Independent Musicians “Bloom” at youbloomDublin Music Summit & Festival

04-Jul-2017 By Marie Tobias

The youbloom Mission Achieved

In the words of The Key Regimes, who performed songs from their debut EP at youbloomDublin, “education and community” are the aspects of youbloom’s mission that they relate with most. “There is never enough of either”, they stated.

How does youbloom provide this through youbloomDublin? Just ask the artists who performed.

The Key Regimes, who were “blown away with the quality of the bands playing over the weekend”, relaxing before a set at youbloomDublin

Community and Education Fostered at youbloomDublin

“Having a sense of community is extremely important for musicians”, Pixie Saytar, a three member band who played a set at 4 Dame Lane, stated. The ability to form a connection rather than a competition allows artists to “feel a part of something bigger”. Pixie Saytar believes a community atmosphere is “vital to growth as both an artist and a person”.

To Pixie Saytar, the educational aspect of youbloom is also important in that it’s about “sharing your expertise with others”, and meeting industry figures removes some of the big bad scariness.

Pixie Saytar striking a pose at youbloomDublin

For others, such as Dandelion Tea, youbloom is about “building a community that supports artists” and learning from others in that community. They quoted Vaughan Williams who once said that “the composer must not shut himself up and think about art, he must live with his fellows and make his art an expression of the whole community.”

ELLYD, who returned to youbloomDublin this year as a solo artist, playing some tunes

Successes and Takeaways From youbloomDublin2017

CARRON is hoping to make it to youbloomLA this year. The two sisters are thankful for the advantageous music industry contacts they made who can offer valuable tips for artists such as themselves. They also look forward to possibly “performing [with them] in the near future”.

Dandelion Tea also saw success in that they were “booked for another gig straight after.” Overall, many artists felt as though their performances were well received by a nice crowd. In the words of ELLYD, “it’s always a pleasure to play at youbloom!”

The Benefits of Touring

05-Mar-2017 By Ryan Stable

Touring can be one of the best or one of the worse things to happen to an artist. It will either make or break you. Bands can get noticed while touring, or they will break up. There are many things bands need to know before touring. The biggest one is to make sure you are going on tour with people you can deal with and who can deal with you. You will be stuck with them for weeks and even months in a small van, or even a tour bus.

Networking while Touring

When on tour, you can find plenty of people to work with who will help you out. You’ve just got to be nice to them and treat them with respect. Even if they aren’t the greatest to you, still try to be kind and respectful and it might turn them around. They will definitely remember that when they have to work with you again and will help your shows be better.

Becoming friends with bands on tour will help out a lot. They can help you get shows in their towns and in return, you can help them get shows. Trade offs are always great to do. Local bands already have fans going to their shows and becoming friends with the ones you’ll be playing with will help you have people willing to see you when in town. Become friends with them before asking for favors, though. You actually want to have a friendship and bond with these people. Talk to them on FaceBook or Twitter before going on tour to get to know them.

Everyone you work with on tour is important for how it will go. Get to know the promoters, sound guys, and anyone working the venues. Learn their names and remember for the next time you play there. They will be impressed and more willing to help you for future events. They will also talk you up to other venues and promoters and help you get more shows in the area, and possibly in other cities as well.

Details of Touring

Everyone always skips over the details because they just want to get out there and start doing things. The details are always what screws people. You want to know about everything you can before you get on tour so that nothing is a surprise. Always get together before going out to figure out personal things and business things.

Some venues give out contracts before booking and band, and some of those have very specific details you need to know. It tells you if and how you’re getting paid, the equipment they have there and what you need to bring, guest lists, etc. There’s one thing that most artists don’t look at before booking multiple shows at once and that’s if a venue has a distance limit for shows. Some venues don’t want you to book another show near them for a week that’s about 10 miles away. That’s just an example, but it could be more time and a wider radius. You always want to know if the venue expects you to sell a certain amount of tickets, otherwise they will most likely charge you for the left over tickets you couldn’t sell. I’ve noticed a lot of venues in bigger cities tend to do that and aren’t always upfront about that.

Before going on tour, you want to have a meeting with everyone in the band to figure out things. You want to make sure everyone agrees on a budget and what that money will be used on. You might not always get the money you’re expecting at shows, so you really shouldn’t rely on it. Everyone should be able to split it evenly and help out with things. Have an itinerary showing when everyone needs to be at the venue, when loading is, when you’re playing, etc.. It should also have the contact numbers of everyone (band members, promoters, venues, driver if you have one) and emails for the venue. You all want to also are on a set of ground rules. Everyone may think that they know each other well, but someone will have some pet peeve that will get to them too much and might make things tense among the group.

Booking hotels and finding places ahead of time is always great. Once you have the shows set, you know when and where you’ll need a place to stay. You can ask fans or friends/family in the area, but if they don’t get back within a week or two, move on. You don’t want to get stuck last minute trying to find a place. I went on a small tour with a band once and they kept telling me that they had people who were going to let us stay there. The day we get the city, they tell me they haven’t heard back from anyone and that we might have to find a hotel. Well, every place was having some kind of conventions going on and only had expensive rooms left. We ended up finding a hotel last minute, but you don’t want to get stuck in the kind of mess.

Map route before leaving. It helps you figure out how much time it takes to get from one place to another and will be easier to plan things around travel time. It also helps to keep you from getting lost if you can’t get internet on your phone for google maps.

Going on tour can be a great thing. Get everything done ahead of time, talk with the rest of the members and take care of yourself. You don’t want any surprises and you want to be able to fix anything if something goes wrong. Don’t rely on others with everything and make sure you and the rest of your group can take charge if need be. Always know where everyone and everything is and how your equipment is being taken care of. The tour should go well if you at least do those things.

This is a gust post by youbloom contributor Michele Enouch

Michele Enoch is a music business graduate from Musicians Institute who has managed and promoted bands for years. She is now working on her photography and helping performers advance in their career. Her passion has always been music and she is exploring all aspects of the industry. Michele appreciates all kinds of music and seeing music in all kinds of environments. She enjoys crocheting hats and toys, reading and writing mystery and horror stories, taking pictures of everything she can, food from around the world, and adorable animals. She is always on the look out for anything new and exciting.

TOUR DIARY: Foreign Affairs NI at youbloomLA 2015

07-May-2016 By Shannon Duvall

Every time we at youbloom put on a music festival, we are humbled and awed by the insane variety of talented acts that manage to make their way to us from all around the world to share in a few days of the celebration of independent music.

In December, we were thrilled to welcome Northern Irish punk band Foreign Affairs NI to sunny Los Angeles for the youbloomLA 2015 Music Festival and Conference. They played a cracking set, brought amazing energy to the venue – La Cuevita – and were a top highlight in LA last year.

Foreign Affairs NI have since been busy writing and playing up a storm, so pay attention, punk fans, because this band have a lot going on in 2016. When we found out they’d written a tour diary about their time in the US of A, we just had to ask if we could share some of it.

It goes without saying that we are beyond sweatin’ to have them back again for the upcoming youbloomDublin 2016 Music Summit & Festival, going down this June 1-3.

In the meantime, check out what they had to say about their time with us under the palms out west:

Day 1, First Impressions

‘Everything in America is bigger! The size of their drinks, their airports, their buildings, all of it was on a much grander scale and it would be easy to get consumed by it all and feel lost. We made a pledge to make the most of every second we had in The City Of Angels as time was short and we didn’t know when we’d be back. With this in mind, after checking in we set off on our first ever Hollywood adventure! Not realising the scope of LA we learnt the hard way that taxis are not to be used unless necessary, especially during rush hour!’

Day 2, Permanent Memories

‘We had heard amazing things about American breakfast. The stories are true, believe the hype! In our hotel we had complimentary breakfast and the ability to make your own waffles was life changing. Fed and watered we would plan our day. Not losing sight of why we were here, we all crowded round Matt and his guitar and listened and played our songs together. We had an amazing feeling for the Music Festival and we were prepared! We decided after this to see if Santa Monica and Venice Beach lived up to the hype.’

Day 3, Amazing Sights

‘Most of Los Angeles was in our sights as well as the infamous Hollywood sign. A few band photos were taken and like always, the whole trek and experience was filmed. Inside and out the observatory was an amazing sight and it was overwhelming to realise that we were there taking it all in, and that was made possible by our music. We couldn’t take too much in for too long however as we were warned at night mountain lions venture up and down the mountain and we didn’t want to find out if that was lies or not.’

Day 4, Gig Day:

‘Gig day had arrived! We were to play an amazing venue, ‘La Cuevita’. We didn’t do very much in the lead up to this as our primary focus was putting on the best show we could and remaining focused.

On the way to the gig we exited the train with a few people and we all walked together towards the same area, however we all had different intentions. The man beside us ripped down a car window and broke into the vehicle. The alarm went off and the man scurried away. LA was a different breed entirely compared to anywhere else.

We entered the venue and watched the bands perform and noticed that every artist had great energy and crowd interaction! This is something we had targeted and improved! Armed with a wireless guitar system to run about the venue and crowd interaction worked into our set, we were prepared! An overwhelming experience at the venue was that people were asking, ‘When are the Irish band on?’. Thousands of miles away from home, people were asking for us. That was a feeling we’ll never forget.

9.15 approached and it was time for us to take the stage! We launched into the opening song from our new E.P., ‘Heartline’ and there was an instant positive feeling. People were listening, clapping with us and most importantly having a good time!

Moving through the set each song went down very well. We were premiering a brand new song at the show! One we had never played before. With nerves of how it would go down, Matt announced that, ‘Pennies’ was about to make its debut and we launched into the song. Quite possibly the best reaction of any song of the set was received here. This filled us with so much pride. Our current music had brought us thousands of miles away, and where we’re going in the future has been met with an overwhelming response, it was just a surreal moment and filled us with positivity.

As our set came to a close we ended with, ‘Television’. The song that had gotten us there in the first place. It was an emotional experience and we give (sic) it everything we had! Enjoying every second of it. After the set we had our photos taken by YouBloom (sic) and had drinks with the other bands and just enjoyed the vibe and experience.

A special thank you is needed for Kittenhead who helped us out with a bass and electric guitar. Without you we may not have been able to play.’

Day 5, YouBloom Conference:

‘We had the conference to attend now where we could interact with big music industry names and make connections.

The whole conference was amazing! Armed with a notepad and pen we documented so much valuable information. Attending talks from Tom Sturges, a man who signed The Smashing Pumpkins and has shook hands with The President Of The United States because of his musical achievements was surreal. We met with him directly and he was overly enthusiastic about us and music in general. A very inspiring man.

We were then interviewed by YouBloom and enjoyed that experience. Straight after that we attend a panel titled, ‘Making A Statement’. The panel was made up of: Joe Sib of Sideonedummies Records; Marko DeSantis of a band we look up to, Sugarcult; and Don Grierson who signed Celine Dion, to name a few. Again we learnt so much and made direct contact with both Joe and Marko which was surreal in itself to meet these people and talk about our music.

The trip was worth it just for this alone.’

Be sure to check out the entire tour diary over on ChordBlossom.

*If you’re a youbloom Festival veteran and have similar content you’d like us to share on our blog, get in touch with a link in the comments below.

How to Totally Suck at Touring

08-Oct-2015 By Shannon Duvall

Don’t bring merch. Alison Shaw summed it up perfectly in August for youbloomTV: if a person (likely in a state of inebriation) who has never seen you before decides they like what they hear, they’re going to want to take something home with them that they can listen to again, or a T-shirt they can wear so they have a story to share with their friends (free advertising!). Offer nothing as a follow-up to your show and it doesn’t matter if you just played the most epic set of the tour: you immediately halve your exposure potential.

Patches and buttons can be made very cheaply. Just sayin’.

Don’t introduce yourself. You know that band that are just way too cool to say hello to the audience, and instead plow wordlessly through their set before unplugging and stalking offstage for dramatic effect? Yeah, don’t be that band.

Be rude to the sound guy. A crucial element to the success/enjoyment of every gig is whether or not you piss off – intentionally or inadvertently – the guy/girl in control of what people are going to hear. So a few basic rules to follow:

Arrive to soundcheck on time. Remember that sound check is not band practice. If you think it is, you shouldn’t be on tour.
Follow the engineer’s instructions. He has a lot of mics and levels to organize, and doesn’t want to be there tweaking for two hours. You’re also (probably) not the only band this person needs to cater to. If he asks you to turn down your amp (guitar players, looking at you), just do it already.
Communicate politely and clearly. If you can’t hear something, have a request, or something isn’t working, let him or her know.

Don’t say thanks. To the crowd for coming out, to the support acts or the act you’re supporting, to the sound engineer (see above), the booker, the venue…gratitude gets you a long way in this game. It endears you to the strangers who’ve chosen to spend their evening and money on you, and can get you invited to play more gigs or to come back again in future.

You're too kind, really. — You’re too kind, really.

Don’t promote. You know, you might get really lucky and have a booking agent or a venue that’s willing to promote the show on your behalf. Or you might score a sweet support slot for a band that you know are going to draw a crowd no hassle. But listen up: you still need to promote your show.

Why? Because that’s part of pulling your weight as a touring band. The deal is exposure – for everyone, not just for you. The least you can do is make an effort and throw up an event page on facebook. If just one person from your friend list comes along, you’ve done your job.

Try to adhere to a schedule/routine/backline setup. Life on the road is mayhem. Pure and simple. Vans break down, blizzards shut down roads, venues cancel shows for no reason.

Amps blow, pedals go all ghost function, leads and stands and 9 volt batteries mysteriously vanish.

Absolute arseholes steal bands’ gear. Shit. Happens.

It goes without saying that you should have some level of organization to your plan, and to be responsible at least for your own gear and your person, but if by some crappy twist of luck, something un-ideal happens, the worst thing you can do is freak out; throw a fit; start a fight; get all demanding.

The best touring bands stay positive, remain flexible, expect the unexpected, and roll with the punches. They pitch in to help other bands when something goes wrong, knowing the road to memorable gigs is two-way, and paved with selfless acts.

These are the bands that people travel to other towns to see, that get asked back, that other bands reach out to when they’re thinking of hitting the road again.

Then again, it is entirely possible that touring just does not suit your band. And the only way to find that out is to do it. Just do everyone a favor once you do and stop.

Give up. You already know something unforeseen is likely to happen. So what should you do when it does? Well, if you want to totally suck at touring, take it as a sign that this gig/leg of the tour/entire thing is a sham and shouldn’t be happening at all. Sigh deeply, pull a U-ey, and drive your miserable butts back to Minnesota, or wherever it is you came from. Everyone will thank you later.

Or.

Show up anyway (better late than never), shake a few hands, explain what happened, offer to play and improvise if need be (house parties make great backups for venue cancellations, and often provide a night’s sleep), make friends and rack up another bonkers story for the tour diary.

Do it right, and in a year or so, you’ll be itching to start a new one.

youbloom artist spotlight: The Vigils

12-May-2015 By Amy Van Daele

Even for a Tuesday night, the bar is desolate, with the exception of a few patrons standing quietly around, drinks in hand. From the door, you can hear a medley of random notes echoing from a far room in the back of the bar, seemingly unnoticed by the bystanders. Upon entering the back room, the band can be seen warming up, a jumble of instruments, cords, bodies, and notes.

Stepping from the shadows is a tall figure with dark sunglasses. After a few short words to the nearly empty room, the randomized notes coordinate to become one incredible sound. As if being commanded to attention, people literally come out of the woodwork—tiny side tables tucked into the walls—and crowd the small space.

Sol Luongo steps off the stage on the first strum of her guitar, not to return until the set is over. As if a spirit takes over her body, she mesmerizingly moves to the music while not missing a note. Daniel Cieplinski’s shades can’t hide his charismatic personality and he enchants the crowd with his suave demeanor and cool vocals. Jessy Bender adds a sometimes optimistic, sometimes sultry moodiness to the music with her saxophone and Skeeter Joplin holds all of the instruments together with the drums.

You can see the music pulse through the musicians’ bodies as well as the crowd watching. The music is at times dark and mysterious and other times upbeat and vibrant. At all times, it is rocking—a combination of classic rock, blues, and punk with a foreign, but comforting smoothness—blending so well it is challenging to tell one genre from the other. The music lures you in, seduces you, rocks you.

You would assume by watching them play that their sole life focus is on creating and performing music; however this is a luxury that is not gifted to all musicians. Like many other musicians in the Los Angeles area, The Vigils must juggle outside activities and responsibilities to support their passion. In other words: it’s challenging. But, if the love of the art of music is great enough, it will outweigh any sacrifices and obstacles in the way, as we can see with The Vigils.

The Vigils’ guitarist, Sol, is originally from Uruguay, Sol began playing bass when she was 13 years old and joined her first band at around 14. Her journey with music bounced her between a handful of different bands and locations over the years. In 2005, she finally landed in Los Angeles where she continued playing music with a variety of different bands.

In addition to practicing and performing with the Vigils, Sol manages a bar in Highland Park called “La Cuevita.” She is physically there six days a week, but mentally there seven. She plans the events, the cocktail menus, scheduling, etc. Some nights she goes into work at 3pm and doesn’t get home until 5am. She also does some freelance animation and illustration in her “spare time.”

A Washington DC native, Danny grew musically by singing in underground punk/hardcore bands in the metro area. Even as a young kid, Danny was dressing up like Mick Jones of The Clash and strumming on a tennis racket or singing along to The Cramps in front of a flashing strobe light in his room—his dream already coming into focus.

Daniel is a manager/driver at a high-rent residential facility for schizophrenic and other mentally ill adults in Van Nuys. He works varied hours throughout the week, sometimes waking up for work, hair still wet from a shower he took a few hours earlier when he got home from a show.

Jessy grew up in Columbia, Missouri listening to Bowie, the Stones, The Clash and 80’s new wave. She moved to LA to be in the film industry, in which she successfully entered, but she always held onto her childhood dream of being in a band. She is currently part of a 2 to 3 person team that mics and records the dialogue and sound for TV, movies, and commercials. This profession has random hours and can take her from Malibu to West Covina and from 12pm to 2am on any given day. Often, she has to get up at 6am after playing a midnight show the night before.

Skeeter grew up with guns, drums, and rock and roll in the backwoods of Oregon. Skeeter’s heroes were musicians, two of which were, and still are, John Coltrane and Patti Smith. In 2005, he moved to Los Angeles and landed in the heart of Hollywood where he currently lives with his girlfriend. Skeeter goes everywhere by train, including to his jobs at Amoeba Records and La Cuevita.

With all of their other responsibilities, you have to question why these artists do it. “It’s pure meditation… letting go and becoming music and letting your earth weight and expectations go,” Sol explains, “It’s the closest thing to heaven. An electric pulse of life.” Danny adds, “Performing is as good as it gets, a physical and emotional exorcism of sorts.” “Performing takes me to another place… Each song has a unique message in it… After a show, I feel I’ve been through an awesome journey,” Jessy describes.

These feelings seem similar to those that fans experience at a show. The feeling at a show, when the music comes together and forms a living presence in the room that can be felt, so much so that it physically touches you; it moves you. It is this same presence that moves the artist, that seduces them enough to sacrifice their time, money, and at times sanity and keeps them coming back for more… thankfully for us.

So perhaps this is an ode to the artist, a thank you of sorts for the sacrifice, the dedication and the struggle it takes to channel that presence so others can share in the soul-healing experience of music. As Sol put it so well, “Being in the moment only happens when you can rock out with your truthful soul.” And we are constantly looking forward to our next spiritual experience. Rock on.