Month: August 2006

I stumbled upon echoes on myspace. Bet you didn’t think I was an aging nu-metalhead from San Jose, did you?!

That said, they’ve got a prior claim, and while I don’t expect either echoes to get big enough to step on each other’s toes I can’t sleep until my house is in order. Here is a list of what Cory and I have come up with so far. Please comment & make your suggestions.

echoes (kc)
ech00000000es MOTHERF*CKER!
ECHOES (echoes)
echoes (midwest)
Ek-Os
(flyover) echoes
echoes-h
echoes (h)
EcHoEs!
iron echoes (or other adjective)

The exchange below is from MFR’s myspace.  It forced me to think a little about what we’re actually doing here.

It relates to something we were talking about a few weeks ago; we’re making “pop” music (as opposed to “art” or “folk” music) but making it into a product – where does that leave us?  The record label’s job is primarily on the product end; turning music with commercial potential into hard cash.  A netlabel functions sort of in parallel, turning music with memetic potential into listeners.  I suppose.

I don’t know, I’m interested in this and can’t wrap my head around it – separating our music and its pop aesthetic from pop-as-product – what are we doing?!?!

————– Original Message ————–

From: Jesiah

What benefits does a band get for being on a netlabel? What benefits does the netlabel get for signing a band? -Jesiah

————– Reply ————–

Jesiah – sorry it’s taken me awhile to get back to you.

Each netlabel is different. But very broadly, netlabels tend to be cooperatives that include several artists (often friends, or locals in a particular scene) who band together for promotion purposes and sharing resources. Like a “real” record label, but with a different goal: instead of making money, the goal of a netlabel is simply to share their music as widely as possible. So bands share promotion effort (print, web, merch) and resources (gear, studio equipment or time, web sites, instruments… on and on).

Because the netlabel is not a separate entity from the bands (as is the case with record labels) but just a tool artists use for promotion, the netlabel itself doesn’t really “get” much from “signing” new bands, other than the promotional power that new artist brings to the table. hope that helps,

-howie

So, Howie (with contributions from friends) started Mr. Furious Records to write, record, and post our music all for free, with no advertisements or profit or anything.  Ironically, both of our for-profit bands (weird!) are playing a show together tomorrow night (Saturday, August 12th, at the Chatterbox in Lincoln.  All ages, 4 bones, 5:30 pm is when it starts). 

Maybe “for profit” is the wrong phrase to use.  Maybe I mean, “we try to break even on the money we spend on making CDs and stuff.”  Although money can be a hassle, if it’s low on your priority list, it’s not too bad.  It is kind of neat to have an actual pressed CD to hand out, although I think even MFR is going to press some in the future MAYBE for free give-away or maybe we give it away if you make a donation to sick penguins, like with the old Shacker/howie&scott CDs. 

You can read about our CD release show here.

Unfortunately, I don’t think they mentioned FIVE STAR CRUSH, FAMOUS CELEBRITIES!  And they called Jesse “Jeffe Hodges.”  Which I happen to think is awesome.

Look for a Furious Instance track on MFR from R,CC!’s record, She Beeps.  And it’s not one you’ve heard before, I bet!  Or maybe, it is!

Have a good Friday!  Hope to see you tomorrow!

Love,

Cory

With Five Star Crush I started a weekend of work at KC’s West End Studio last night.  We’ve been working super hard to prepare, and it paid off; six hours, four songs of drums/bass/keys, with guitars and vocals coming later today and mixing on Sunday afternoon.  The results should be in by next weekend’s Saturday show in Lincoln (Aug. 12 – R,CC! CD release!).  Can’t wait for you guys to hear it, especially those of you who have seen us live but in bad sound situations.

I didn’t feel nervous or weird about being in a pro recording studio for the first time.  But last night I dreamt all about it – that I slept in the control room, and the studio was also a school, and a maintenance guy was outside cutting grass really fast, and how would I find anything to eat or get a shower, the band is coming over at noon to work and I’m far away from my place.  And “California Blues” was stuck in my head all night while I was dreaming.  So maybe it got to me deeper than I realized.

We’ve slayed dragons so far, so there’s every reason to think the finished songs will knock your socks off.

—-

Because of this, beats for SR’s It’s A Trap have been at a standstill for about a week.

—-

I’m playing a set of echoes songs Thursday night in KC, Aug. 10, 700 E 110th St. at KCSPUCC (i.e. work) outside on the patio.  7 p.m. – I’m opening for Cashmore.  It will be fun, you should totes come down.  The Garden State Song, “Coast & Plains,” “While I Was Moving About Flyover Country,” from Ventura and old-skool “SOS” will all happen certainly.  Beyond that, I’ll be picking from a big big list.

—-

Been listening to weird stuff lately, the war and my own professional/spiritual striving has wrenched me through a lot.  Car repair.  Etc.  Boom Bip, Chariots (America, North), Hail to the Thief, Gomez b-sides, Bike, and then something like Be as an act of hope.

—-

It’s been a while since we had a release at MFR, but there’s so much going on – we’ll have a new Furious Instance from R,CC!’s She Beeps very very soon, and once Five Star Crush is out of recording mode I’ll have Sally Ride together pretty quickly.  The murder ballads that Cory and I have done for LPR should be coming up in a month or so too.  -h