I wish him all the best, but kind of worried he'll lose focus on the uk side of things, i mean already he's clearly struggling on his own to keep on top with distribution, even if all the promotion makes it seem like stuffs going fine. He owes me orders from 6 months ago I'm yet to chase up, I don't think I'd buy another physical release from him again. Also he failed to release the Pennines/ ttng split because he didn't have time, lazily putting it straight to itunes.
He's clearly a guy who loves the music and what he's doing, but jesus before starting up new shit Kev, stop going to America to watch the get up kids, stop posing for photos: CHECK YOUR FUCKING MAIL ORDERS AND SEND ME THAT (now kind of obsolete) FUCKING SPRING SAMPLER.
That must be frustrating! Can't fault the BSM roster though, pretty top notch. Just saw Kevin Devine and Shoes and Socks Off on their winter tour and managed to grab the new SASO record, due to be released on the 14th of December.
ReplyDeleteClick here for the pre-release review: http://alexmsmith.wordpress.com/2009/12/04/pre-release-review-shoes-and-socks-off-to-where-the-skyline-is-fortified-with-windows-and-doors/
(I've added you to my blog roll as I also wholeheartedly agreed with the Battles post)
thanks man, i ll add you to mine, pretty good ship you're running.
ReplyDeleteYeah i love all the BSM bands which is why it breaks my heart it isnt better run. i m sure he could find some part timers to help out for free.
I love this! Actually feel like a bit of a celebrity, which is incredibly flattering, but thought for the sake of fairness I should probably correct you on a couple of points.
ReplyDeleteYour CD was posted in mid-July, after your last email regarding its whereabouts. Sorry to hear it didn't arrive, you should've said something.
Not sure if I'd say we're trying to "storm" America as such, although I do love that phrasing. I'm not actually running things on that side of the ocean, it's a friend of mine called Chase, helped by a PR guy named Chuck. It has no effect on my time management here in the UK, so don't fret. If anything, it'll hopefully just mean good things as we'll be signing a few more American bands who - I hope you'll agree when they're announced - deserve more recognition. We'll also be working towards sending some of our UK acts over there, which is incredibly exciting for all involved.
We decided not to release the TTNG/Pennines split on 7" because of a number of reasons, one of which was time. Basically, Pennines, due to a number of real-life commitments such as work and having children at the time the split was due, couldn't tour in support of the release, TTNG's album was only a few weeks away, vinyl pressing costs were going through the roof and distribution options were disappearing with every passing day. It was a real shame because it's a great split, but unfortunately vinyl just didn't seem to make sense at the time. iTunes is a poor replacement but it was our only option unfortunately.
With regards to your final three points:
Apologies for taking a holiday after a very long year. It's not everyday that one of our bands supports my all-time favourite, so I thought I'd take a bit of time off to go and see them play together.
Apologies for posting a photo on my personal Facebook account from a trip I made a couple of years ago with some friends.
And apologies for not knowing your CD hadn't arrived.
Anyway, thanks again for the post, despite the fact that I probably sound quite angry in a lot of this (which I'm not at all, just hurrying as the kitchen's about to burn down!), it really is flattering and I'm delighted that you like our bands. Perhaps we could talk further about the issues you've raised? If it'll help put your mind at ease, my email is bsmrocks@gmail.com, send me your address for the CD (unless it's still the same as last year?) and any other questions.
Cheers
Kev