated by Malcolm Levy, Traversing Electronic Narratives is a story of growth, experimentation and the multiplicity of artistic experiences that play a role in media arts today. Free / by donation.

Included in the exhibition is Gramorail (Artists: Vancouver Design Nerds and eatArt)

The Gramorail is a pedal-powered marriage of kinetic sculpture, vehicle and stage. The vision was to design and build a contraption complete with a human-powered engine, rails and a human-powered DJ sound system attached to a gramophone. A fascinating and interactive piece, Gramorail allows people to create sound and technology through their own energy. It is part of a greater goal of creating projects that use art to educate people about the role energy plays in our lives, and to raise questions about the social and environmental impact of energy use.

Exhibition Artists include:

Alex Beim: Block

Beat Nation – Jolene Nenibah Yazzie (Navajo), Skeena Reece (Tsimshian), Peter Morin (Tahltan), Nicholas Galanin (T’lingit): (Curated by Tania Willard and Skeena Reece)

Jim Bizzochi: Winterscape / Cycle

Celia King and Joel Snowden: A440Hz

Khan Lee: Soapbox

Olo J Milkman: Amaranthian and Arugulan Text & Diagrams

NeoGrafik

Salazar: Traversing Ambient Narratives

Sarah Shamash: (dis) location

Matt Smith: Errosive

Times Neue Roman: Band in a Box

Vancouver Design Nerds and eatArt: Gramorail

Paul Wong: EAT (2002-10)

Storybox – various artists as below (Curated by W2 and Urban Ink)

Frederick Brummer / Rupinder Sidhu: AudioBox

Cease Wyss / Shawn Chappelle: Resistance for Existence

Su-an Ng / Sepideh Saii: Myth in Magic

Justin Sekiguchi / Lenke Sifko: Mother Tongue

Krista Lomax / Sammy Chien: ShadowBox

Free / by donation. Sept. 10-18, noon-7pm daily, Opens Step 10^th at 8pm. W2 Storyeum (151 W. Cordova).

Full information at: www.newformsfestival.com

New Forms Festival #10 is supported by the City of Vancouver, the Canada Council for the Arts, BC Arts Council, and Canadian Heritage through Arts Presentation Canada and sponsored by the Georgia Straight and CBC Radio 3.

NEW FORMS FESTIVAL #10

This convergence of media art, electronic music, and digital culture features four nights of electronic music and an eight-day exhibition of media art. Opening gala (Sept. 10) features free performances by local acts Basketball, Love & Electrik, No Gold, Love Dancing, Babe Rainbow, and Resorts; “The Opposite of Fear” (Sept. 11) includes the UK’s Blue Daisy, Slugabed, Illum Sphere and NastyNasty from the US; “Beat Nation” (Sept. 12) showcases a collective of indigenous hip-hop artists working in traditional and new media; “Body” (Sept. 17) is a celebration of dance music with Omar-S & others. Sept. 10-18, All events at W2 Storyeum (151 W. Cordova). Free – $25. Info www.newformsfestival.com/.

September 9: Mount Pleasant and Granville Island
September 10: Gastown and Downtown
7PM – late
Various venues – visit www.paarc.ca/swarm for the growing list!

The Pacific Association of Artist Run Centres (PAARC) is pleased to present Swarm: A festival of artist-run culture, that will span September 9 and 10 and offer a wide and compelling array of contemporary art exhibitions and projects.
Swarm began in 1999 as an event to mark the launch of Vancouver’s artist-run centre programming season, bringing together some of the city’s most vital and innovative contemporary art spaces to open their doors on a single frenetic evening. Swarm soon grew to a multi-night event, incorporating more and more of the city’s ephemeral artist-run initiatives: small DIY spaces, studios-turned-galleries, roaming public projects, artist collectives, hybrid projects,
and more. These initiatives join PAARC member centres to present a diverse spectrum of artistrun culture — the integral and innovative core of the city’s vibrant art community.
Embracing the festival’s viral nature, Swarm 11 will make innovative use of sites like Twitter and Google Maps to dynamically generate this year’s online festival guide. Venue participants are invited to ‘tag’ their events in their Twitter feeds to identify them as part of the Swarm. The Swarm website (www.paarc.ca/swarm) will then pull these feeds into the list of events, automatically generating venue maps. Similarly, gallery-goers will be able to offer comments on the Swarm festival by marking their Twitter posts with a #SWARM11 tag.
Artist-run Centres (ARCs) are non-profit organizations, run by and for artists that support new and innovative practices in the arts. With a rich history that spans over thirty-five years, ARCs locally and nationally have had an impact on Canada’s contemporary art that cannot be underestimated. Generally, these centres exhibit contemporary art which parallels the larger public institutions and private commercial galleries – offering an alternative to artists in
determining how to represent their work. Most of Canada’s best known and internationally recognized contemporary artists, curators and cultural practitioners have come out of the artistrun centre movement.
PAARC’s members include:
Access Artist Run Centre (Vancouver) www.vaarc.ca
Alternator Gallery (Kelowna) www.alternatorgallery.com
Arnica Open Studio & Gallery (Kamloops) www.tru.ca/news/06websitesdec/arnica/
Artspeak Gallery (Vancouver) www.artspeak.ca
Cineworks (Vancouver) www.cineworks.ca
Dynamo Arts Association (Vancouver)
Gallery Gachet (Vancouver) www.gachet.org
grunt gallery (Vancouver) www.grunt.bc.ca
Helen Pitt Gallery (Vancouver) www.helenpittgallery.org
Intermission Artists’ Society (Vancouver) www.inter-mission.org
Kootenay School of Writing (Vancouver) www.kswnet.org
Malaspina Printmakers (Vancouver) www.malaspinaprintmakers.com
Ministry of Casual Living (Victoria) www.ministryofcasualliving.ca
New Forms Media Society (Vancouver) www.newformsfestival.com
Open Space (Victoria) www.openspace.ca
Or Gallery (Vancouver) www.orgallery.org
Oxygen Art Centre (Nelson) www.oxygenartcentre.org
Projectile Publishing Society / Fillip Review (Vancouver) www.fillip.ca
VIVO Media Arts Centre(Vancouver) www.vivomediaarts.com
W2 Community Media Arts (Vancouver) www.creativetechnology.org
Western Front (Vancouver) www.front.bc.ca
Xchanges Artists’ Gallery & Studios (Victoria)

Swarm is encouraging local galleries to “be a part of the problem.” By registering a twitter account, and following Swarm’s simple guidelines, galleries can post their Friday or Saturday events directly to the Swarm site simply by tweeting. A link to each gallery website will appear, along with their brief tweet and a link to Google Maps, allowing you and me to easily keep track of our favorite upcoming events. As of this writing, exhibits by Grunt Gallery, JewellerBau, Malaspina Printmakers, Cineworks, Fillip, Gallery Gachet, Shudder Gallery and the Or Gallery make up a growing Vancouver lineup.

But like many viruses, containment can be an issue – so for those of you in Kelowna who want to go to Swarm, you can check out Pascal Dufaux and Scott Rogers at the Alternator Centre. It’s an interesting little development (Alternator’s presence on Swarm, given that Swarm is historically a Vancouver event), but an illuminating one: a growing social/viral web brings into question notions of location and stability. So where exactly is Swarm? Well, it‚Äôs on twitter, it’s at www.paarc.ca/swarm. Alternator certainly doesn’t mind – 3 of the 5 displayed tweet comments are theirs.

Check out Swarm today and follow the tweets. Or “be a part of the problem” by tweeting your gallery, your comments, and by swarming at one of the events on September 10th and 11th.

For more information on Swarm, and to see the Swarm guide, please visit:

http://www.paarc.ca/swarm

Media Contact:
Keith Higgins
President
604-836-0865
info@helenpittgallery.org

Mahler, Rachmaninov and Wagner meet The Magnetic Fields, the history of gospel and the world’s greatest undiscovered jazz at this year’s VIFF. Here are just a few of the offerings on view.

Checkpoint Rock: Songs from Palestine
(Checkpoint Rock: Canciones Desde Palestina), Spain, Directors: Javier Corcuera, Fermin Muguruza

That music often flourishes despite – and maybe because of – desperate times is brought home with joyous and affecting force in Javier Corcuera and Fermin Muguruza’s journey through the Palestinian music scene. From uncannily soulful singers to rappers to classical musicians, the vivacity on display puts paid to any preconceived notions of life under occupation.

Ride, Rise, Roar
USA, Director: David Hillman Curtis

David Hillman Curtis’ boundlessly energetic concert film captures David Byrne at his musical and theatrical peak while detailing the collaborative process that makes the performances come alive. “Stop Making Sense is a tough act to follow, but David Byrne gives his younger self a run for his money with Ride, Rise, Roar.” – Hollywood Reporter

RIO SONATA
France, Director: Georges Gachot

Brazilian great Nana Caymmi’s languid voice – and turbulent personal life – are the stuff of legend and gossip. Georges Gachot intimately chronicles her many ups and downs, showing how – more than her personal relationship with Gilberto Gil – her peerless musicianship has ensured her place as one of Brazil’s most influential singers.

Wagner & Me
UK, Director: Patrick McGrady

Noted actor and writer Stephen Fry’s love for the music of Richard Wagner – and, as a Jew, his attempts to reconcile this love with Wagner’s Nazi associations – serve as the focus of Patrick McGrady’s dazzling, emotional whirlwind of a documentary. Wit as sharp as ever, Fry visits Russia and Switzerland – and even gets backstage access at the Bayreuth festival.

Rejoice and Shout
USA, Director: Don McGlynn

Don McGlynn has made films about musicians as diverse as Glenn Miller and Howlin’ Wolf, and in this, his most ambitious film to date, he uncovers the progression in gospel music over the course of two centuries. A rousing combination of rare vintage clips, probing interviews and fantastic music will, indeed, make you want to rejoice and shout.

The Yellow Bittern: The Life and Times of Liam Clancy
Ireland, Director: Alan Gilsenan

The late, great Liam Clancy, the last surviving member of The Clancy Brothers, who vaulted to fame in the 60s singing bittersweet Irish ballads and outselling The Beatles, recalls moments both storied (the Civil Rights movement) and tragic (the alcoholism that almost destroyed his career) in director Alan Gilsenan’s warmly affectionate documentary.

Strange Powers:
Stephin Merritt and The Magnetic Fields
USA, Directors: Kerthy Fix, Gail O’Hara

“The thing that makes you really want to watch a Magnetic Fields documentary – aside from the fact that it’s about a brilliant band… – is that the genius behind Magnetic Fields, Stephin Merritt, is so prickly… in interviews that no journalist has ever gotten an accurate picture of him.” – The Stranger. Until now… Kerthy Fix and Gail O’Hara direct.

Ecologies of Mind

“I hate nature!”, a common phrase uttered by today’s teenagers that raises the question: are we capable of evolving as a species fast enough to save this planet? The aim of our annual environmental series is to bust through preconceptions of ruin and passivity and to share with audiences some of the most scintillating and galvanizing art being made these days.

The 4th Revolution – Energy Autonomy (Die 4. Revolution – Energy Autonomy)
Germany/USA, Dir: Carl-A Fechner

Possibly the most inspirational, solutions-based environmental film out there, Carl-A Fechner’s impressively mounted documentary travels the world to examine best practices – in Denmark, Germany, Brazil, Bangladesh and Mali – that put much of the rest of the world to shame. Very slick. Very encouraging.

Back to the Garden, Flower Power Comes Full Circle
USA, Dir: Kevin Tomlinson

In Washington State’s Okanogan in 1988, Kevin Tomlinson filmed a group of “hippies” who had been living off the land since the 60s. Now in this poignant examination of this community over time, he tracks down those original interviewees and shows what the glories and sufferings of living off the grid might really entail.

An Ecology of Mind
Canada/USA, Dir: Nora Bateson

Nora Bateson celebrates her anthropologist-father Gregory Bateson, whose work in cybernetics, semiotics and epistemology continues to challenge us to see our lives within a larger system. With A Simple Rhythm (Canada, 56 min.), Tess Girard’s absorbing look at (and listen to) synchrony and chaos, and the universal vibrations that connect us all.

The Eye 3D – Life and Science on Cerro Paranal (Das Auge – Leben und Forschen auf dem Cerro Paranal)
Germany, Dir: Nikolai Vialkowistch

Finally, a 3D science documentary! The European Union’s VLT Observatory, set in the extraordinary granular landscape of the high Atacama Desert of northern Chile, is the world’s most powerful. The film’s 3D technique, harnessed to something genuinely extraordinary, makes Nikolai Vialkowistch’s multiple award-winner a remarkable experience

Force of Nature: The David Suzuki Movie
Canada, Dir: Sturla Gunnarsson

Ecologist and scientist David Suzuki serves as veteran filmmaker Sturla Gunnarsson’s subject in this thorough, deep-reaching account of the Canadian icon’s life. Gunnarsson shows how Suzuki’s relationship with his father and the family’s internment during WWII gave Suzuki a sense that history matters and helped shape his critical thinking as an “outsider.” Also see: Severn, The Voice of Our Children, about the important work done by Suzuki’s daughter.

Into Eternity
Denmark, Dir: Michael Madsen

Finland’s Onkalo facility for nuclear waste is expected to take more than 100 years to build and to last for 100,000, with the hope that earth’s future inhabitants (whatever they may be) will never discover it. Michael Madsen’s chin-dropping documentary poses profound questions not only about the nuclear industry, but also about the very nature of human history. Kraftwerk fans take note!

Plug & Pray
Germany, Dir: Jens Schanze

The deeply fascinating and occasionally frightening future of artificial intelligence research is the focus of Jens Schanze’s globe-trotting report on the state of things in the field. Among others, futurist Ray Kurzweil, proponent of the concept of “singularity,” and computer pioneer Joseph Weizenbaum consider whether man really can go beyond biology…

Robinson in Ruins
UK, Dir: Patrick Keiller

A droll historical essay on where we’ve come from and where we may be all-too-unwittingly going, set to Vanessa Redgrave’s narration of director Patrick Keiller’s text, juicy quotations, and much refreshingly un-hackneyed landscape cinematography of England. It is also a survey of “strategic assets,” including the present-tense vibrations of nature.

Severn, The Voice of Our Children
France, Dir: Jean-Paul Jaud

A remarkable documentary dealing with the environmental problems facing our planet, Jean-Paul Jaud’s ravishingly visual work uses 12-year-old Severn Suzuki’s (daughter of David, who is the subject of Force of Nature, also at VIFF) 1992 address to the Earth Summit in Rio as the jumping off point for a globe-trotting examination of how individuals are combatting threats to our world.

Think Global, Act Rural
France, Dir: Coline Serreau

Want to know how to really save the planet? Coline Serreau’s “radical and exhilarating” (Le Nouvelle Observateur)
documentary-cum-manifesto offers a good beginning. Serreau returns to her roots, quite literally, to dig deeply into the highly politicized world of organic agriculture, with help from some very knowledgeable and witty international experts.

Vapor Trail (Clark)
USA, Dir: John Gianvito

John Gianvito’s unforgettable, epic work is part one of an investigation into the ecological disaster caused by a US military base in the Philippines – its victims and their world. A humble act of solidarity, a defiant work of remembrance, a rallying cry to rise and resist, and a cinematic prose poem.

Windfall
USA, Dir: Laura Israel

Are energy-generating wind turbines really one of the best ways to wean ourselves from the need for fossil fuels? Laura Israel looks at the down-on-its-luck town of Meredith, NY, and the problems and controversies that came to light when a wind-energy company came in search of land for their towers. Sometimes “green” does not equal “good”…

Crash Kelly

There was a magical time in music where one could turn on their favourite FM radio station and be rewarded for their efforts with a stream of truly classic rock n’ roll. The sounds of T-Rex melding into Thin Lizzy, the Alice Cooper Group played back to back against a Cheap Trick album track.

The 70s era of rock n’ roll was a time when the purchase of an album was a sacred rite of passage, attending a concert equivalent to a mass religious experience, when the image and art of the rock n’ roll performer merged as one. CRASH KELLY wants to take you back… Ladies and gentlemen, please adjust your Hi-Fi players for the next rock n’ roll transmission. Crash Kelly is the soulchild of Sean Kelly, a Toronto session musician who has toured and recorded with some of the biggest names in Canadian music. After years of playing sideman to various and sundry artists, the Rock n’ Roll animal in Sean could no longer be contained. In 2002, Crash Kelly was born.

Crash Kelly comes by its’ influences honestly. Weaned on Aerosmith, the Rolling Stones, KISS and T-Rex, Sean quickly fell under the spell of the sound of twin guitars, slamming glam-rock beats and performance based rock n’ roll courtesy of his older sister’s record collection.

Being a child of the 80s, Sean was able to separate the wheat from the chaff of the hard rock artists of the famed Sunset Strip. Early Motley Crue and Hanoi Rocks are considered essential listening in the Kelly household. It’s the combination of these influences filtered through the classic 70s structure and sound that forms the foundation for Crash Kelly. Crash Kelly’s debut album, “Penny Pills” was co-produced by Sean and “KILLER” KY ANTO. Ky’s production expertise and a shared love of classic production styles resulted in an album that honestly represents the spirit of hook filled, swaggering rock n’ roll.

The band knew that following up an album like the “glam classic in waiting” debut “Penny Pills” would be no easy task, what with the critical acclaim garnered from publications such as SPIN, THE VILLAGE VOICE and CLASSIC ROCK, but they knew what had to be done.

Crash Kelly headed to Los Angeles, where “Electric Satisfaction” was recorded and produced by none other than former Guns N’ Roses axe-slinger GILBY CLARKE. The City of Angels proved to be a fitting backdrop for Sean’s tales of faded glitter on the boulevard of broken dreams. Clarke’s affinity for classic production techniques and Kelly’s penchant for crafting songs steeped in the tradition of 70s power pop, glam and classic rock has resulted in an album that is guaranteed to “put the shock in your rock n roll.”

A finalist in GUITAR PLAYER magazine’s Guitar Hero 2005 competition, Sean puts his “70s boogie on the 80s sunset strip” style of lead guitar to stellar use on “Electric Satisfaction.” ELECTRIC SATISFACTION and PENNY PILLS can be purchased from MapleMusic if you Click Here, and is also available in the iTunes Music Store.

Tour Dates in the USA, Canada, The UK, Ireland, Holland, and Germany have resulted in a live show that is equal parts Madison Square Garden strut and swagger and CBGB’s frenetic energy.

Crash Kelly’s 3rd release is entitled “One More Heart Attack” which is available now in the U.S. on Warrior Records. Kelly again teams up with Gilby Clarke, who produces half of the new album. To bring his latest musical vision to fruition, Sean has assembled what he considers to be the best Crash Kelly line-up to date. Long time band mate, Allister Thompson on bass, Gene Scarpelli on guitar, and Tim Timlech on drums all contribute stellar performances both on stage and recorded on “One More Heart Attack.” The CD also features Rudy Sarzo (Ozzy Osbourne/Quiet Riot/Whitesnake), Brian Tichy (Foreigner/Billy Idol), as well as songwriting contributions from Pursuit of Happiness’ main-man Moe Berg.

Article by: Tricia Raidun Scott

Photos by: James Medynski http://jamesmedynski.com

With the more than 10000 people, the 6 unique and wonderful stages, the costumed characters, the funky psychedelic art, the lights, the lasers, the beautiful Salmo River Ranch, the many smiling faces, the five minute best friends, the long term connections and reminders of eternal truths, Shambhala is an amazing experience.  It is easy to forget that Shambhala is also, in fact, the largest electronic music festival in Canada.

For the first year ever Shambhala was sold out before the party had even begun. This created a truly exciting atmosphere. Everyone felt fortunate and happy to be there, but as usual with growth there are some growing pains. The staff member I talked to at the gate Wednesday night estimated that there was over 3000 people waiting before early admission had even begun Wednesday morning.  These overly zealous party goers created a 12 hour wait for themselves and anyone else arriving for early entry. Even as the flux of pre-party revellers got through, a typical wait to get in on Friday still clocked in at about three hours. I had some concerns regarding the level of douchebagery as I was taking stock of things on Wednesday. But for the most part it seemed the young, shirtless chaches seemed to find their inner Shambhala and chill in the love, or they ran out of beer and found some MDMA… One of the two I’m sure.

One glaring exception to this was the ass (or asses) who decided to dump a bunch of Flourocine dye in the Salmo River on Sunday. These kind of pranks that show no concern for either the people or the planet have no place anywhere but especially not Shambhala. Alas, it was what it was and despite the downside, for me it was my favourite Shambhala of the four I’ve attended. In the middle of the crazy psychedelic outlet of love and strange, amazing BC music and the best electronica the world has to offer, it’s hard to have anything but a damn good time.

The festivities started up earlier than ever on Thursday at noon with Vancouver’s Sweet Soul Burlesque Troupe bringing their theatrical sass. Miss Crystal Precious put on a memorable performance to Sir Mix Alot’s “Baby Got Back”, taking preconceived notions of feminine beauty and stirring them up with her ass tassels. The indisputable star of the Thursday performances was the crowd moving, keyboard smashing, Vancouver DJ, Long Walk Short Dock.  Using voice synthesizers, keyboard and mixers LWSD put on a performance reminiscent of Frank Zappa, Daft Punk and an 8-bit Nintendo making sweet, violent love. The set to follow by Calgary’s Audit was also noteworthy. The funky breaks with a dash of dustup was a crowd pleaser start to finish.

Friday night’s highlights included the Puppet MC’s the Funginears. If you have not seen a purple unicorn freestyle you have not fully lived. San Francisco scratch master Q-Bert put on an jaw dropping display, keeping the crowd in awe as he showed off his 20 years experience as a scratch originator.  Two more significant acts that night were Calgary duo Smalltown DJ’s and Vancouver’s Neighbour, both funky sets kept booties shaking into the morning.

Saturday night was defined by two things rain and dubstep. Excision and Noisia put on impressive sets in the deep bass driven genre and seemingly every other DJ of the night managed to mix some dubstep into their set. This is music you can feel in your lungs. Just as likely to be mixed with AC/DC as NWA as electro, dubstep provides a hard edge to almost any set. This is the same dark area of electronica once owned by the jungle scene.  There still are many people that put on impressive pop and lock dance displays to dubstep sets but unlike jungle music, which was characterized by the flux of triple time beats, pretty much anyone can take part of the cathartic body shaking head bang to dubstep, and no one needs to do crystal meth.

Canadian Excision packed the multi-tiered forest walkway of The Village stage giving a high energy performance that proved not only is he a top producer in the genre but can rock crowds with sets of original striped down, atomically dense beats. The Dutch trio that make up Noisia held the village crowd’s attention after Excision with their layered Drum and Bass heavy performance. Finnish DJ Rico Tubbs provided danceable bass heavy breaks to keep the party moving in the Fractal Forest area as the rains came down. The rain had a somewhat magical appeal in the forest stage where the lights projecting onto the screens and the lasers would catch on the drops, creating a sparkling psychedelic effect. A-Skillz from the UK delivered with funky hip hop driven dubstep infused beats that rocked my socks… my very soggy socks.

Sunday night was as it should have been, a pinnacle of music and dance under starry skies. Beardyman’s performance was somewhat inhibited because it was impossible to appreciate his beat-boxing, pop singing, mixing performance when you can’t move through the crowd to see him do it. But as he said himself near the end of his performance “Everyone in the room repeat after me. This is not a room. This is a forest. That is fucking sweet.” UK nufunk producer Featurcast took to the tables and proved he can put together funky dancetastic set as deftly as he can put together popular tracks for others to spin. UK duo The Plump DJ’s, came over for their long awaited first time Shambhala performance in the Fractal Forest.  Their techno electro infused break set  kept the floor full of booty shaking smiling bodies.

Boulder, CO’s Vibesquad got things going around the same time, providing high energy bangers getting the Ewok Village crowd pumped for the main event. BASSNECTAR.  Bassnectar, the dubstep king from San Francisco headlined Shambhala once again. The build up to this set was unreal. The round shape of the Village combined with the high production value video infused with the loudest and hardest dubstep on the planet created an upward spiral of energy that is truly unforgettable. Raw hard energy was being thrown from the turntables to the crowd to the DJ and back again as thousands of cramped bodies banged their hooded/ masked / sunglasses faces to the powerful beats. Despite the well deserved compliments to Bassnectar’s performance my personal favourite of the entire festival was UK duo, NERO. These guys brought good hard dubstep infused D&B and I loved every minute of it. They managed to carry on the powerful energy of the previous set but unlike Bassnectar’s, there was room to breathe and almost even dance.

Electronica uses the entire history of music as an instrument to smoothly blend from one sound to the next with one goal, to keep your body moving. That is why I love it.  However somewhere around the 48 hour mark something seems missing. This is when I somehow find myself at the Rock Pit stage, watching amazing Vancouver bands, and feeling once again whole. I could see the guitar being played, see the drums banged and vocal chords strained and appreciate live music for exactly what it is.  As lead singer Kyle from Los Furios stated sarcastically  “Who wants to go see a DJ?” And in that moment of grooving to their punk ska swagger, not many of us did. I managed to catch a few other exceptional Vancouver bands.  Delhi to Dublin put on a very high energy crowd pleasing show of eclectic world music Friday night. The sweet funk filled Ponderosas included a Spice Girls cover in their set. The rocking soulful latin stylings of The Boom Booms got hips shaking again on the hot Sunday afternoon. And the always consistent showmen of Five Alarm Funk rocked their set to a hyped crowd Sunday night. Van City you got some good music… and you don’t need to wait for Shambhala to get out and see it.

Monday at noon marked the painful time when the great mass of unwashed bodies came face to face with one simple fact. The party was over.  Many smiles were still seen as the sun beat down and sweaty gear was moved into dusty cars.  From the slow build up, to the dozens of different moments that just might have been the peak, to the blur of an exhilarating rush, Monday came like the end of the roller-coaster ride outside of time. That was Shambhala.

Are these pictures odd? Yes! Are they funny? Hell yes! And while each image is a stereotypical portrayal of each type of fan, there is a common trend that all of these pictures share – these overly dedicated (some may say obsessive – keep this in mind, it will benefit you greatly!) ’super-fans’ are apart of something bigger than a fanbase.

The fans shown above, fans of groups such as the Insane Clown Posse (the Juggalo), the Grateful Dead (the Deadhead), and Jimmy Buffet (the Parrothead), are all apart of communities that exists beyond the band. The music is what brought these groups of people together, and the loyalty to the music acts as the glue bonding them together, but the artists themselves have no responsibility to control the group – the community acts as it’s own separate entity, with its own leaders and followers.

These fans belong to a tribe.

What Is a Tribe?

Tribes exist as a way to connect and to share an interest in a topic, and it is because of this that you as an artist must recognize that creating a tribe is an essential step towards success and career-longevity. And since a developed tribe acts as its own entity, the incessant ’shameless self-promotion’ that unfortunately paints the walls of all too many artists’ Facebook and Twitter pages will become a thing of the past.

With a tribe of loyal fans at your side – just one announcement of any album, any show, even any new merch will be absorbed and spread like wildfire. Remember that a typical characteristic of a tribe member is to be overly dedicated, or obsessive, which can be used to your benefit! Think of these obsessive tribe members as your own instant viral marketing strategy- these are the types of fans who make sure that everyone in their social networks know about this new announcement.

All tribes are created by people following a leader who is making it possible to connect and share with others who are also interested in a common topic. In most cases for musicians, that common topic is your music. Though it is very important to understand that it doesn’t necessarily need to be about the music. It can be something else that YOU, the artist, are passionate about such as global sustainability or political awareness, or it can be something that your FANs are passionate about, such as tape trading of recorded live performances. Even if the agenda of the tribe may surround a larger cause, the music then becomes the soundtrack to the movement.

So although a tribe is ultimately a separate entity from the band or musician, it is your (the artist’s) responsibility to be the initial leader of the tribe. Once the tribe is fully developed, the leadership can be simply transferred to the most dedicated members or member who possesses the proper leadership skills needed. This leaves you free of any further responsibility, yet the tribe will continue to support, obsess, grow and purchase.

10 Tips To Consider When Starting A Tribe

Something to keep in mind is that creating a tribe can be a very time consuming and arduous process. But if the effort put in can result in a successfully developed tribe, you will see greater and longer-term success than ever possible before. So with that in mind, here are 10 important steps, or rather considerations for planning and executing the gathering of a tribe:

1) Have an agenda. This agenda can be as simple as sharing the music (i.e. in the case of Dead-heads and Phish-heads, the sharing and trading of tapped lived performances is and has always been the main agenda of the respective tribes) or can be revolved around something a bit deeper such as being ‘green’ as is the case with Jack Johnson and his tribe. Now, it is also important to understand that this agenda can change.

This was the case with the Phish-heads who felt strongly enough about the fact that bassist Mike Gordon was not turned up enough in the live mix, that they worked together to get his bass turned up by creating a campaign called People For A Louder Mike (which was featured in Bass Player magazine in 1998 and resulted in successfully having his bass turned up!). The agenda can be whatever the tribe would like, as long as it reflects the tribe as a whole.

2) Give the tribe a name. A name gives the fans something real to identify with. Think of the Dead-heads, Phish-heads, Juggalos and Parrot-heads of the world. There is a heightened sense of pride and enthusiasm from members within these tribes knowing that they are not only apart of something real, but that the outsiders (including the band) have given them a label. Notice that even Lady Gaga refers to her dedicated fans as her ‘Little Monsters’ – by doing this, she has created a separate entity for her fans to exist.

3) Determine which fans should and should not be included in the tribe. Different levels of fans have a different level of dedication, outward enthusiasm and support. This is extremely important – although it is hard to say ‘you cannot join our tribe’, it is a crucial step towards building a strong tribe. Going along with the 1000 True Fans theory, you want the core of your tribe to be made up of passionate and dedicated followers. Not only does this create a stronger bond between the existing members, but it creates a system of insiders and outsiders, and an increased level of desire by the outsiders to become an insider. And therefore, once again, the tribe is working for you to create a stronger following.

4) Build a ‘Story Of The Tribe’. Just as it is important in deciding which type of fans you want to be included in the tribe, it is just as important to create a story or manifesto to pull them in. The idea of a tribe is that everyone involved shares a similar passion, so your ‘Story Of The Tribe’ is your opportunity to describe the passions and goals of tribe, whatever those may be (i.e. your music, tape trading, sustainable ‘green’ living, etc.) in order to connect with potential followers. The story needs to be personal and reflect your own passion, but also needs to contain a clear message of the value in bringing all of these people together who share the same interest. Think: this is why you, the dedicated follower, should join the tribe.

The best way to tell this story is to create a short video that you can upload to Youtube and Vimeo, which can be shared by tribe members through their own social networks. If they feel passionate about something, chances are they have some friends who feel similarly.

5) Connect followers (fans) with each other. A very important aspect of a tribe is that it is not just about one person (the leader) making strong connections and relationships with others. This is not just a fanbase of people looking at you and your music. This is a collective of people who feel passionate about something. The only way for a tribe to flourish and thrive is if all of the members within have the opportunity to connect and share with each other. This is why 15 years after the death of Jerry Garcia, the community of Dead-heads is still alive and well – even if the band is no more, there is still a demand for the recordings of shows that spanned their 30-year career.

6) Maintain a high level of transparency. This is critically important to the overall strength and functionality of a tribe because it builds trust and stronger connections among followers, as well as the relationship formed between followers and the leader. This doesn’t mean that you need to go on to your blog or twitter account and make personal statement – there is nothing wrong with a little mystique, if that’s what you are going for (i.e. the Insane Clown Posse). Rather, this refers to maintaining a high level of transparency in the overall agenda of the tribe. No hidden agendas allowed.

7) Celebrate accomplishment. Whether the agenda of the tribe is to change something for the better or is to just bring people together, all major milestones should be celebrated as a way to highlight members within who have made a difference, to further the excitement of the tribe as a whole, and to keep motivating the tribe to reach new levels of involvement. Try starting an e-mal newsletter, be it weekly, bi-weekly or monthly that is sent out to all members of the tribe.

The Grateful Dead spent many years using a newsletter as a way to reach out to tribe members – Originally titled the Dead Heads Newsletter (later changed to the Grateful Dead Almanac), the mailing list was 40,000 people strong by the mid-70’s. Newsletters were often sent out with a little something special for the fans, including exclusive EPs and sneak previews of upcoming solo albums.

Empower member. The tribe is a collective. It is a gathering of people looking for the same thing, to become further involved in something they are passionate about. So give the members some responsibilities and give them ways to make a difference. By creating a way to empower the members of the group, each one has the opportunity to take the initiative. Without this sort of empowerment, the tribe may become stale and crumble.

9) Invent Rituals. This may seem ridiculous to some, but creating some sort of ritual that is shared between all members of the tribe is a way of widening the exclusivity between insiders and outsiders. An important part of having insiders and outsiders is working to increase the desirability of the tribe so that more people WANT to put in the time and effort to become an insider. By the time they have made that transition, they will be a fully-informed and dedicated follower.

In 1992, Phish created a ’secret language’ that was taught to the audience. The language was a set of tonal and rhythmic sequence that acted as a call and response between the band and the audience. The band explained that the purpose was to let the re-occurring fans in on the secret, so that the new people who came for the first time would feel left out, making them want to learn the language, to attend another show and eventually take part in the ritual.

10) Educate. This is a very obviously tip, but it is something that should not be ignored. What better than to not only bring people together, but to teach them about the topic, get them more engaged and in turn create a stronger, more loyal tribe who is more capable of existing on their own…

Again, Jack Johnson has done an excellent job of this with his All At Once campaign. Not only has he created a tribe of his fans who also feel strongly about living a more green, sustainable lifestyle, but he has created an online social network component that gives people a place to learn and educate how they can better their lives and communities at large. And again, his music has become the soundtrack to the movement, as seen in the campaign video shown above.

So to recap, developing a tribe is no easy feat to accomplish. However, it does give you the opportunity to create a stronger fanbase, a bigger fanbase, and to increase sales all through this one outlet. If you do have something that you are passionate about, remember to take your time and establish the guidelines of who and who would not be included as a tribe member. This is not something that should be a widespread campaign, at least not at first. When developing a tribe, exclusivity is your friend because it actually creates a more desirable experience within, as well as a stronger desire to join from those unable to belong.

22nd Century’s hard punching and sometimes comical style is a mixture of Ramones style power punk with a healthy dose of 1990’s grunge. Their debut CD was produced by legendary music producer John Webster (Aerosmith, Cher, The Cult) and has garnered attention, including honorable mention in Billboard’s 2009 song writing contest. The trio has stuck to playing venues on the West Coast of North America (from LA to Vancouver) but will seek to expand their reach to Europe in 2010. The band is currently writing for  their second album.

The band has a long history. Back in high school, drummer Zippy Pinhead formed the Stiffs with Gerry Useless (who later formed the Subhumans) and Mike Normal; later forming “Sgt. Nick Penis and the Brassball Battalion” with D.O.A. founders Randy Rampage and Chuck Biscuits. While still in Victoria, Duane met Zippy while playing bass for soon to be star Chrissy Steele. Zippy went on to move to San Francisco to play with the influential band K.G.B. before returning to Vancouver to join D.O.A.

Over the next 6 years, Zippy Pinhead shifted between Vancouver and California playing in some well known bands (The Dils, Art Bergman, The Mutants, Los Popularos, Black Molly’s, Beat Farmers and The Fiends.) and even appeared on music videos with Sheena Easton and Rick Springfield. Duane left the music scene for a while to pursue a career in professional cycling after leaving recording band Centerfold when the band’s funding vanished. He returned to music nearly a decade later after joining up with Wade Morissette, brother of Alanis Morissette, to play acoustic performances.

Although distracted by his day job, Plommer still pursued his passion. He achieved music success in the summer of 1999 as a guitarist for Anthill when their debut CD spun off a song called “Child of Ambition”. The blistering, guitar heavy, single was picked up by rock radio stations all across Western Canada. After some petty conflicts with the singer, Plommer left Anthill in 2001 to pursue a solo project called Little Green Planet. Tim worked hard on his solo CD (released 2006) while Duane played with Vancouver alt-punk band F.L.U.

After taking Little Green Planet live Plommer met Chaos at a gig in late 2006 and both realized their respective projects were not where they needed to be. 22nd Century was formed soon after with original drummer, Glen Gaupholm rounding out the trio. Duane continued playing part time for Punk-Metal band Stress Factor 9 which included former Annihilator drummer Ray Harttman and D.O.A. bass player/founder Randy Rampage.
 
Glen left 22nd Century in the Spring of 2009 due to persistent wrist injuries and, after a lengthy search for a replacement, Zippy completed the trio early in the summer of 2009.

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