Back To the Future.

I have received some interesting feedback over the last few posts here on The White Light. Some have called me angry and some have gone as far as to question my enthusiasm in the internet and all it's splendor. Let me set the record straight. THE INTERNET AND THE CONNECTION IT GIVES US IS MORE THAN WONDERFUL. When reading my blog posts, you have to remember that I am really writing this stuff for artists and bands that are trying to figure it all out. It does make me angry when bands don't treat what they do the same way they treat their own personal facebook or any other social media that they use. All the tools for the distribution of music exists out there for free or very little money. I know that the paradigm is in this no man's land at the moment. I realize that many of you feel like you are beating your head against the wall simply trying to get anyone to pay attention at all. So, maybe we should all focus on the things we can actually do to affect how many people you can reach with your music and stop focusing on the things we can't control or who we may never reach. I have written about this before but IT MUST START IN YOUR OWN HOMETOWN. In most places, you can find a few good bands that may or may not play the same genre of music. You can find a small number of people that support local music by regularly hanging out where these bands play. Since most pundits have established that being a world wide, ubiquitous rock star is out of reach for most of us, place your focus on the place where you can have the most affect. Again, this is at home. Entrench yourself, your band in the local music scene. If there isn't one (I can already hear the wining) then find some other bands that will help you create one. One band doesn't make a scene. One great band will not draw enough attention to what you are doing to help you sell out local shows. I think the downside of social media is that some of the time it creates more digital walls around it's users than knocks these walls down. Of course the upside is once you grab someone's attention and you become part of THEIR digital world, you just might have a fan. Locally you have the advantage of becoming a part of a fan's physical existence. They can hang out with you. They can see you hanging out at another band's show. You can physically hand them a CD that you burned with your website address and your email address on it. Hell, give someone a CD and beg them to hit you with feedback, good or bad. At least you might create some dialogue. I am intense when it comes to listening to music. There are others out there too. You are probably one of those that can't get enough. What will give you an edge is making the personal and local connection to those in your own communities that are in constant search for something to blow their hair back. How many of you out there are far more engaged in Gravity Kills because we have hung out and become friends? You cannot replace shared experience. I value it more than music sometimes with bands that I personally know. The music that speaks to you does so based on how it fits into your life, your lifestyle, your emotions, not the life of the band. How can you take your own passion for music and use it to the advantage of your fans and your band. I say get off the fucking couch, stop bitching at rehearsal and the studio and get out there and make physical touches. You can control that. If you start there, you might just find that some traction is in your near future