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BECOMING UP AND COMING Begin at the Beginning Punk, Ska, Emo, Hardcore, Noisecore, Skacore… blah, blah, blah! In the end, it’s all rock and roll and usually has some sort of punk rock type fan following it. But, I’m not here to talk about classification, what’s punk and what’s not, or those other arguments people get into over music. I’ll just assume that your band/future band falls into one of the Over the next many months we’ll look at all aspects of promoting a band. I’ll give my ideas for things that have worked for me, my bands, and other bands I know. I also appreciate your feedback. Let me know what worked for you - what got you that great opening spot, 500 people at your show, the distribution deal, merch sales, etc. If you have ideas for topics of interest, I’ll also be glad to hear those, just shoot me an email at the address below. For now, let’s begin at the beginning. If you’re already past the beginning, don’t worry, this will get more in depth as the months move on.
Maybe it’s because MCA/Drive-Thru doesn’t send scouts to the Knights of Columbus Hall in Marion, Indiana. Vagrant The point here is that, to get shows, to gain fans, to sell CD’s and Merch, to tour, to get signed takes a lot of work, What the heck does all this mean to someone starting a band? If you’re ready to work, you will have a chance to stand out from the thousands and thousands of other bands out there. I strongly suggest that you get people in your band that are motivated and also willing to work. That means people who will not only show up to play on time every time, but also people who will help book shows, hang up flyers to promote those shows, practice to get better, work hard to make a good recording and everything else that comes with having a band. I’ve seen very few cases where one person can carry the whole band. If you and most of your band mates are not up to that challenge, then I wish you the best of luck in finding a very, very good manager. For those of you that do work hard, I look forward to catching you on tour sometime soon. Movie Suggestion for the Month: Can’t Hardly Wait – Features the fictional band LoveBurger (I think). They had a pretty short career. Kenny Dinkis
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above categories or something related and that you want to make something of your band. 
You’re sitting on your couch trying to figure out how to become the next: Starting Line, Thursday, Alkaline Trio, Less than Jake, (something you really enjoy). Many bands try and many bands fail. They practice a few times, write a few songs, play a few shows and give up because Drive-Thru Records hasn’t discovered them. After all, your band is awesome, all your friends said so, why shouldn’t you be signed? 
won’t sign a band that’s played three shows in the same town and sold ZERO copies of their CD that will… “be released next week as soon as you teach your new bass player the songs because your old bass player left to spend more time with his girlfriend.” I’m pretty sure Asian Man Records will have nothing to do with a band that shows up 20 minutes late to every show and takes another half-hour to set up.
some talent (though I’ve seen exceptions) and a little bit of luck. I’ve found in the past that the more a band works, the more luck they seem to have. Just because Carol Bronner’s brother’s roommate, knows a guy, who knows a guy, who knows a scout in L.A. means nothing unless you can show him that you have fans who will buys CD’s. That doesn’t go for just the scout either. You need to be able to bring fans to shows in order to work your way up to bigger clubs and better shows where you gain more fans and sell more CD’s. It’s really a big crazy cycle when you think about it.