New Music West was a success.  There was an open window behind the stage and it was fun to watch a crowd gather on the sidewalk to listen.  The room was full; lots of people I knew and a few I didn’t.  Special thanks to my music video film crew who came out en masse. 

I’m excited to be back at the Four Seasons Resort in Whistler tonight. I’ve been away for over a month and it will be great to be back. Please drop by if you can.

…Ali

The band returned late Sunday night. Tired, but happy. NewMusicWest was over and it went by in a hot second.

So now that the hangovers, time differences, and caked on sweat, has worn off, let’s take stock of what happened and see if it was worth the trouble.

For me this was a great, great, great, experience. Why? well, mainly because of all the mistakes we made!

From day one it was a learning experience. Our gear arrived perfectly and we contacted Long and Mcquade about renting all that we couldn’t bring. They were very helpful and located everything that we needed. We started inquiring about Pat’s Pub and seemed to get one review about the venue, “its great but in a sketchy area.”

We checked out downtown Vancouver on that first day and found it odd that there was little to no advertising about ANY SHOWS happening at NewMusicWest.

On Friday we attended a Managers Conference and learned about the in’s and out’s of many different aspects of a Artists Career. It was informative but a little redundant.

What I was amazed to learn was that there are soooo many artists who have no idea about how the industry works. And if they do know whats going on, they are stuck to the old world model: Album, Radio, Tour, Repeat. The internet still is underutilized for so many artists. Most artists who were asking questions at the conference gave off the impression that they see the internet as a place to loose money, rather then a place to cut out the middle men and take control of your career.

On Saturday we hit the conferences again. We arrived late at an Urban Music workshop, but the last 30 minutes that we saw were amazing.

Urban artists are at the forefront of so many technologies. They are embracing this new world rather then shying away from it. Youtube, imeem, Myspace, and Facebook were talked about in detail. Essentially you need to do one thing on all of the: KEEP IT FRESH. New content, new videos, new looks, new music, nearly all the time. This is something that Hoover and I have been saying to each other often. The more the audience has to look at, the more time they will spend on your site. Its working all the time, but few artists have taken advantage of it.

Also at the conferences we met Adam Countryman. He is a booking agent for the Agency Group. We spoke with him about ArmsUp and the small fish big sea problem that us and many other bands have. He told us that unless you have a buzz coming into a festival like NewMusicWest, it is often the case that you are overlooked. Thats something that most people know but hearing it from a industry dude helped hammer it home.

So that night was our Showcase. Pat’s Pub was on East Hastings. It was not the worst part of town, but pretty close to it. That fact kept some of my friends/fans away. But thats really no excuse. if we had the Hype of Vampire Weekend, I doubt that playing a gig on East Hastings would have bothered anyone. Either way the show was fun, poorly attended (NewMusicWest didn’t even make POSTERS!!!@#$#@#), but it was fun. We played for some new people and met some interesting ones.

The things that we learned at New Music West were numerous and valuable. Although the showcase itself was lackluster, it was critical for us to do it, getting this kind of learning experience is something that can be taught, but it really hits home when you experience it for yourself.

——————————–NEWS FLASH———————————-

Now to thicken the plot. ArmsUp have been invited to play at another, even more prestigeous festival.

NXNE in Toronto…….Canada’s Music Business Capital……. so do we do it? or work on more pressing issues… we’ll soon find out.

Lyrics baby lyrics,
Voyno.

Hey all,

so my band ArmsUp, is showcasing at Pat’s Pub for New Music West. Although we’ve showcased for labels and agents before, this will be our first Festival Showcase.

So what does a Showcase even mean?

Judging from the last one we did it is basically a very weird gig. When we showcased for Universal Music, it was like playing for a high school talent show. The crowd response was good, but we had limited time and barley got going before the next band was on. Actually now that I think about it, it was more like a Swimsuit competition. Quick, awkward, you felt kinda cheated, but mainly confused.

So why do it again?

for two reasons really.

1. One ego. A few of my friends bands have played bigger festivals like this and I want to join the ranks.
2. Spread the music of ArmsUp

I know that I want to expand the ArmsUp fanbase, and one of the ways you can do that is to play in different places. My band has toured Western Canada before, but this will be the first conquest of the Far West. But what will it really give us?

Maybe Terry McBride will give us a million dollar 360 deal, and we’ll never have to work again.

But do any artists really want or even need these silver bullets in our new world?

That is a question that every artist needs to answer for themselves. Many of my friends bands are looking for that sort of silver bullet. They are stuck in an age of “Albums” and what I, and Bobby Lefsetz, believe to be outdated thoughts. I feel for them, and try my hardest to show them whatever information I have picked up. But you can only lead a horse to water.

So New Music West will be, at the very least, a learning experience. I am excited and ready to take on whatever opportunities this gives the band.

We are ready to take on the world, and believe in our music and live show. If your in the area come out.

Pats Pub 403E.Hastings St.

Vancouver, Canada

We play at 11:00

Lyrics baby lyrics,
Voyno

The New Music West Festival & Conference is the largest new music festival in Western Canada, showcasing over 200 bands during a five night, multi-venue music festival. NMW 2008, running May 14-18^th, will mark our 17^th year. Music industry professionals and fans will experience a music extravaganza that includes educational workshops, a conference, networking events and the latest in new and emerging talent from around the world.

I have been interning at New Music West working on the International showcases. We have Australia and the Netherlands signed on to send some bands over for the festival which is awesome. We are also in talks with France, New Zealand, Switzerland and Iceland to send over some artists. Hopefully they will be able to participate.

If you are a band or artist and you are interested in playing check out the New Music West website. www.newmusicwest.com and fill out an application. The application deadline is February 1st so submit your band soon!

Lead guitarist Ryan Lejbak for HoneyBlu in Saskatoon had some kind words to say about our video podcast, ThisCityRocks:

“…This City Rocks is the best though. It focuses on Canadian indie artists. These are the bands that are heard on college radio, found on Pitchfork and that tastemakers listen to. TCR is a high quality videocast put together by hipster Megan Cole and videographer Warwick Patterson. It is brief, to the point and enlightening. They have a perfect blend of music, info and interviews. Megan and Warwick do this project on the side. Their passion for social media and the music scene shines through…”

Thanks Ryan – glad you love the show!

We’ll be starting to post shows for this amazing Spring jam-packed concert going season in mid-April, as soon as the first few are perfectly edited and put togetehrt o release to the masses! This season, we’ve got a few interviews already under our belt: DJ Champion, Malajube and YouSayParty! WeSayDie! – more to come with Great Lake Swimmers, who just signed with infamous Vancouver label, Nettwerk Music Group, The Parlour Steps and artists and bands at the Whistler Ski and Snowboard Festival, New Music West and Wakefest.

Subscribe to our feed over on the TCR site!