Friday, March 28, 2014

Whore your band!

Today is Friday. Hurray! Since Willy is going to a bachelor party, I decided to amuse myself by supporting my local metal community and going to a show. The show takes place at the Sidebar in Baltimore, one of the coolest places in the city, and will be featuring doom metal. A good friend of mine is promoting the show, so I spoke to her about how the shows are doing. As a promoter, it's her job to promote shows, and let me tell you she is out there killing it to make sure people show up. Unfortunately, not as many people are coming as they should. Why's that? Well, there could be any number of reasons. Winter is a bad time for shows since people don't like going out in the cold, so that's a big culprit. Another one?

Bands not promoting enough.

Now don't get me wrong, I agree that promoters should promote. However, relying on promoters to promote is exactly why bands have a problem getting enough people through the door. We discussed pre-sales, which is where you ask bands to sell tickets. I've been doing pre-sales for over 8 years now, and I don't see that stopping anytime soon. Why? Because if you can't get at least 5 people to see you, there is a problem. I hear all sorts of excuses from bands, these days.

Back in  (insert year here), venues paid bands to play! We showed up and played! 

I shouldn't have to sell tickets, I'm the talent!

It's the promoter's job to promote, not mine!

Our fans don't like us pushing tickets, it makes us seem desperate!

And so on and so on and so on...

Child, please. In this metal business, we have to take what we can get. Being whiny about not selling tickets is going to do nothing for you. You can be the greatest band in the universe, but if nobody knows about you, how are you going to get your name out there? If you're not willing to sell yourself, why should anyone else? It's not like there aren't a million other bands trying their damndest to get recognition. You have to fight for that recognition and you have to make people see you. It's marketing. It's selling yourself. It's not pretty, but if you have a good product, people will respond and you will see results!

It's not easy to do this and it does take a bit of pride swallowing. If you have a big ego and expect people to come see you out of the goodness of your talent, this may be an issue. The truth is, some people won't go to a gig unless they're reminded. Or asked. They might be scared of your music (HELLO, METAL!), and think it's all a bunch of old men with skullets and patch vests growling at the women. Well how are they gonna find out that those old men with skullets and patch vests are (for the most part) very friendly and fun to hang with? How are they going to find out that metal is fun and exciting unless you say, "Hey cousin Debbie, want to see my band play this Tuesday? I need to sell some tickets and I was hoping you could come! I promise I'll buy you a Long Island, and you can wear that corset you bought at the Renaissance Fair!"

Every band wants to be the band that shows up, gets paid, and leaves. But everyone starts somewhere, and if you're not willing to start at the bottom, you've got an even steeper climb than the guys shilling out tickets for their first show. These young bands are hungry. They will do whatever it takes to bring people, and trust me, you are not better than they are because your older, or you have pro gear, or your leather pants are tighter. If you're playing to an empty stage, there's nobody out there looking at those leather pants anyway.

Don't be a prima donna. "Pay for play", where you literally pay to play, is not the same as pre-selling tickets. Pre-selling tickets means you're taking your band to your friends and family and spreading the word, and the more you do it, the easier (and more profitable) it gets. If you're not comfortable asking people to come see your band, good luck getting anyone else to do it because not everyone has an uncle in the industry who's going to do it all for you. Do that shit yourself.

WHORE. YOUR. BAND.

Thursday, March 27, 2014

TRV KVLT

I know that many of the people who read my blog are not metal fans. Metal fans are a very small minority, in this world. Sadly, even we often butt heads when it comes to our opinions on certain things. This is because regardless of what community you're in, there will always be really dumb people and you just have to get over that.

Of course, I'm the type of person who sees the dumb and wants to make something from that dumb. For today's post, I'd like to bring up possibly the stupidest thing anyone has ever accused me of; not being a "real" metal fan.

Why would anyone say such a thing, you might ask? Well, I'm not exactly sure. Maybe it's because my first metal show was Dragonforce. Maybe it's because I'm young. Maybe it's because I like to promote my band a lot, which seems like something anyone in a band would do, but hey, that could be a reason people see me and think, "Sure, she spends a lot of her time talking about/working in/promoting metal, but is she really one of us?"

So to combat this dumb, I've decided to come up with a list of all the things I do. If, after reading this, anyone still thinks I'm not a real metalhead, or that I'm some kind of metal poser (do we have those!?), then nothing I ever say or do will be able to convince them otherwise. For the rest of you, maybe this will give you an understanding of how much exactly goes into A Sound of Thunder from the single person that is me.

I personally:

  • Design the layout for all merchandise, which includes CDs/vinyl/t-shirts/shot glasses/ect.
  • Design and update our website.
  • Write lyrics.
  • Record vocals (obviously, which can take up to 6 hours per session and often happens after I work an 8 hour shift at my full-time job).
  • Write music.
  • Book every show.
  • Book shows for other bands (such as Benedictum and Leather Leone).
  • Plan travel to/from every show.
  • Research and book hotels for each show that is not local.
  • Promote each show.
  • Sell tickets.
  • Create flyers for each show.
  • Create events online for each show.


Now, as if all that wasn't enough, I also work a full-time job and am married. So along with all of the band things I do, I also have to find some way to work 40 hours a week and make my husband not feel like he's single. As many of you know, I'm also a health/fitness enthusiast, so I also somehow manage to cram in regular exercise and healthy cooking into my schedule.

After all this, if there is anyone out there who still thinks I'm somehow fake for whatever reason, I have only one thing to say to you.



Wednesday, March 26, 2014

On "Attention Whoring"

I've been getting shit from a few people on the fact that I mentioned my band in the CNN article. I'm trying to come up with a way of expressing the way I feel without using the word "retarded" because I know it's an offensive word. However, this picture sums up exactly the way I feel when people ask me. Let me demonstrate.

"Nina, why would you mention your band for an interview on an internationally read news site?"


If I need to explain why I would talk about my band in an interview on an internationally read news site, you might be the dumbest sack of shit on the planet. Of course I'm going to talk about my band. Why wouldn't I? It's a huge part of my life and a huge part about why I was able to keep the weight off. Do you have any idea how much pressure there is to keep fit when you're on stage in front of hundreds of people? A lot, that's how much! If I didn't have my band, I wouldn't have that much of a reason for wanting to stay in shape. I want to be able to run around like Bruce Dickinson.

I want to be able to live a long long time so I can make music into my senior years and not have to hobble around in front of a teleprompter. I want to be amazing for a long long time. That's why I mentioned my band, because my music is my life! I wave the flag of my band everywhere I go! What kind of shitty front person would I be if I didn't?

And furthermore, what kind of idiot wouldn't want to share that with the world?

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

What's wrong with telling someone they need to lose weight?

People are ridiculous. I've seen a lot of horrible comments following my story on CNN, but one of the most prevalent themes seems to be that people think it's okay to tell someone they need to lose weight. Because they "care".

On the internet, we call these people "concern trolls".

Please, let me educate you on what you say to someone who you believe needs to lose weight.

Nothing.

Well, let me clarify.

Lets say you have a loved one who is obese. You believe they should lose weight because their health may be at risk. What do you tell them? Well first of all, consider the fact that the person in question probably realizes they're fat. Fat people aren't the idiots people seem to believe they are. People love speculating that all fat folks are dumb and have no idea that being fat is harmful and they're going to die if you don't tell them right now.

Stop it.

Fat people know they're fat. They don't need you to tell them. I repeat; FAT PEOPLE KNOW THEY'RE FAT. THEY DON'T NEED YOU TO TELL THEM. If you think they do, you're the dumb one.

Now, if you care about a loved one's health, fine. Why not approach them from a health perspective?

"Hey bro, I've started adding more vegetables to my diet and I feel great. I have this recipe for a delicious tomato bisque I'd like to share."

That's great! Do that!

"Hey bro, you know you'd look way better if you lost a few pounds."

Well no shit, asshole. As if every fat person hadn't considered that possibility. People seem to think it's my ex boyfriend saying that to me is why I lost weight. Are you out of your mind? I didn't lose weight because my boyfriend said I'd look better thinner. I lost weight because I was involved with someone who intimidated me and I felt that I had to do what he said or I wouldn't be worthy of compassion. Does that sound like a good relationship? Does that sound like a situation where I should contact him and thank him for making me feel so bad about myself, I lost a shit-ton of weight to please him?

The fact that I got more confidence to stand up for myself afterwards was a lucky coincidence. I could have just as easily been trapped in that situation for the rest of my life. Now, 11 years later, I've maintained my weight loss through healthy eating and exercise. I did that. Me. Not him. He didn't help me by making me feel bad about myself. He didn't help me when I was dieting, either. I did it all myself, even if it is because I felt bad, but I did it myself and I'm sick of people saying he deserves credit for being an asshole. Frankly, anyone who thinks so is probably an asshole and I'd rather not associate myself with them, anyway.

In closing:
Fat people know they're fat.
Stop being an asshole.
Treat everyone with love and respect.
Yes, even fat people.
You asshole.

Monday, March 24, 2014

It's been a long time coming! UPDATE!

It's been way too long since my last blog post.

First of all, I'm working a different job. Hurray!! I actually very much loved the people I worked with at my last job, and this new one came out of nowhere. Long story short, I'm now once again working as a full-time graphic designer and I'm VERY happy.

The reason I'm FINALLY writing this update is because recently, a CNN article went out about the weight loss I accomplished more than 10 years ago. I wrote the story on a CNN iReport back in December and a lady from CNN asked me if she could do a follow up. I said sure! So she did, and here it is, titled "Singer Drops 60 LBS and Drops Her Boyfriend". Quite the sensationalist title, considering this happened over 10 years ago! I would have figured that my maintenance should have been the focus of this article, not my boyfriend.

Suddenly people are coming to his defense. I feel I should clear the air.

1. He was emotionally abusive. "You'd look better if you were thinner" is a stupid thing to say to a fat person. Fat people hear this everywhere all the time. If you want to encourage someone to be healthy, telling them they'd look better if they dropped a few pounds isn't the way to go about it. The reason I listened is because I was in an abusive relationship with a person who not only made me feel small emotionally, but physically as well. He hit me more than once, which was the real reason I broke up with him. Then he stalked me. So I'm a little peeved at CNN for not including all of the details, but I imagine they didn't have the room.

2. This happened TEN YEARS AGO. The reason I wrote about it is because I'm maintaining this loss, and no, it's not easy. It's hard. I wanted to share my story with people and show that there are people out there who are not just weight loss success stories, we're maintenance success stories and we can keep it up, but it takes a lot of hard work.

3. THIS HAPPENED TEN YEARS AGO.

So there ya go. Hope this clears things up.