We just got over a festival stint…. Some traveling to Texas and Missouri along the way…The funny thing about festivals….The reward for being the headliner is you’re never going to play the festival again….They want a new headliner every year, so you can play a few acts before the headliner, and they will have you back next year…but don’t be the headliner if you want a return slot:)
Next Thursday we play with our state symphony the ASO…I’m pretty pumped and nervous…It’s been a real learning experience…Whole different ballgame of people and personalities…I was told a long time ago the music industry is 10% music and 90% dealing with people…It’s so true…I try to teach this concept to students…Profecency on your instrument alone does not equal success in the industry. This opportunity could open a whole other realm of doors for the band…Good stuff…
We’ve been writing a lot lately….We’re trying a whole new format…It could backfire totally….but I think for the longevity of the group we have to experiment….There is a financial ceiling with our current acoustic format….We’re trying to expand our audience base and I sure hope it works…In addition, It selfishly allows for me to go back to some instrument formats that are much more comfortable to me.
I’m up late finishing some extra practice for our first performance with a symphony. On Wednesday night after Easter church rehearsal, I am driving with the band up to Huntsville. Thursday morning will be spent visiting some high schools for performance/lecture stuff. There will be some short radio interviews, and our one rehearsal with the 55 piece orchestra that evening. We are very excited to have our songs arranged by a Grammy nominated guy from Nashville. He is BIG TIME….Saturday we will be driving back and Headlining another festival a couple hours away. I’m a little nervous about having a new bass player,(Tim and his wife are expecting twins any day, he will be out for some months) but the new guy is a great music reader and Tim wrote out all his parts……
Last week we tracked two new tunes…It was way more fun this time, partly because of going in prepared, and partly because of some friends that came to help out…We had a small choir, cello, and trumpet player cut some tracks…and of course my favorite musician in the world Antwane Mcmullin cut percussion. We as a band are going to be focusing a great deal of time on shaping our sound for radio formatting. We’re hoping this year is a big one for us creatively…
On Saturday my good friend Lee and I went downtown to experiment with an idea. We wanted to interview some important people in the local music community and give them the interview to aid in their endeavours. First up was my good friend Keith. I’m putting the video below. Lee really did all the work…I just showed up…
On a crazy side note…I got a call from Doyle Dykes on Friday. We played a show with his daughter Haley a few months back. Doyle is a monster guitar player, and it was such a pleasure that he took the time to speak with me. What a guy!
Finally, a praise report. The band made way more money than we thought. The members didn’t, but the band did….that meant crazy tax responsibility on each of us, because of the way an L.L.C is set up. My family was concerned, but our accountant gave us a very favorable report today that could only be God’s hand on my life. I’m very grateful.
On Thursday the band was selected to perform at the APCA national convention in Atlanta. APCA is an organization that promotes entertainment to colleges (and the military at this conference) thorough the country. The band had been selected as a national finalist in the band of the year award, so we were excited to showcase. It’s taken me a few years to get over the artistic integrity thing and learn to play for the specific audience. (Hence playing a lot of covers, and not a lot of originals) APCA gave a ten minute showcase were you perform for many of the campus entertainment buyers in the country. It’s not just music either, there are comedians, self help specialist, wild animals, (I touched an alligator)…We were the third act of the night. First up was Mr. Belding of Saved By the Bell fame, followed by Joey from Full House, then us…After the performance you go down to the exhibit hall and meet and greet with the kids. The next day, each acts booking representative meets with the schools reps…If enough schools like the act, they can start what’s called block booking. This process hopefully results in the act having multiple daily gigs in specific parts of the country. The schools get the act for a cheaper rate if they can offer more gigs. It’s an interesting process. We hope to book 20-30 gigs from that ten minute showcase. It’s high stakes, because every act is top notch and each have their own impressive resume……We then drove back to Birmingham at 2 A.M…..
At 11 we met back at our silver 12 passenger van and made the four hour drive to Memphis and the Folk Alliance 2010 conference. This is a complete shift from APCA. FA is a who’s who of artist, festival bookers, labels, promoters, manufactures. It takes place over a week long period in a large hotel/conference center. Last year we we’re literally playing in the elevator trying to be discovered. We had no idea what to expect. There are hundreds of artist from all over the world that will do anything to be noticed. This year we were given an official showcase spot. The twenty minute spot was also recorded for broadcast on XM and some big live music website. In the same night we had two other showcases….One was off of Beale Street and the other in a hotel room late in the evening. The top three floors of the hotel are reserved for room showcases. An artist can pay for a twenty minute spot in a room, and hope that some passer by is the key to a gig/business opportunity. The hallways are completely flooded and one room could have some person you’ve never heard of…the next room could be a Grammy winner…Also you could be sitting next to some mega famous person and have no idea who they are until glancing down at their name tag. (I was feeling the car lag of the day, and after our third showcase (after midnight) some lady was hurriedly asking questions about the band asking for records, and how we got together. I totally was being stupid and making jokes up for answers….I afterwards learned she is one of the wealthiest people in America and builds large amphitheaters across the county…She then goes around the U.S. and looks for good (not famous) music to put in her venues….GET YOUR HEAD BACK ON BUDDY!) As a side note….The Sacred Steel players are a group of African American pedal steel players from around the country. They are part of a denomitation of churches were the pedal steel run through distortion and played like Hendrix has the importance of the piano in a Baptist Church. Robert Randolph came out of this denomination. I’ve been following these guys for over ten years. This year many of the most prominent players accepted an invitation from FA and came to the conference. As soon as we got off the van, I walked into the hotel and three of my favorite players, the Campbell brothers, and Aubrey Ghent were standing right there. I about freaked……Later that evening Calvin Cooke, one of the greats was on the elevator. I invited him to our showcase, and he came!…It meant the world to me…We stayed up super late mingling, then got up at seven Sat. morning to drive back to B’ham for a wedding….I thought the craziness was about to return to normal, when the first person to sit in the pew across from where we were playing was the Governor…..
Life is moving at such a pace that I often look at the gig dates to get my bearings…In a nut shell….Disney was fantastic…The Decatur GA Beer festival was interesting to say the least…(Got to meet Chris Smither…One of my all time favorite blues guys)…Drove to Kentucky and Texas for college showcases….The Texas trip was an all nighter after a local gig…We just finished working with a marketing group from a local university. They made a semester project out of getting more college exposure for the band….The climax was inviting a bunch of local university SGA kids to a campus gig….It was a success…This is my crunch time week for work stuff…Two recitals….Christmas program…end of semester stuff..etc…A. B. and I worked on a caribbean style tune today. B. was telling us all about the Bela Fleck concert she went to last night…..I have been loving my new guitar a Collings C-10…It’s pretty great…I’m having to part with my Goodall though…Every question that pops up from a ebayer sends pains through me…I’ve had a lot of memories with that guitar…Love the new J. Mayer disc…That guy has talent…Working on my swing guitar….Bob Taylor is giving me some inspiration…Looking forward to spending time with my kiddos…
Most of this morning was preparing for Sunday church responsibilities. We’re very fortunate to have the guy that cuts all our band percussion parts coming in to play drums. He is my favorite musician. I really mean that. He is so great….
This afternoon, I drove to get the van, and then off to A.’s house for rehearsal. We worked out another new tune today. It’s super cool. Then, it was off to play a wedding. The people were crazy! They had the best time dancing and having fun. Many of the guest were from the arts community. T. got his prius stuck in the mud on the way out, which delayed out leaving about an hour. We finally hooked up a tow rope to the van and got it free. The band gets to pay for my dry cleaning.
Video of the day…This guy was at the wedding today..
This morning was a continuation of yard month. I borrowed the neighbors shovel and G. and I dug up two huge bushes. Then, we got mulch and filled in the two holes. Next, it was edge, and mow time….It ended up being a good sense of accomplishment. Kiddo #1 and I then charged up his RC monster truck, and jumped skateboard ramps in the driveway. After lunch, it was off to band practice. We were minus the fiddle today, but the three of us got a lot done. I’m feeling more in the groove of things with pre-production. In two hours A. and I finished up the arranging of one tune. We then worked with T. on the bass part of another new tune. Once we have a skeleton song written…meaning structure, vocal melody, etc…. it’s on to the individual instruments….The bass is usually the first one. I think we finished a good part in an hour or so…After all the parts are written, we record them on A.’s computer and listen to rough tracks for a month or so. After changes are made and we’re happy with the tune, we go and record it for real. We’re toying with doing a 4 song e.p. in a couple months. A. and his wife then came over for desert. We had a lovely time….
In other news, the string endorsement we got put us on their website. I’m pretty honored….www.daddario.com/DaddarioArtistDetails.Page?ActiveID=2049&ArtistId=40409……..
One of my kiddo’s went to pre-school orientation this morning. I met with some old friends for coffee, and then headed back to the house. On the Bob Villa agenda today was spraying the perimeter of the house with bug spray,digging some space between the foundation and the soil, and fixing the fence. Tonight, we went on a fall feeling walk. Kiddo #1 pitched a huge fit because he fell off his bike(very minor) at the bottom of the hill. I made him push it back up, and he preceded to scream the entire 10. min way back. Ah, yes parenthood…Afterwards I responded to an interview from yesterdays request. I’m posting below minus B.’s #5 response.
1. AOC is unlike anything I’ve heard. But if two current artists mated to make-up AOC and its music, who would you say they were?
Thanks. That’s tough to narrow down. We are all from different musical backgrounds. When we came together for the “Declaration” album, Nickel Creek and Vertical Horizon we’re probably rolling around in the back of our minds. The great thing about being a fully independent artist, is that we can delve into any genre we wish. Right now, we’re into a lot of John Mayer and Coldplay type stuff. For the next album, I anticipate more groove orientation in our tunes.
2. When I listen your music, the first thing to jump out is the instrumentation. What has motivated or inspired you to become such masters of your instruments?
Trust me, we’re not masters of anything. There are people out there that are ridiculously talented. (my old jazz teacher used to say “stupid talented”) For Adam and I, these are not primary instruments or our primary style of music. Adam plays the piano first, then guitar, then mando….I’m a big electric guitar geek at heart. For this group of people, this instrumentation just seems to fit. We put a lot of thought into the compositional aspects of writing, and we are all perfectionist which helps. We all teach private lessons in B’ham M-W, when the band is not playing. I actually think students push us a lot to continually progress as well.
3. What do you think is the most important characteristic in a band that hopes to make it big? Determination? Heart?
Not to get spiritual, but building your band on a firm relational foundation is the most important thing. Every band we have ever been involved in failed, because friendship plays second fiddle to the desire for success. We are constantly working on our relationship with one another. On another thought, I don’t know what making it big is anymore. I just finished watching the documentary “Before The Music Dies” on Hulu.com. I strongly recommend it for anyone wanting to get in the music business right now. One thing we do preach to each other, is being consistent on a daily basis. When this band started two years ago, we didn’t have any gigs or any pressing business. It was just write a record and see what happens. Now it’s a daily job of making sure we stay on task regarding the business end of things. This means anything from approving t-shirt designs, negotiating with potential gigs, setting up rehearsals/writing sessions, updating content sites, it’s a never ending thing. The main point we came away from that documentary with was that in the current music world…You are you label, distribution, marketing, product,etc….You are the final say in whether you succeed or fail.
4. Your tour schedule has been pretty bananas this year, how have you grown as a band through all of these performances?
In the past year we have done a variety of settings including:radio spots, television morning shows, coffee houses, house shows, big festivals opening for headliners, small festivals where we were the headliner, college campuses, label showcases, listening rooms, bars, out door amphitheaters, a ballet, SXSW, rally’s, churches, weddings, private parties, performing arts centers, and in the next few months we’re playing at Disney, doing a collaboration with a symphony, and a guy called last week and wants to send us to military bases. It’s comical when I think about it! I think through all of this, AOC is growing in realizing who we are musically and what our outside the box career potential is. It’s way cool.
5. Bethany (love the name by the way), speaking of touring, tell us, what’s it like traveling around with 3 guys all the time!
6. John Mayer and Toby Keith seem pretty polar-opposite, yet you’ve opened for both, how have you varied your set from one crowd (mellow Mayor lovers) to another (rambunctious and crazy Keith fans)?
We really don’t do anything different. We are a unique group, and people typically respond well to us. I think we are growing comfortable with who we are as a band.
7. It’s been awhile since we’ve heard any new stuff. When can we expect to see Declaration’s follow-up?
It’s just now been a year since we released “Declaration.” We finished a 3 song cover e.p. about 8 months ago. It’s been crazy trying to get the proper licensing to release it. Our attorney has about wrapped up that end of it, and we hope for a digital release in the next month or so. We’ve also done some interesting one off stuff. We have a instumental tune on the new Maylene and the Sons of Disaster III album, the documentary for the show Arrested Development asked us to write a theme song for them, and we realeased an i-Tunes version of Carol Of The Bells early this year. As far as a new record, we went through a tough period about three months ago. When writing for “Declaration” we didn’t have any other duty’s except to write. We are a fully independant band, so all the booking,press, etc. duties fall on us. This is a tough thing to balance, and we we’re struggling to get in a writing groove. We’re happy to say that in the last month or so, we have found our groove. Adam and I meet three times a week via Skype and start writing ideas. We try to get a skeleton song written in an hour or so. So far we have about 13. I think the goal is 20, and then we will present these to the band. The band will pick twelve, and the process will begin of running them through our compositional filter. Because we don’t want to waste our producer Jason Elgin’s time, we try to be ready for first or second takes in the studio. It’s a long but economicly effeciant process. We think we’re 12 or so months out from a new album.
Video of the day:A documentary trailer..found on Hulu.com…Warning Kiddos…Some Adult language..and Content.
Yesterday I met with the symphony conductor…I think I expected the silver haired guy you see on the movies…But this guy looked like he just left a college class….He was very down to earth and we got along quiet well….He was describing all the boards this collaboration had gone through….It was pretty involved…I think it’s going to end up being 7 tunes that the 65-piece youth symphony plays with us…and another 7 or so tunes we play by ourselves…It’s slated for March and has to go through one more voting process in two weeks…The band is super excited about how cool this could turn out…(Can you say You Tube)….After our lunch meeting I taught a bunch of kiddos and took it to the house….
Today our ace graphic design guy sent some new ideas….In addition to the new t-shirt design, and poster he did last week, he sent a new business card that rocks….Love this guy….
My dad called and said we we’re on this month’s cover of a local bluegrass magazine…I’ve never heard of the publication…but I’m glad they thought they could use our image when and however they felt like it..hmm….Ourstage.com also called for an interview today….They are a neat website that holds artist competitions each month…You should check it out…
A. and I had a writing session today…I think we have 12 or so skeleton song ideas….He said he wanted to take a break from new ideas and focus on writing lyrics for a few weeks….
We recently got a endorsement from my favorite company…I think the band went a little overboard though….We’re getting 75% off, and the bill was almost a thousand bucks!….Stuff is showing up at my house in huge boxes….Our producer wanted a bunch off stuff, so in addition to strings, there are drum heads, cables, and all kinds of fun stuff….
Video of the day….Cody is my favorite flatpicker…..
I also really like this new cover tune by C-Sky...
Just to warn u…I’m not doing spell check on this one….Read at ur own risk….
We played a joint gig with two popular local bands on Sat..I have long time conections with one of the groups…”The Great Book of John”….The frontman went to college with me….The bass player’s older brother and I were good friends in High School….Both of these guys had just stepped down from another well known group to focus on this band…The opener of the night was another friend I knew from the early stages of AOC…It was great to reconnect and catch up with such talented folks…We tried out two new tunes….one instrumental…one singer….I was pretty pleased with the response and our performance…We’re also trying out a new presonus digital board that is pretty amazing…
On sunday a new candidate tried out for the church position…He was really talented, but on the second song he forgot to move his capo, and we played it in A instead of Bb…This is not an issue except for when you have a 10 piece horn section coming in 20 sec. after the song starts playing Bb…..We managed warn the other guys to lay out, and transpose the tune on the spot…It was interesting….
This morning was off to work out, then A and I had a writing session. After lunch I settled in for 15 students…I’m just now wrapping up…This semester, I have some really talented kiddos…I’m excited to see where music takes them, and I’m thankfull God has put our paths together….
Tommorrow I go with A. to meet a symphony conductor for lunch…In March we are playing five of our tunes with a regional symphony. The scores are being written by this super famous Nash. guy…I’m pretty pumped….
