Welcome to Episode 37 of the Bandhive Podcast.

It is time for another episode of the band. I've podcast. My name is James Cross, and I'm here with Erin. Generous of suburban samurai. It is Episode 37. Erin. How does it feel to be back on a nod numbered episode?

She was like home. Well, I'm glad to hear that. And, uh, if you haven't checked out the two part Siri's that Matt and I did in the last two episodes, and that's for any listeners, not you, Erin, because you already know what we talked about. It's a syriza about how to get signed to a record labels. That's episodes 35 36. You can go check those out. They are in your favorite podcasting app or at band. I've got rocks slash 35 or 36 So all that aside, Erin, how are you doing?

Man? It's been a while. Yeah, I'm doing well, I'm actually probably not quite at the middle, but almost in the middle of a new process. We are building a streaming rig. So we've acquired some new gear and I am working on outfitting. Ah, a room that my place to use for, um, What I imagine to be most of those streams. So learning about some gear that we just kinda haven't really had the need thio learn about before, which is super cool andan also learning a lot about a lot of like, physical materials.

Um, I'll never claim toe like, own a studio or or be an audio person, but just n dabbling with the bits and pieces that I've had to to sort of, you know, basically insulate, uh, this room heck of a lot more than it was mad respect for everybody who does associate with Yeah, they're being an audio or a studio person. It's a lot of hard work, but it's super fun. Yeah, I agree. It's super fun, and you know, that's one of the reasons I got into audio and I can see on the zoom video chat here that there's acoustic foam everywhere and it really seems like you're just neck deep in the stuff.

Oh, yeah, I'm actually pretty proud of this. I've got where the, you know the drums will be and where I think the speaker cabinets will be, um, you know, just plastered with acoustic foam, you know, Florida ceiling. And then in many other places, I've actually I've got a drop ceiling. So I've created, uh, I bought about It's going to sound silly, but role of that. I bought about 300 uh, shower hooks just because they're like the right size and shape, you can hook them and unhook him. And I used those and I used not 300 but, like probably 100 and 50 very small like inch and a half like carabiners to suspend a bunch of rigid foam from the ceiling.

So a. It's like a secondary drop ceiling, and it, for probably a third of the space on it, covers all of where the sound will be coming from. And also because of the Caribbean er's, I'm able to sort of, like, not back myself into, like, you know, totally, you know, gluing the stuff. Thio, you know? Well, obviously wouldn't glue it. But, you know, I don't feel like hard. Commit to like the placement so I could build all the panels, put them up disorder where I think they'll be most effective and then have my bass player just rip the lowest.

No, he can while I, you know, go outside. You know, see how one configuration works. Come back inside, you know, maybe change a couple of things around, see if it makes a difference or not Super fun. Man, that's awesome. And that sounds like a really genius Lee Simple plan. I hope so. I'll have Thio. Even the listeners know how it pans out, like in a few episodes when this the rest of this is done. But so far it seems, you know, I had to kind of commit a little bit, but, you know, user friendly and again like, I'm learning a lot of stuff that like I never would have otherwise learned and totally worth it.

And yeah, it's super interesting. It's cool. Keep us posted on that, because once it's already I think when you announce it, that will be a day to remember. Oh, there is. That was the third one, uh, neck deep, Simple plan, a tater. I was hoping you'd catch onto one of those. My puns were just that bad that no one catches on apparent again. You get a million dollars, but I don't know where it's coming from, but but it is yours. It sounds good. Well, this is actually a great segue, because we're going to talk about five innovative methods that artists have used to help their career in some way, shape or form.

So I think your shower hook and carabiners strategy fits perfectly into this, and no one's going to get this. No one at all is going to get this unless you're in an fi fan, because it's a perfect fit for our topic. Basically, we realized that so many artists have come up with creative and unique ways to promote their music or make their lives easier. And sometimes it's something that everyone ends up doing. And sometimes it's something that a few bands do that every band should be doing, and we're not necessarily going to be talking about new methods.

Our goal, rather than telling you Hey, try these five things is to say, Hey, here are five really cool ideas that may or may not still be relevant, but think about it and figure out something new and better and run with it because this is something that we're hoping to inspire you to get creative and think of something new so you can really get out there and do something that no one else has done before. Now we're not saying Don't use these ideas. If you want to use these ideas, by all means, do it as long as they're still relevant because I know this first one.

Erin is not relevant anymore. It really isn't What about 10 or 15 years ago, everyone was doing it. Do you want to tell us a little bit more about it? It's the free download for email. Sign up and you're right. It's kind of a sad thing that's no longer as relevant as it once was. But there was a big period of time where that was genius thing to Dio. Obviously, whoever did it first, is there a genius? You know, it started a trend that lasted until probably like the band camps and the Spotify eyes and the, you know, YouTube music's and all the new ones caught on, you know, not only did it give value to fans in the form of AH free song or, you know, free album, whatever the offer was to download, but it also gave artists a direct line to their fans in boxes to keep listeners up to date with news regarding music and releases, tour dates, really anything they had.

That person's email address from that point forward, and all it cost them was a digital copy of a song, which arguably the cost of that zero. So genius move. Yeah, I agree. I think we should stress. We're not saying that email lists are no longer relevant. We're saying that giving people a free download is no longer relevant because most people don't download anything. I don't know about urine. I'm old school. I still download everything to my phone, which I attribute toe having poor data connection here in the middle of nowhere.

So if I'm driving around, I want it on my phone. But most people just stream things, and that's how they do it, so giving them a download is worthless. But an email address is still incredibly useful. So if you can think of some creative way to get email sign offs, by all means do it. I've seen bands who at the merch table before co vid I would say, Hey, sign up for our email list and we'll give you a free silicon wristband. That's awesome. Usually, when people give away free wrist bands, they give away those cheap, thin ones.

This is like the big inch wide ones that really, I don't wanna say pack a punch, but their hefty So doing something like that can really help to grow your email list. And even in 2020 email is still super effective and in fact, more so because you can target everyone on your list and pretty much everyone will at least see it. Yeah, they might delete it. But if you make a Facebook post, 5 to 10% of your audience is going to see it unless they pay. So if it's an email, at least they're going to see it.

And you know what if they delete it? Whatever they saw it and they remembered, Oh yeah, that band exists. That part, I think, is still really relevant Thio. Get on to the second point here that we have out of five and this is a great when you brought up is doing a van build touring in a van with nothing but bench seats could be a total pain if you have to sleep on a bench seat or on the floor while you're camping out in a parking lot somewhere.

But on the other hand, buying a van that's been converted to a camper is really expensive and isn't the most convenient thing when you're not touring because you can't really use it for anything else. But what if you could convert your van from bench seats two bunks in just a few minutes? I and vice versa, of course. And so that's what a lot of artists like Pickwick Commons and you're banned Suburban samurai are doing. So you built your own bunks, and you were basically saying that you could change the set up in your van within 2 to 3 minutes just by pulling the plywood out.

And then you could put your gear in there if it's you know Ah, there and back show. Whereas if it's an overnight show put the bunks in attach the trailer and put all your gear in the trailer. And then after the gig, you have a place to sleep. Yeah, at the very worst. That's you saving hotel money or like having to find somewhere to crash money. Or, as you said before being uncomfortable and, you know, trying to sleep upright in a seat or, you know, on the floor, Yeah, super simple, super easy way to save money.

And, you know, if again, you know, God willing, when live events are back in full swing One benefit that I enjoyed aside from saving money on a hotel every night, that was huge and arguably enabled us. And I'm sure the guys in pick of comments to do ah, lot more by saving that money and still maintaining that, you know, kind of quality of life, feeling like you didn't just sit upright on a bench seat or something. The thing that you mentioned, we totally did that where you know, we're in Burlington, Vermont.

So if we're going to drive to Albany and back, Okay, well, we don't need the bunks. Let's take the trailer off, leave that at home and take the bunks out and we actually had a cargo van, which is why we're ableto throw bunks in and out. And so if we were to leave the trailer home, leave the bunks at home, we could basically fit everything we could fit. We only had a five by eight trailer, but we didn't need more space, and we could fit most everything that we needed in the cargo compartment of the cargo van.

So you probably save yourself a bunch of headache and trying to find, you know, like a large space If you were a van and a trailer, if you weren't able to advance parking or just weren't playing the kind of show where that would happen or like you're gonna save a bunch of money on tolls if you, you know, run into tolls on a day trip. So let's headache save money. Convenient. Just super easy hack. You gotta kinda put some elbow grease into it. But once you've built them and they're there, it's awesome.

Yeah, I think it's such a cool idea. And you know, this is really the kind of thing that you can build it from supplies, you know, wouldn't hardware from your local lumberyard or I don't want to say hardware stores, since not all hardware stores will have lumber. But you know, two by fours and plywood that should basically give you the frame. And then you get some four by eights for the bunks and you're good to go. And one thing we want to stress for safety here is you shouldn't really be in them when you're driving around, because it's not going to be the safest thing in case something happens.

But it's great to be able to drive and then park and get into a bed once you're parked. And I think that's really what we want to stress here is this is for when you're parked, not for when you're moving down the interstate at 80 miles an hour or however fast you drive. Absolutely. Safety should always be a top priority, especially when you're, you know, trying to create something yourself. Chances are it's not built out of standard material or in a way that has been reviewed and approved for safety, blah, blah, blah, so super important to keep all of those things in mind.

Yeah, let's put this another way. If you get pulled over, you will probably get a ticket if somebody sleeping in the back because they're not wearing a seat belt. That's just the simplest thing off. There's gonna say you're not wearing a seatbelt, you get a ticket. Now that's different For like, giant tour bus is because it's a commercial vehicle and there's all kinds of regulations there. But if you do your own build out, I think even in like, campers, you're not supposed to be sleeping in the camper when you're driving.

You're supposed to be buckled in up front anyway, that, all aside, we have another tip. This one actually comes from Matt on an episode a while back. And, Aaron, I'm gonna let you tell this one because you fell in love with this idea when I brought it up. Oh, yeah, so thanks to you and Matt will probably talk to you before you hear this. But thanks to you two, with your blessing, I'm going to replicate this. James told me about it for the podcast, and it is such a good idea.

So James told me that Mats Banda live in Barcelona. Uh, they do this that some of their shows. Basically, anybody can write their name on a on a tip like, you know, $1 bill, a $5 bill, $20 bill. If you're like, insanely nice and that probably won't happen, um, you know, and you could drop it in a bucket. And that sort of serves is like a ticket stub for a raffle. And so at the end of the set, or like James, you mentioned you could do it like, you know, before the last song or in the middle. Whatever.

The band can choose a winner and, you know, give that person like a free merch item. It's hard to go wrong with that. Like, you know, we were talking about it before taping today. And even if nobody is that your show and you have, you know 10 people throwing a dollar each depending on you know where and how many shirts you bought that could cover the cost of goods for a shirt or most assuredly something, you know, C. D. Probably. You know, if you have 20 people or 30 people throw something and that's most definitely going to cover the cost of one, it could cover the cost of a couple.

Um, it's a super easy way for you to make a little bit in tips, generate some excitement and that totally services a crowd pleaser. Somebody's or somebody's will, you know, walk away with the piece of merch when they weren't expecting toe be ableto by one. I just think that's the coolest thing. Yeah, I think it's really awesome that Matt does that. And one thing he mentioned, too, is that like you're saying, Erin, if they have enough money, they will actually give merge to multiple people because then that just makes people happier and says, Hey, you know, they said they were going to give Merchant one person, but they gave it to three people.

That's awesome, Like they must really like their fans. They're like, Hey, we got enough money. We're not just gonna be greedy and hoard it. We're going to give away more merch. That's awesome. That's good marketing right there. And you know, another thing that I thought of is this would totally be relevant for live streaming to at the end of your stream before the last song. And obviously you have to pitch this throughout the set but pull up all your donations at the end of the set before the last song.

Look at how much you got and pick someone and tell them what they want. If you made a lot of money, pick somebody else. Tell them what they want and that's going to give people the impression correctly so that you actually care about the fans and that you want to give back. So maybe, you know times are tough. People can't give you $20 to buy a shirt, but they tipped you three bucks or five bucks on Venmo or cash up or PayPal or whatever. Cool. Take all those entries.

You have that information and give them a free piece emerged Not every single person, but as many people as you can. As long as it makes financial sense for you. I got to say, Think long term on this. Don't just think Oh, man, I really need that 20 bucks. I can't do this. No. Think long term. Because if you give somebody a free shirt and they really appreciate it, they're gonna buy more from you in the future. If you don't give them a free shirt, they're not really going to care as much, but you're working on building that connection with them, that relationship and speaking about building a connection and growing in relationship.

That's something that if you've ever been to work tour. You know all those annoying people in lines trying toe hassle, you getting you to listen to their music and trying to get you to sign a petition and all that stuff. I really got to say it's not annoying. Most people aren't annoyed. It's actually really creative, and I think it's really cool that people have the guts to walk out there and say, Hey, check out my band doing cold outreach to somebody about something as personal as music. Terrifying.

Yeah, I can't even fathom having to do that. And this has been happening for years at festivals and big shows by large artists. But it's something that I see a lot of smaller artists overlook, and obviously this isn't something that will work right now because you know pandemic. But it's a great way to meet potential fans and make a human first impression. Now, obviously you can't walk up to someone to be a jerk and be like Yo, listen to my music or you suck. You have to say hey, like you love x y z band.

So do I. That's why we're here. We actually sound kind of like them, you know. Can't take two minutes of your time and play some of my music for you. I have CD's right here. Uh, I got ah, boombox speaker so you can listen, But don't worry. I turn it up too loud. I'm not gonna, like, scare everyone in line away. I'm just gonna play it loud enough for you and your friends right here to hear it. And, you know, just give me your feedback on it.

I'd love to hear what you think, and then you play it for him, and Oh, you like it. Well, that's awesome. Thank you so much. You know, you can find this on Spotify right here or if you want, you can buy a CD for me for five bucks, but there's totally no obligation. You know, if you don't have the cash or you just don't want to, that's totally fine. But here's, you know, a business card where you can just scan this QR code and you'll get our Spotify link are Apple music link our website link our Facebook link.

Everything about us is right there, so please, you know, check that out. Oh, cool. You wanna buy CD? Awesome. Thanks so much here, Ugo. That's how it should be. And I don't see nearly enough bands doing that. Like that's something that you could do it. Small club shows if you have 20 people in line outside a show, that's enough people that if you talk to all 20 of them, let's say you have a 10% close rate you'll make to sales. And that's to new fans who didn't know you before.

That's worth it. And it's going to take what, half an hour of your time? Just do it. Or at the very worst if you have 20 people in line and that's totally a reasonably sized group of people or you're gonna be able to connect with every one of them, and that will allow each and every one of those 20 people Thio make an informed choice about not liking. You were hating your guts. Should that be the way they make up their mind, they're gonna pay attention to your performance.

If you do that, I talk to that person outside before the show. If that happened to me, I would want to at least check out the first couple of songs Minimum Thio. See what's going on? Absolutely. And you know the beautiful thing about this is to you don't have to be playing the show. You can be, But you don't have Thio One of the things I saw in Warp Tour for years, bands who weren't on the tour would go talk to kids in the lines in the morning.

They would do that all summer long, or they do it for two or three weeks. But there were a lot of artists who would do that literally the entire summer. They're not even on the tour. They just drive from show to show by themselves with their band mates. And I gotta be honest. A lot of them were making more than some of the artists on the tour. That just boggles my mind, but it shows how a lot of the artists on the tour weren't really taking advantage of the opportunity they had that they were there now.

One band who really did an amazing job with this. They were out in the lines every single morning, and this was even when they were playing on the journey's stage. I think it was that year, which is like the two main stages. Was the band the main? And they did something else that's also super creative, which I love. And if you ever go by the deluxe version of their album, you're okay. You will actually see my name in the liner notes. E. But Erin, I'm gonna let you tell the people why.

So I'm not just bragging about being in the liner notes the whole time because that's totally what I would dio. Oh, you should, because it's awesome for the most recent album, You Are OK, The main gave their fans the opportunity to have you know just what you said their name printed in the liner notes of the physical album. All they had to do was find their way to a particular u R L, which I think we'll have that in the show, notes fill out a form with a short quiz about the band.

So 10 points for fun and interactive right there, and James, you were the one who introduced this to me. But I'm assuming if you've got them right, you were in, right? So it's super easy, super fun. And like, if you were super into the main like, you know, or even if you just kind of like like passively like them like that's such an easy, you know, interactive. It doesn't take a lot of time, but it's fun. Way to kind of have, like, a your name printed on something that will probably last a really long time, you know?

And as we were talking about before the podcast, the band probably sold thousands of copies of the deluxe edition because it was on the deluxe edition physical print copy. They probably sold thousands of copies of it because of that alone. You know, if you had your name printed on something, you're probably gonna want to go by it. Or if you tell 10 people one of those you know, 10 close friends and they're in the same kind of music you are like they're probably gonna want to go buy it.

That's just a really cool thing. You know, Who wouldn't want a copy of an album from their favorite band. If it has their name in it. Yeah, definitely. And I think the quiz kind of ruled out people, too, Who wouldn't necessarily buy it? Because if you know the answers to those questions, that means you're a big fan of the main, so that just means not every single person in the world's gonna buy it. But if you filled out the form, you're probably gonna buy it because you're a big fan of the band.

I think it's really cool how they did that. And you know, that's not gonna work for every single band. That's not going to work for the local band who has 10 fans because those 10 people are probably going to buy it anyway. And if not, they're your friends, so you convince them to buy it. But since they're your friends, they're probably in the liner notes already. You know, there's kind of some circular logic there. It's just a really cool, creative campaign that when they did that, I think I might have done the video an article about it when this came out.

If I did, that will be in the show notes as well. Those air at Band. I've got rocks slash 37. That's the numbers. 37 There will be a link to their form. It's still online. A year and a half later. Obviously, if you fill it out, it's not going to get you in the liner notes since they've been printed already. But you can check out the form and see what they did. There are point with these five ideas is they're not going toe work for everyone. Some of them are even just outdated, and they're not really gonna work for anyone unless you know if you target boomers and everyone in your audience is still on email, even though emails so 15 years ago, maybe a free download will work.

But if not, if your audience is more tech savvy, figure out how to make emails work for you. Give fans an incentive to sign up for your email list that is effective in 2020. Either way, all of these points that we're talking about have been effective at some point in time, whether it's one artist doing something that's just absolute genius or something that was basically industry standard back in the day, we hope that these ideas are going to help you either directly by giving you something new to try, like the van build out once you're touring again.

That is something that I would say is absolutely worth it. Because your comfort is gonna be so much higher if you do that, or it'll help you indirectly by inspiring you to go be awesome and figure something out that in a couple of years everyone will be doing because it's so smart and awesome. So that all being said, I think that's all I've got for this episode. What about you, Aaron? No, I just I hope everybody listening continues to be awesome and keep rocking. All right. Another episode of the band.

I've podcast in the books. Thank you so much for listening. We hope that these ideas really give you something to think about and innovate. If you think of something super cool and creative that you want to do for your band or you are doing for your band that you think we could have covered here head on over to our Facebook group either by searching for us we are banned hive or by going to band I've dot rocks slash group toe automatically be directed to our Facebook group.

It's really awesome to see and hear new ways that bands are innovating, so we look forward to seeing what you've got up your sleeves. Thanks again for listening. We hope you have an awesome week. We'll be back next Tuesday anytime after 6 a.m. And, of course, as always, keep rocking.