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Be Yourself: Raised on TV’s Advice

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Keaton Rogers offers some excellent advice, tells his band’s story, and elaborates on how they’ve arrived where they are: about to release their debut album titled “Season 1” and two months away from playing at the youbloomLA 2017 Music Summit & Festival.

 

Garage Band Beginnings

Keaton, Kacey, and Ryan, the members of Raised on TV, began “working away in Ryan’s mom’s garage” in the summer of 2015. Keaton and Kacey, who are brothers, “always thought it would be cool to be in a band together”. So when Keaton’s previous band disbanded and Kacey and Ryan’s previous band also fell apart, they joined forces to create Raised on TV.

 

With influences such as Weezer, Jimi Hendrix, Simon and Garfunkel, Pink Floyd, and Blink 182, there’s no doubt that Raised on TV’s first EP, released in 2016, had rock and roll roots. Since their humble beginnings, they’ve toured twice and recorded a full length album. And they “feel like [they’re] in a good place as a band.”

 

When asked about the band’s vision, Keaton joked that their band’s vision is “20/20 when [they] wear [their] glasses”

To “make and share quality music” is, “in all seriousness”, their true vision. Live performances hold an especially special place in their hearts, as Keaton stated “having an amazing concert experience is very much at the heart of our vision for our band.”

 

And if they can help others “get through a tough day” with their music, even better.

 

“It’s not about the competition”

Last year, Raised on TV entered a battle of the bands competition for a chance to play on the Vans Warped Tour. With 200 original contestants, they successfully navigated through the hoops to compete out of 8 groups in the final round. However, their “mindset was never that [they] were competing with other bands.” Instead, as Keaton states, they were just aiming to become “the best version of [themselves].”

 

Even though they lost in the final round, they reminded themselves that “it was never about winning in the traditional sense anyway. So, don’t get caught up in the competition. When you go see twenty or so amazing bands at a festival, there’s no first or second prize, no gold or silver medal, there’s a bunch of freaking awesome music and people there to enjoy it.”

 

Keaton’s word of advice? If an artist is true to themselves, “there will be nobody else like that artist and that’s what it’s all about.”

 

Romance at youbloomLA

Since it’s their first time at youbloomLA, Raised on TV is hoping for the usual: to develop connections, enjoy the music, and have a great time performing.

 

However, according to Keaton, it would also be neat if their drummer, who is “currently the only single member of the band” met someone and fell in love. Here’s to hoping!

 

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Attention music lovers!

Youbloom is looking for passionate individuals to join our team for youbloomLA: our annual Music Summit and Festival! Follow the link below to learn more.

 

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BzFR-OdsG41_bHg4VnNWVlFWa3ZFd2hxNjN5UE5MR1RVQzlz

 

 

Independent Musicians “Bloom” at youbloomDublin Music Summit & Festival

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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 Music Industry: Artists’ Outlook

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YoubloomDublin2017

At around noon on Thursday, June 1st, Dublin’s atmosphere became a bit more community-minded. More specifically, it became a bit more nurturing towards those who possess a love of music.

 

Sixty independent musicians based in multiple countries—from Portugal to Sweden—would play a unique gig during that weekend at the youbloomDublin Music Summit & Festival, an independent music conference and festival. Its uniqueness stems from the fact that youbloom caters specifically to unsigned artists with the intention of altering the current unsustainability of said artists.

 

How do they accomplish this? Well, just ask the artists themselves who performed at youbloomDublin three weeks ago.

 

Oski Bravo at youbloomDublin

 

But first, let’s take a step back.

 

The Music Industry Exposed

The music industry is extremely skewed: a few hundred artists make 75% of the revenue. Smaller artists usually remain unseen because they simply don’t have the support they need to grow their business. These music industry statistics and the monopoly effect lead artists like Oski Bravo, who performed at youbloom Dublin for the first time, to insist that the music industry is a “pigsty”.

 

Back to the Ocean, an alternative band who played twice at youbloomDublin, also attests to the demanding aspects of the music industry in that independent musicians basically must figure out how to get fans on their own. They’re “expected to have world class recordings, [a] big fanbase, professional videos and social media profiles, and [a] business orientation”.

 

Back to the Ocean rocking out at youbloomDublin for their first performance at the festival

 

A Love of Music

But for many, even though the odds seem insurmountable, the love for the craft is greater.

 

“It felt like a natural progression for both of us”, CARRON stated. For the two sisters who played at youbloomDublin in Phoenix Park on Saturday and The Globe on Sunday, it began with “leading roles in shows like ‘Annie’, ‘The Wizard of Oz’, and ‘The Sound of Music’” along with violin and vocal lessons.

 

They believe the music industry standard is quite high, particularly in Ireland with artists such as Hozier attaining success. However, they are hopeful for what it means for them in that “[they] must always be progressing too, writing new music and taking part in as many live events as [they] can”.

 

CARRON striking a pose at youbloomDublin

 

For others, such as Dandelion Tea, who performed at 4 Dame Lane on Saturday, “Music is just something that always made sense. [It’s] an intangible form of art that can impact so many people in a big way. We felt we had something unique to say and music was the language we could best express it in.”

 

The music industry may receive complaints, but as Dandelion Tea said, pictured here feeling the music at youbloomDublin, “that’s the nature of monetizing art.”

 

The overwhelming nature of the music business may discourage artists to pursue music, but many still do simply because they couldn’t imagine themselves doing anything different. It’s this overwhelming love for music that fuels artists and youbloom members alike.

 

 

The Benefits of Touring

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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.

Interview with Sean Rooney: Featured Artist at youbloomDublin 2017

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Featured artist at youbloomDublin 2017, Sean Rooney, is the type of soulful singer/songwriter that you can take home to mother. Having performed at a myriad of festivals and venues around the world, youbloom gets to know Sean a little better before his performance at at youbloomDublin 2017 in this exclusive interview.

 

 How long have you been playing music? What inspired you to pick up an instrument?
Sean Rooney: I’ve been playing music about 12 years .. I started playing just from a love of pop punk music in my early teens .. thankfully my tastes have broadened a lot since then..
What instrument did you first lean to play?
Sean Rooney: I first learned to play the guitar .. well.. I’m still learning ! I’m self taught so I’m always learning.
What is your favorite part of your writing process when making new music?
Sean Rooney: My favourite part of the writing process is whenever I manage to capture exactly what I want to say lyrically and melodically.. I do enjoy the challenge of writing lyrics .. it might be trite but I write about my own life and that makes lyric writing a cathartic process for me.
In your song “Everest High” you say that its about dealing with depression from a first person point of view. How have you been able to cope with that and what role has music played to help battle with this?
Sean Rooney:  coping with depression isn’t easy. Not only because there is a lot of stigma attached to the subject and It’s different for everyone but I’ve found talking to a psychologist and taking medication very helpful. In terms of music, the cathartic element is very important. There is a release that comes with expressing your emotions through song.
“Everest High” sounds like a very up beat song. Was that intentional when writing this song due to the meaning?
Sean Rooney:  Yes .. the upbeat and borderline aggressive sound of the song is basically my way of conveying that I will not let depression beat me. I’m fighting against it with everything I have; also there’s nothing more melancholy than a ballad about depression .. it would just be too much if it sounded sad too.
 
You have a great cover of Bruce Springsteen. What are some other artists that inspired you to make music? And what would be another cover you would enjoy to make?
Sean Rooney:  Thank you! My main inspiration comes from the genres of soul, indie-rock/rock and R&B.. In terms of idols I’d have to say Paul Weller is my favourite artist. The body of incredible work he had created and continues to create is a never ending reservoir of inspiration to me. There aren’t that many covers that I feel I could really add much to or change without ruining! But a couple of songs I would love to play live with a band are “Soul Man” by Sam&Dave and “The Changingman” by Paul Weller
For someone who has never heard your music before, how would you describe your sound?
Sean Rooney: I would describe my music as sort of.. Blue-eyed soul rock .. although not all of my songs would fit neatly into that genre!
What advice would you give new musicians trying to get their music out there?
Sean Rooney: The only advice I feel qualified to give is to not criticise yourself too much.. some self criticism is healthy but there comes a point when it can ruin things and I know that from experience. In terms of physically getting music out there, Facebook videos are a great way to go.
What are you anticipating the most at the YouBloom festival?
Sean Rooney: What I’m anticipating most at Youbloom is just the opportunity to play for a new audience and to meet lots of new punters and musicians alike. I’m always super grateful to get to play live. It is what I love most in the world, so to that end I’d like to say thank you to Youbloom for giving me the opportunity.
Do you have any new material coming out in the near future?
Sean Rooney: Yes! I’ve been writing and recording recently. my first official single will be released soon and then the plan is to release my first EP in around May!
Learn more about Sean Rooney on his Facebook page here. You can catch Sean Rooney performing live at youblomDublin 2017.

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