Rock Candy Mailbag: Answering your questions once again

Every day, I get asked questions about everything from where to find tickets to my opinion on Nickelback to what I want for lunch. You probably don't care to know the answer to that last one (today was a salad, in case you do), but I'm happy to share answers to your queries.

Got a question of your own? Send it to kevin.coffey@owh.com.

What are your top 5 albums of all time? (From CapslockBenny)
I'm going to rank this as my top five favorite albums of all time, not which ones I think are necessarily the best ever. These ones are my favorite records (as of this moment... tomorrow, they'll probably be different) in no particular order:

• Bright Eyes, "I'm Wide Awake It's Morning" - The songwriting and music on this record is incredible. It's one of the few that I listen to all the way through on a consistent basis.
• MxPx, "At The Show" - I'm a sucker for punk and pop-punk and I've always liked MxPx.This CD has MxPx's best songs on it including everything from the super-poppy to the super-fast, nearly hardcore stuff is present. Sadly, I've only actually seen them live once.
• 311, "Music" - The first record that I ever listened to and fell in love with start to finish. It's still 311's best, in my opinion, containing their most honest work and most rocking songs they've ever done. Everything since pales in comparison. My CD copy is practically unlistenable with all of the scratches on it.
• Beta Band, "The 3 EP's" - Technically it's a collection of three separate EPs, but this record can make anyone groove. And "Dry The Rain" always reminds me of that scene in High Fidelity. Similar to the movie scene, I've never put on that record and not had someone ask, "Who is that?"
• Led Zeppelin, "Physical Graffiti" - Every song on this album isn't fantastic, but the ones that are great are out of this world. I can't get enough of "Houses of the Holy," "Boogie With Stu" (a cool rip of a Richie Valens song) and the epic "Kashmir." I never really go the "vinyl sounds better" argument until I listened to the double-LP version I got from Homer's. Now I get it. Also one of the coolest album cover designs ever.

You said in your blog to join a band, you ever been in one? (From CapslockBenny)
Nope. Never have. So yes, I'm that guy who's never been in a band that judges you and your music and distributes my thoughts to a wide audience. To paraphrase a certain quote about teaching, "Those who can't do, get journalism degrees and become critics," right?

But even though I've never been in a band, I have played guitar for more than 10 years. I'm not a great guitar player, but I do have a good understanding of how to play. I have also played with other people ("jammed," if you will), but that's never evolved into a band. I also occasionally play drums (I have a decent kit at my house), but I'm hilariously bad at it.

What's your favorite venue around town and why? (From SarpyCounty)
Let's see who gets angry at this one... I love Slowdown because it sounds fantastic. It's a great venue and we're lucky to have it. It also helps that there's not really a bad seat in the house. The re-designed Waiting Room also sounds better than average and it's just a nice place. In terms of character, though, O'Leaver's wins over any venue in town. I love the album covers stapled to the wall (even the crappy ones) and the lyrics to the "Happy Days" theme song written on the men's bathroom's ceiling. At a show, you're right on top of a band and, even though it's cramped, you get a helluva view. Love the place.

There's one thing people need to realize though: you can have a shitty show in a great venue and a fantastic show in a crap venue. It all depends on how many people are up, if they're there to have a good time and if the band hits its marks. Matt Whipkey told me the other day that you can play on a great stage, but if no one shows up, it can be a terrible show. Well put.

Who is the best unsigned Omaha band? (From NEMusicReview)
There are lots of unsigned bands in town, but the one that is without label and should be (in my opinion) is It's True. They don't have a label of any sort (as far as I know) and I'm not really sure why. Sure, the band has taken a different direction since its debut record (moving from a solo effort to a real band), but they're nothing short of fantastic. And their new record, which I know they've tried shopping around, is a great listen. I don't know what the deal is, but I'm interviewing Adam Hawkins and the guys this week and I'll find out. You'll know when I do.

If you had unlimited money and could pick one band to headline the Maha Music Festival who would it be? If you were like a wizard or some shit, and could bring back one broken up band (even if they're dead) to play Maha, who would it be? (From CapslockBenny)
Benny, I'm not going to answer these questions. Well, not exactly. I will answer a re-phrased version of them. The reason behind this is that if I had an unlimited budget, I could book any band in the world. When you start debating between U2 and the Rolling Stones as a headliner, it becomes a pretty silly question.

Here's what I will do: Similar to how one person or band picks the bands for All Tomorrow's Parties, I'll pick a two-day lineup consisting of two headliners and fifteen other bands to fill out the schedule. Basically, it would be a two-day fest of some of my favorite stuff. I tried to layer it (like real festivals do) with everything from bigger-name indies to small, lesser-known acts.

• Headliners: Wilco and Weezer
• Big-name indies: The Hold Steady, Bright Eyes, Silversun Pickups, Gaslight Anthem
• Buzz bands: Japandroids, Frightened Rabbit, Free Energy, Blitzen Trapper, The Avett Brothers, Miike Snow
• Lesser-known groups: One For The Team, Manchester Orchestra, Rural Alberta Advantage, Everybody Was In The French Resistance Now!, fun.

Wouldn't that be a fun couple days of music? Hells yes. But unfortunately in the real world, budgets and scheduling conflicts intervene and would make this specific lineup nearly impossible. But it would be fun, right?

As for the second part of your question, I'm again not going to address it specifically to Maha because it becomes a silly question when you're trying to decide between Nirvana and The Doors to headline Maha. But if I could reunite any band alive or dead and watch them live sometime, I would reunite Led Zeppelin. Maybe someday they'll pull their heads out of their butts and go on tour again with John Bonham's son behind the kit. I'd pay big money to see that.

I am part of a local band that is trying to get going. Do you have any advice for how to go about booking local shows and getting our name out there? (from Rob Kinney-Walker)

I'm going to assume that you already to go local shows. But if you're not, start doing it. Now. You'll meet people in the local scene and you'll educate yourself by hearing some new music. Also, you'll start to figure out which venues host bands that play a similar style of music to your own group. That's probably the place you want to start trying to get your band to play (i.e. you don't want to try to book your hardcore band at a place that does acoustic singer-songwriter stuff). Another good bet is to find venue websites and look at their schedules to see who's playing.

Next, contact those venues directly (via e-mail or phone) with a simple message asking what their policy is with booking local bands and what information they might need about your band. Also contact local booking companies (One Percent Productions, Black Heart Booking, Rad Kadillac, etc.) and ask the same question. Once again, I said "simple." Be simple, direct and, at first, just ask what information they need from you. Don't send a full biography, photos, music, etc. just yet. Let them tell you what they need.

At the same time, you should record at least one or two demos. Someone you know has Garage Band or a similar sound recording/editing software, so it's not like you need to hire out a recording studio and a sound engineer or something. Create a MySpace page with a picture of your band (if you don't know what to do, look at band photos you like and have a friend take one like it) and your demo tracks.

Be sure to tell your family and friends about your project. Yes, even your mom and that weird uncle. They might like your music or know someone who does.

Last, tell the local media. Here in Omaha, folks like me, Tim McMahan, Marq Manner and other music writers are pretty accessible. It's not hard to find our contact info. Even if we don't write something on your band just yet, we can at least get you listed in our live music calendars, which helps our audiences know you have a show.

Of course, during all of this, you should be pouring your heart and soul into your music. Write good material. Perfect those songs. Scrap the ones that suck. And practice, practice, practice. All of the promotion in the world won't make your band go anywhere if you suck.

Rock Candy Mailbag: Answering your questions

Occasionally, readers call or e-mail to ask me a question. Often, it's to tell me what they think of a review (or my knowledge of music) - good or bad - or tell me about a band or whatever.

But I get a lot of questions, everything from "when are tickets on sale?" to "what do you think of (insert band name here)?"

Here are some of the questions that I've been asked, be it through phone, e-mail or Twitter. I'd like to do future versions of the mailbag, so send your questions to kevin.coffey@owh.com, send them via Twitter or give me a call (402-444-1557).

Here goes nothing... 

Who was the best artist/band to interview? (From CapslockBenny)
Good interviews are when someone is engaging and answers your questions well. Hopefully they don't give you canned crap that they say to everyone or their publicist taught them to say. Bonus points if they're funny, quirky, have good stories or things like that.

There are a ton of great interviews, but these have been some of my favorite people for various reasons (I intentionally left out local people... those are usually the best interviews anyway):
• Nicko McBrain, drummer of Iron Maiden (Gracious, engaged and very, very funny)
• Chris Crisci of Appleseed Cast and Old Canes (Has a good take on life and music)
• Robert Trujillo of Metallica (Great talk about what it's like to go from being practically nobody to being in one of the biggest bands in the world. Also, he's one of the nicest guys I've ever talked to.)
• Anthony Daniels (He's C-3PO. 'Nuff said.)
• Brian Aubert of Silversun Pickups (Very talented and answered all of my questions very well.)
• Nikki Sixx of Motley Crue (Delivered one of the funniest quotes that I've ever gotten.)
• Matt Nathanson (For a guy that sings that poppy "Come On Get Higher" song, he sure curses a lot. I thought it was funny.)
• Dane Cook (He wasn't in funny guy mode, but he was incredibly interesting to talk to, even if you don't like his comedy.)
• Greg Gillis of Girl Talk (Guy knows his music and it had some great stories.)
• Ben Kweller (Loves Omaha. Loves it. And he dropped some great stuff about his music and MTV.)
• Richard Lloyd of Television (Great guitarist who gave insight into his craft. I was sad I couldn't fit the whole interview into the paper.)

Do you think Omaha really has a great Music scene or do you think people confuse the Saddle Creek bands for the Omaha music scene? (From CapslockBenny)
I think both things are happening at the same time. On one hand, we have a large group of quality bands from multiple genres along with many venues (including a few very good ones) where they can perform. Go to other cities of similar size and you'll find a few bands of  wide-ranging quality who play in a couple of bars with crappy stages and PAs (i.e. places not designed to have music). So yes, we do have a good music scene. On any night of the week (weekends especially), you have your pick of locals shows to go check out, and all the touring bands/artists that you can stomach. It's good stuff.

On the other hand, I think a lot of people confuse the presence of Saddle Creek Records with having a good music scene. It was birthed from that scene and certainly plays a part in it (a. It's stellar venue, Slowdown. b. It's bands, several of who still have a presence here. c. It's mere presence is good for our scene.). But it's not all there is.

Think, though, what it's like to explain to your mom why the Omaha music scene is great. This isn't a dig at your mom or anyone else's, but people our parents' age don't always have a grasp on it (my mom doesn't). It's hard to explain our music scene without mentioning SC. Your mom may not really understand how it works or why it's great, but when you say, "Well, we have this kinda famous indie label," they kind of get it. Unfortunately, some of those same people then mistake SC as the one big thing we have going for us, which isn't really the case.

I've been listening online to The Current from Minn Public Radio. Why doesn't Omaha have a good radio station like this? (From OmahaNE)
For those of you that don't know, The Current is a radio station in Minnesota that plays a variety of music. Most people would dub it indie, but it really does play a variety, which it's website suggests: "The Current brings listeners the best authentic new music alongside the music that inspired it, from local to legendary, indie to influential, new to nostalgic."

You can stream the station, which I highly suggest, from TheCurrent.org.

Listening to it Wednesday afternoon, I heard The Beatles, She & Him, Junior Senior, Billy Bragg, Kings of Leon, Mumford and Songs and a whole bunch of other stuff. On their website, they had features on Laura Veirs and Alec Ounsworth of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (two folks that, oddly enough, performed in Omaha over the last week or so). It's very good stuff and it's the kind of radio station I like: they play good music whether it's new, old, obscure or superbly popular.

The problem is that I'm not sure that a radio station of this kind is really viable in a commercial sense. You don't see a commercial radio station picking up this kind of format like public radio stations do, which are usually funded by the government and "listeners like you."

Minnesota Public Radio, where The Current is from, is a huge organization with 38 radio stations and its listenership (is that a word?) is the highest of its kind in the country. By contrast, NET in Nebraska has nine transmitters for programming that is based in Lincoln. Sadly, the broadcast radius of none of them even reach Omaha (according to NET's site). Not to mention, a pop music-focused station isn't really what they're after. "We are committed to bringing you the best in public radio and work around the clock to broadcast news and classical music that will educate, challenge and inspire," their site reads.

The River is the closest to The Current you're going to get in town because it is an independent college station funded mostly by donations. But they're not much like The Current for two main reasons. One, they appeal to many of us who don't often listen to commercial radio and, among this group, our tastes vary wildly, so you're going to hear everything from Phoenix to Three Days Grace on The River. Two, they're a college station whose job (partly) is to educate people, so they have a lot of programming that is created or hosted by students, from their late-night techno show to the local music show to their sports broadcasts.

Your other option is community-focused radio stations that are run by a dedicated person or persons and usually have a tiny transmitter and therefore a small broadcast radio. In theory, these can be cool, but it takes a lot to run a radio station. (Try coming up with 24 hours of music and other programming and deal with licensing and trying to keep the whole operation afloat financially. It's a ton of work.) These kinds of efforts that I've heard of have failed to get off the ground around here (at least, I haven't heard much from them).

In order to get something similar to The Current, you'd have to get a dedicate base of people that would 1) Create, program and work damn hard for the station AND 2) Fund it through advertising and donations. Until then, hit up The River, stream The Current online or check out NPR's All Songs Considered.

How do you find an address to mail a fan letter? (From Amy Sliefert)
Your best bet is to scour their websites and try to contact them through some listed form. Some bands have contact info listed on their websites or MySpace pages, be it an e-mail or physical address. Fan clubs are also good sources for the same information.

If you can't find something on their site, it's probably best to mail something to their record label. You can usually find that on their site, MySpace, Wikipedia or by looking up one of their albums on Amazon.com.

A few other tips... The smaller the artist, the more likely they are to respond to your letter/e-mail message. Many indie bands book their own shows, do their own publicity and definitely check their own e-mail addresses. If you're sending something and want a response (or something signed or whatever), remember to include a self addressed stamped envelope with enough postage and your full address on it. Also, some folks don't even respond to fan mail, so it's possible that you won't get your package back.