Blog
Sometimes you’ve got to rock the boat.
I spent last Sunday showing Ross from Ex Libras around some of my favourite Shoreditch haunts, while enjoying a few drinks over lunch. Yes, I'm name-dropping, but I've known him since I was eleven so I reckon I'm allowed to. If I can get away with kicking him in the shins all the way through secondary school, I reckon I can use his name for the purpose of this anecdote.
Anyways, we were waiting for the lunch to arrive and the conversation came around to customer service, and how to deal with bad customer service. Now, before I became a writer I worked almost exclusively in front line customer service roles. As a result I am extremely aware when I receive bad service - but Ross said something that concerned me: "Ed doesn't like to make a fuss". What struck me about this statement is that he's absolutely right. I'm a terrible customer. I will complain to everyone around me about the terrible service that I'm receiving EXCEPT to the person who can really make a difference - the service provider. There have been countless times I've felt that a waiter, shop assistant or manager has taken liberties with my custom and, unless it's over the telephone, I get caught like a rabbit in headlights, refuse to say anything, smile through gritted teeth and sometimes (only sometimes) neglect to leave a tip.
I don't think I'm the only person in this country who has this problem. We're all so insular, it becomes a real challenge to stand up and be counted when we feel we're not receiving the service we deserve. We simply can't bring ourselves to rock the boat. This is a really unhealthy state of affairs to live in, as we, the customers of the world, bottle up all of these negative emotions and, without the proper outlet, they can manifest themselves in different areas of our lives, until one day we're being dragged out of the local Starbucks, kicking and screaming because they forgot to use soy milk.
This applies to any service relationship. Whether you're the client or the service provider, hiding behind a polite veneer can ruin what once was a healthy relationship. I don't for one second think that everyone should say what's on their mind every second of the day (that would lead to a nation of sociopaths who would make the panel on Loose Women look like well balanced rational pillars of the community) - just that if you think there's a problem, or think something hasn't been handled correctly, speak out. Don't get angry, just present your point of view and how you feel about the situation as soon as you can. Chances are it will get resolved in a matter of minutes, and what could have turned into a caustic situation will suddenly develop into a stronger bond where the avenues of communication on both sides are clear, leading to a more productive relationship.
Next week - world peace.
If you enjoyed reading this, why not follow Ed on Twitter: @man_drowning?
The Perils of Social Networking
I've always been a heart on my sleeve kind of guy - I can get a bit ranty about certain subjects, and my attitude has always been "take it or leave it". As we all have no doubt discovered, the internet and - more importantly - social networks like Facebook and Twitter, have been the perfect outlet for concentrated balls of rage like myself. Nerdrage is a modern phenomenon, and it applies to all forms of media - people are just as passionate about music as they are about comics, cinema and videogames. Now that companies and marketing organisations have seen the benefit of social networking, it's becoming harder and harder to vent spleen.
Point in case, I never for one moment thought that working in PR would affect my online persona. But in four short months, my behaviour has changed dramatically. At the beginning of last year I would think nothing of launching a vitriolic attack on a stand up comedian who made an arse out of themselves on Never Mind The Buzzcocks (hypothetically speaking). Now, I have to stop and check myself: who's going to read this? Could this potentially offend somebody I work with? Is there a chance I may meet this person in the near future?
If any of these criteria are met, I need to retire to my office, pick up my favourite cushion and beat seven shades of stuffing out of it until I feel better.
It's not just myself who needs to be aware of their online presence, and the impression it gives out to the masses - we live in an age where personal branding is king, and bands and artists can all too easily type themselves out of that breakthrough interview or feature in a well known print magazine just because of a drunken Friday night tweet where they shared just that little bit too much about their social life.
While it's depressing to come to terms with, not all of us can be Henry Rollins. There's by no means a need for people to split their lives into a mind bendingly complicated duality where they construct an online avatar that "represents" them online, but sometimes it is a good idea to have a good hard think before you press send.
ABoF’s 2010 review!
When we hit this time of the year, we all start to reflect a little on what we've done, our achievements and the fun times we've had. 2010 has been incredibly hard but really rewarding for all involved. So instead of rabbiting on about how wonderful it's all been, I'll leave you with some pictures and little snippets of the year that was 2010.While we're here, I'd like to quickly thank all the bands and labels we've worked with this year and all our supporters (you know who you are!)...
These Monsters Album Launch / ABoF TV
Photo by Ross Ferguson
We finally launched ABoF TV this year and we were really proud that These Monsters were part of this launch. We filmed them in February at The Lexington. This was only the beginning - later in the year we managed to film Shield Your Eyes and an interview with Function Records founder Shane Billingham, Enablers and Phantom. We've already uploaded ABoF TV ep. 2 but you'll have to wait till next year to see the Enablers and Phantom episodes.
Part 1 of 2 of the These Monsters album launch is below but you can view all our videos on our YouTube page or via our website.
Enablers, Ex Libras and Phantom
In May we filmed another episode of ABoF TV. Enablers, Ex Libras and Phantom were on the bill and it was a wonderful night indeed. Watch out for ABoF TV ep. 3 next year. This was to be one of our last gigs of the year as we wanted to concentrate on the PR and event management side of things.
Enablers
DJ fun!
No pictures for this one I'm afraid (as it's a bit hard to take photos of yourself whilst DJ-ing!)... this year we were asked to DJ three fun aftershows - the Empire Magazine awards, MOJO awards and Q awards. Each were very different but equally fun. At the Q Awards we DJ-ed for over two hours with Mark Ronson, the Chemical Brothers and our good friends Jo and Danny DJ-ing after us.
Good vibes for our bands
We've worked with some brilliant bands this year and we're really proud and happy they've all done so well. To see all the wonderful press, check out our bands' artist pages.
Cats and Cats and Cats "Art of Noise" feature in Clash Magazine
Death of London featured review in Metal Hammer
Talons feature in Rock Sound
Geek of the Year Awards
We event managed the first annual Geek of the Year awards in November. The event was conceptualised by the boys over at 7ThingsMedia who run Geeks.co.uk. It was a brilliant night with entertainment from comedians Tiffany Stevenson, Carl Donnelly and Adam Bloom, music from our very own Ex Libras, geeky cupcakes by Molly Bakes and lots of smiling faces. James Pottinger was crowned the first ever Geek of the Year by the judges (which included The Inbetweeners co-writer Iain Morris).
Our friends over at EyeSeeSound filmed the event, you can watch it all below.
Guest Blog: Penguins Kill Polar Bears
New to our roster, Penguins Kill Polar Bears, have kindly submitted a guest blog on this blustering, snowy Friday afternoon... read on and watch out for them in 2011!
It’s been an icy bastard of a week. Penguins and polar bears are used to this tundra-like environment but this is surely taking the piss! Scotland is now like Siberia and it’s been looking like a scene from 28 Days Later out there with cars and trucks abandoned on motorways, buried in snow!
Of course, the best thing about this weather is that zombies simply cannot survive in this climate and it is as good a time as ever to take a shovel out with you and take the heads off a few ghouls who have been frozen stiff in a mound of snow. A few less to worry about come spring time.
We’ve been winding down on the gig front coming up to Christmas, but there’s still a lot of preparation to be done for next year. We’re releasing a new EP called Vessels and Veins in February so we’ve been putting the finishing touches to the mixes and sorting track listings and stuff like that. On top of that, we’ve got our first full UK tour to look forward to as well. Exciting times lie ahead!
The weather didn’t stop us getting to Edinburgh on Saturday though. We had a show at Electric Circus and we did not intend to miss it! If you’ve never been to Electric Circus, it’s a pretty cool place. It looks a bit like a really upmarket strip club from the set of the Blade Runner movie. Things didn’t get off to the best of starts as Fraser got himself a puncture when arriving at the venue. He managed to earn extra man points by changing it himself while the rest of the band were used as a human shield against oncoming traffic. It should be noted that Murray our manager simply stood and laughed as this all went on and made no effort to help whatsoever. We were then told that we would have to turn down drastically during sound check. This puzzled us on two accounts as A) we were barely tickling our amplifiers and B) everybody loves loud rock music don’t they?
It soon became obvious that there is one group of people who do not appreciate loud rock music – hen nights! Yes, a group of middle aged ‘terts’ had been using one of the karaoke rooms in the venue and had obviously had the middle eight of Robbie Williams’ Angels interrupted by a deadly slice of "Wish With Worry" and subsequently put a complaint in to the venue manager. Revenge was sweet however, as our good friend Piez showed up later on that night and managed to impregnate four of these seagulls with his potent, potent seed. Boom! 1-0 Penguins!
The show itself went very well and we all sweated very hard on stage. All in all; great success! You can have a sneaky peak at some videos captured at the show on our Youtube Channel.
If you’re into videos, then you might enjoy seeing Gav dancing like a madman just hours after the electric circus show. If you want to see it then drop us an email and we’ll send it on to you. It’s comedy gold! We might even put it on the PKPB facebook so make sure you’re signed up for updates.
So we have one more show before Santa comes to empty his sack under your tree but we’re not allowed to tell anyone about it because it’s for Detour who keep all their lineups a secret so we’re really not allowed to tell you that we’re playing they’re night at Bar Bloc this Wednesday with Sucioperro... oh shit! Nah, its ok though, by the time this is published, the show will be but a distant memory so it’s cool for you to know that right now we are super stoked for this one because Sucioperro are fucking brilliant! They’ve written many a fine song like "The Final Confessions of Mabel Stark", "The Drop" and "The Dissedent Code". Detour nights are always a riot, the two guys who run it Weaver and Ally have some pretty nifty tricks up their sleeves and do mad shit like kidnap bands and then force them to do stuff in front of cameras for your enjoyment. And one of them (if not both) always ends up shitfaced on 80 proof Balkan vodka.
After all the Detour fun we’ll go hibernate at our rehearsal space which we’ve named The Igloo and get ready for our King Tuts show in January and the February tour so, until then, Merry Christmas to all of you. We really hope Satan (we hope they meant Santa but you get the idea...! - ABoF) is good to you all. Bye bye for now.
Ben, Fraser, Gav & Kieran.
Guest Blog: The Unkindness of Ravens
The Unkindness of Ravens are fiercely independent in everything they do. Sultry songstress, Nina Wagner, wrote us some lovely words of encouragement for independent bands out there. Read on to find out about their take on what it means to be DIY...DIY with quality
One of the golden rules when deciding to be part of a band, is to learn the business side of it. It's the direction the music industry's evolving into, so we are equally artists as well as business people. It's your best bet to learn the tricks of the trade in order to avoid getting messed around.
Not only are The Unkindness of Ravens an innovative two piece electro punk rock band, but we're also a record label getting our music out there for people to listen to. The label Sonic Fire Records, was created out of necessity; without one, it's near to impossible to release your tracks legitimately. However, having your own label defines your band as a business and people take you more seriously.
In the time I joined The Unkindness of Ravens, I quickly became more than just the singer of the band, I also had to adopt the role as a manager. In the beginning, my role as a manager consisted mostly of booking shows, but within the two years, I built up a network of good promoters, photographers and visual artists. I also developed skills such as writing press releases, booking tours and I've refined my communicating skills.
The real challenge I found in being a manager and artist simultaneously, is staying consistent in keeping the jobs separate from one another. When Ravens started gigging, we had to deal with a lot of shitty promoters. In an ideal world, I'd have ditched the shitty gig and given them the finger, but as a manager, you can't do that because you don't want to run the risk of promoters muddying your name… And with every stubborn rock eventually comes the rolling and 100 gigs later, we've developed a sixth sense on who to work with and who to avoid.
Sonic Fire Records and TUORavens hold a very strong DIY ethos, so we take the initiative and create everything ourselves. From recording, production, design, burning CD's, websites, booking shows / tours, videos and merchandise, we do it all on our own and / or with other creative souls who are interested in doing us a favor and helping out.
The nice thing about being just two people is the easy communication and the reliance one has on each other. There's less complications when it comes to making decisions and things get done faster. You have the freedom to set your own goals and you can go off on adventures together whenever you feel like it. An example of this would be that we really want the recording experience for our debut album to be special, so we've decided to go to Berlin for one month, set-up our recording studio in a cheap flat, learn about the German music scene and play some gigs. And what happens? We turn a dream into a reality! I'm sure it would have been a lot more complicated trying to organize this with a five piece…
True rock n' roll for us is self discovery, setting our own rules and standards, finding the truth and staying pure. Sonic Fire Records works instinctively, which means that certain goals we previously aimed for could change. The industry's always evolving and we try and evolve with it. One way I do this is buying music rags. I study them religiously in order to find out who's currently in and why. Not that we want to follow the same foot steps of other artists, but it's to understand their process, which helps build our awareness.
Another thing that we're proud of are our low budget music videos. Ben and I both have an education in Film, so the knowledge comes in handy when we shoot our videos. TUORavens are all about minimalism and getting as much out of something as possible. Even for just two people our sound is massive, our stage performances look huge and our videos look like a million bucks. Our aim is to make everything we do, look and sound like a million bucks and you don't need massive amounts of money to achieve this. It's the good ol' saying - it's quality, not quantity.
One of the greater challenges is motivating people to come down to see our live shows once they've listened to our music. One way to achieve that, is to make sure you put on a killer show to get people hooked, the other of course is to write ground breaking songs. Our sound is versatile and seems to fit into most genres and although people are always trying to pin us down, we like to believe that we've created our own genre. Being so different though, creates the unknown and it takes time for people to catch on and understand what we're about.
Another form we use to reach out to people is through our various social websites and keeping them updated on a regular basis. The more you're on those sites and updating, the more you catch peoples' eye. However, balance needs to be restored and you don't want it to become you're full-time job. We have to keep in check that our main priority is creating art first, then bragging about it later.
Everything we do boils down to the one true reason why we do this; the love of music. We work hard and aim high because we can and no one's gonna stop us. If making music requires some extra knowledge and skills, so be it, the world's forever evolving, so we might as well understand it's evolutionary process and be a few steps ahead.