March 30, 2009

Accidents and Accidental Discoveries – Reflections on SXSW

By Jordan Glazier, CEO, Eventful

They say that life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans. After a few intensely packed days at SXSW the things I remember most are the accidents and accidental discoveries along the way.

The accident…

Paul J and I bumped into our friends Nathan and James from McGhee listening to one of their new acts, Nico Vega, as the band was chanting “fe-fi-fo-fum, I smell the blood of an American.” In the midst of their final tune, the vocal mic died – a cord was unplugged, somewhere – and the band rocked on before an appreciative crowd. After a minute, Aja, the lead singer tried the other mic’s on stage – found that the floor mic from the bass drum was working – and cranked out the final verse bent down in front of the drum. The small crowd went wild. A cord unplugged, dedication to play on, thinking on your feet without a hint of fluster, frustration or defeat. It’s how you handle difficulty that sets you apart. The guy standing next to me said, “People are going to see dozens of artists this week – but this is the one they’re going to remember.” He was right.

The accidental discoveries (two artists that stuck in my head)…

Paul J and I were on 6th street and saw a crowd gathered - and drawn by human instinct we joined the huddle. In the middle were four women singing a bluegrass/folk tune. One played the accordion, another a mandolin, another a bass balalaika, and the fourth was on her knees on the asphalt, drumming on a beat-up metal lunchbox. Turns out the gals are a band called Katzenjammer from Oslo, Norway. They played with exuberance and joy, sang in perfect English accents (but chatted in Norwegian amongst themselves between sets). Their joy was infectious; everyone there was smiling ear-to-ear.

That night I showed up at Stubb’s to hear the Decemberists, while the prior act was still playing. I caught a couple powerful acoustic ballads, performed dramatically to a mesmerized crowd. Turns out they’re the Avett Brothers from Concord, NC. For their finale, the two brothers sat alone on stage and sang Murder in the City. It echoed in my head for days. They’re coming to The Belly Up May 10th – I’ve already bought my tix.

March 13, 2009

The Indie Band Survival Guide

Eventful is always working to help tens of thousands of performers grow their fan-base, connect with their fans, get their name out, get the bookings they want, and fulfill their dreams of success and stardom! We recently partnered with St. Martin’s Press to put out an abridged online version of The Indie Band Survival Guide. This e-book is a fantastic tool for up-and-coming acts.

Published by St. Martin's Press, The Indie Band Survival Guide is the manual for musicians that want to succeed independently, keep control of their music, and take advantage of the abundance of free tools and services available to them. The e-book contains substantial excerpts from the highly-praised print book, including secrets of how to get booked and play live. It also includes an exclusive bonus chapter that’s not available in the published book that teaches the musicians how to use Eventful’s marketing tools for the ideal results.

"I've seen a lot of books over the years; I've worked on every side of it…[This is] the most up to date reference book for young musicians," said Matt Pinfield of radio and MTV/VH1 fame.

The authors of The Guide saw the partnership with Eventful as a natural one. "Eventful is an excellent example of one of the exciting new tools that has changed the music industry," says Randy Chertkow, co-author of the book. "Their Eventful Demand service is re-writing the way musicians book shows by letting musicians know where their fans want them to play."

Over 65,000 performers use Eventful to determine where to tour based upon where their fans demand them. They also use Eventful to grow their fan-base, increase demand for live performances, promote their gigs and get bookings by demonstrating to venues that they have local demand for a show.

The Indie Band Survival Guide, helps any musician with a dream and the desire to learn the business.

Best of all, the e-book can be downloaded for FREE right here!

March 10, 2009

Hitting The Road With Little Big Town

Back in January ‘09, Little Big Town and Eventful worked closely to develop a competition leveraging Eventful’s unique Demand service. LBT and their management wanted to fully engage their fans in helping craft an unforgettable 2009 tour and wanted to give up-and-coming artists the opportunity to shine.

“In the past Little Big Town has had amazing opportunities as an opening act,” states Little Big Town’s Karen Fairchild. “We’ve had the honor of opening for John Mellencamp, George Strait, Martina McBride, Sugarland, Keith Urban and more. Because of our experiences, we wanted to find a way to give back to some bands that are just getting started in their careers. It’s even more special because the fans get to choose. I can’t wait to see who the fans select.”

The fans have spoken and Little Big Town has four fresh opening bands that will no doubt add to the success of their current A Place To Land tour.

Of the 300+ performers nationwide competing for these once-in-a-lifetime spots on stage with one of today’s most celebrated country music acts, only four will see the spotlight. The four winners are 32 Below from Fargo, J.W. Cudd from Nashville, Josey Greenwell from Bardstown, Kentucky and Corinne Chapman from Nashville. Each act will open the show for Little Big Town at a different sold out stop throughout March. For full event details on each of the winning band’s performances, see http://eventful.com/littlebigtown.

“Congratulations to the winners and their fans for voting and making this event a success!” said Philip Sweet of Little Big Town. “We are excited to see up and coming talent emerge and are grateful to share our fans and our platform with them in this unique way. Each of the four winners is very different from each other and has something special to bring to the show. We’re a band that believes in perseverance and building a strong base of fans in a grass roots way, and this is a cool way to nurture that spirit of independence by creating this opportunity.”

In order to land in the winner’s circle, these four acts had to garner the most Demands through Eventful.com. To ensure their fans knew to take action, the bands utilized Eventful’s marketing tools designed for artists of all trades and posted widgets, banners and blogs to their official websites and social networking sites, such as Myspace, to encourage their fans to Demand.

Once the polls closed, members of the Eventful team carefully examined each contestant’s Demands to ensure every last one was legitimate. With the Demand tallies guaranteed and the winners declared, all that remains is to reward the fans with some fantastic performances. Possibly Eventful’s most successful Demand competition to date is in the books.