Triple Disc Media

Just a quick word of warning to our musician friends out there. Do NOT use Triple Disc Media to do your CD pressing. The quality is good, they just have the worst customer service I have ever come across! They printed the lyrics backwards and had the gall to blame us for it.

When I called up Ray Parish, the owner of the company, he tried to get us to spend MORE money with them to correct it. Sorry Ray, that's not how it works. He made it clear that the customer relationship was not important to him and that he is unwilling to work with us to correct their mistake.

So, steer clear of Triple Disc Media. There are plenty of other fish in the sea, stay away from this one.

Sorry for such a negative note! Hope everyone is in the midst of great holidays.

Happy Holidays!

A week or so ago, I signed on to manage a third band, Rook. They played along with Bottle Service last night at Creekside Lounge. Listening to Rook. on Myspace and seeing them live are definitely two different experiences. I knew that I liked the music, but they put on a great show with a lot of energy. There were 20 or so people there with another 50 or more outside (of course, those outside were grooving to the DJ) and Rook. played like it was the Erwin Center.

I was impressed with the fact that all three members of the band add their vocals to most songs. Rook. is a power trio, but for once it doesn't just mean a guitar, bass, and drums. All three members are showmen, multitalented, and bring a sense of power to their show. I'm really looking forward to working with them.

All three bands I manage are facing similar issues despite the fact they are at different stages of their development. The problem of market saturation exists in Austin, so standing out requires a great deal of talent, creativity, connections, and/or money. It would be great if the music stood alone and the best music rose to the top. Unfortunately, that's not the case. Bands need to understand and work on the business side as much as they need to practice. I guess that's where guys like me that can't play a lick come in.

I hope everyone has a great Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/Festivus! For all you late gift-getters, you can always grab a shirt...just sayin'.

Publicity

Today, I signed a publicity deal with Joe Rae of Hard Pressed Publicity to help promote Frantic Clam. The band has progressed in leaps and bounds since I started working with them, and in no way am I attributing that to me. The guys have a singular focus and work to get there. A lot of the bands I see are great musicians but don't strive to work on the business side of things.

The Austin music scene is funny. A few booking agents hold a lot of power. Some of them are very nice and pleasant to work with while others let that power go to their heads. The supply of musicians willing to play for free is so great that the booking people are gatekeepers stemming the tide of bands. I've had good dealings with them, but I can see them cringe when I mention that I am a band's "manager". Too many bad connotations with that word, I guess.

Check out Focus Group. They have a very interesting sound and put on a good show. I recommend you check them out live; it's hard to get a good feel for the music and their surreal style. They just released their latest EP. I tried to make it to the release at Lamberts last weekend, but got stuck at a "calendar release party" that was lacking in both calendars and partying. It was fun, regardless.

Hole in the Wall - December 12, 2008

I'm going to start adding some of my pictures here. Last night's show at Hole in the Wall was awesome! Colour Wheel turned out a large crowd, Falcon Buddies had an amp explode, and Frantic Clam played a very energetic headlining set. Check Frantic Clam out on Myspace, their site, and TwoGroove.