Selling Out Your Shows Every Time

By Mike Venti @ The Wayward Musician

A sold out show is a day that every artist looks forward to. Nothing’s better than a packed house where the energy emanates from the audience to the stage and back again.

Unfortunately, many artists don’t get to experience sold out shows that often, if at all. Perhaps, only at the occasional CD release show, or a coveted opening spot for a more established act.

Thankfully, there is an easy way for you to change this and begin playing sold out shows more often. It’s quite simple in fact.

Free Album: Outasight- Never Say Never

Listen to MORE music from Outasight on BandSoup by Clicking Here!

It has been quite a beautiful ride to watch Outasight grow into a superstar. So far, on every free release, he has found a way to one-up himself, refresh the swagger, and tweak the mishaps from the album before, which has quickly molded him into one of the most talented and beloved new artists of the internet age. On his highly anticipated new mix tape, Never Say Never, he has done it once again.

Never Say Never shines a dimmed spotlight on a vulnerable Outasight trying to cope with numerous situations every twenty something faces at one point: worrying about college degrees, 9-5 jobs, and social status; dealing with getting older, the loneliness that comes with age, and new responsibilities; and  contemplating relationships, women, and the future, while trying to live it up in the Big Apple. With all of this happening at once, it seems that the Yonkers MC lost a bit of hope and belief in himself as an artist. A natural reaction to a brutal and lonely time in our adult lives, but one that will be immediately muted by his fan base after listening to these fourteen new tracks.

As we sit and wait for his major label debut with all the freebies he has given us, we will begin to wonder with Outasight:

I’m on my way
I’m not sure how the rest goes
Soon as I do I’ll let you know…

But I think we already know. And we look forward to it.

Download: Outasight- Never Say Never

The Last Monarchs

An acoustic guitar wielding singer/songwriter sneaking into college music rooms with a classically trained cellist to practice folk music sounds like a scene from a romantic comedy entry at Sundance, but it's actually how The Last Monarchs began their journey as a band.

After numerous mischievous adventures under the moon, lead singer Matt Rouch realized he was onto something good and began his hunt for highly talented musicians that shared the same passion for folk music and story telling that burned inside of him. Now, with Matt Rouch on acoustic guitar/vocals, Sara Boyce on violin, Todd Koren on drums, and Andrew Hill on upright bass, The Last Monarchs strive to bring unique and heartfelt folk music to Alexandria, Virginia and the rest of the DC metro area.

Despite Northern Virginia and DC 's lack of interest and output in folk music, The Last Monarchs have  seemingly arrived at the perfect time. Today's indie rock universe widely accepts and encourages the organic sound the Monarchs execute with ease. Combine that notion with Rouch's breezy vocals, Sara and Andrew's accompanying strings, and the band's serendipitous open market location-- The Last Monarchs could soon become DC's first big folk rock outfit.

Currently, The Last Monarchs are preparing to release a follow up EP to there 2009 release One Fell Swoop. The band will re-record "Riders from the Hillside," along with a few other previously released tracks. If you are a fellow 703er like us here at BandSoup, be sure to check out The Last Monarchs' upcoming live events on their Myspace page (which also streams their entire One Fell Swoop EP). The band has recently adjusted their setlist to fit the DC bar scene, adding more bluesy rockin' songs like Riders, but still add a sprinkle of quieter folk music.

You can listen to the live studio recording of "Riders from the Hillside" here on BandSoup!

Ghost Ghost

Popularized by The Beatles in 1967 with Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and then mastered by its predecessors Pink Floyd, The Who and David Bowie, the concept album is one of Rock music's toughest creative quests. Many try, many fail-- only Gods prevail.

Modern bands such as The Mars Volta, Coheed and Cambria and Green Day have had success with their conceptual records, but many present day attempts fall short of their initial ambition; however, this notion was smashed by a recent BandSoup entry from a New York based indie rock band, Ghost Ghost.

The band's ten track concept album, No Clothes on Ragged Island, is based on the life of New York poet Edna St. Vincent Millay. The project was conceived by Kevin Peckham and Karl Ward on February 20, 2010 after reading Savage Beauty, a biography on Edna Millay's life. Each track is a scene from the poet's life, told in chronological order. All songs were written on February 21, just one day shy of Millay's 118th birthday. Arrangement, recording, and mixing were completed within one week.

Edna St. Vincent Millay was the first woman to receive a Pullitzer Prize for Poetry, but is better known for her unconventional, sexually promiscuous, bohemian lifestyle. Ghost Ghost's members are constantly absorbing inspiration from literature and reincarnating it into their music, but Edna's "morphine addiction, sexual trysts and tragic end—when she was discovered dead at the bottom of her stairwell—are the imagery rock music is made of."

Full of beautiful folk arrangements, haunting vocals, and picturesque poetics, No Clothes on Ragged Island is this year's best kept secret. Ghost Ghost has constructed a conceptual classic and the real travesty lies in its abandonment. Make room on your 2010 top ten list, it's almost frightening what Ghost Ghost has accomplished.

You can stream the entire No Clothes on Ragged Island by clicking here. On this site you can listen, read the lyrics and concept of each song by clicking on the song title, and of course, make a purchase. $10  for the Compact Disc Deluxe Package is an absolute steal! It includes: The CD, an immediate free digital download of all 10 songs, a free "No Clothes on Ragged Island" booklet that includes a timeline of the songs in the context of Edna St. Vincent Millay's life, as well as lyrics and guitar chords for all ten songs, a poster and more.

You can stream my personal favorite track, Bizarre Love Triangle, Here @ BandSoup.com!

Fanbridge.com

In the land of DIY one of the toughest things to do is organize. The geniuses at Fanbridge.com have come up with a fantastic idea to help you with just that.

Fanbridge  helps artists build valuable fan relationships.

We do this by making it fun, easy and effective for artists of all sizes from around the world to leverage our Fan Relationship Management platform to engage with their fans.

Powering over 70 million valuable artist/fan relationships and counting!

Any band or solo artist with a substantial fan base looking to grow and maintain their fan connections and communication need to check this out ASAP! Make sure to tell them BandSoup sent you.