Promoters Only Call When You're in the Bath
I puttered around today, futzing with images and doing dishes. It was cold and dreary here in the wilds surrounding Louisville Metro so I decided to take a bath. I love baths but haven't taken one in quite a long time so I was looking forward to this.
Bubbles, of course.
I called Amy and we talked about her day at work and the fact that her boss is ok with her working from home (i.e., our home two hours from where she works) one or two days a week. This news is wonderful and makes our lives so much more livable. We said our goodbyes and I settled in to the suds to play sudoku on my phone.*1 Ten minutes later the phone rang, a number I didn't recognized, and I hit ignore. I don't answer the phone when I do know who it is, let alone some unknown Minneapolis number. Fuck a bunch of that.
I played a few more games before I thought, "Maybe I'll check that message." It was Jon DeLange, owner of Tinderbox Music, a music promotions and distribution company.*2 Jon and I had talked on and off for a little over a year and while his radio guy said they weren't going to be able to work with Mungus (we're too heavy, apparently) Jon had continued to be interested and supportive. And he just called. And I put him through to voicemail. Then played a few more games of sudoku. "Shit shit shit!"
I called him back from my office (with an appropriate word processing page open on my computer's screen for notes) and was immediately put through. Jon likes us. We talked about the opportunities he saw for Mungus in tv show licensing and placement (which is his area in the company) before he said, "Let me grab Brandon, our guy in charge of radio, before he leaves." Shit. Brandon already doesn't like us for Tinderbox Music, I thought. I kept my mouth shut, of course. Jon tells me to sell Mungus to Brandon, to tell him all about us and to let him know what we're doing and when the album's coming out. And with that... Brandon.
He was great. "You guys get compared to Tool and A Perfect Circle and Maynard all the time I bet. Right? I love that music. I'm a huge fan." He did a (nearly) one-eighty from his previous position. We talked about what Tinderbox does and doesn't do (it doesn't book shows, but it does saturate an area with a band's music and press so when it comes time to book a show, the band is far more likely to play something big rather than a bar gig), talked about how they work their magic, and talked about where we go from here. I sent him the address to download the album so he could listen to it from beginning to end and he said he would give me a call tomorrow. "I can almost say it's a definite thing we're going to go with you, but I want to listen to the album tonight."*3
As a band we've been around long enough that we've heard similar things before, so I don't want to get my hopes up. That being said, this would be a huge break for us, making it so much easier to draw larger crowds in a new town (because, you know, they will have heard (of) us before).
I hope this happens.
I'll let you know.
1) I do this every night before I go to sleep in order to relax fully. The problem is I usually wake up with a phone with no battery charge.
2) from the Tinderbox Music main page: "We work with unsigned, indie label, and major label artists across the country by obtaining press and radio airplay in appropriate markets and formats. We specialize in college radio and the artists that fit the CMJ (College Music Journal) and secondary FM and community formats. We also provide local and national distribution for artists as well as publishing and music licensing opportunities."
3) I'm paraphrasing this, but it's pretty close.
I puttered around today, futzing with images and doing dishes. It was cold and dreary here in the wilds surrounding Louisville Metro so I decided to take a bath. I love baths but haven't taken one in quite a long time so I was looking forward to this.
Bubbles, of course.
I called Amy and we talked about her day at work and the fact that her boss is ok with her working from home (i.e., our home two hours from where she works) one or two days a week. This news is wonderful and makes our lives so much more livable. We said our goodbyes and I settled in to the suds to play sudoku on my phone.*1 Ten minutes later the phone rang, a number I didn't recognized, and I hit ignore. I don't answer the phone when I do know who it is, let alone some unknown Minneapolis number. Fuck a bunch of that.
I played a few more games before I thought, "Maybe I'll check that message." It was Jon DeLange, owner of Tinderbox Music, a music promotions and distribution company.*2 Jon and I had talked on and off for a little over a year and while his radio guy said they weren't going to be able to work with Mungus (we're too heavy, apparently) Jon had continued to be interested and supportive. And he just called. And I put him through to voicemail. Then played a few more games of sudoku. "Shit shit shit!"
I called him back from my office (with an appropriate word processing page open on my computer's screen for notes) and was immediately put through. Jon likes us. We talked about the opportunities he saw for Mungus in tv show licensing and placement (which is his area in the company) before he said, "Let me grab Brandon, our guy in charge of radio, before he leaves." Shit. Brandon already doesn't like us for Tinderbox Music, I thought. I kept my mouth shut, of course. Jon tells me to sell Mungus to Brandon, to tell him all about us and to let him know what we're doing and when the album's coming out. And with that... Brandon.
He was great. "You guys get compared to Tool and A Perfect Circle and Maynard all the time I bet. Right? I love that music. I'm a huge fan." He did a (nearly) one-eighty from his previous position. We talked about what Tinderbox does and doesn't do (it doesn't book shows, but it does saturate an area with a band's music and press so when it comes time to book a show, the band is far more likely to play something big rather than a bar gig), talked about how they work their magic, and talked about where we go from here. I sent him the address to download the album so he could listen to it from beginning to end and he said he would give me a call tomorrow. "I can almost say it's a definite thing we're going to go with you, but I want to listen to the album tonight."*3
As a band we've been around long enough that we've heard similar things before, so I don't want to get my hopes up. That being said, this would be a huge break for us, making it so much easier to draw larger crowds in a new town (because, you know, they will have heard (of) us before).
I hope this happens.
I'll let you know.
1) I do this every night before I go to sleep in order to relax fully. The problem is I usually wake up with a phone with no battery charge.
2) from the Tinderbox Music main page: "We work with unsigned, indie label, and major label artists across the country by obtaining press and radio airplay in appropriate markets and formats. We specialize in college radio and the artists that fit the CMJ (College Music Journal) and secondary FM and community formats. We also provide local and national distribution for artists as well as publishing and music licensing opportunities."
3) I'm paraphrasing this, but it's pretty close.